Lost Lombardi

Chapter 24

"So you met your father a few weeks ago? Wow!" Kacper asked Dino at school.

"Yes. It sounds crazy, right?" Dino said.

"Yeah. My biological father is abusive. That's why my mom left him. My stepfather is older than my mom, maybe by about 15 years. My mom married him for his money, I guess. But my stepfather isn't a bad person. He never abused me. He's just not very caring. He only cares about my mom and their new children. He also has kids from his first marriage. His wife passed away," Kacper said.

"Sorry that no one cares about you. I know how that feels," Dino said.

"Don't worry. I'm used to it. I'm glad I'm no longer getting beaten by anyone," Kacper smiled. But it was clear he was sad. He was just trying to pretend to be happy.

Dino noticed the three bullies entering the classroom at that moment. As soon as they saw Dino, they walked past him as if they didn't see him.

"What's with them?" Kacper asked, curious.

"Yesterday, my bodyguard hit one of them for bullying me. I guess that's why," Dino said.

"That's cool. No more bullies," Kacper said, excited.

"Hey, Kacper, do you play any sports?" Dino asked.

"I swim, but I'm not very good at it. I don't think I'm good at anything," Kacper said, and Dino realized that Kacper was very negative about everything.

"Come on, man. Why do you always talk like that? You're even trying to discourage me. If you're not good at it, try harder, you lazy ass," Dino said firmly, and Kacper looked at Dino in surprise.

"But I'm..."

"Don't argue with me. Just do as I say. I think you're just lazy. That's all," Dino said, staring firmly at Kacper.

"O... okay then," Kacper said.

--------

After school, Dino waited for rugby practice. He saw Helio also waiting and gave Dino a strange look. Helio was a handsome guy with new friends who matched his looks.

"Are you lost?" Helio asked Dino.

"No. I'm staying for rugby practice," Dino said. Helio's face changed, showing he didn't want Dino there.

"You think you can play rugby? Look at you. Are you going to play with that body?" Helio teased, and he and his friends laughed at Dino.

"I have no choice. Don asked me to do it," Dino said, sounding disappointed. He knew having trouble with Helio was not a good thing.

"Oh, that control freak," Helio said. Dino wondered what Don had done to make Helio hate him so much, but he didn't ask Helio since they weren't friendly. Dino's only wish was to avoid being bullied by Helio.

"So, this is your lost and found cousin?" one of the big guys asked, tilting Dino's chin like he was examining a child. Compared to him, Dino seemed small. The guy looked around 18.

"Yes, he's the one," Helio said. It seemed Helio had already told his friends about Dino. "He's the one who was in his room naked when we went to surprise him," Helio added, and Dino's mouth dropped in surprise.

"What the hell is wrong with you, you freak? I was not naked. And why the hell are you telling others what I do in my room?" Dino retorted sharply. Helio and his friends laughed.

"He's cute," another guy said.

"Do you want to fight, Dino? If so, I'm ready," Helio said, stepping forward as if eager to fight.

Dino felt upset about how his cousin was treating him. He wasn't foolish enough to fight someone stronger than him, so he walked away while they laughed at him, calling him a loser. Being called a loser was better than breaking some bones at this point. Why crack his bones over a bunch of idiots?

Dino slowly walked away from them.

"Oh look, he's a coward. He's leaving," Helio's friend said.

"He's a coward, just like his father," Helio said, and Dino felt a surge of anger at Helio for saying something like that about his father.

"He's not a coward. Your father is the coward," Dino snapped.

"My father is not a coward. Your mom left you because your father is a coward," Helio said, moving closer to Dino. He was taller than Dino.

"And your father divorced your mother for a younger woman," Dino retorted, and Helio punched Dino. Dino fell, his lip bleeding.

Great, Dino thought.

He didn't want to back down. He knew he couldn't fight Helio. But he stood up and punched back. However, his punch didn't affect Helio the way Helio's punch affected him.

Helio pushed Dino to the ground again, staring at him as if Dino were his arch-enemy. He moved closer, thinking about kicking him.

"What's going on here?" a rough male voice asked, and everyone looked toward the source of the voice. Dino realized it was the rugby coach who looked big.

"No, coach. I just put my hand on him, and he fell on the ground," Helio said with a smirk, and his friends laughed. Helio walked away from Dino.

The coach looked at Dino with concern. "How old are you again?" he asked.

"I'm sixteen," Dino said, standing up. He had endured similar beatings at Johnson's house before, so he didn't worry much about the pain or his bleeding lip.

"Are you sure you want to play rugby?" the coach asked.

"No. But I have no choice. My grandfather wanted me to play rugby because every man in the family played it," Dino said. He had no reason to hide anything. He had already started comparing his body to the boys who had muscles. Not everyone was as big as giants, but they had good shape and strong muscles. Even Helio wasn't a huge guy, but he had strong muscles and was fast.

"Okay then," the coach said, looking like he didn't want Dino on the team but had no choice.

'Why can't I just play tennis?' Dino thought.

Dino went to the locker room to change for practice and saw the tan guy with dark hair inside. He was one of the guys who had bullied Dino on his first day at school. Later, Dino learned his name was Billy Suarez.

"Shit, this guy is here too," Dino muttered, and Billy heard him.

Billy hadn't bullied Dino after Luca threw their friend Nick. Billy, Nick, and Darren had kept their distance from Dino after that incident.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Billy asked, making sure to keep his distance.

"Practicing rugby, like you," Dino said, not looking at Billy.

"Try eating some more protein, maybe," Billy said with a smirk, closing his locker. Dino watched as Billy prepared to put on a t-shirt. Seeing Billy's muscles, Dino felt a sharp pang of jealousy and frustration. It seemed like everyone had muscles except him.

"Yo, what the hell are you staring at?" Billy asked defensively.

Dino felt embarrassed. He hadn't realized he was staring at Billy's body, lost in thoughts about how miserable his life was.

Dino shrugged and walked away. He had many sarcastic replies ready for Billy. But he didn't want to get punched again.

Dino found the first day of rugby practice terrible. He hated every moment of it.