Crystal Clear

Chapter Thirty One

MOE

Between yesterday and today, it feels like a polar opposite. I mean, I really can't believe it. I just don't understand why I let the one thing I don't have; affect everything I do have. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

And with that kid man, Tony. I'm ready to beat his ass. Thank goodness he walked out when he did or the whole house could've been ripped to shreds.

I left Gabby's house with Joe a few hours after everything went down. Luckily, I got to have a day off. Dave closed the shop since he was at the hospital.

When I finally get home, my mom is home and she starts asking me about Gabby.

"Did she like it?" my mom asks curiously; I raise an eyebrow.

"Does she like our family? What does she think of us? Did she have a fun time here?" This family just loves to talk.

"Yeah ma. She's fine. I think she really liked it here too," I tell her. Then Chuckie comes bursting through the doors so loud.

He smiles.

"Yo, you don' guess what I just did son,"
"What'd you do man?" I don't actually care, but I have to ask.

By this time, my mom went back to the kitchen and is making her meat and rice dish, a classic. Chuckie tells me to come upstairs to the bathroom. So, I do. He lifts his shirt up.

"Damn!" I whisper-shout, he looks so smug and proud of himself.

"Yeah, yeah, you like it?" he questions. It's a huge tattoo of a sun with a knife in the middle. It looks pretty impressive. And red.

"Yeah man. Bro, you wanna play some soccer? Are you gon show it to ma? She'll flip yo," I ask him, he nods.
"Smart kid," I say sarcastically.

"And nah we'll probably get some girls at the lake if you know what I mean, do you mind if I use it?" I shake my head no. "Fine by me," I shrug.

We shake hands in our brotherly way.

"Thanks, yo," he says and goes out of the bathroom, to his bedroom. Then I go to my room and decide to call Gabby.

"Hello," she says softly.

"Hey. It's me,"
"I'm sorry. Can we please not talk about anything from before?" she begs.

"Yeah, sure," I tell her.

"Thanks. You're the best."
"I know. Anyways, I was thinking maybe we can hang tomorrow."

"That's totally cool with me," she says back, if I don't say so myself, that sounds a bit too fast of a response and I think she realizes it too.

Tomorrow I want to invite her to my last football scrimmage of the summer, then for the rest of August I'm off from camp. I can spend all my time with her, if that's what she wants.

I refuse to admit this publicly, but it really takes a lot of hardcore love to love Gabby Graise.
You know as well as I do that, she's so goddamn dramatic.