Getting It Together

Open Secrets

Day 1 of the vacation

Florencio pushed the board further out into the water, looking back at the island. The morning had been...Strange.

Florencio had woken up in a new room, the smell of the ocean and breakfast foods in the air. The room was themed similar to his old room, except with more beach-ish decorations and less of his own things. Alejo lay asleep in the twin bed next to him, and Jasper slept in a fold and play that clearly had been brought, seeing as it didn't match the themed room at all. Florencio wondered why someone, presumably Pascal or Beatrice, would ever decorate so garishly. Especially seeing how stuck up Beatrice was.

Eventually, he found his way downstairs and to the kitchen where Pascal and Logan both sat at a small dining table. Pascal said a quick good morning, a tight smile following from Logan.

A couple of hours later they were outside, which lead to where Florencio was now, on a surfboard in the ocean. It was almost surreal. Being outside again, in the water. He had almost thought it would never happen again. It was peaceful out here. Relaxing.

After a while longer, Florencio headed back to the island, finding no one there when he was back. Florencio went inside, looking around before finding a note from Pascal.

Hi! I took Logan for a walk and we won't be back for awhile. There should be plenty to eat for lunch and enough to do! Maybe you guys can explore a little!

Be safe! There are a few different trails to walk, and some berry patches that are safe to pick from.

~Pascal <3

Florencio sighed after finishing the note. Maybe he should look around a little. It would be better than letting his mind go.

Florencio looked through most of the rooms in the house before finding a closet. He found a few bags and started going through them, neatly folding the things in them so he could put them back quickly if someone came.

Florencio finally found what he was looking for, the camera he had seen awhile ago. Why would Pascal's family have so many cameras scattered around? The reason...

No. He couldn't focus on that now.

Florencio quickly put the things back, going back to his room and hiding the camera.

Soon Pascal and Logan were back, Logan was giggly, and Pascal swung their hands back and forth.

After dinner, Florencio took Alejo upstairs, both of them watching Jasper sleep before Alejo himself started to fall asleep on his feet. Once he was ok, Florencio went back to his bedroom, still hearing giggling from Pascal and Logan downstairs.

He quietly closed his door, getting the camera and rolling back through the videos, stopping at one with a focus on Giovonnie drawing on a paper.

The video started to play, and the camera shakily focused on a small Giovonnie, colored paper on the table a crayon in his hand.

"What are you drawing, oreo?" Giovonnie glanced up to the camera, giggling, before focusing back down and drawing more.

"Us!" Giovonnie beams, holding the picture up to the camera.

Pascal focuses on the image, a crudely drawn Giovonnie and Kai, standing next to what Florencio assumed were their parents. At the end of the drawing, Pascal stood next to Giovonnie.

The next video played.

Pascal walked quietly into a hospital room, opening the door as if trying not to wake anyone up. "Gio-oreo? You awake?"

"Passie!" A young three-year-old Giovonnie squealed, bouncing in place in the hospital bed.

"Careful buddy!" Pascal said worriedly. "You'll tear your IV out."

Giovonnie frowns, glaring down at the small needle and tape on his arm.

"I know, baby. Are you okay? Does your head hurt?" Pascal gently placed his hand on Giovonnie's forehead

"Happy baby!" Giovonnie chirps, his lower body wriggling. "Happy baby, happy baby!"

Pascal laughs.

The next video plays.

Pascal stood in what was clearly a small child's bedroom. The bed was oddly tall, with long bars all around. Giovonnie, five years old at the time, lay asleep inside.

Pascal moved over to the bed and opened it, gently ruffling Giovonnie's hair. "Hey, baby. I'm sorry I got here so late. Sleep tight, oreo."

Florencio hurriedly skipped to the next video. He felt like he was intruding in on something he shouldn't be.

"Say hello to the newest family member!" An unknown man says, holding a glass up to the audience behind the camera as a teenager stepped forward.

"What's your name dear?" The voice of Amelia's mother asks from behind the camera.

"Samson."

Florencio skipped to the next video.

The camera blurred as it zoomed in on a young Logan sitting in a library. He had a stack of books next to him and was writing in a binder. He glanced towards a clock on the far wall and opened his backpack, pulling out what could be assumed as his lunch.

Most of the students left as they realized the time, leaving only Logan and a few other students still there.

Behind the camera a man shouted "Hey!" and Florencio could assume it was directed towards Pascal, because the camera slipped out of his hands, and the recording ended.

Florencio fast-forwarded through more videos, one of the other kids Florencio didn't recognize in almost every beginning frame with Pascal. He stopped on a video that looked like it was shot in a school cafeteria.

The lights were down, almost all of them trained on the little stage.

Florencio sighed as he recognized the kid on the stage.

The camera focused through the lights onto a 13-year-old Florencio. The words that were being said were too quiet for the camera to catch. Florencio was in a costume with a crown, a fake sword on his side. His hair was shoulder-length at this point, but at the time he had thought it matched well with the costume. A young Alejo ran through, interrupting the middle of what Florencio was saying, yelling his own lines over Florencio's.

He fast-forwarded through the scene, reaching the end frame of the lights going up and bows starting.

The camera turned to the side, showing a child Pascal, smiling and jumping in his seat. "What did you think, Pascal?" Beatrice's voice came from the camera and He turned to face his mother.

"It was amazing momma, I didn't know he was so good!"

Right. When Florencio was thirteen, he hadn't chosen his new name yet. And still, Pascal was using the right pronouns.

The video ended there, on Pascal's smiling face.

Tears dripped onto the camera. Florencio hadn't realized he was crying.

The door creaked open and Florencio watched Pascal step into the room.

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