Set Me Free (Spamano)

eight

My phone wakes us both up. It's ringing. We're both still on the couch, his arm wrapped around me. When the phone starts ringing like crazy, Antonio groans.

"Lovi, love, can you turn that damn thing off?"

I, still bleary-eyed and tired as fuck, struggle to pick my phone up off the coffee table.

"Ciao?"

"Lovi," Marcello's voice says shakily, "ciao."

"Fratello, is there something I can do for you? You woke me up, dammit."

"Lovino," he whispers, and I can tell something is wrong.

"Marcello, are you okay?"

There is a long, long silence. "So I went to the doctor's today." The tone in which he says it causes a heavy rock to drop in my stomach. I don't say anything, I just wait for him to continue. "And it turns out... um... I have cancer, Lovino."

"What? How bad? Where?"

"My... my lungs..."

"Like Nonno?"

"Like Nonno."

"But you'll get better, si? You'll be fine."

"Lovino, I never thought you were an optimist."

I feel my throat tighten, and I clench my hand on the phone. "Does Feli know?"

"Not yet. You know how he gets, si?"

"Si, but he needs to know, Marcello, he needs to know-" my voice breaks, and I trail off. I feel Antonio's hand on my shoulder, and I lean into his touch.

"I... I was wondering if you could come."

"To Italy?"

"Si. Si, I need you right now, I need you and Feli, just until..." he's crying, too, now, "just until I die, Lovi, please, I need you here."

"Don't talk like that, dammit!" I practically shout.

"Lovino!" he says quickly. "I do not have the time to argue about this right now, fratello. You'd only have to stay a couple weeks."

"Oh, oh God," I whisper, "oh, God, Marcello, oh God. Yes, we'll come, absolutely."

"Ah... grazie, Lovino. Ti amo."

   My entire body shakes with sobs, and Antonio holds me tightly. He doesn't ask me what's happened, but he rubs his hand up and down my back, mumbling to me.

"I love you," he says, "I love you. I love you."

"My brother, Marcello, he's dying," I whisper, and Antonio's hand freezes on my back for a moment, "damn cancer. Got my grandpa, now it's got my brother."

"Oh, Lovi, I'm so sorry."

"I have to go to Italy. I need a ticket... damn, I don't know if I have the money. Fuck," I sit up straight, feeling Antonio's hand drop off of me. I open up my phone to look for flights. "I think... I need to call Feli. He'll come, too. We can stay with Marcello for a few weeks... oh, God." I dial Feliciano's number, waiting for him to pick up.

"Ciao, fratello!" he says happily.

"Where are you?"

"At the hospital with Luddy! We're taking Gilbert home tomorrow!"

"Are you sitting down?"

"No."

"Sit down."

"Why?"