Demons The Series

Chapter 8: Luca's parents arrive

Shortly after Luca and Alberto announced to each other that they were a couple, they crawled under the covers and talked a little bit. Luca told Alberto that he had asked his mom if he could come with him to spend the week with them and his mom said she had originally planned for it to be just him but hoped that he would be able to spend the summer with her and his dad and during those times if he wanted to bring Alberto then he was more than welcome. She wanted this time to be a closer bonding time with her son though.
Luca saw the sad look on Alberto's face when he told him that he wasn't going to be able to go with him this time but every time afterward he could. He could see the hurt in his body language but he tried his best to put on a smile because he knew this was important to his boyfriend to spend time with his parents.

"I'm sorry, Alberto. I tried. I know you will miss me and I will miss you too. We can still text and video chat though. I know it isn't the same but it is at least something. I hope you understand. Mom is trying to make this a bonding time with just me and them."

Alberto nodded and then said, "I understand Luca. I want nothing more than for you to be happy and if this means you need to go spend a week with your family alone to bond with them then so be it. I'm not jealous of your parents Luca. I may be a teenager but I'm not gonna sit here and act childish and say I can't be apart from you for long periods. We are two separate beings and we both have two separate lives."

Luca nodded and then he looked up at Alberto and then said, "Hey, distance makes the heart grow fonder eh?" Alberto smiled faintly and then nodded. He kissed Luca and then turned over and tried to get some rest. He wasn't hungry that much. He felt sick and Luca could tell this too. It made him so sad that he couldn't take Alberto with him but there was no changing his mom's mind, he tried.
A few minutes later, Luca checked to see if Alberto was awake so they could eat dinner but he was fast asleep. Luca kissed him and then slowly crawled out of bed so as not to wake Alberto. He then crept out of the room and into the dining room where everyone was sitting at the table.
Luca told Laurel about Alberto and his being asleep. He told her he was worried about his not eating and whether he still needed his insulin even though he wasn't eating. Laurel agreed and then got up from the table and headed to the basement.
When they got there, Alberto was still fast asleep, sprawled out on the bed as usual. Luca put his CPAP mask on him and then Laurel gave him his insulin before kissing him goodnight and then both she and Luca walked back upstairs to the dining room to eat.
Ian was surfing his phone and Barley was finishing up dishing food onto a plate, and stirring the last bit of milk into the mac and cheese before calling it done to serve it.
He looked at Luca and then noticed Alberto wasn't with him.
"Where is your boyfriend, Luca? He never misses a meal. Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he's okay. He is disappointed and sad that he can't go with me tomorrow and he felt sick so he fell asleep. I asked my mom if he could go with me but she said she just wanted me to go this time as this trip was a week-long chance for her to re-bond with the new me. She told me that she was wanting me to spend the summer with her as well each summer and she said most definitely Alberto could go each time then."

"Well, that sounds good to me. Are you gonna go spend the summer with your mom and dad, Luca?" Barley asked as he sat down and began to eat. Ian looked up at Luca and waited for an answer.

"I want to and Alberto wants to as well so I couldn't say no. I told her we both would love to go and she was happy to hear that."

"That's good to hear. Now tell me how you like the pork and beans in the Mac and cheese. I wanted to try something different."
Luca tried the Mac and cheese and then smiled. "It's really good. Can we save some for Alberto?"
"Sure! I'll save a plate for him." Barley said happily.
Ian cleared his throat and then stood up and then walked over to the couch. He dragged his IV pole behind him like a child with a security blanket.
He sat down and then turned on the TV.
No one says anything about Ian not joining everyone at the table. They know that even though Ian is used to not eating because of the fact he has had a feeding machine for going on 6 years now because of a paralyzed stomach. It still hurts him to see others eating and he can't. They include him at the table because they want him to experience some form of normalcy even though they know there won't ever be.