Enzo

I heard Papa (Gerardo) went on a summer vacation. I felt sad because he never came to see me in the hospital or asked how I was doing. He didn't seem to care about me at all. I didn't even see him after leaving the hospital. Even after everything he had done to me, I still didn't hate him. I still wanted him to accept me as his son. I wanted him to treat me like he treated Pedro, Louis, and Juana. I wished he would talk to me like he talked to them.

After the fight with Louis, neither he nor Pedro visited me, and strangely, I felt relieved about that. It wasn't that I didn't want to see them at all, but every interaction with them ended in heartbreak, and I was tired of it. Louis always ended up hitting or slapping me, while Pedro at least blamed me. I couldn't recall a single day when Juana talked to me without blaming me for something. She didn't even come to the hospital to see me, probably off visiting her friends as usual. Papa let her go anywhere she wanted. Now she was off on summer vacation again. I heard Pedro and Louis were also going on summer vacation with their families, and I couldn't help but feel empty and neglected as usual.

"You have some visitors," Papa said as he entered my room.

"Who?" I asked, surprised.

"Why don't you come and see?" Papa replied, so I went downstairs to find out who had come to visit me in this viper's den.

As soon as I appeared, Diego stood up from the couch. I couldn't believe my three friends had come to see me. I didn't even know how to react. Inside, I felt happy.

"Why didn't you answer any calls or reply to any messages, man?" Diego complained, frowning.

"I got sick," I replied.

"Were you that sick? So sick that you couldn't even send a single message?" Elijah asked.

I glanced around and noticed that Papa had left us alone to give me some privacy with my friends.

"I was in the hospital," I said.

"For how long?" Noah inquired.

"Did you bring anything to drink?" I asked quietly.

"Is that what you're worried about now?" Diego asked.

"Well, I didn't. Do you know I sent you a message saying we were coming to see you today?" Noah added. I looked down, realizing I hadn't checked my phone.

"So, how long were you in the hospital, Enzo?" Elijah asked again.

"Like a week, I guess," I replied.

"What kind of sickness was that? Is it infectious?" Noah asked with a worried expression, as if he were about to move away from me.

"Yeah, it is. I think now you all are infected," I joked, but they looked at me with serious expressions. Seeing them like that, I accidentally laughed.

"Aw, aw," I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my wound. I had been shot near the chest. Although it wasn't deep or harmful to any organs, the doctor said it would take at least a month to fully recover. I had completely forgotten about that and laughed like an idiot. I bent over, touching my chest in pain.

"Hey, are you okay?" my friends moved closer to me.

"I'm fine," I said, but I knew they could see I wasn't fine. I was sweating.

"You don't look like you're fine," Elijah said.

"What happened?" Diego asked again.

"Don't tell anyone... I got shot," I confessed.

"What? Where?" they asked, surprised.

"Here," I showed them my chest.

"God, Enzo, why didn't you tell us?" Diego exclaimed.

"Who the hell shot you?" Noah asked angrily.

"Shhh, don't shout, idiot," I said, afraid someone might overhear us.

"Who shot you?" Elijah asked, his eyes wide with fear.

"Papa," I said, and the others looked at me with disbelief.

"You think we should shut up and not tell anyone about this?" Diego asked angrily.

"Yes, you must," I replied, equally angry.

"And why is that, Enzo?" he challenged, his tone matching mine.

"Why don't you ask your dad who my Papa really is, Diego? Since they are best friends, I'm pretty sure he knows," I said seriously, and the others backed off at my words.

"No one can do anything about that, okay?" I added calmly.

"Pardon me, young master. What do you want me to bring for you and your friends?" a servant asked as they approached.

"What do you want, guys?" I asked my friends.

"Something to drink would be fine," Noah said.

"Something cold," Diego added.

"Bring some fruit juice," I instructed the servant, who then left us.

"Young master," Noah began, looking at me.

"That's how they always call me. Can't you remember? You came here when we were young," I replied.

"I can't. We were too little," Noah said.

After a few minutes, Papa came and bent down to me. "Are you alright, boss? If you feel tired, you need to rest, remember?" Papa whispered. I didn't like it when he called me boss, but he did it when others who weren't family were around.

"I'm okay, Papa," I said. The others didn't hear me call him Papa, as I said it in a very low voice.

"How's your girlfriend?" Diego asked.

"Oh, shoot," I said, taking out my phone. I quickly sent a message to Mia.

Hey baby, I'm so sorry. I was sick and in the hospital. I'll call you later.

"Let's go to my room and talk. I want to lie down," I said. We all went to my room, where we talked and watched TV. There were other things to do in the house, like billiards, a home theater, and a pool. But since I couldn't do any of those things these days, we just stayed in my room.

Suddenly, I woke up and looked around. My friends were gone, and Papa was sitting on my couch.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"They said you fell asleep and they left," he replied.

"What?" I said, feeling worried.

"It's okay, son. You need rest. They understand that," Papa assured me.

I quickly sent a message to our group chat.

Enzo: Sorry, guys.

Diego: It's okay, buddy.

Elijah: Stay away from your freaky dad, dude.

Noah: I'll bring you whiskey next time.

I checked my phone to see if Mia had replied, and there it was.

Mia: Why didn't you tell me anything for this long? I was so scared. Your brother said you got sick while we were on the trip, and that's why they took you home.

My brother? I felt my throat dry up.

Enzo: My brother? Which one? When?

Mia: When I called you, he answered.

Shit, shit, shit. No way. Which brother might she be talking about? It had to be Louis. I was dead. Or Mia...? No way. No way.

Enzo: Did he ask anything about you?

Mia: No. He said he's busy and cut the line.

Enzo: Don't tell him anything, okay? Don't even talk to him.

Mia: Why? What's wrong?

Enzo: Just do as I said.

Mia: Enzo, you are being rude.

Enzo: Sorry. I'm not. Love you. Talk to you later. Do not call me again. Only send messages. I'll call you later.

Mia: Why is that?

Enzo: Please, Mia, do as I said. Love you.

Mia: Hmm.

Enzo: Love you.

Mia: Hmm.

Enzo: Love you.

Mia: Hmm.

Enzo: Love you.

Mia: Love you too.

Enzo: Thanks! 🙂

"Sending messages to your girlfriend?" Papa said, sitting on the couch and watching me.

"How did you know?" I asked, pretending to be angry.

"I can tell by looking at your cute face, my Lovebug," he teased.

"Don't call me Lovebug. I'm not a girl," I protested.

"Cupcake?" Papa suggested again.

"No," I said firmly. I saw him chuckle.

"Pumpkin?" he tried again.

"No way, Papa," I replied.

"Cuddle bear," he said, struggling to hold back his laughter.

"You're trying to make me laugh," I said, placing my hand on my chest.

"Sorry, baby, I forgot," Papa said with a serious tone. I couldn't help but giggle, even though I tried not to laugh.