Vegas, Baby!

6: David and Lukas.

I hadn't heard from Benito in weeks but I honestly didn't mind since that meant that there were no more problems. It was March and the snow had finally melted away. I was currently in my kitchen, packing muffins into a box because I wanted to visit a friend of mine at the hospital. As I was putting the last one in the box, my doorbell rang. Since I wasn't expecting anyone, I furrowed my eyebrows and slowly made my way over to my door. When I opened it, I found Benito leaning against the door frame. Surprised, I stared at him.

"Benito, you need to stop showing up like that." I said, causing him to chuckle.

"Nice to see you too, Sabrina." he responded and pushed himself off of the door frame.

"You always bring bad news, so what's up?" I asked, ignoring what he had said. Since I didn't want him to keep standing in the hallway of the apartment complex, I stepped aside and let him enter my apartment. Benito looked around and smiled.

"No bad news this time. We need some signatures from you and so I brought my lawyer." he said as I closed the door behind him. I frowned because I really didn't want to miss Lukas' birthday.

"Does that have to happen today?" I asked him.

"Uh, I was hoping you would have some spare time today." Benito gave back a little disappointed.

"I wanted to visit a friend at the hospital today, it's his birthday." I told him, walking back into my kitchen. He followed me and stopped in his tracks when the smell of freshly baked muffins hit his nose.

"Okay, no, then go, I'll make an appointment with him for tomorrow or whenever you're free." he replied.

"Thank you." I said, grabbing the box from the kitchen counter.

"Would your friend mind if I come with you?" he wanted to know. There was a lot of hope in his voice and honestly, I was glad he had asked. Lukas was David's little brother and chances were high that he was going to be there.

"I don't think he would mind." I told him. A smile spread across Benito's face.

It always made me sad, when I entered the room Lukas was in. He had a rare form of leukaemia and had been living in the hospital pretty much since he had been a kid. Benito was awkwardly standing behind me, when I handed the box of muffins to Lukas. He looked better than the last time I had seen him.

"Thank you, Sab." he said and smiled widely.

"Happy Birthday." I told him and sat down on the chair next to his bed.

"Who's that?" the boy asked, nodding his head towards Benito who was smiling at him.

"A friend of mine, I hope you don't mind that I brought him." I responded.

"No, it's okay." Lukas told me, opening the box.

"Did your parents stop by yet?" I asked him to which he responded with a nod. He had his mouth full because he had taken a bite out of one of the muffins.

"And David?" I wanted to know. In the corner of my eye I could see that Benito tensed up when he heard that name. We had talked about my ex more and I had told him about how he had been while we had been together. Lukas swallowed his bite and shook his head.

"No, his new girl doesn't like it here." he gave back. I looked at him in disbelief. Lukas looked up to David and I just knew that it broke his heart that the one person he had really wanted to see had not shown up.

"You're kidding right?" I said more to myself than to Lukas. The look on the boy's face said everything that I needed to know. He really had not come.

"Did he at least call or text you?" I wanted to know. Again, Lukas shook his head. Benito was staring at me, I could feel that.

"Ich bring den Mistkerl um!" (I'm gonna kill that idiot!) I mumbled. Lukas chuckled and nodded.

"Funny how my brother's ex cares more about me than he does." the boy said, then grabbed another muffin and started eating. We spent at least three hours with Lukas, playing card games and going outside with him, so he wouldn't be stuck in his room all day. Benito did talk to him and it was adorable to watch him interact with a 15-year-old. Lukas liked him and he didn't hide it at all.

For the third time, I was pressing my index finger down on David's doorbell. I knew that he was home because there was light in one of his windows. Benito had come with me. I needed to confront David about this. My feelings aside, they didn't matter in that moment, but I wouldn't let him treat his little brother like shit.

"Are you sure, you wanna do this?" Benito asked while we were waiting.

"Somebody needs to kick his ass." I responded, pressing down my finger on the bell once more. Finally, I could hear shuffling behind the door and then it opened. A very sleepy looking David stood there and stared at me in disbelief.

"You absolute prick!" I greeted him loudly.

"What do you want?" he immediately asked annoyed.

"It's your little brother's birthday and you miss it." I told him equally annoyed. Benito was standing next to me, staring David down. My ex was a little shorter than him, had blonde hair and blue eyes; he was quite the opposite of him.

"That's none of your business." David countered, rolling his eyes.

"I don't care about you anymore but Lukas has a special place in my heart and I won't let you treat him like shit!" I said sternly. I was furious but was still able to control my anger.

"Who's at the door?" I could hear a female voice come from inside the apartment. A short black haired girl came to view. She eyed me up and down, knowing damn well who I was.

"What is she doing here?" she questioned David, who just shook his head.

"You better get dressed and visit him, otherwise I'll drag you to the hospital myself." I told David, ignoring the girl behind him.

"Lukas is old enough." she responded to that. That was the moment that I almost lost it but for my own sake I swallowed the urge to just jump her.

"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to him." I gave back through gritted teeth.

"I swear, when I get home and Lukas asks me if I talked to you and he tells me that you didn't show up, I'm gonna drag you there by your balls." I warned David who crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who's that?" he asked, focusing Benito behind me.

"Her husband, nice to meet you." Benito introduced himself in a friendly tone.

"Husband?" David questioned surprised. I ignored it, turned around and grabbed Benito's hand.

"Go see Lukas, now!" I shouted, dragging him behind me.

"You better hold that hand tight before he finds someone better too!" I heard David yell behind me. That hit a nerve with me. I could feel tears brim in my eyes but didn't let them fall before I had sat down in my car. Benito softly let go of my hand and pulled me into his chest as I tried to calm myself down.

"He's an idiot." he mumbled. Somehow it helped to bury my face in his hoodie. He had an effect on me that I just couldn't describe; his presence alone was enough to soothe the pain in my chest.