Almost Home ~K.C.

My Saving Grace

"Your phone is ringing." Gio says, picking my phone up off the nightstand. I go over and see Adam calling me.

"Hello?" I say, answering the call.

"Hey Becca! How was the fair?" He asks. I sigh.

"I didn't go. My little brother and I got kicked out, so we're staying in a hotel for now." I reply.

"Which one? I'll come pick you guys up and you can stay with me and my dad." He says.

"No no! I wouldn't want to force you into that position. We'll be fine! We can just catch a flight back to Florida." I say.

"No! I did not spend my money on matching outfits, so you could move away! Where are you?" He says. I laugh and tell him the name of the hotel.

...........................................................

Awhile later, I hear someone knock and Adam comes in and helps Gio and I with our bags.

"Beck who is this?" Gio asks as we drive away from the hotel. I look at Adam and smile a little.

"His name is Adam. I met him at the airport while you were sleeping." I reply. Gio nods and we pull into a gated community.

"You live here?" Gio asks. Adam laughs and nods.

"Yep, and so do you." He says. I smile and we pull into his driveway.

"Wow your house is huge!" Gio says. Adam and I let out a small laugh before grabbing our bags and taking them inside. Adam leads Gio to his room and then leaves to take me to mine.

"Here you are! I'm right across the hall if you need me." Adam says. I nod, smiling.

"Thanks again Adam. It means a lot for you to let us move in on such short notice." I say quietly.

"What are friends for?" He replies, smiling. He walks out and I unpack once again. I looked around the room taking in the three dark gray walls and one stone wall. The bed was up against the stone wall, in between two mounted lamps and two night stands. There was a vanity next to the entrance and a television mounted on the wall next to the door that led to the bathroom. The wardrobe was built into the wall, around a large window facing out into the backyard. I sat on the futon that was in front of the television and propped my feet onto the coffee table, before turning on my phone to scroll through Instagram.

"Beck?" Gio says, opening my door. I turn to him and wave him over. He comes and sits with me, cuddling up to me and watching my phone screen.

"What did you need bud?" I ask. He looks up and sighs.

"You aren't going to leave me right?" He asks. My heart stops and I look at him worriedly.

"Of course not Gio! I would never!" I reply, slowly turning myself towards him. I watch as a tear rolls down his cheek.

"I just don't want to be alone." He says, choking on his words. Tears flood my eyes as I pull him into a hug.

"I promise I will never let you be alone, no matter what. Understand?" I say, sniffling between sentences. He hugs me tighter and cries quietly. I feel terrible that he has to deal with all this at such a young age. We continue hugging until my phone rings. I look down and see Alvaro calling.

"What?" I answer, wiping my eyes.

"Where are you?" He asks. I scoff.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm at Adam's house." I reply.

"Look Becca I'm sorry that Rio and I didn't make the effort to fix things between us, but you are just as guilty." He says.

"No, I tried to find your number Alvaro! I tried adding you on social media. I tried to convince dad to let me come to Jersey for vacation, but he didn't want Stacia to turn me against him! I did my best to fix things, but I seemed to be the only one trying. So I gave up. I gave up on Stacia, on Rio, and I gave up on you. I thought of all people, you would make the effort! Turns out, I was wrong." I yelled. Alvaro goes silent. I sigh. "I'm sorry Alvaro. We may look alike, but I don't think we will ever get the bond we had back. You can thank Stacia for that."

"I will make you my sister again Becca. I will do whatever it takes to get our bond back! I'm not giving up on this! You're right okay? I should have tried, but I didn't. However I am now, and if that isn't good enough, I'll try harder. We will be best friends again Becca. We will be siblings again. You won't hate me anymore. I promise." He replies. I smile.

"I look forward to it Alvaro. Until then, bye." I say.

"Bye Becca." Alvaro replies. We hang up and I look at Gio.

"You should get some sleep. I'll be in to tuck you in, alright?" I say. He nods and walks out of my room. I grab a pair of shorts and a tank top and change into them before walking into Gio's room to tuck him in.

"Good night Beck." He says. I smile and kiss his forehead.

"Night Gio. See you tomorrow." I reply. He nods slightly before drifting off to sleep. I walk out and run into a girl.

"I'm so sorry!" She says. I shake my head.

"No no! It was my fault, I should have been paying attention. Especially since this isn't my house." I reply. She looks at me confused.

"Nonsense! If my brother let you live here, then it's just as much your house as it is ours! I'm Adelaide." She says, extending her hand out for me to shake.

"Rebecca, but my friends call me Becca." I reply as I shake her hand. She smiles.

"Well I should head to bed. It was nice to meet you Becca!" She says. I nod and turn to walk away, but I run into Adam and fall.

"Wow I should be more aware of my surroundings." I say, letting out a small sigh. Adam laughs.

"Sorry Becca. I didn't mean to sneak up on you." He replies, helping me up.

"No, it was my fault. I didn't hurt you did I? I don't want to give you a reason to kick us out! Gio has been through so much the past few days, I would hate to make matters worse!" I say, slightly worried. Adam grabs my hand.

"Becca! Chill. Even if you had hurt me, I wouldn't kick you out. Not when you need me the most." He says. I nod and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to bed. It's been a very long and eventful day, and I could use some sleep." I reply. Adam nods and I walk away, getting in bed and going to sleep.