Beyond the Limit

Need ||VIII

The Moretti family had the special gathering at their home for the celebration of life for Thomas anniversary of his passing. The entire time Geovanni was too lost in thought over what have occurred hours before. She went over every single document that she had been handed by Ethan, all the things he had to go to court. He claimed that he was now fit to be a father and deserved his rights to having custody of Astro after so many years. Geovanni shook her head as she went through everything, it upset her in so many ways. He had already taken so much from her and now he wanted her son? What more would he want, her heart? He damaged it a long time ago. Her soul? She barely had one. Charles had fixed Astro a plate of food and sat him down outside to get fresh air and to be away from everyone who came for the celebration. He watched as Astro ate and placed a few toys on the patio table, he watched as he made voices for the characters and he chuckled to himself admiring the boy. This boy he raised, he thought to himself no one would come and take him from him. Not after he had been taken care of him since a baby, no this was his son and not Ethan's. He gently fixed Astros hair as the breeze was blowing it out of its place, he rubbed his ear a bit and then sighed to himself.

"I'm not letting him have you, I swear." Astro only smiled at him being completely oblivious to what he meant by it. Ethan wouldn't know what to do with Astro, he had no idea what his interests were or what he didn't like or how he wanted certain things to be done. Charles looked into the living room where Geovanni sat staring at all the documents and he sighed knowing she herself was struggling with all of this especially not having seen Ethan in so long. Marc saw the way Charles looked at her and he walked up to him and patted his shoulder.

"I've got him, go be with her." Charles looked at him gratefully, he knew they had some issues to resolve but he was grateful for him offering help. He stood up and shook his hand and kissed the top of Astros head and walked back inside and sat in front of Geovanni on the coffee table. He gave her a small gentle smile while taking her hands into his, she sighed as she finally looked at him.

"I'm so scared. He can't win this can he?" Charles shook his head as he let out a small sigh.

"I wish I had an answer to that. What I can say is we won't go down without a fight."She nodded as she heard his words, he brought her head closer to his and kissed her forehead and then both pressed their heads against each other.

"We're going to be okay." He smiled and nodded. Both went over the documents and Aston came over to them and they all conversed over it, he assured them he'd hire the best lawyer he could find for this. He would not let his grandson go to live with a scum like Ethan. They tried all distracting themselves with the first day of this celebration of life, they joined everyone outside where they all sat down and began to eat. It was nice to hear everyone go around and share their favorite thing about Thomas, it brought a small comfort to Geovanni. Then Aston stood up and clinked his glass with a fork as he gathered everyone's attention.

"Firstly, on behalf of the entire Moretti family were very grateful and honored to have you all here to celebrate the life of our Thomas. Not a day goes by where we don't think of him, but now we know that his loss isn't just a painful memory but a celebration of life. With his passing we've been more involved in mental health institutes and doing everything we can to ensure everyone no matter class or race get the help they deserve." He smiled speaking proudly of the things they've been able to do for others. "We've put together a video of our favorite pictures and videos of Thomas so please take a moment to watch." He spoke and then nodded for them to start the video. They had put up a white sheet for a projection of the photo and video montage. Geovanni watched attentively as each photo passes, each one hurting and warming her heart. What really struck her most was a photo where all 3 of them were crowding around Aston while smiling, that was her favorite photo. If that photo could talk it would talk all about how Aurora tried getting the perfect photo of them for father's day but they were all too alike in joking around and just kept making stupid faces, that was perfect. A small tear trailed down her face and she quickly wiped it clearing her throat as Charles took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. The hole Thomas left in her heart was one that could never be filled no matter how much she wanted it to be. The montage went on for a while longer and at the end it was just a photo of him smiling, that smile that could heal so much. Astro titled his head looking at the photos, he was only 2 when Thomas passed so his memory of him was scarce but in a way he knew he was familiar. When the first day of the celebration ended, Charles carried a very tired Astro to his Marc's bedroom and laid him down on the bed to rest. The whole family met around the kitchen island and looked over the papers that Ethan had given Geovanni, Marc shook his head as he went through it all.