Eli POV.
I had been living with my brothers for over a month and at some point, time started moving really quickly, with school, music, and for the first time maybe ever, enjoying life. I hang out with my friends outside of school at their houses or the park, or even the mall. Jess showed me, where to find the best second-hand stores in the city, so we had been going to those a lot.
There was still a lot my brothers didn't know about me. They didn't know about what happened at camp, or the extent of my self-harm issue, and they had no idea about me being Young and Damned. I didn't really know why I didn't tell them. Maybe it was just fun watching them play and enjoy my music without them even knowing it.
The only people who really knew, were Mia, Carlos, and Diego, since Diego always made the cover photos for my songs. The latest one, the Devil In His Church Suit, had a white-on-black picture of a crying eye with the reflection of a man in a suit, with horns and a tail. I remember when Diego first showed it to me, I couldn't believe how incredibly talented he was.
I knew, that I'd have to talk to my brothers soon. It was starting to come around to the time of year when I knew I would lose my mind. It was the beginning of October, which meant that the anniversary of Carlo's death was getting closer. He passed away on the twenty-third, so I had nineteen days before the total collapse.
The year before, I wasn't able to leave the house for a week. Everything around me reminded me of him, so I couldn't look around without wanting to cry. I starved myself, got back into drugs, almost killed myself, and eventually got evicted from the apartment I was living in. Carlos was suck a big part in my life and the reason I was still alive, so when he was gone, I didn't know how to function anymore
Matteo POV.
We were sitting at the lunch table even tho the two youngest boys had only woken up. Eli had been acting weird for a while. They didn't go on their usual morning run that day and they didn't want to cook with me. I made sure to cook something they'd like, but still, Eli hadn't even touched the food on their plate. We knew, that they had a problem with eating, but it had gotten so much better in the past two weeks.
"Is everything okay?" I asked Eli. They were sitting right in front of me, so I tried to search their face for any clues as to what was going on in their mind.
It took them a few seconds to process that someone had even spoken to them, and when they finally lifted their head, they looked around not knowing, where the sound came from.
"Are you okay?" I asked again, now getting the full attention of the boys.
"I'm fine," Eli just mumbled picking up their fork and pushing the food around, occasionally landing it in their mouth.
I didn't want to pry anymore, but we were all worried. I silently asked Alessandro what to do, but he looked just as clueless as me. I turned back to my food, hoping, that Eli would talk to us eventually.
"Could I go visit Diego?" they suddenly asked.
We all immediately turned to look at Alessandro, waiting for an answer.
He was deep in thought, and I could almost see the gears turning in his head. I knew he didn't want Eli to go back to Chicago, at least not alone, but other than that, what was happening in his mind was a complete mystery.
"Why do you suddenly want to go back to Chicago?" Gabriele asked confused over the whole situation.
Eli looked down at their lap and took a few deep breaths. After each one, it looked like they were about to start talking but then decided against it. Finally, they shook their head violently as if to get rid of a bug on their head and explained:
"Carlos died on the twenty-third and as much as it would hurt to go back there, I need to be with Diego."
Eli spoke quickly, and I'm not even sure if I caught everything, but the overall idea got through pretty clearly.
"Are you sure? There's clearly a lot of bad memories tied to that place," Lorenzo said taking Eli's hand in his own, and for the first time in the six weeks, that Eli had stayed with us, they didn't flinch away.
We were all shocked, but I think none more than Eli. After a few seconds, they looked down at their hand, resting in Lorenzos and their eyes widened for a bit. They tensed up and we all thought that they'd take their hand away but they just relaxed and took a deep breath.
"I need to be with Diego. Last year I was away so I couldn't be with him for this or his birthday or anything else. I know he won't admit it but he needs help and I want to help him," Eli said with a huge exhale, visibly relaxing her shoulders.
"Sounds like someone else I know," I smirked crossing my arms.
Eli just stuck their tongue out at me with a playful grin. I was just glad I could make them smile, so I stuck my tongue out too.
"Where do you think he got it from?" Eli sassed back with an eye-roll.
"How about, we invite Diego here? So you won't have to go back there, and I'm sure Diego could use a change of scenery," Alessandro finally spoke after observing the conversation before him.
"It would be nice to meet your other family," he ended with a warm smile I had never seen before.
Eli's face lifted up instantly.
"Why do I feel like I want to hug you?" they said with a chuckle.
In a flash, Eli was by Alessandro's chair hugging them tightly.
I hadn't seen Alessandro smile like that in years, maybe ever, and Eli being happy was just the most amazing feeling in the world. They could change your mood, with a single smile, and it was just one of the reasons we all loved them so much.
Alessandro POV.
We agreed to let Diego stay with us for as long as he wanted, which made Eli very happy.
I couldn't help but feel a warmth in my chest as they honestly smiled. They didn't do that a lot. Their usual smile was just a curt nod compared to the happy smile they had at that moment. It was the same smile that came out, when we got them talking about music, or when they cooked with Matteo or drew with Gabriele. I knew at that moment, that I would do whatever it took to make them smile like that every day.
Eli POV
After lunch, I raced to my room and dug out my phone.
"Hi," the little black-haired boy answered.
"Diego, I asked my brothers, and you can come over here for a few weeks," I said beaming with joy.
"Are you serious?" he asked shooting up from the couch he was laying on.
"Yeah, they didn't want me coming there, so they invited you here," I said smiling from ear to ear.
"Mierda, Eli, eso es increíble. Voy a empezar a empacar ahora mismo. Joder, me quedaré en tu rica casa. Tomaré el primer vuelo allí. cuando van? ¿Puedo atrapar uno esta noche?" Diego started rambling.
I just chuckled at his excitement as he ran around the apartment.
"cálmate. Hay un vuelo mañana, y lo pagaré. Sale a las diez de la mañana, así que tienes que estar allí por lo menos a las ocho y media. ¿okey?" I said trying to calm Diego down a bit.
"¿Cómo puedo calmarme cuando vengo a la mansión a conocer a tu nueva familia? Sabes que si no son amables, los mato, ¿verdad?" he responded with a smirk.
"Ellos son agradables, lo prometo," I said as Diego was running around the apartment packing his sad little suitcase.
I stayed on as Diego packed and I did some leftover schoolwork. Every once in a while Diego stopped to ask me if he needed to pack something, or what it was like to be on a plane, which was adorable.
I told him, that as the plane took off, it did two loops in the air to balance the air pressure, and that it would be perfectly safe. I wasn't sure if he believed me or not, but it was hilarious either way.
While I did my math homework, I kept on asking Diego about his multiplication, and he was getting a lot better at it. I really wanted him to be ready when he would someday go to school. I didn't know when that would be, but it was going to happen.
"So, Diego's plane lands at twelve-thirty tomorrow, so I'll go to the airport to get him," I said at dinner.
"I'll drive!" Gabriele called, making Lorenzo and Matteo pout.
"I wanted to drive them," Lorenzo said crossing their arms.
"I thought I'd just take the bus," I said lifting my eyebrows.
"Hell no, you're not going to get your friend on a bus," Antonio said pointing at me with his fork.
"Yeah, you're not taking the bus, it's dangerous," Lorenzo said concern clear in his voice.
"No, it's not," I said with an eye roll.
"But thanks tho I appreciate it," I said to Gabriele.
Gabriele nodded and returned to eating his dinner.
"You're gonna have to get used to me taking the bus after I find a job," I casually said, still chuckling at Lorenzo.
All my brothers turned to stare at me with confused eyes.
"What do you mean 'after you find a job'? Why would you get a job?" Matteo asked trying to understand me.
"Well, I just thought... Even tho I don't pay for rent or food anymore, I still have things to take care of. Like Diego or clothes," I said thinking it was obvious, that I got a job.
To be honest I was surprised with myself, that I hadn't gotten a job yet. I guess I was still getting used to the new place, and it slipped my mind, now that I was going to school.
"You have an allowance for that," Alessandro said from the head of the table.
My head snapped in surprise.
"I get an allowance?" I asked not truly computing what was happening.
"Yes, all of you get one," Alessandro said like it was the clearest thing in the world.
"Well... how- how much?" I asked completely flabbergasted.
"Two thousand," Alessandro said, now getting more curious over my reaction.
"A year?!" I asked trying to grasp my mind over the concept.
That was a lot of money, and we didn't even have to pay rent out of that. What were the boys spending all that money on?
"A month," Alessandro stated making my head explode.
"A month?!" I yelled.
"Wha- why-" I started not knowing what to say.
I took a deep breath and composed myself a bit.
"How, the fuck, do you give two thousand a month?! That's more than I made in a month, and I worked fourteen hours a day!" I ranted.
I saw my brothers' faces drop from amusement to sadness in a second. I guess I never really told them that much about my life in Finland.
"Holy shit," I exhaled finally done with my overreaction.
"I have been meaning to arrange your bank account, for a while now," Alessandro said to himself.
Lorenzo helped me set up my bank account info and app. Alessandro wasn't lying, about the allowance. When I looked at my bank account, there were two thousand dollars just laying there. I immediately sent all of it to Diego, not even thinking about it. I knew, that I should feel guilty about taking their money, but Diego needed it.
Soon after I made the transfer, my phone buzzed.
'When were you going to tell me you got a job?'
'I didn't. They just gave me a huge fucking allowance. I'm never getting used to having a rich family,' responded in three separate texts.
'Holy shit! Do you think they'd give me money too?'
I just laughed.
'I actually think they would. I don't think they see money like we do. I'm pretty sure they wipe their asses with hundred-dollar bills,' I texted back.
'I can't believe I'm going to meet them tomorrow. Kinda nervous,' Diego texted with a string of emojis.
'Don't be. We get to hang out again. We'll get to watch the real housewives on a 200-inch tv,' I texted with a winky face.
'heaven.'
'I know, it's amazing,' I responded before putting my phone down and drowning myself in editing.