Eli Borrelli

34: Goodbyes

The whole day, we went around the city with Eli and Diego pulling us along. We bought them whatever they liked, which Eli was seemingly uncomfortable with, but Diego just thanked us with a huge grin. He was a great kid, and I just knew we were going to see him a lot more. 

While Diego was with us, we got to see a whole other version of Eli. They were kind, bubbly, and open, which was something none of us could've predicted. We learned so much about both of them, it was crazy.

Sunday morning, we were all at the airport, saying our goodbyes. We had made sure, that Diego had a first-class ticket, and that Ms. Williams was in Chicago waiting for him.

Diego hugged us all and whispered in my ear:

"Take care of them for me, okay?"

He looked me dead in the eyes waiting for an answer. I could see the tears in their eyes, and I knew, how important it was to him.

"Of course," I said tears pooling in my own eyes.

He had trusted me with keeping Eli safe.

Diego hugged Eli for a long time, as he cried in their arms. 

"It's okay. You'll call me when you get there, and we'll talk every day until we see again," Eli said fighting their tears.

They kissed Diego's forehead and pulled him to a hug one more time before he boarded the plane.

We stayed at the gate until the plane took off, as Eli just stared out the huge window.

"We'll see him again soon," Gabriele said flinging his arm around Eli's shoulders.

"We fucking better. His birthday is in two months," Eli joked waking up from their trance.

Eli POV.

After Diego left, I felt that familiar emptiness crawl in my chest. Once again, I was alone. That was until, I felt my brother's arm around me, that I was reminded of everyone, that I had, and for once, I actually liked someone touching me.

I knew Diego would be okay. He was going to start school and I just knew he would love it so much and make a shit ton of friends. He had that way to him, where you just wanted to be around him. Ms. Willams was a wonderful woman, who'd do anything for Diego, so I knew he was in good hands. 

All of that scared me. He would no longer need me like he always did. 

After I lost Carlos, I still had Diego. He was so much like his big brother, that I knew, I didn't truly lose Carlos that day. I saw him in Diego every day. He had the same smile, with the same dimple on his left cheek, when he had that cocky grin. He had the same hair, that I always ruffled up. Diego's eyes were a bit brighter, but when the sun hit them just right, they had the same gold.

I wasn't just saying goodbye to Diego. I was saying goodbye to Carlos. 

It was a few weeks after my first suicide attempt. We were once again sitting on the rooftop, smoking 'till our lungs hurt, and our eyes couldn't see through the smoke. We had an empty bottle of bourbon sitting between us, as we laughed at nothing.

The fire before us lit up the dark night and shone its golden light on us. We had gone around the city and collected all the confederate flags we could find. One guy got out of his house in pajamas with a shotgun, as we were driving off, but it was all worth it, as we watched them burn in a gasoline-fueled glorious bonfire.