When That's The Last Hope Left (BxB)

Chapter 3

"I'll go and check it's not too crowded inside, okay?"

Aldo and his big brother Dan were now close to the grocery store entrance.

He was chill and his normal self, trying to make Dan as comfortable and calm as possible, even though Dan was a nervous wreck and almost shook visibly, and not just because of the cold.

Dan nodded and waited outside as his brother went in. He didn't like this at all, he was afraid of being alone outside their home. That was stupid, he knew that, and he had to do this.

There weren't too many people passing him by and soon enough Aldo came back.

"You can do this, bro, I know you can" Aldo smiled encouragingly. "Just promise you'll tell me immediately if it's too much."

"P-promise" Dan said.

When he was nervous and in an overwhelming situation like this, he stuttered. It was ever so embarrassing with everybody else except his brother. With him, he didn't get embarrassed anymore.

Their friendship and relationship was so natural by now, Aldo close to always knew how he felt and would never laugh at him.

This time together they went inside and both took a shopping basket from the pile in the beginning.

There weren't too many people at this time of a Sunday, and realising he wasn't yet panicking as he thought he would, Dan breathed out deeply. It was good to have the first time now.

It was weird for them both to be in the grocery store just the two of them, and especially having to decide for themselves what to buy.

Mum or dad had usually taken care of this, and when Aldo had helped out, he had had a short shopping list with something they missed. And Dan hadn't been out like this for a very long time.

Even such a simple thing as shopping food gave them memories of their family. How on earth would they ever get over this?

They managed to pick the basic food ingredients they knew and some extra with the twenty dollars. The two baskets were filled with simple, healthy and not so healthy things.

Against the odds, these boys were taught and liked eating healthy, and both had done alcohol but Dan didn't like it and Aldo liked it sometimes but never understood really what's the fun in getting drunk.

But to tell the truth, thinking about it, Aldo almost wanted to get drunk right now. Go to one of those parties he was faithfully invited by some friends and get smashed. Just to forget the sorrow, the constant pain and yearning.

The only thing stopping Aldo, was his brother. And he was grateful of him.

He couldn't handle sorrow or these sorts of emotions so well. Unfortunately, he used to show them in form of hostility.

However he did alright with his big brother. He knew better, than to try hide himself from him.

But the visit to the grocery store wasn't over yet.

They were on one of the isles already near the checkout, there was a crash almost at the other end of the same isle.

Or two crashes. Aldo's head snapped at the direction. There was an elderly woman who had just dropped accidentally two glass jars and the crashes were loud.

There weren't too many people around, but Dan's heart took a jump and he had suddenly difficulties to breathe and he began to tremble.

Aldo got to him, not being ever far from him and noticing he was starting to have a panic attack, dropped his shopping basket and took the one in Dan's frozen hand and put it on the floor, too.