The One I Want

14. The picture in the frame

Matteo's pov

Lunch was nice. Gio ended up not eating the rest of his fries, and so I gladly ate them. I noticed the whole time I was eating, Gio would either look at me, look out the window, or stare into space. The car ride was quiet. It wasn't a awkward silence, it was nice if you asked me.

We made it to his house and I couldn't be anymore happier. I missed his bed, I missed the tv, I missed the warmth feeling of the heat in his home. Gio's currently in his home office, busy with work and he let me go in his room and watch tv.

Taking off the shoes he gave me, I put them neatly against the closet door and took off the jacket he gave me and put it on the closet door handle. I didn't wanna just go into his closet, I don't want him to be weirded out.

Going over to his bed, I gently sit down. I don't know if I should lay down, isn't it weird? Me laying in his bed? Ugh these thoughts keep coming to my head and I just turn the tv on with the remote that's in the middle of the bed.

LMN comes on and my attention automatically gets hooked. The movie is about how a lady faked her pregnancy and tried to kidnap this other lady baby.

Damn. Females are crazy.

I feel a sneeze coming on, so I immediately put my arm out and sneeze into my elbow. My eyes shut, but when they open, I lock eyes with a picture in a frame.

The frame isn't what got my attention. The people in the picture does. It looks like Gio but he doesn't have his full beard that he has now. There's other guys in the picture and they all look happy. Smiles on their faces, and they have their arms around each other.

They look happy.

Going over all the guys, one guy stands out. A man to be exact. He's taller than everyone else, he has grey hair, he's a little bit on the lean side but has some muscles. The man is holding a little girl in his hands and she has her hand on his face while looking up at him.

They look so cute. A true family.

"That's me, my brothers, my dad, and my younger sister." Someone says and I jump. Turning around, I see Gio standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry." I say and look down at my hands. Gio walks closer to me and sits down next to me.

"It's fine. We were a happy family you know? We had it all. Of course me and my brothers were bad and got in trouble all the time, but my dad got diagnosed with cancer. He lived for a year after he was diagnosed, but umm." He stops talking and runs a hand through his hair.

I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Letting him know I'm here.

"My dad and sister was in the car one day. He took her to go get some ice cream after school. When he was driving, a semi truck came out of nowhere and smashed into them. They died that day." I see tears rolling down his face.

I grab him in my arms, and hold him. Letting him pour out his feelings. My shirt feels wet on my shoulder but I don't care. He grips my body tight as he holds me, like he doesn't want to let me go.

"I'm here Gio. I'm here." We stay like that for however long. Me holding him in my arms. Him crying on my shoulder. Me running my right hand through his hair and my left hand running down his back.