Dom walked tiredly up the old, warn pathway to the house. He had sent the guys ahead earlier so he could pack up the garage in peace. It wasn't that he didn't like have his best mates living and working with him, it was just sometimes he needed time and space to himself. Especially since they had pestering him to get into the dating scene again. It had been over a year since she left and he wasn't sure he was completely over her betrayal. He entered his house and didn't take more than three steps before he was pounced on.
He laughed deeply as he realised it was Mia. Mia hugged him tightly and rolled her own eyes at him laughing. Since the heists Mia had treated him differently. Hell, they treated each other differently. But they had come to be more honest with each other the only problem with that was he couldn't hide anything from her but at the moment he wasn't considering that a real problem.
He and Mia had gotten closer and he liked that Mia would talk to him about things. And since the things with Buster had cleared up, things were finally getting back on the right track. Dom was even considering getting someone to replace Letty thought that would be pretty hard to do. Dom put her down and smiled at her.
"What's up baby sis?"
"Can we talk?" she asked somewhat quietly.
Dom immediately went into serious mode as he heard her tone of voice. It must be serious to get Mia serious. Dom nodded and Mia led him through their overly large kitchen (it was built to have one too many people in it) and out onto the back veranda.
"What's up?"
"I've invited a young girl to stay with us," she blurted out as she brought her arms around her stomach.
Dom realised she was nervous. It wasn't like she hadn't brought strays home before. In fact her boyfriend, Brian had technically been a stray she'd found but there hadn't been any strays since Brian and that was because they had all be focusing on rebuilding their lives. It was only recently it felt like things were getting back to normal.
"That's okay Mia, it's probably about time we had someone different staying with us. This house was built to have heaps of people boarding in it remember?"
"It's not just that. I think she's a runaway,"
"The point being?"
"She looks like she's been abused,"
Dom paused. He had a policy against men that used women to make them feel big. He contained his anger as Mia quickly continued.
"I don't know for sure but there's bruises all over her wrists and hands and even one on her neck. I couldn't make out if they were hand shaped or not. But they were faded so she's been on her own for a while or at least not been hit for a while,"
Dom let out a long sigh.
"Okay, we'll protect her. Anything else I should know?"
"I wasn't able to get anything else out of her," Mia said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Okay, I'm going to go take a shower and then maybe meet this mystery girl,"
"Just don't scare her,"
He laughed again and gave her a quick hug. Dom and Mia re-entered the kitchen. Dom headed for the stairs and heard the team crash in the lounge room. He entered the hallway and walked down it. He heard the door open and a young girl walked out. She ran straight smack into him.
Courtney came out of the bathroom totally relaxed and warm. She wasn't watching where she was going and the next thing she knew she ran into something firm yet soft. She felt herself falling but stopped as the firm yet soft object that she hit reached out and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her into his chest.
"Are you okay?"
His voice was deep and husky and she found herself nodding out of habit. She looked up at him with wide eyes. He smiled and let her go. She backed up, taking him in and not sure what else to do.
"I'm Dom, Mia's older brother,"
She nodded again and then looked down.
"And you are?"
She mumbled something that Dom didn't catch. He gently lifted her chin and she flinched. She tried to pull away from him but Dom stopped her by taking her wrist softly.
"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to see who I was talking too,"
"I'm Courtney,"
Her voice was still soft but this time it was more firm. He smiled but almost frowned as he noticed the bruises. She was wearing a three quarter length shirt and he could different sizes and different coloured bruises. Courtney caught him looking and tugged on her sleeve. This broke Dom out of his stare and he coughed awkwardly.
"Nice to meet you,"
"And you Dom. Would you excuse me?" she asked softly.
Then before Dom could answer, she slipped into her bedroom. Dom smirked at himself. The girl wasn't the prettiest girl he had ever seen, in a single word she was plain in everywhere except for her eyes. Her eyes were a brilliant green and were the only really pretty thing about her. Dom continued his original path and went to his bedroom.
Courtney lent against her door, breathing harder than normal as her heart was pounding in her chest. A smile crept on her face and she pulled her bottom lip – the corner anyway – between her teeth. The guy, Dom, looked like he wouldn't hurt her. Sure he was huge but she didn't think he would hurt her, it just wasn't the vibe she was getting from him.
Dom was tall even for a guy not that it matter to her – nearly everyone was taller then her. He must have been about six foot something though and he was solid as a brick wall. When Courtney had looked up into his eyes, something in his heart tugged. They were gorgeous dark brown, deep chocolate and all and all he was a handsome man even if he was bald.
She grabbed the jacket she had been wearing earlier and opened her bedroom door. She looked out quietly trying to see if Dom was still there (which he wasn't) and left her room. Courtney walked quietly down the stairs, a habit she had picked up from childhood and one she couldn't break. She could hear people in the lounge room and as much as she would've liked to meet new people, her fear reined her in telling her to find Mia.
Mia was safe and till Mia introduced her, she was going to stick to Mia like glue. She entered the kitchen and found Mia cooking up a storm with two other girls with her. Courtney froze like a deer caught in the highlights as the girls looked up.
"Hi there!" one of the girls spoke, spotting her. "You must be Courtney. Mia was just filling us in about the newest stray she brought home,"
The girl speaking had creamy skin with short auburn hair. Her hair was cut very close to her ears and she was wearing a short (very short) black skirt and a tiny tank shirt. The girl was tall. She had thin eyebrows and thin dark pink lips. She smiled and Courtney could sense she was trying to be friendly.
The other girl was more reserved but just as pretty. She was only a little taller than Courtney but completely different. The girl was a brunette with golden hazel eyes standing at around five foot six and a half. She had long eyelashes and a tiny button nose. She had large lips and she wasn't smiling. Her hair was cut to a bob and Courtney could see that she had earrings all the way up her ear and Courtney could see smile lines. Her skin was white but she had a dark tan that Courtney was sure it was natural.
"Courtney these two lovely girls are Hayley and Summer," Mia introduced. "You'll meet Jenni a little later,"
"Nice to meet you," Courtney said softly.
Hayley was the red head and Summer was the other. It would be nice to see what Jenni was like. Probably completely different if Hayley and Summer.
"With Jenni we are all the girls. We'll introduce you to our boyfriends at dinner," Hayley said glancing at Mia who nodded.
"How many live here?" Courtney asked quietly.
"Eleven now that you're with us. We have others that come and go, usually just bunking for a night,"
Mia pulled the pot of spaghetti from off the stove and drained the water. Hayley held a large bowl for her as she tipped the spaghetti into it.
"Can you call the boys?" Mia asked Summer.
Summer nodded, stood and walked over to the doorway. She let out a loud wolf whistle that scared Courtney half to death.
"Dinner's ready!" she then called out after the whistle.
Courtney stood back as several hungry men poured into the dining room. There was a large table in the centre and the bench was the only thing separating the kitchen from the dining room. Courtney stood near the bench as plates were past around and the noise level rose.
"You can dig in as well. These slobs don't have any table manners," Dom said coming up behind her.
Everyone paused and turned to Dom.
"What?"Jesse asked.
"Who?" Leon asked following Jesse.
"Guys, this is Courtney. She's just moved in with us," Mia introduced. "Courtney, this is everyone. I'm sure everyone will introduce themselves. Now sit the hell down,"
"Careful of her; she's bossy," Dom stage-whispered leading her over to the table. "So that's Vince, Brian, Jesse, Leon and that's Rome," Dom told her as she sat down between Vince and Dom.
Each nodded to their name and Courtney didn't know if she'd remember them all.
"Okay, who was the first to dig in?" Dom questioned, looking at Mia who grinned.
"Brian," everyone answered to which Brian groaned.
"You're turn to say grace,"
Courtney had never heard grace before and wasn't sure what to do. So she simply followed what everyone else was done. Once grace was said, everyone started digging in. Dom looked over to Courtney and saw her plate was completely bare. He frowned. Vince must have seen it as well because he picked up the bowl of spaghetti and dumped a huge pile on her plate. She looked at him in shock, her eyes went wide.
"Here it's help yourself and if you're not quick enough, you won't get fed,"
Courtney flinched at the last of his words. Dom noticed this but didn't mention it. He past her the spoon for the mince and smiled in a way he hoped was encouraging.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Vince smiled at her tiny thank you but it disappeared as he saw the bruises. He sent a glance to Dom who sent a glance back telling him to not bring it up. She brushed her hair behind her ear and Vince noticed a small tattoo and wished he hadn't seen it; he held back his groan.
Courtney picked up her fork slowly and carefully twisted it in her spaghetti. Her stepfather had been mean and she had lived on scraps for years so this meal was a whole new experience.
Dom watched her with great amusement. It was like she had never had spaghetti before. She ate slowly and carefully and was very guarded. It was like she thought it was about to be taken away. A timer beeped in the kitchen causing Mia to leave the table and returned with garlic bread. She placed on the table and Dom watched Courtney's tiny hand reached out to grab a piece cautiously. He would have to find out more about the girl sitting next to him because he was definitely intrigued by her.
"Where are you from Courtney? Are you from around here?" Brian asked her causing her head to jerk up.
Brian was a lean yet solid guy. He had blonde hair cut in a crew cut. His eyes were a beautiful blue colour which Courtney had never seen before. He like Dom was about twenty five.
"West," she answered vaguely. "I needed a change of scenery,"
In all of Courtney's life she had never spoke so much. She had been punished if she spoke without being spoken too first. No one at her old place spoke to her and if anyone had it was to order her about.
"Where abouts?" Vince asked.
"Tennessee,"
It wasn't like she was being vague on purpose. Okay so maybe she was, but at least then no one could get hurt, right? She didn't know if Leroy was going to come after her or not. Or when he would come for her; what she did know he or Scott would come for her sooner or later.
Everyone noticed her reluctance to talk about where she was from and so they let it be. Courtney didn't speak much throughout the dinner; she was content to watch out the household interacted with each other. They were loud and nosy and they teased each other. They were a family no matter if they were all the different ages or had different cultural backgrounds. After dinner everyone escaped the dinner room leaving Mia and Courtney. Mia started picking up the left over's and Courtney followed her lead by picking up the dirty plates.
"You don't have to help, no one ever does," Mia commented on seeing her helping. "Well Brian does sometimes,"
Courtney noticed a sly grin and chose not to comment, instead matched it with her own smile.
"Well I'm going to change that,"
Mia chuckled.
"Good luck with that,"
Courtney and Mia finished of the dishes and by the end of it, Mia had realised so much all the young girl. Courtney had a quick mind which she used for good and had a classic sense of humour – she was witty. She reminded Mia of Letty, which was strange because the two girls looked nothing alike and as far as Mia knew, Courtney had never met Letty. Mia could also sense she had had a very hard childhood just by the way she cleaned and acted. The way she cleaned up was very robotic and it was like she was being ordered about by some invisible person inside her head.
Courtney followed Mia into the living room carrying several beers. As they handed the beers out Courtney felt Dom watching her. She walked cautiously over to him and handed him the last beer. He grinned his thank you as he took it from her hands. Courtney let out a soft yawn and he realised she was tired.
"Heading off to bed?" Dom asked quietly as everyone was glued to the movie on the T.V. She nodded reluctantly.
Courtney didn't really want to leave but she was tired.
"Yeah, I think so,"
Dom stood up.
"Come on, I'll make sure you find your room okay,"
Courtney and Dom left the lounge room quietly and no one noticed them leaving. Dom led her to the stairs and she followed him up. She wouldn't tell him that she knew the way to her room as she liked his company. He made her feel safe and protected and she had never felt that way before.
"Here you are,"
Courtney smiled at him.
"Sleep tight," he told her as he saw her smile.
He lent down and kissed her cheek. She blushed and as he moved away she whispered, "Sweet dreams Dom,"
He was speechless and she turned away quickly, entering her room. Dom was knocked out of his stupor as he heard her door close. He chuckled to himself and wandered downstairs. He found surprisingly that his seat wasn't taken which was a rarity. He sunk back in and Mia looked up.
"She okay?"
"Yeah, just tired. I think we overwhelmed her,"
Everyone chuckled.
"What do you think of her?"
It was sort of like a tradition within the house. New ones got a going over mainly to see if they would fit in. It was so important to Dom and Mia that everyone in the house got along. They had seen the results of what happens when someone doesn't get along with someone else. Tension in their household could be difficult as they had experience in that area.
"I like her," Brian declared followed by several murmurs of agreement.
"If she stays, we'll have to work on getting her to put on some weight. She's so skinny; is she anorexic?" Hayley asked, trying not to sound rude.
"No," Mia answered firmly. "She's not anorexic or bulimic. It was almost like she had never seen so much food before in her life. Maybe she came from a poor family?"
"She has to stay," Vince said firmly. "Did anyone else see the bruises? They were nasty,"
"Those bruises looked fresh like only happened in the last couple of week," Dom said aloud. "She needs looking after and protecting. I don't know from whom but we need to be her family,"
Everyone nodded except for Summer but she wouldn't make her judgement till she got to know her better.
"Okay, so tomorrow we start working on her. We need to find out her past and find out what we need to do to help her," Dom stated, moving straight onto business.
He and Mia had helped so many young people like Courtney. Their house growing up had had a constant stream of various people with a various problems. Their mother had wanted to help as many as she could as their father had helped in his own way. After their parents past, Dom and Mia kept trying to help people but found it harder then it looked.
Friends moved in and out and with that they helped out which allowed Dom and Mia to take in usually one person and once they fixed them, another would fill their place. But they hadn't had someone like that in a long while or that young. None knew anything about her – not her age, last name or even what part of Tennessee she came from, if she really came from Tennessee as she had no southern drawl.
Dom stood as everyone agreed. They all knew the routine. First they would see who Courtney floated to and stuck by. Once that was discovered that person would become whatever she needed – boyfriend, sister, brother or simply a friend. The only exception was if she floated to a guy if he was in a relationship then she would get anything bar being his girlfriend.
Dom walked up stairs and headed to the bathroom. Once finished in there he decided to go straight into his bedroom. He noticed as he got closer to his room, that Courtney's light was on and quiet sobs were coming from under the door. He knocked on it softly and opened the door. He entered and closed the door behind him.
Courtney wiped her tears and pulled her legs up so she was sitting with her legs as close as they could be to her chest.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
"It was just a bad dream," she whispered and Dom frowned – it was more than just a bad dream. "Did I wake you?"
"No, I was just going to my room. Everyone was about to head off to do different things like hit clubs or see late night movie showings,"
"Oh…"
"Are you okay?"
Dom took her hand and she looked at him completely surprised. His eyes were trying to see what had happened and Courtney quickly tried to hide it.
"I'm fine,"
Though the truth was she wasn't. She still had the scars and those awful claim marks that would never go away. She didn't know if she'd ever be fine because she had never been fine in her life.
"If you're sure…"
Dom didn't want to leave really. There was something about this girl that had captured his attention and no girl other then Letty had. But Letty was long gone so it was okay that Courtney had caught his attention, wasn't it?
"I'm sure; you should get some sleep,"
Dom stood and left her. Courtney sighed as once again she was alone. She knew it was for the best. Dom wouldn't want to be anywhere never her once he found out the truth…
Finding Home