Chapter 369 Rolled Over and Showed the Belly

Chapter 369 Rolled Over and Showed the Belly
As soon as they were in, they heard the butcher replacing the pallet over the top of them, covering up any signs of a tunnel entrance.  They were sealed in.   Lou took a minute to ground herself.  She couldn’t see anything but her body moved as if she’d done this before.  She reached out her hand to her right and felt a cold stone wall.

“Thank you so much.” 

A young woman’s voice said softly.

“Link hands but keep your right hand against the wall to your right.  Stay quiet as you can, we don’t stop for nothin’.” 

Lou felt Dominic‘s hand reach out and find hers, giving her a small tug and pulling her into his chest.  

“Tell me if your leg is hurtin’, Cowboy.”

“I’ll manage.  Lead the way if you feel pulled, we will follow you.”

He opened their palms and put the scalpel between them, linking his fingers with hers again, enjoying the fire that leapt up their arms at the touch.
They began moving forward.  It was slow going in the dark but so far, it was smooth.  She heard faint grunts and deep breaths coming from Dominic and knew he was in pain, and just wanted to wake up at this point so his leg didn’t hurt anymore, hopefully his theory of him not actually getting it while he was in the dream worked out and he didn’t wake up in pain.   

They walked for what felt like thirty minutes, having to take a few moments break every hundred yards or so for Dominic to catch his breath.  As they started walking again, she heard Dominic’s voice close to her ear.

“Something tells us we’re almost there.”

Lou squeezed his hand, signaling that she heard him. She was still leading them with her hand along the wall, just following the bends and turns in the pitch black.  

“I hate that I can’t see nothin’." 

“I know but something tells me you’ve done this a lot.” 

Dominic’s confidence gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest.

Suddenly Lou stopped walking, feeling a weird sensation that she should tell the other’s goodbye.  She turned in the dark to speak to the three runaway slaves they were walking with.

“All right, y’all put your hands on the wall, keep them on the right side.  You go left, you get lost.  Link hands, don’t get separated.  We gotta leave you here but you keep going and don’t stop for nothin’ and you’ll get above that Mason Dixon.  Once you get to St. Louis, keep movin’ North, someone will be there for you.”

They reached out in the darkness, embracing Lou and giving her their thanks.  As they continued walking, Lou reached out again for Dominic’s hand, finding it with feel, and they started walking slower than before, the scalpel clutched tightly between them. They walked in silence, neither really knowing what to say, both too focused on finding the way out.  Lou took another step, her hand steady against the wall when she felt a weird pull. She turned around to say Dominic’s name and suddenly her eyes opened. The sun was shining. She was laying in her bedroom. She sat straight up and gasped, feeling her breath coming in shallow pants. She was starting to hyperventilate.   That was the wildest thing she’d ever experienced.  She felt something in her hand and looked down.  

“Fucking hell!”

She yelled as she saw the silver scalpel with the rubber tip over the sharp end in her palm. She screamed and threw it across the room, it bounced off of the wall and landed with a clang as she scrambled to her bedside table and grabbed her phone, immediately calling Dominic. He answered after the first ring.

“Lou, are you okay?”

“Dominic, the scalpel, the dream, it was real…it happened…mother of pearl your leg!”

“Calm down, Lou, take a deep breath.  Yes, it was real, we dream walked.  My leg is fine, not even a scar or mark.”

“I woke up and the scalpel…it was in my hand…red rubber tip and everything.”

“I’ll be wanting that back, you know.”

“Wait…what?”

“The scalpel, it’s a momento of the night we met.”

“You’re oddly calm about this, Cowboy.”

“I’m trying to figure out why you’re freaking out.”

“Because we just went back in time in a dream, Dominic!”

“Yea, a lot of people do that.  Hell, our closest friends do it all of the time.  I think Nial and Kirstin turned it into some weird sex thing they do…”

Lou was up and pacing, muttering to herself and trying to calm her breathing.

“Okay, so they’re not nuts…or maybe I’m nuts…we can rule out a stroke, I can tell the time.  Am I having a fever dream?  Did I hit my head.”

“Geez, Dragon Lady, you’re really amped up about this.”

“Dominic, I’m jumpier than a frog in a hot skillet.  I think I’m fixin’ to be sick.”

“Give me thirty minutes, I’ll bring you breakfast and we can talk.  Call Kirstin, she’s the expert here.”

“Okay, I’ll text you my address.”

“That’s cute, Lou.”

“Wait…what?”

“Docket, remember.”

“Of course, you’ve known where I’ve lived this entire time, haven’t you?”

“Are you mad?”

Dominic sounded sheepish.

“I’ll see you soon, Cowboy.”

Lou wasn’t mad at all.  She just wasn’t about to tell him that she found the idea of someone knowing things about her but respecting her and not threatening her with the knowledge made her feel…special in a weird kind of way.  The man had an entire folder of her life and he still asked her questions, eager to know every little thing there was to know about her.  Lou felt wanted.  That kind of focus was sexy and flattering, in her opinion.  She sat down on the end of her bed and dialed Kirstin’s number.

“Hey, Lou, it’s 7 AM…everything okay?”

“You sound more awake than I expected, Dr. Death.”

“Yea, well, morning soul mate sex turns you into a morning person…anyways, what’s up?”

“I believe you.”

“About the sex?”

“No, well I don’t know about that.  But about the dream walking.”

“Oh, please…do go on…”

“You sound happier than a pig in shit.”

“Because I knew this phone call was coming, my friend.  Soul mate shenanigans, remember.”

“I’m going to need every ounce of research you’ve got on this, first of all.  But, we dream walked last night, I guess, and he told me my scalpel was the anchor.  When I woke up this morning from the dream, I was suddenly holding it…that isn’t possible, Kirstin.  He’s had this scalpel at his house for weeks.  He even put a rubber tip on it because Rueben’s evidently homicidal.”

“He’s such a good daddy.  But, Lou, again…”

Lou cut her off.

“If you say soul mate shenanigans again I’ll scream.”

“Okay, I won’t say it.  But that’s what it is.”

“What do I do?”

“You stop fighting it.”

“Why?”

“Because somethings are just bigger than us.  Somethings know more than us.  The more we fight it, the harder we lose.  Let yourself win, Lou.”

“I’d argue I’ve spent most of my life chasing some wins.”

“Yes, and you’ve won a ton.  But, there are some areas where you refuse to even play the game so there isn’t a chance to losing.  You’re choosing solo sports when you should be playing as a team.  Every center midfielder needs a forward to pass to.  Every goalie needs a defender in front of her.”

“Those were…oddly impressive soccer examples.”

“Hey, I pay attention!”

“What if it’s not what you think it is?”

“How do you confirm a patient has a shredded spleen when the picture is murky?”

“I go in and see for myself.”

“And how do you know that’s what’s wrong even though you can’t see it?”

“With the bits of evidence I have and, honestly, my gut feelin’…son of a bitch.”

“Welp…”

“You and your damn relatable examples.  This really chaps my hide.”

Kirstin laughed and told Lou about how much resistance she had at the beginning and even told her to ask Nikki about it since she fought it as well.  Finally, Lou pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath.  

“Fine, but only because I refuse to believe I’m having mini strokes.”

“You’re not.  I promise.”

Lou said good bye and went to pee and brush her teeth.  She stepped back into her bedroom and looked at herself in the mirror.  Her hair was a wild mess around her shoulders and down her back and she had no idea what to wear.  She hadn’t realized how long she’d talked to Kirstin on the phone when she heard a knock on her front door.

“Fuck!”

She yelled as she grabbed a tshirt and soccer shorts before running into the living room to open the door, throwing her hair up in a messy bun as she opened the door to a nervous looking Dominic carrying coffee, a bag of breakfast that smelt divine, and Rueben strapped to his chest in a baby carrier.
The second she saw him with the adorable racoon her tension melted away and she burst out laughing, eventually wiping the tears away from her face as she tried to regain composure.

“I’ll have you know he’s here as for emotional support and he doesn’t take kindly to being laughed at.”

Dominic said as he set everything down on her kitchen counter.

“Your emotional support, or mine?”

“Both?”

He set Rueben on the ground and he immediately ran over to Lou, squeaking as she sat down on the kitchen floor and let him crawl into her lap, giving him a hug and scratching behind his ears.

“You look nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin’ chairs.”

Dominic fidgeted with his hands and looked at his feet.

“Yea, well, you’re suddenly very calm.  Did you talk to Kirstin?”

“She talked, I more so hollered calf rope.”

Dominic tilted his head to the side.

“Not going to lie, Dragon Lady, but you got me on that one.”

“It means I rolled over and showed her my belly.”

“You mean you gave in?”

“I guess.”

“So…what does that mean?”