SINBOUND

XII

We were near landing. Me and Enzo had talked in very hushed voices, not letting anybody else know that the dude was actually speaking to me. At some point we just stopped talking and watched a movie with headphones in not to wake Ares up, who had somehow slept through the whole plane ride.

When we unbuckled our seats and got up, Enzo smiled at me and put his fingers on his lips and made a shushing sound. I smiled and nodded. Our little talking session would stay between us only.

I decided to just carry Ares instead of waking him up. I'd rather him sleep and dream peacefully than worry about his own mother's funeral all day.

We were at the hotel when he finally woke up. Because it was pretty late, the funeral was to start in about two hours. It wasn't until we were getting ready that I realized we didn't have anything formal to wear.

Might not have liked my mother but that doesn't give an excuse to be disrespectful, so we couldn't show up in casual clothing.

I was practically panicking when Armani knocked on our hotel room door. I opened it and his head peeked in.

"Hey—" he cleared his throat, "Hey. I have, some uh, clothes for you guys. You don't have to wear it but take them anyways."

He handed me two hangers with black fabric hanging off of both of them. I smiled appreciatively, knowing my voice would waver if I talked and shut the door in his face. I leaned back and looked at the clothes. 

A modest black dress for me and a small tuxedo for Ares.

My eyes became wet with unshed tears and I gave Ares his suit. He ran to the bathroom to change as I quickly changed into the dress.

It went down to my ankles but still gracefully clung to my body. It was simple, just black but silk and clearly expensive. It hung off my figure perfectly and I put on some black heels to pair. I slicked back my hair into a bun and put some earrings on.

Ares came out and the sleeves were a tad bit too long. I didn't know how to tie his tie and we were frustratedly trying to figure it out but I gave up, near crying.

I can't do this shit right now.

I grabbed his hand and led him out of the room, dragging him to the living room. Everybody, yes everybody, was sitting there.

"Will one of you help Ares with his goddamn tie?! I can't do it because my hands are too shaky and it's too long and it won't tie correctly and it's stupidly expensive so I don't want to mess it up and I just can't do this right now and it —" my voice cracked and my throat hitched so I stopped talking. I knew tears were rolling down my face but I could care less. I just stepped aside and pointed at Ares, who was standing there awkwardly.

Everybody was staring and not really saying anything. Clearly they were shocked. Finally somebody snapped out of it and Riccardo cleared his throat and came up to Ares, gently wrapping the fabric around his collar and fixing Ares' tie.

He got up and sat back on the couch where everybody was still sitting dumbfounded.

Okay, maybe I was being a bit dramatic.

"Thank you!" I sobbed again, grabbing Ares' hand and dragging him back to our room. I combed his hair to the side so it wasn't a mess and polished his shoes before giving it to him. 

When we were finally ready, I grabbed his hand tight and we walked back out, where everybody was waiting in silence. They all wore black suits and looked ready to go.

Nobody said anything as we piled into the car and drove off. Nobody said anything as we reached the service thirty minutes later and got out. Nobody said anything as me and Ares hesitantly walked up to the crowd surrounding her soon to be grave.

So many people. So many familiar faces that stared into our soul as my newfound family stood like bodyguards behind us and their bodyguards surrounding us.

There was a lot of talking and speeches about how much of an amazing woman she was. About how she cared oh so deeply for her children. About how she always tried her hardest as a single mother. About how she was always there for us in her hardest times.

Was she? Was she really? Is this the same woman who barely raised me? The same woman who had sold herself for sex, drugs, and money? The same woman who had made me act as a mother at such a young age? The same woman who had forgotten about her children?

Tears were endlessly streaming down my face. Ares dug his face into my shoulder and started sobbing his heart out. Our 'brothers' and our 'father' looked like they were going to say something but chose against it.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked back at my so-called father. His touch was hesitant and he looked disgusted that he even wanted to touch me but was trying nonetheless.

I shook his hand off my shoulder and looked forward. I couldn't stop the silent sobs that escaped my mouth. I scanned the crowd, looking for a distraction as I gently stroked Ares' hair when I made eye contact with bright hazel eyes I never thought I'd see again. Bright hazel eyes that were staring directly at me, tears brimming in them like my own.

Pops?
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WC: 932
Do you guys remember who this is?!