Autophobia

15| welcome to the family

Zino's a dad? I'm so confused, I thought to myself as I made my way off of Elio to walk over to Zino as Elio pulled himself up using my hips. It's safe to say that it isn't easy to lift a 6' foot 2 man just by my waist but we'll blame it on my socks slipping on the floor. 

"Hi sweetheart, what's your name," Elio asked, softly approaching the girl. It was so weird to see this side of Elio, the only kid I've really seen him with is Mateo, and even then he's not as young as this little girl. Thinking about Elio being good with kids sent butterflies swarming to my stomach, trying to break free - it was so sweet.

"My name is Gaea," The little girl said in a joyful tone, holding her own hands and rocking on the balls of her ankles. 

"That's such a pretty name," I smiled at her.

"You're very pretty and your hair is very fluffy," Gaea replied coyly. 

"Well I think you're eyes are very pretty, just like your daddy's," I looked up to smile at Zino who breathed out heavily and ran his hand through his dark brown hair. 

It was true, they both looked very similar so there was no doubt about who her dad was. They both had the same grey eyes that you could get lost in, they both had dark brown locks but where Zino's went to his ears covering his forehead in a wavy disheveled way, Gaea's flowed down to the small of her back. The only clear difference between the two was their complexion, where Zino had a warm ivory appearance, Gaea had more of a warm beige look, but both were flawless, Gaea's cheeks were sprinkled with light freckles and they both shared their dimples - like father like daughter. 

"Well I like your pajamas," Gaea added competitively, to which I just laughed.

"Well I may have a pair that will fit you if you want to follow me," I replied, bending down to her height and offering to take her rather small, suitcase. "It'll give you're daddy and Uncle Elio some time to have a little chat and I can introduce you to everyone," 

"Okay," Gaea said nodding cheerily, taking my hand and passing me her bag.

Z I N O

So many thoughts were rushing around in my head at that moment, what if I wasn't good enough? What if I couldn't be the dad Gaea needed me to be? What if I failed her? What if she didn't like me? I started to hyperventilate as Elio wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leading me out into the cold and shutting the doors behind him. 

"Deep breaths Zino, in and out," He soothed. I did as he instructed and breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth, slowly gaining control over my oxygen levels. 

"I have a daughter Elio," I stated like he wasn't aware of the current situation. 

"I know Zino, talk to me," Elio comforted.

"She's four Elio, I've missed four years of my own daughter's life," I replied, running my hand through my dark brown hair in pure exasperation. "What if she hates me? What if I can never be good enough for her? What if she doesn't want to live with me?" I could feel my eyes gloss over. 

"Zino listens to me," Elio said abruptly, putting both of his hands on my shoulders, shaking me out of my negative thoughts. "You didn't know about her, that's not your fault and Gaea knows that, okay? We'll take it step by step and everything will be okay, lo prometto, fratello." Elio reassured, smiling softly. [I promise, brother.] 

"Bring it in," Elio added, taking me into a large embrace. Even though he was only two inches taller than me, it seemed to make a lot of difference when we hugged and I loved when we hugged. He's always been such a good friend and an even better brother, he was so protective when it came to his family.