Birthday: February 24, 1988
Gender/Pronouns: cis-male, he/him
Length of time in Seattle: 15 years. Left to travel and has been back a couple hours
Faceclaim: Alexander Koch
tws: neglect, abuse, PTSD, death, drug abuse, violence, grief
Life on the streets of Italy isnāt easy and when youāre a child of a parent who struggles with substance abuse it makes it harder. Much, much harder. Domenick didnāt know anything other than the world his mother thrusted upon him and at such a young age heād know they werenāt well off. He knew surviving off scraps and sleeping wherever they werenāt trampled on by the pedestrians set them apart from the rest of the world. But when youāre an uneducated child who is seen more as a lost cause. A burden. What else can you do other than cling to your mother who brought you into this world? A mother whose belly started to grow slowly and shared the news heāll be an older brother to a little brother or sister. Heād touch her stomach and feel the little kicks which came while she was too strung up to keep her eyes open. As a child he didnāt realize the danger she placed on the growing baby by continuing to give into her habit.Ā
After Pasquale was born he took to them in a flash. He cared for the new baby and made sure he was warm and kept away from harm, something he struggled with at the age of 6 but Domenick loved little Pasquale with everything in him. To make sure their mother kept him fed proved to be a challenge and sheād disappear for days on end while young Rossi brothers huddled in a corner as they awaited for her return. During one of her stays with them, as it felt more like visits than anything, Domenick tried to wake her to feed a crying Pasquale. He tried and tried and tried and when she didnāt rouse he realized sheād passed on due to the syringe which remained in the crook of her elbow.Ā
Life on the streets just got harder. Because even though their mother was a junkie she could provide for them in a way that Domenick couldnāt due to his age. Now theyāre on their own and he has to make sure to protect Pasquale from the harsh world thatās been forced upon them. That there isnāt another soul thatāll care of them.
That they are on their own.
In the beginning Domenick would quickly clear unattended tables after people finished their meals to gather whatever his little hands could grab. He was chased off countless times but there was always at least something substantial to feed Pasquale, and himself if heās lucky. In order to keep themselves somewhat presentable to pass through the streets of Milan, Genoa, Verona, Padova; Domenick would nick clothing from donation bins and find little spots with clean running water to bathe themselves. Thankfully they happened upon a cathedral which allowed them to rest. Itās one of the first times in Domenickās short life heād been able to sleep soundly without fear of something harming him or Pasquale in their sleep.Ā
Domenick didnāt know where to move from there. Theyāve hit one city after the next and it feels like theyāll continue to travel aimlessly until where? Where is the goal home? Is there such a thing as home for them? Are they destined to be an afterthought in a world that never wanted them in the first place?
As they sat close together, Ale in the jacket he used to sleep in against Domenickās chest a few short years earlier, a man approached them. The owner of a nearby shop theyāve slipped into a couple times to take a few things to ensure their continued survival. The man seemed kind enough and welcomed them into his home located above the shop. It started as a saving grace but what appeared as hopeful on the surface turned into a living nightmare.Ā
Many of those 6 years in that situation were forcibly pushed away, anything to save whatever sanity Domenick has left. He felt helpless and defeated. They keep running and running and now have a place which provides everything needed. With a price. But when Domenick discovered heās not the only one hurt in this arrangement he started to steal money from the man who took them in. To prepare them to get the Hell away from him. Away from this country. That nothing good can come from staying in Italy.
Just as when he felt he saved enough for the both of them to escape, Pasquale came to him in a terrible way. This set Domenick off and he found the man who harmed his brother, a man heās encountered in the past, and went ballistic on him. At the age of 16 heās grown strong, lean, relentless and cold. He went after the man and didnāt stop until he was pulled away, his knuckles bleeding and the man a slumped mess on the ground. Did he kill him? Domenick didnāt care.Ā
When Domenick came to later, unaware heād fallen and hit his head after they pried him away from the despicable man, Pasquale was there. Holding his hand. They remained that way until the police intervened and separated the boys.Ā
During their 2 weeks apart Domenick stayed in a home for troubled teens. The others let him be however they talked about him openly due to the violent nightmares which plagued his sleep. Nobody wanted to be near him and he couldnāt blame them. Heās unwanted. His mother loved him enough, he supposed, and with Pasquale gone then whatās left for him? Domenick retreated within himself and kept that way since at the time he didnāt think heād see his little brother again.
Against all odds he and Pasquale were reunited and a whirlwind of events transpired shortly after with the Rossi boys discovering thereās been family all this time. That theyāve been alone in this world fending off every shit situation thrown at them and they had actual family. This left Domenick bitter, not towards this new-found family but their mother. She knew they could have a home and kept them on the street because of her decisions. He doesnāt care, itās an illness and one she suffered until her death. He cares because Pasquale couldāve avoided this life. His little brother could have avoided the ugliness of their reality. One he couldnāt protect him from.Ā
When their motherās sister, who lives in Seattle with her husband, offered to take them in Domenick felt there must be a catch. Who would voluntarily take in these 2 damaged boys? Yet, they were flown to Seattle with the few belongings they own, Domenick still carried his motherās ID even though he still resented her for everything.Ā
Life with their aunt and uncle took adjustment. A lot of adjustment. Domenick kept waiting for the day sheād tell them itās not working and they need to go back to Italy. He didnāt unpack his few belongings for close to a year and didnāt bother to open to others or make friends even longer. His jaded view of the world kept Domenick cold to everyone other than Pasquale. He made sure to be there to hold him and keep strong whenever his little brother felt too overwhelmed by their new surroundings.Ā
Domenick was close to 21 when he managed to hold down a job for longer than a few weeks and as much as he doesnāt want to admit it heās grateful for his auntās patience. Through this job he made a couple friends and slowly began to feel what normal is. However, he always made sure to keep close to Pasquale and didnāt move out of the house until his 25th birthday; around the time his little brother was kicked out of the house. By then he saved enough money, not including what he stole from that abusive monster back in Italy as that was confiscated, and rented a small apartment nearby. He knew Pasquale suffered from the horrors of their childhood, things Domenick goes through as well. A therapist his aunt took him to a few years ago has helped him to a degree but heās blocked or locked away too many repressed memories he fears a time will come thatāll thrust them forward in an unforgiving wave of madness.Ā
There are sleepless nights when Domenick thinks of Pasquale and how he fears heās heading down a similar path as their mother. Itās a life he desperately tried to shield from him but it managed to take hold of his little brother. Domenick didnāt want to talk to Pasquale about these worries but heās the only thing that matters to him in this world and doesnāt want to lose him. Thankfully when his little brother started on his path of sobriety,Ā glad he found someone who can help him through it, Domenick felt he could breathe a little easier. That is until they lost their aunt around that time. Her death rocked the Rossi brothers and their uncle. The woman which drove them to be strong and know that they can achieve whatever they put their minds to. The first voice of encouragement and love they received when they were made to feel disposable. Worthless. They struggled after losing her but managed to pull themselves together because thatās what she would have wanted. Does this mean it was easy? No, it wasnāt. But they had to try. For her.
A couple years into Pasqualeās sobriety Domenick decided itās time to travel. To actually see the world and not fear for his safety while moving from one place to the next. He used money saved from work, birthdays and a generous donation from their uncle. Domenickās never been given a chance to truly live and this is a good place to start. It doesnāt mean heāll need to leave Pasquale behind for the time being but heās in a good place with his life. So why not now?Ā
During his travels Domenick bounced from one country to the next. All he had to his name was whatever he could fit into a backpack, something heās grown used to since he was a child. He came across many people, cultures, experiences, food, etc. The kinds of things he thought were out of his reach. A dream. Itās when he finally started to feel heās able to enjoy life and realize itās beautiful. That what was thrown at them was shitty but there is a way to find beauty in it as well. Of course, thatās easier to see now heās been away from the streets for over 15 years.Ā
As Domenick walked the streets of Milan, the last stop during his travels, he recognized a few places that he called home for a few nights to a week. It hurt his heart to see these places again but it wasnāt until he came upon the alley where he said goodbye to their mother, Pasquale, only a year old at the time, that he broke down. Years worth of emotions bubbled forth and there was nothing Domenick could do to stave it off. He openly cried in that alley, glad to be tucked away from the passing people. To be alone in his grief. His anger. His shame. His everything.Ā
Heās ready to go home. To Seattle. To Pasquale.
+ Protective, Resourceful, Selfless
DOMENICK IS PLAYED BY JESS 2.0
