In The Spotlight - Solangelo

Chapter Thirty Three

I clung onto Will as we sat in the waiting room, just letting the tears pour out. My Dad was gone. He was really gone. And I couldn't help but feel like it was my fault. If I hadn't ran away, he wouldn't have come looking for me, and if he didn't come looking for me, he wouldn't have got attacked. Now he was dead, and there was nothing I could do to fix it.

Sure, he wasn't exactly the best Dad, but... I still loved him. He didn't deserve to die. Not like that. Just before he left the world, he said that he accepted me, and he said that he was happy for me and Will. Our argument was over the moment he disappeared. It wasn't fair. Life isn't fair.

Will's Dad came up to us, and sat next to me. "Are you alright, son?" he asked.

"Yeah," Will and I said, simultaneously. We looked at each other, and cracked a smile. I was still sad, but... Will and his family made me feel slightly better. And I had actually responded to his Dad calling me son - that surprised me. I suppose over the last couple of days I had started seeing him as a kind of father figure.

I pulled away from Will, and sat up straight in my chair. "This... this isn't the first time a family member has... has died. I'll be fine, I-I think..."

Will's Dad nodded. "That's good. I'm sorry to hear that, though... Do you want to talk about it?"

I shrugged. "I mean... I may as well. You'll find out sooner or later." It had been a couple of hours since Dad had gone, so I had started to calm down. "My, um, my Mum died when I was still young. And my sister died a few years ago. I'm mostly over that now, though. I never really knew my Mum, since she died when I was so young. And Bianca... well... I've accepted that she's gone. But Dad..."

Persephone came into the room, and sat down opposite me. "Hey, Nico, I know that I'm not really... I'm not really your family, you don't see me as your Mum or whatever, but... Please come back home. I'm going to be living there with Hazel, and, well... You should come back. Unless... Unless you have somewhere else you can live. I understand if you don't want to live with me."

I looked at Will, then glanced at his Dad. Both seemed to be sending me a silent message - I could stay at their house if I wanted to. My suspicion was confirmed when Will's Dad told me I was welcome to stay there. To be honest, the offer was tempting. However, I knew I was being unfair when I thought to myself that I really didn't like Persephone; sure, I was angry at Dad for getting engaged to her without even talking to me, but she wasn't a bad person. I wanted to give her a chance.

I took a deep breath, and announced, "I'll come home. A-and, uh, live with you, Persephone, I guess. But don't expect me to call you 'Mum'."

Persephone smiled. "Thank you, Nico." She looked at her phone. "Um... We should probably get going. I left Hazel alone at home, so we really should get back."

I nodded and stood up. "Ok. Uh, bye, Will, and, uh... Mr Solace. Th-thanks for coming with me." They stood up as well, and, after saying our goodbyes, they left for home. Persephone and I got into her car, and we too drove home. Hazel was waiting for us on the stairs, just behind the front door.

As soon as I stepped inside, Hazel launched herself towards me and enveloped me in a huge hug. "Nico, you're back! I missed you so much!" She stepped back, and cleared her throat. "Um... Is Dad ok?" she asked Persephone.

Persephone hesitated, debating with herself whether or not to tell Hazel what happened. A tear forming in the corner of her eye. "He, uh, he... I'm sorry..."

Hazel understood immediately. "He's... He's gone?" Tears rolled down her cheek.

Persephone nodded. "Um... How about us three go out for dinner tonight? We can get to know each other a bit. And, well... I think we all deserve it. After... After what we are going through right now."

And with that, we left the house to have dinner. I hadn't gone out for dinner in years. And, for once, it actually felt like I was part of a family. My real family. Even if neither one of my parents was here, and my actual sister had been replaced... It was nice.