Chapter 7
Pizza Conversations, Giving in for the Day and Confessions
An hour later the pizza arrived like Marcus said it would. I went to the kitchen to grab plates and cups as Marcus went to pay for the food. Walking back to the family room I saw Marcus place the pizza and pop on the coffee table. I placed the plates and cups on the table as well. I turned to Marcus.
"Want to watch a movie while we eat?" I asked him. He nodded. I walked over to a cabinet and opened it revealing shelves of movies and TV series. I heard Marcus come up behind me.
"Holy crap. Do you have every movie known to man?" he asked in awe as he stared at my family's movie collection. I laughed shaking my head.
"No. Just a lot of them. Mostly modern day movies but we've got some oldies too. My mom has all the James Bond movies. And I mean all of them. She a sucker for Bond." I told him lightly as my eyes scanned over the titles.
"See anything you like? We can watch either a movie or a TV series if you'd like. I don't care." I said to him turning my head slightly to look at him. He was going over the titles as well. I turned back to see if my favorite movie was in here.
"Do you have Employee of the Month? It's my favorite and I haven't watched it in a while." He said. I turned and looked at him in surprise.
"Really?" I asked. He nodded.
"Yeah." I chuckled slightly.
"That's my favorite movie. Dane Cook is hilarious." I said to him smiling a little. He grinned down at me nodding in agreement. I turned back around and looked for it. I spotted it on the top shelf. I stretched up to grab it but I just barely reaching it. I lowered my handed and sighed annoyed. I heard Marcus chuckle.
"Shut up." I muttered causing him to chuckle again. I felt him step closer to me pushing me into the cabinet lightly. He reached up and grabbed the movie. My breath hitched as his chest pressed against my back. He handed me the movie. I grabbed it from him. He didn't move for a moment. I could feel his breath on my neck. I shivered slightly that he no doubt felt. He backed away after that. I turned to face and saw him smirking obviously happy at the reaction he caused. I scowled at him. I walked to the TV and turned it on then put the movie in the DVD player.
I walked back to the couch and hit play movie. Placing the remote down I started to get some food. Marcus was already eating.
"You want some pop?" he asked grabbing the bottle after putting his plate down. I nodded taking a bite of the cheesy and meaty goodness. I swallowed as Marcus handed me a cup. I smiled at him.
"Thanks. How did you know pepperoni and ham was my favorite?" I asked curious on how he found out.
"Your brother." He said after taking a drink. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"I have two." I told him taking a bite of the pizza.
"Keith's not your brother." He stated. I put my plate down next to my cup. I turned to face Marcus.
"Yes he is. Not by blood. My parents are his godparents. As soon as they found out his parents died they knew they were going to adopt him. He IS my brother. Has been for eleven years and no one tells us differently." I snapped at him. He looked at me surprised.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to hit a nerve." He said softly. I shook my head.
"No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. Its just…I don't like hearing people say he's not my brother. I've lived him for eleven years. I've known him since birth. He was my brother long before he became my adoptive brother." I told him softly. Marcus nodded. I grabbed my plate and took a bite of pizza.
"So…your parents are Keith's godparents." He stated. I nodded grabbing my pop.
"Yeah. Our parents were best friends growing up in Italy. Keith, Colin and I find it funny how our parents got together." I said to him. He looked me so I could elaborate.
"When they were in high school Keith's mom and my dad were dating and my mom and Keith's dad were dating. When we found out it kind of freaked us out a little. When they got to college my mom and Keith's dad broke up mutually but remained awesome friends. A couple of months later the same things happened with Keith's mom and my dad. My parents didn't start going out till their sophomore year of college and Keith's parents till their junior year. They switched partners in a way." I told him. Marcus just stared at me for a moment.
"Wow. Wasn't expecting that." he said. I laughed nodding in agreement.
"Yeah. We didn't either. We only found out about four or five years ago." I said, "We ended up laughing a few weeks later at how it would've been reverse if my mom and his dad married and the same with my dad and his mom. Colin, Rory and I would be Moretti's and Keith would be a Marino." He laughed.
"Yeah. I can't see you being anything but a Marino." He said. I grinned at him.
"Don't want to be anything but a Marino." I retorted playfully. He grinned at me rolling his eyes.
I put my empty plate down and leaned back suddenly full. Marcus followed my actions. He unconsciously shifted closer to me and me to him. As we watched the movie my head ended up on his shoulder and his arm my waist. I had my feet tucked under me.
Around the last half hour of the movie I could tell Marcus fell asleep and I was about to pretty soon. I fought it as hard as I could but it won and I fell into a warm and content sleep.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
I woke with arms around my waist, one of my arms under a body while the other was wrapped around a torso, leg tangled together with someone else and my head on someone's chest. It was pitch black outside stating that it was probably late at night. I suddenly remembered what happened last night.
Keith stating I like Marcus…
Marcus coming over…
Overhearing Keith tell Marcus that he likes me…
Tutoring Marcus for an hour…
Pizza arriving…
Watching Employee of the Month...
And falling asleep next to Marcus.
Wow. All that happened last night. I thought shifting slightly. Marcus tighten his grip on my waist pulling me closer. I went willing to tired to do anything at the moment. I buried my head in his chest and took a deep breath. Lifting my head I craned my neck to see the clock. It read 4:57 AM. That late huh? I asked myself lowering my head back to Marcus's chest.
I looked at Marcus for a moment. He looked peaceful, calm and childlike. His mouth was open slightly and he snored quietly. His hair was sticking out everywhere and some hanging in his eyes. Without knowing what I was doing I lift a hand and gently brushed some hair away.
He wrinkled his nose slightly before opening his eyes slowly. He blinked a couple of times waking himself up a little and looked around before his gaze landed on me. My hand rested on his chest now when he wrinkled his nose and me looking at him.
"Korey?" he asked quietly his voice laced with sleep still. I shivered at the sound.
"Hmm?"
"What's going on? Where are we?" he asked confused. I smiled slightly to myself. He's adorable. Damn. Stop it. This is Marcus. I thought to myself.
"We're on the couch. We fell asleep." I told him softly. He nodded looking around again. I looked away from him resting my head on his chest again. I felt him start running a hand lightly over my arm.
"What time is it?" he asked softly.
"Almost 5." I told him softly about to fall asleep again.
"That late?" he asked surprised. I nodded burying my head in his chest unconsciously.
"At least we don't have school the rest of the week." I told him quietly trying to fight falling asleep. Thanksgiving break started today and we didn't have to go back to school till next Wednesday. I week of of no school. There only one word that crosses my minded at the moment: AWESOME!
"Mmm-hh." I smiled a little and rose to get up. Marcus groaned in protest. I looked at him raising an eyebrow. He looked at me a little sheepishly.
"Sorry. I was comfortable with you there." He said to me. I could tell he was blushing from the light we had in the corner of the room.
"I was just going to the kitchen and see if there's any pizza left. I'm hungry. You want some?" I asked him while standing up. Marcus got up as well.
"Yeah. I'll come with you." He said. I nodded and started walking to the kitchen with Marcus behind me.
Turning on the kitchen light I walked to the fridge and opened it. The pizza box and Pepsi were in there. Grabbing them I closed the door with my hip and placed them on the island. I opened the pizza box to see that no one had any but us.
"They didn't even touch it." I muttered to myself. I walked to the cabinet were the plates were.
"Can you get some cups from over there?" I asked over my shoulder while pointing a couple of cabinets away from me. While grabbing two plates I heard Marcus walk over to the cabinet and grab some cups. Closing the cabinet door I turned back to the island placed the plates down. I turned to Marcus who was getting some pizza. I studied him for a few moments.
His dirty blonde hair was sticking out in all directions and it didn't help that he was running a hand through it every now and then. His blue-green eyes looked tired but wide awake too. They were sparkling happily with some kind of emotion that I couldn't identify at the moment. His lips were parted just a little bit. I stared at them for a moment longer while getting the urge to kiss him. And I didn't fight it.
I walked over to Marcus and lightly touched his shoulder. He turned to me placing his pop down. I looked up at him straight in the eye. I stepped closer to him not breaking eye contact. His eyes flashed with something as he glanced down at my lips. I smiled just a little bit before bring a hand behind his neck and lowering his head to mine.
His lips were soft and warm against mine. He gently applied pressure to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his went around my waist. He carefully pushed me backwards until my back hit the counter. I felt his tongue ask for entrance. I granted it and the kiss turned heated. As we fought for dominance he lifted me off the ground and onto the counter. I wrapped my legs around his waist pulling him closer to me. His hands rested on my hips.
We pulled apart when air was necessary. He looked at me confused. I smiled softly at him.
"I'm giving in for the day." I told softly, answering his unspoken question. He grinned at me understanding what I saying. I unwrapped my legs from his waist and got off the counter. Turning back to him I grabbed his hand and pulled him the family room. Once in the room I turned around and kissed him again to which he respond immediately.
I walked us to the couch and pushed him down releasing his lips in the process. He groaned not happy at the lost of contact. I smiled at him rolling my eyes.
"Oh be quiet you big baby." I said to him. He looked at me at me with mock hurt. I rolled my eyes again. I walked over to the TV and turned to face him.
He looked like he wanted to get up and come over here.
"I need to tell you something and I can't do that sitting next to you because it will never get said." I told him turning serious. He stared at me before nodding. I sighed and took a seat in the armchair. I took a deep breath.
"I know that you that you're wondering who Gabriele is." I started. He looked at me in surprise.
"I'll start from the beginning to help you understand everything." I stopped to see if he was okay with that. He nodded for me to continue. I took another deep breath.
"It was about two years ago and my family and I went to Italy for the whole summer vacation. My family in Italy was having a cook out for us because it was the first time since we moved to the States that we've been there. My whole family was there along with Keith's. My grandmother was gushing over saying how I turned into a beautiful young lady and all that. She dressed me up in a sundress because she wanted me to meet this nice, young, and handsome Italian boy that she knew. I didn't want to meet him but I didn't want to disappoint my grandmother." I stopped taking a breath. I looked down at my hands.
"Gabriele De Luca was a the grandson of a friend of my grandparents and was two years older then me. I was still dreading to meet him. All I wanted to do was hang out with Keith and our old friends but when I saw him I instantly thanked my grandmother in my head. He was gorgeous. He had shaggy light brown hair that fell into his beautiful gray eyes. I liked him then and there. We hit it off instantly and talked the whole time. He asked me out for the next night and I said yes." I glanced at Marcus to see his reaction so far. His face was expressionless just like when he asked me about Justin.
"He took me to a small local diner and then we went to for a walk around the town. I was surprised that he didn't take me to some fancy restaurant and the theatre or something else expensive. When I told him this he laughed saying 'You don't seem like the kind of girl for fancy restaurants and the theatre.' I laughed in agreement telling him this was much more fun. He took me home later that night and said he had a great time and that he wanted to do it again. I told him that I completely agreed. He kissed me on the cheek and told me he'd call me tomorrow.
We became official just a couple of weeks later. Our grandparents were happy and our grandmothers were already planning the wedding. The next few months were bliss. I was on cloud nine. I had a gorgeous Italian boy for a boyfriend and I was with my family and old friends. I couldn't have been happier.
Things changed the last month of vacation. I didn't want to leave Gabriele and he didn't want me to leave. I was in love with him and I was seriously considering on staying in Italy and going to school there to be with him. My parents said that if that was I wanted I could stay. I hadn't decided yet if I actually wanted to leave my parents and brothers. Gabriele and I got into some arguments because of it. He knew how important my family and my friends back here were to me but he kept saying that I had family and friends here. And that I had him." I stopped taking a deep breath. I was crying softly but didn't notice. Marcus was looking intently at my face as I gazed at his.
"One night we were at his house alone. He thought it was time to take our relationship to the next level. We had started making out on his couch then he was guiding me to lie down on the couch. I went with it thinking that I was ready. I knew I was in love with him and he was in love with me but for some reason it felt wrong. When he started to remove my shirt I told him stop that I wasn't ready. He didn't listen at first just kept at and kissing me. I pushed him off and told him to stop.
He flipped out. Saying that if I had just decided to stay in Italy he wouldn't have to push. He thought that me holding off my decision that I had already made and that I was going back to the States. I told him that I hadn't made up my mind yet. He didn't hear just started yelling at me. I tried to calm him down but he wasn't listening. When I grabbed his arm he spun around and slapped me across the face. I stared him in shock but he wasn't paying attention. He was looking at me like I was some animal and not a person." I was crying harder and Marcus looked like he was about to be sick. At me or at Gabriele I don't know.
"I was about to say something when he roughly pushed me to the ground and straddled my legs. I was trying to get him off of me but he was just too strong. I saw him pull out a syringe. I didn't know what it was at the time. He placed it on the table saying just in case. Then he started kissing me again. I was trying to loosen his grip on my arms but he was still too strong. I remembered that my legs weren't bound or anything. So I slammed my knee into his crotch. He let go of me instantly and rolled off of me. I jumped up and ran to the door but he grabbed my right ankle and twisted my leg. That's how my knee got messed up." I told him. He didn't say anything or nod just looked at me.
"I fell to the ground in pain and then Gabriele was standing in front of me with the syringe in his hand. He grabbed my arm I injected me with some kind of drug. I tried to yank my hand away but his grip was to tight. I looked around to see if there was anything in reaching distance for me to hit him with. I found a board that was just lying there. So I grabbed it a slammed it against his head. He dropped on top of me not moving. I pushed him off of me and quickly grabbed my things and then stumbled out the door.
I grabbed my phone out of my coat when I was outside. I managed to call 113, Italy's version of 911. I told them that I needed help before I collapsed on the sidewalk.
I woke up in the hospital four days later with my parents and brothers in my room. They told me that I had overdosed with heroin, had a broken wrist and that my knee was just a little banged up. The doctors told them that they didn't know if I was going to make it because of the amount of drugs that were in my system. The police came in after that and asked me what happened. I told them the story.
My parents were angry. Colin didn't really understand what was happening until later and Keith. God. Keith was beyond furious. He wanted to go over to Gabriele's and kill him.
It turns out that a neighbor of Gabriele's heard us fight and the commotion and called the police and they found Gabriele getting up after being knocked out for a while. So yeah. That's what happened with Gabriele." I said to Marcus. I took a deep breath and looked at him. His face was still expressionless.
"What happened to Gabriele?" he asked with no emotion. I looked down at my hands.
"He was charged with attempted rape and murder." I told him softly. He sighed then causing me to look up at him. He was looking at me. His eyes were burning with different emotions: anger, sadness, guilt, happiness, relief and some others too.
"Korey." He said softly. He said it with so much care that I snapped and started crying so hard. He walked over to me and gathered me into his arms. He lifted me up and sat down placing me in his lap. I sobbed into his shoulder clinging to him like my life depended on it. He was rubbing my back to comfort me.
I stopped crying after tens minutes. I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him. He smiled at me softly. I gave him a watery one in return. I sniffled.
"I haven't told anyone that. My friends don't even know." I said to hoarsely.
"Why don't you get cleaned up? I'll heat up some pizza for you." He suggested. I nodded getting off of him. I noticed his shirt was wet from my tears.
How come I just told him about Gabriele? I asked myself as I walked to the stairs.
Chapter 7 is done. I am actually quite proud of the Gabriele background. Not trying to be cocky or anything. ANYWHOS. Review please would be honored but not required. I'm already five pages into chapter 8. I have a feeling that it's going to be a small one. So I'm warning you now. Right anyway I don't own Employee of the Monhth. Though techincally I do because I have the DVD but that's as far as owning it goes for me.
-ATJ