I'll Always Choose You #Watty's2023

54. Gio

May 12, 2023 ( Gia is 4 months and 20 days old)

After my call with Nico, I re-entered the red room where Gael was still hanging. There was dried up blood all over his body from the cuts and slashes that were made on his bronze skin. You could see faded scars that littered his skin from the injuries he had sustained during his time with the gang.

He was the one person aside from Cordelia that had been at my side after I lost my parents and sister. He was the one that helped me through the pain and anger 16 years ago when I laid my mother and sister down and had been my rock when I lost ny father three years ago. So knowing he was working with the Cobras, a rival gang from Japan, had been a blow to the gut. I trusted him with my life and that of my husband and children and yet he turned his back and helped those bastards attack the den when Nico and my three youngest children were home.

"Hello, Gael," I had greeted him this morning when I arrived at the den. He was pretty busted up from Jonah and Arrow's beatings. He had dark bruises already forming under his eyes from the punches dished out. His lip was busted and bleeding. His nose was broken and bruises were forming around the affected area. There had been a deep cut on his left cheek that had dried up blood on it. His chest and stomach were covered in dark purple bruises from Arrow's punches.

"Gio," he croaked my name and for a moment I was reminded did the small broken child I had met when I was 6 years old. He had lost his parents in a house fire just a month prior to us meeting. His uncle Bobby and his wife, Carol, had taking him in and raised him as their own since. I saw him in the back yard playing with Dax, Bobby's Rottweiler. Curious, I had gone to investigate the new arrival.

"Who are you?" I asked him making the then 6 year old Gael freeze and turn in my direction with wide eyes.

"Uh," he muttered, "Ga-Gael," I nodded with a tilt of my head as I took him in. He was pretty tall for being only 6 years old. Almost a head taller than me and with broad shoulders and short cut hair that showed his unique colored eyes.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled as held my and out for him to shake making him frown, "you always have to shake hands when you meet someone new." I learned early in that shaking hands with strangers and familiar figures was a show of respect. He nodded and raised his hand before placing it in mine. Smiling I added, "my name is Giovanni, but you can call me Gio, everyone does."

He nodded, "nice to meet you, Gio."

From that moment on, Gael and I were inseparable. Our parents called us chaos and havoc because wherever we went, we always caused some kind of trouble.

Now here we were in opposite sides of the room. Pain filled my heart all over again as I stood before him.

"G-Gio," he groaned as he lifted his head and I clenched my jaw as I stared at him, "I would never betray you."

"But you did," I replied as I grabbed a nearby chair and sat down with my arms crossed over my chest, "we all saw your face on the screen when Josh came and you let him through."

"He said he was the Donna's friend," he replied before breaking into a fit of coughing and groaning, "I wouldn't have let him through if I had known that he was working with the Cobras."

I clenched my jaw as I stared at him as he sat on a chair across from me with his arms tied behind his back as blood began to dribble down his busted lip since he had reopened the cut.

"Then how do you explain the video of you opening the gates to one of Kaito's mens?" I questioned making him frown.

"Why the fuck would I do that?" He asked confused, "I hate Kaito as much if not more than you do, or have you forgotten what that bastard did?"