The Sister Between Them

Chapter 10

Rocco did a basic tour of the main areas on the side of the city near them. He didn't go too far into the city because traffic was always too busy, and he wanted to take her places; she'd take Gavin mostly. They visited the coffee shop close to their house first which really appealed to Dani. He encouraged her to go there whenever his good friend Breanna owned it, and he knew she'd take Dani under her wing.

He drove by the strip in case she wanted to shop but didn't seem interested. This girl really was day to her sister's night in every way. She'd already been to Gavin's favorite park, so he showed her the beach, and they had a little picnic there.

They sat and watched the waves for a while and she took some pictures of the ocean. She then showed Rocco and Gavin pictures of her hometown from her phone. Gavin climbed right up into her lap, and she let him hold the phone. Gavin was excited by all her pictures, asked who everyone was, and always pointed Dani out immediately. He loved the scenery and the big mountain pictures she'd taken.

Rocco couldn't stop gazing, his son adored her, and he could see why, she was so easy with him. So warm and loving. Why couldn't Alyssa be like this with her son? He tried not to it irk him, but it did.

"This is your room?" Gavin asked.

"That's my apartment." She quickly shuffled past the picture of the modest, small living room he had been living in. He felt a pang of guilt. He wished he had known she needed help. How long had she been suffering? Neither Alyssa nor her damn mother thought to tell him? Lord knows Katherine had no qualms about asking him for money.

"Is this 'partment to?" Gavin had thumbed back into an unknown folder, and she gasped. The picture was a younger, smiling Dani in front of an old white Victorian-style house.

"Um, no, Gavi, that's a house. That's my old house."

"Oh."

"Why don't we look at those some other time, okay?" she said gently. "We can show your dad the zoo ones?"

"Yay, the manimals!" Gavin cheered.

"Alright I'm excited for those." Rocco said he glanced at her and saw a flash of pain in her eyes. He couldn't help but wonder what happened to her.

**

After a long day outside they went to have dinner at a pizza place outside of the city.

Gavin was thrilled because he loved anything he could eat with his hands. Dani seemed overwhelmed by the sites and places and large  amount of people everywhere. Her face instantly relaxed in the easy atmosphere of the small pizza parlor.

"Wow it smells good in here."

"It's as authentic as you'll find in Sun City, brick ovens and everything."

"So how was your trip to Italy anyway?"

"It wasn't really a trip," he explained. "A family friend passed away."

"Oh my god. Alyssa made it sound... Never mind. I'm so sorry I sounded so insensitive; I didn't know," she said nervously.

"I'm not the terrible person I'm sure she made me out to be," he said earnestly. "I never would have left so soon after Mary, but my grandmother needed me."

"Of course, she did!" Dani exclaimed as those soulful eyes grew wide. "I understand."

"Thank you for everything you did. He had a lot of fun when he could have been really sad and scared." 

"Of course," Dani said. "He had fun, but he did miss you a lot."

"I bet bedtime was tough." Rocco looked over at Gavin who was focused so hard on the pizza that he was pretty much tearing apart with his hands before he ate it. He chuckled slightly and looked back at her.