~Even more Complicated~

**~Gio?~

“Who the f*ck is Gio?” Zach looked back at Alek who had been standing there openly eaves-dropping on the conversation. They made brief eye contact, one confused, the other dazed by the muddled-up situation. Zach looked back at the screen and took a deep breath in with his eyes closed.

“I just want to find her.” he breathed out, a bit frustrated.

“We will.” Alek stretched his hand to pat him on the back but stopped mid-way and took it back. “We definitely will.”

Just then a text came in. He opened it and air was immediately stolen from his lungs, his rate of his heartbeat growing impossible fast. He could hardly take the message in. Tears stung his eyes as he slowly absorbed the words.

Just thought to tell you, your wife is pregnant.

A tear escaped as his inability to process the words dissolved and in a croak voice, he muttered. “F*ck!”

******
Spain, 1976…

Home was nothing but a hooker’s lounge that was never stable. The owner threw them out and took them back in whenever he pleased and since he and his mother were staying in a one bedroom with disgusting duvets, never ending stains of blood and semen, he had to work night shifts at the club to ‘keep him busy’ as he had over-heard his mother telling the owner while he eyed her up like the pervert he was, his mum never complained so, he couldn’t complain. He knew what went on in the room whenever he was at the cemetery.

After his day there and his night shift serving whores and man-whores, calling for room service and sometimes seeing two humans in their bare form, dancing on a bed, as he always called it. He’d seen it all, at least he thought he had, until he was the only one working on a night shift and room service was called to his room. It all felt like slow motion as he watched his mother being screwed up but he could do nothing about it at the age of ten. He bolted out of the room that day, he didn’t want to do the job anymore so he removed his apron and dashed out to the cemetery in the middle of the night. He’ll beg the old man to give him some of the white powder thing again.

He knew some bodies came in a casket and some came in a bag, but what he didn’t know was that some were dropped off at the gate, bare and pale, they weren’t dancing this time, they never moved and then he and the old man would be the one to wrap it in a bag, go off into the woods, dig a hole and bury the body with no grave stone and no remembrance, he knew when bodies where dropped off at night, they go to the forgotten place, whenever he went back to the room and saw his mother dancing with one of the men. He’d take his pillow outside and sleep at the entrance, with his hands on his ears, eyes closed and his knee to himself, teeth clattering as the cold breeze hit him. He imagined dragging those men to the forgotten place himself, that made him smile, that was his peace and it made him sleep.

By 13, he hardly ever saw his mum anymore, the comfort of the old man with his weird sleeping habits, old cottage smelling of rose perfume with subtle hints of liquor and sweat and a white powder always somewhere around his nose or grey moustache felt better than staying in the lounge and constantly seeing people dancing. When it was time for him to submit his salary, he’d put it away on his mother’s vanity table, filled with his mother’s make-up and what-nots, he’ll always kept the money complete. He wasn’t a manipulative child and that’s what made the old man love him.

But then, he wondered why his mum would sometimes come back and start hitting him all of a sudden. He had enough when he was beaten and thrashed till he bled. He ran out, off to the old man’s cottage.

The old man asked him when he had given the truth as his excuse to stay with him.

‘Donde guardas tu dinero? {where do you keep your money}’

‘Con mi mama?(with my mum)’ he had responded as more of an unsure question.

The man nodded, ‘Que paso con los extras que te doy? [what about the extras I give you?]’ The old man raised one of his bushy grey brows and then with a fallen face he answered his own question ‘Con tu mama?(with you mum?)’

The boy shut his lips in a thin line making the man immediately laugh, smoke puffing from his mouth at each ‘Ha’, ‘Mira! Es pore so que me gustas, Gio, no lo eres …eh[See, this is why I like you, Gio, you are not…],’ he scratched his bald head looking for the word. ‘like a Con-man.’ He said. ‘Eres demasiado leal para tu propio bien, hijo. [you are too loyal for your own good, son]. Es admirable, pero…[it’s admirable. But…]’ he sighed and leaned forward dusting the butt of his cigarette in an already full cigarette tray that toppled over the table, then took another puff from it looking at the young boy who had seen too much for his years yet seen nothing at all. ‘Tienes que saber a quien y a quien no ser leal, a veces…[You have to know who and who not to be loyal to, some-times…]’ he paused thinking of a way to put it so the boy would understand, ‘A veces lo aceptas y simplemente no te importa,[sometimes, you take and just don’t care.]’ he gave a brief laugh making the boy smile.

‘Toma esto y hazlo bien, hijo. [get this and get this good, son]’ The man’s eyes turned cold and it made the Gio’s skin crawl in fear, he held his hands up. ‘La familia no tiene precio, pero que es lo que mantiene unida a la familia?(Family is priceless, but what keeps a family together)’ he asked and then answered. ‘lealtad. [loyalty]” he fisted his hands, ‘Eso es lo que las hace una.[That’s what makes them one]. Cuando uno es desleal, [when one betrays,]’ he raised his pinky finger. ‘Ver la espasio?[see the space?]’ he asked refering to the hole at the middle of his finged hand, ‘ya no hay mas familia. [there is no more family.]’ he separated his fingers and dropped them on his lap, ‘En esencia, No puedes ser leal a alguien y e trata como una mierda[You can’t be loyal to someone who treats you like shit]. Daselo a quien lo merece [Give it to those who deserve it.]’

That stuck with him but it didn’t stop him from submitting the extra cash he earned to his mother

###

Finally Update‌d!

I'm so sorry for the inconsistency guys. Pls, do not leave yet.

How's the book going for you all so far?😭😭