Aurelio's Dilemma

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR:

After a few seconds of malfunctioning, Aurelio picked the key up again. The door swung open. He flinched and shoved it in his pocket.

"Elio?" Aurelio's uncle said, frowning. "What's going on? Are you okay?" Before Aurelio could answer or so much as move, he gripped his arm and pulled him inside.

Aurelio stood there, soaking wet, clothes and hair dripping. He stared ahead. Motionless. Confused as shit. Behind him, his uncle shut the door then hurried past him into the bedroom. He came back with a towel and handed it over.

Aurelio clutched it. So...his uncle's place. He'd blindly run here. And on top of that, he had a key to his house in his pocket. Reason? Absolutely none Aurelio could think of. This didn't make sense at all.

"Hello?" his uncle, Ian, said. "Take your shirt off and dry your hair. What're you waiting for?"

This popped Aurelio's bubble. Right. The rain had devoured him. He tilted his chin down, staring at the puddle forming under him. Quickly, he took his shoes and shirt off and towel-dried his hair. When he finished, dark brown hair now all fluffed up and messy, his uncle had grabbed a hoodie and sweatpants.

"Found these here," Uncle Ian said. "Go get changed." Stiff like a robot, Aurelio took them from him and started towards the guests' room. "And then," his uncle continued, "you tell me how you ended up like this."

Aurelio hesitated at the threshold. "Why do you have my clothes?" he asked, turning back.

"You probably left them the last time you stayed here a couple days, when your parents went out of town."

Aurelio stared, then nodded, even though he couldn't remember that. Closing the door behind him, he changed into the sweatpants and put on the hoodie. Too hot. So he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. The single bed looked a little too enticing. A little too comfy. Aurelio plopped down on the mattress, burying his face in the pillow. He let out a muffled sigh. Then he turned onto his side and took the key out of his pocket, flipping it around in his hand, observing it. How? Why?

Then he remembered that he'd pretty much created a pool at the front-door. He placed the key back in his pocket, pushed himself up and hurried to the kitchen, only to grab a mop from that corner his uncle stashed all the cleaning supplies in. When he got it, he walked into the foyer and casually started mopping.

"...Elio? Dude, what in the world are you doing?"

Aurelio stopped and looked at his uncle, a male version of his mom. They weren't twins, but they both had an identical set of brown eyes and the same thin lips. "Cleaning," he said, calm and composed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make a mess."

Uncle Ian opened his mouth. Paused on a skeptical breath. Then he closed it, looked at the floor, and stepped towards Aurelio. He held him by the shoulders. "Elio," he breathed. "My sweet boy. That's nice of you, but there's no need. I can do it myself. You realize you look terrible, right? What happened?"

Aurelio frowned. "Yeah, I realize I look terrible. Thanks." He shrugged his hands off, although he didn't mean it aggressively. "I was hanging out with Matt and Leslie and it started pouring when we were heading home. I needed somewhere to stay until the rain slows."

"Aha." Uncle Ian raised a brow. "So you skipped your house and came here? If you were hanging out at the donut shop, then your place is closer than mine."

"Uncle, please," Aurelio said. "Why are you turning this into an interrogation? You're this close to losing the cool uncle title."

Uncle Ian pressed his lips together, unamused. "I like to think I'm the responsible uncle, Elio." He'd gripped the mop but now he loosened his fingers and pushed it back into Aurelio's chest. "Clean your mess, then we'll talk. Maybe even clean the entire house when you're done too. I hope that's cool enough for you."

The playfully taunting tone in his voice made Aurelio smile to himself. When he finished, he returned the mop then came back into the living room, where Uncle Ian sat with his laptop on his knees. The screen was drowning in emails.

Aurelio leant his hip on the armrest of the couch, scuffing the rug with his toe, and only then did he realize his socks were mismatched. "Uncle, you have a spare key, right?"

"Of course. Why?"

Aurelio took the key out of his pocket and held it out. "Because I have it," he said, leaning over, dropping it into his uncle's palm. "I found it in my pocket." Uncle Ian examined the key with a frown. Before the man could speak, or throw questions Aurelio had absolutely no answer for, he quickly continued, "I'm not sure how it ended up with me. Maybe...maybe when I stayed here last time, like you said?"

"That's weird. I remember you returned it back then," Uncle Ian said. "I...Um, thank you, anyway. So much for being the responsible uncle."

"Don't say that." Guilt clogged Aurelio's throat, but it felt out of proportion with the situation. Since when did he feel this much? "You're responsible. And cool. Don't worry."

Aurelio straightened. He should leave now. Craning his neck, he glanced back at his shoes by the doormat. "Thanks for the help, Uncle. I have to go now." He walked to the front door and pressed a palm to the wall as he pushed his feet into his sneakers. When he finished, he looked at his uncle, at those kind eyes. "Take care," Aurelio said while opening the door.

"You take care," Uncle Ian said.

Aurelio stepped outside; the rain had petered out. He walked back along the block towards his house. This time his house, really, though. Into a fenced driveway, over stone pavers that led to a familiar oak front door. He retrieved the key from underneath the flowerpot on the windowsill, then he entered.

He walked past his mom's office, where she'd be working, and made his way to his bedroom. He closed the door behind, leaning against it, breathing out. Today had been...something. Headache all day. Anxiety through the roof. That had to be why his thoughts were so scattered. Yeah. Nothing to worry about. He just needed to shower and chill, so that was what he did. He trudged into the bathroom connected to his room.

When he finished and got changed, he walked out, still not quite knowing what to do. In the corner of his bedroom, next to a large window, there was a stand with music sheets. And near it his violin case. Maybe he should play something. It'd help him relax, and he hadn't practiced yet today anyway.

Aurelio tuned his violin, but the bow was already rosined and ready. Then he played 'On the Nature of Daylight.' One of his favorites. Leslie's favorite. And he continued playing, and he continued ignoring the urge to break something, and he continued ignoring everything that had happened that day.

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a/n: enjoy it while elio still has some mental stability lol

also, i researched a lot but i still couldn't get a stable answer on whether violinists rosin their bow everyday or not😅 so if you have any idea, tell me please!