Raya could hear Paige crying as she ran downstairs to the living room phone, surprised when she heard their mother shouting at her, blaming her for bringing on Julius’s condition. Surely it was no time to place the blame on someone, especially when Paige already felt so obviously responsible, crying into Danny’s shoulder as they watched helplessly while Silvia helped Julius into their bedroom, handing him a handkerchief, that he simply held to his mouth to catch the small coughs of blood that seemed to be choking him as he struggled for breath. There was a long, intense moment where all Raya could hear was the ringing of the phone and then suddenly, a tired, groggy voice answered and the tears released themselves now that there was someone to be strong for her. “Angelo…” And although her voice was nothing more than a scared whisper, it spoke to Angelo in volumes as he wiped his eyes and tried to wake up, sitting up in bed immediately.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, pushing the covers away from himself as he felt around for the light switch to his bedside lamp, frowning when he couldn’t find it.
“It’s papà…there’s…I…” She cried, unable to hold it in any longer. She wanted so much to be strong for everyone, knowing how difficult it was for them to concentrate and pull themselves together, put it was so hard. She was so scared. “I don’t know…he was arguing with Paige and…”
“Shh…Raya it’s alright.” Angelo soothed softly, knowing instinctively what was wrong as he managed to find his keys on his bedside table and carried the cordless phone over to his bedroom door, lifting his jeans from the chair that sat just inside the door. “I’ll be right there. I’m only a minute away. Everything’s going to be fine, I promise.” He vowed faithfully, soothing a little of her fears with his ability to know exactly what was wrong when she was nothing more than a blithering mess.
“Alright.” With that reassurance that there was going to be someone to look after her father, Raya hung up the phone and let Angelo go. But he knew that whatever reassurance he had given her wouldn’t be enough to stop her from thinking that it was the events of her real fathers illness happening all over again. Because of that, he rushed into his jeans, fumbling about in the dark as he made his way to the front door of his small country villa, cursing out loud when he banged into the corner of the l-shaped sofa on the way. And once he found his way outside, the street lamps giving much more light to his driveway that it was to the inside of the house, Angelo slotted the car keys into his sports car and drove off. He was so worried about Julius and the girls, that he gave no thought to the fact that, because it was two o’clock in the morning and he’d gone to bed around half twelve because of his early afternoon flight at half past one, he was bare foot, shirtless and only dressed in the simple pair of jeans that he’d managed to find lounging about his bedroom. But right now, clothes didn’t matter. What mattered was that Raya and Paige were clueless as to what was wrong with their father and Silvia wasn’t qualified to do any of the medical procedures that needed done when Julius had gone into another of his severe panic attacks. No, what mattered was that he was needed and he was going to be there and do all that he could to make sure that Julius was alright. After all, he hadn’t done that year long training course with Julius’s doctor for nothing.
*****
Devin was having a crap day until he bumped into Ryan late after dinner. It was coming on seven o’clock in the evening and he was heading back out to see Pepper after her tutoring when he was surprised by Ryan running up to him and stopping so abruptly that he had to step back in order to avoid a collision. He looked happy, almost excited and he was wondering what was going on. He was about to ask him what made him so happy when he noticed the faint smell of perfume from him, having to lean forward and take a second sniff before he could place the familiar scent. Skylar, it had to be. She was the only one he knew of who smelled like flowers every second of the day. He wasn’t sure if he approved or not, he knew he had been hitting on her and so far she had resisted, but he knew no more than that. Whether or not she had a thing for him in return was something he couldn’t find out without speaking to her first. “Alright, what do you want?” Devin sighed, well aware that he was about to ask for something that usually turned out to be money orientated but then the kid didn’t have a job, he only worked during spring, summer and winter breaks from campus so that he could focus on his lectures. He couldn’t blame him for asking for the rare bit of cash every now and again when he only ever asked for stuff for uni. And that was nothing bad.
“Can I spot some cash?” Ryan smiled, rocking back and forward on his heels as he buried his hands in his pockets, wanting to take care of the job at hand before the bookstore closed at eight and he had to go rushing over there in the morning during his lectures. He was hoping to ‘present’ the gift to Skylar at lunch the next day when he promised to take her to the lake. Since he now knew she would never have any classes thanks to her job, he knew that he could always find her at her dorm room and if not, then she was on the other side of the phone. Devin did his usual sceptical quizzing, asking how much he wanted and what it was for as he fished out his wallet. “Don’t say anything about it but…I want to get something for Skylar. I’ll need about two or three hundred.” He explained quietly, wanting to make sure he had extra in case the eighteen volume collection had somehow grown from the printed edition that she had finished reading. He had to figure ten to fifteen dollars each, then that meant for eighteen books he would need between two and three hundred dollars. It was a lot of money but it was well worth it to make Skylar happy.
“At that price, must be jewellery. Can’t say it’s not a good tactic.” Devin was less than pleased to hear the cost but Ryan had never asked him for money to spend on a girl, not even when they were kids and he was a little twelve year old trying to impress an older girl. When he was that age, all he had to do was turn on the charm, smile and crack a joke. He was a natural pull for women. Somehow they couldn’t resist him and he had no idea why, he was just a normal guy, a kid he had watched grow up. He was surprised when he admitted that it was actually a book, or eighteen of them to be exact. Ryan never bought books for himself, never mind other people. If he needed a book he borrowed it from the library, he probably didn’t even know how much they cost. Thanks to his job with Angelo, he could spare three hundred dollars quite easily. “Eighteen books? That explains the cost. She must really mean a lot to you.” He guessed, quite happy to hear that he was being intelligent with his hope of seducing Skylar. She was a smart girl, with a personality that said she needed a man who could be intelligent and keep her mind active. She did not need a lay about like Ryan was.
“She does. A lot. Like…huge amounts.” Ryan admitted it with a smile, unable to hold it back even though his brother thought he sounded like a giddy school kid. It had been so long that Devin had seen him so happy that he couldn’t do anything but smile and stare at him in admiration. He wasn’t sure what Skylar had done to him but he liked it, he was like a kid again. He had to remind him that he didn’t need to sound so enthusiastic because she wasn’t around, but he just shrugged it off and sighed like a lovesick puppy. “I can’t help it…I’m in love.” He had to admit that he loved her because he was so desperate to be with her that any denial or any time he didn’t admit it would give Skylar further reason to run off. He didn’t need to give her anymore excuses to escape or push him away. He needed her to admit to how she felt before they could really be together.
“Did I hear you right? You’re in love? With Skylar? Are you feeling alright?” He was so shocked by the admission that he couldn’t help but ask him again if he had heard him right. Not only had the kid never been in love but he wasn’t sure if he even knew what it meant. He didn’t want him to go telling everyone he was in love only for him to decide in a few days that it was just a passing fling and break the poor girl’s heart. When he offered to pay him back, he really knew something was wrong, he never offered and he never paid him back. The two were impossible together in one sentence.
“On top of the world. I’ll pay you back, I promise.”
Devin was about to stop Ryan from sauntering off when Pepper came running along and practically jumped into his arms. “What’s got into you?” He smiled in approval, making her stand back and hold her hands behind her back, holding something that looked like a letter. He wasn’t sure what was going on but it looked like she had better news for him than his little brother had. She just stood there looking happy and pleased with herself for a few minutes before she couldn’t contain it even longer, screaming in excitement as she handed him the letter.
“I got accepted. I can’t believe it.” She screamed again, leaving him to extract the letter from the envelope she had handed him, looking between his girlfriend and the letter curiously. He couldn’t believe it either. Pepper had been accepted to the firm he worked for, under Angelo as his secretary. She had asked him about three months ago to put a good word in for her when she found out that the position was open, but when he’d gone to Angelo’s boss, he found out that she wasn’t likely to get accepted because she didn’t have the right experience. Albeit the only job she’d ever had before had been working as a waitress but seeing that she had now been accepted, he couldn’t understand what had changed. He hadn’t told her that she didn’t have the experience because he didn’t want to dash her dreams and now he had the proof that it was a good idea. Someone had changed their minds and he could have ruined it for her entirely if he had told her about her experience.
“Well, this calls for a celebration. Dinner’s on me and then we’re going to have a nice quiet night in, just you and me.” He announced in pride, glad to see that she was happy with that plan, taking his hand and leading him off to whichever restaurant he decided to treat her to.
*****
Angelo could see that all the house lights were on as he pulled into the driveway of Julius’s house, and he was glad to know that the entire house would be alive and buzzing with people. That made it a whole lot easier for him, in case he had to call out an ambulance and have Julius taken to hospital. The last thing he needed was to wake up Paige in the middle of the night and have to explain the entire thing to her when all she’d want would be to see her father. But then again, Raya had said something about Julius arguing with Paige, so maybe that was what had brought on his panic attack? Getting out the car, he fumbled through his keys in a rush as he made his way over to the front door, trying it first only to find that it was still locked. “Shit…” Angelo sighed in frustration when he found the front door key on his chain and then dropped it again just as he held his hand out to the door. But he was in such a rush and such a panic that he couldn’t help it. Taking a deep breath, he gave himself a second to calm down, calmly slotting the key in the door and turning it, a smile reaching his lips when the door opened. Now he could go back to rushing around. Throwing the keys onto the small table in the hallway to free up his hands, he didn’t even care that they landed right in the plant pot that sat on top. He could clearly see Raya sitting on the stairs crying to herself as she clung to the banister, but what bothered him was that Paige was the eldest, she was the one supposed to be taking care of Raya and yet she was too busy holding onto Danny to even notice her little sister.
“Angelo!” Raya squeaked as soon as she saw him, her voice surprised and yet relieved. But she hadn’t expected him to get there so soon. She’d only called him less than five minutes ago, but then again, she wasn’t complaining. She really needed him right now, since Paige was of absolutely no use in a crisis.
“Hi princess…where is he?” Angelo asked immediately, making his way up the stairs to her as he crouched down to her level, wiping away her tears. He could see how frightened she was, and yet she was all alone. He thought that she might have called Joey back and asked him to come over to be with her, but she was a strong little girl and he supposed that she didn’t want him to see her cry just yet.
“In his room.” She explained briefly, turning to point to her parents room, letting out a shaky, deep breath as Angelo made his way up the stairs and into Julius and Silvia’s room. He could see how bad it was as soon as he stepped inside, Julius leaning over the side of his bed and he continued to be sick into a bucket, obviously unable to maintain the energy to get to the bathroom. And he wasn’t in the least surprised to see the blood stains on the bed sheets, from where Julius had accidentally missed the bucket, the marks on his sleeve as he wiped his mouth clean before sitting back with a sigh. It was exactly like the last time, except this looked like it was affecting him more than the last. Julius smiled faintly, his face pale and more withdrawn than the last time Angelo had faced him, almost two hours ago. Then again, it had been a long, hard slog of a day and he deserved to look tired as he knelt on the floor at Julius’s side of the bed and took his wrist in his hand, staring at his watch as he casually checked his pulse like he was so used to doing lately.
“Angelo…you will take care of Raya, won’t you.” He begged suddenly, the fear in his eyes that something might happen to him and his little girl, adopted or not, might be left all alone in the world. It was the last thing he wanted, though he knew that even if he had known about his illness when they’d adopted her, he still wouldn’t have changed a thing. She’d brought a lot of happiness into his life at a time when Paige was moving further away from him and he knew that without Raya, and his wife, he wouldn’t have a reason to get up every morning and fight as hard as he was.
“You can stop talking like that for a start.” Angelo objected, shaking his head as he slid out a little black box from under the bed and opened it, looking at the array of syringes and little bottles that lay inside. “But yes…if it ever comes to it, I’d be glad to have Raya look after me.” He smiled cheekily, though perfectly honest about being willing to take her in if anything ever happened to her family. “She’ll always have a home with me Julius, you know that. Even if she doesn’t want it.”
“Good.” Julius nodded, a tear of pain rolling down his cheek, going unnoticed by both, Angelo knowing better than to mention it when he wasn’t sure what was more painful for his friend. The thought of dying, even though he’d been perfectly prepared for it for a long time, or the thought of leaving Raya without yet another father was devastating.
When Silvia finally returned to her husbands side and found Angelo there, talking to him and keeping him company, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. If there was ever one person who could calm down Julius, then it was Angelo. And everything seemed fine, as they talked about how nice the party had been, while Angelo gave her husband the anti-sickness injection that would calm down his chaotic stomach. As distressing as it was to see the small vent flow in the back of his hand, she at least knew that Angelo was prepared in case anything went wrong. They both knew how easy it was for his temper to flare up and cause ructions with whatever problem was already bothering him. “Oh…I suppose while I’m thinking about it. I do need another refill for the oxygen tank in the cupboard. I’m afraid Silvia can’t lift the tanks from downstairs and I wouldn’t have that impertinent young lad touching my things.” Julius explained, his face going red with anger at the thought of Danag perhaps becoming his son-in-law instead of the loyal, helpful, charming young Angelo who he already felt a father/son bond with.
“Julius.” Angelo complained, getting to his feet as he walked over to the walk in cupboard and lifted the tank out, noticing that it wasn’t just running low, but was entirely empty. “I told you before, you don’t let it get low. I left it here, so that even if you’re just out of breathe you have something to help. But it’s not going help a damned thing it there’s nothing in it.” He sighed, a little annoyed that no-one had told him before, when it hadn’t mattered. What if he’d come straight in, found that Julius needed oxygen and had had to waste time going down and getting a new tank instead of using the one that was already in the room.
“Well I’m sorry.” Julius argued suddenly, a curious frown passing between Angelo and Silvia as they glanced at each other, then back at Julius. “I didn’t know that my daughter was going to betray me with that little toad tonight. If I had have known, I’d have asked you to do it earlier, in advance.” He fumed, folding his arms over his chest, unmindful of the small needle in the back of his hand, only to cough loudly, and choke on a breathe. “Oh for god sake…” He complained, coughing just twice more as the events of the night rolled back through his head, before he ended up leaning over the bed and started being sick again.
“Jesus Christ.” Angelo swore with a frown, dropping the empty oxygen tank onto the wicker chair beside the wardrobe as there was a flurry of knocking on the door. “Go away!” He shouted angrily, crossing over to Silvia as she wrung her hands together, not sure of what to do as she looked between her husband and Angelo nervously.
“What do I do?” She asked hesitantly.
“I’ll go down and get a fresh tank. With the way he’s working himself up over this, I think he’s going to need a few tonight.” He complained, annoyed more with himself than Julius, knowing that if he hadn’t argued with him and started lecturing him when he was already sick, he probably wouldn’t have made him worse. “Make sure no-one comes in here while I’m gone and when I get back, I think I’ll hook him up for the night. That way I can give him some fluids, since he’s throwing it all back up again and…maybe while I’m away, check and see what’s hurting him.” He advised, calming down a bit as he watched the tears forming in her eyes with his words, even though she was glad he was there to help and that he knew exactly what to do. “He was crying a bit, I think he’s in pain, but he won’t tell me, so see if you can find out and I’ll try give him something for it.” He forced a smile of reassurance for her, the decisive nod he got in reply letting him know that Silvia was willing to do whatever she could to make her husband feel better. And she did just that, sitting on the bed beside him, holding his hand and whispering quiet words of comfort to him as he continued to be sick again, letting Angelo leave and form a plan inside his head.