Heart and Soul [bxb]

Chapter Forty

"I didn't get them to do it for me," Tony denied.

Abby hummed accusatorily. "Is there a Lying Jar?"

Luca and Frankie shot their dad an outraged look, booing loudly.

Tony turned to his wife, with a look of exasperation. "Look around you, darling. The kids outnumber us by a lot. We need to be a united front."

"I could say the same thing about men in this house," Carter's mom retaliated.

"Yes, thank you, Abby," Bella said. She turned to her right next, and Carter leaned back so he wasn't caught in the crossfire of the glare she was shooting Jack. "Now, what's this about you and Richie grilling Seth?"

Jack rolled his eyes dismissively. "We didn't grill him," he said, looking at Seth who appeared to be trying to make himself look as inconspicuous as possible. "It was just a friendly talk at the end of winter break. Make sure he knows how to treat women."

Carter raised his eyebrows at that. Hopefully, Bella's oldest brothers didn't know of Seth's reputation with girls. Mike, Frankie and Luca probably did, since they all went to the same school. It didn't exactly paint Seth in the most flattering colors. 

Bella glared at Carter and he lifted his hands up in surrender. "Don't look at me. I didn't even know about this," he said. It was true. Seth hadn't told him.

"He passed, Belz," Jack soothed her. "Plus, we also needed to make sure he knew basic self-defense. We were honestly as concerned for him as we were for you."

Frankie and Luca nodded understandingly.

"You are kind of vicious, Belz," Frankie mused.

As though set on proving his point, Bella kicked her brother below the table again. As Jack and Mike laughed, Seth shot Carter a look across the table.

Somehow, his friend had easily slipped right into the Santoro normality. In their truly characteristic fashion, the Santoros had received him open-armed into their chaotic home. And Seth had let himself be taken in. Having him around made it somewhat easier for Carter to feel at home too, and sitting all together at the dinner table felt right.

Frankie and Luca had to clean up the table and load the dishwasher as a debt-relief condition for the money everyone agreed they owed to the Stupidity Jar, after that dinner conversation. Mike went up to his room to study, earning himself a booing chorus from Jack and Bella—and Charlie, who copied them. Tony took his youngest upstairs to bed and then joined Carter's mom downstairs in their room.

When it started getting late, the rest of them went up to their rooms. Jack followed Bella into hers and Seth followed Carter to his. They got undressed in silence and then slipped under the sheets; Carter in his bed and Seth on the camping mattress rolled out on the floor.

"So," Carter mused, supporting his upper body's weight on his forearm to look down at his friend. "This talk with Richie and Jack?"

Seth breathed out a silent laugh, laid out on his back. "I didn't tell you, because I honestly don't think they know how intimidating they look. Kinda felt like a mafia warning."

The thought of Richie and Jack Santoro, both pretty big guys, cornering Seth, who had a bit of a tough guy reputation of his own, away from everybody's eyes, at some point during winter break, was somewhat entertaining.

Carter tilted his head. "Well... I'm not sure what it is Tony's family does in Italy."

"Bella mentioned a farm."

Carter snorted. "A fucking farm?"

"Yup." Seth nodded. "Like wine and cows, I think."

"That feels so out of character," Carter mused, shaking his head.