Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

W eddings are supposed to be a celebration. Of love, commitment—all that shit. And they are. This one was all the above, but it's also the worst kind of trigger for Santo. He hid it from Gio well. His distress. The fact that he's mourning his dead fiancée while our big brother is marrying someone he's only just met.

I've been watching him all night. My heart fucking hurts for the guy. He's not himself, not that I'd expect him to be. But, fuck, seeing your brother, your flesh and blood, completely lose his mind to the point that he's talking to ghosts… it's unnerving.

"Santo, why don't I get you a coffee?" I suggest, while reaching for the bottle of whiskey in his hand.

"I don't need fucking coffee. Leave me alone. I'm talking to Shelli. I need to talk to Shelli," he says, his eyes glued to the blank wall in front of him.

I look to Vin, who's been in here all night with me. We're both at a fucking loss. We've kept this from Gio, not wanting to ruin his big day and all. And I'll continue to keep it from him. Our big brother will take this shit hard, carry the guilt that his wedding has sent Santo backwards in his grief.

"I'm waking Gabe up," I tell Vin while gesturing to Santo. "Don't leave him."

Vin nods his head in acknowledgement and continues to watch Santo have a full-on, one-sided conversation with his dead fiancée.

I turn down the hall and make my way to Gabe's room, my fist hammering on his door as soon as it's within reach. When I don't hear any movement, I bang again. Louder and faster.

"Stop fucking hitting my door, Marcel, unless you want my fist to hit your face," Gabe's voice yells out from the other side. Then the door swings open and I'm met by a glare that would send most men running. "Why the fuck are you banging my door down this early in the fucking morning?"

"Santo's losing it. I've been with him all night. It's your turn." I run a hand over my face. I'm fucking tired.

"What do you mean he's losing it? He was fine when I left last night." Gabe glances over his shoulder, into the room, and I can see what's been keeping him busy—or should I say who? Daisy's dress is laid out by his feet. Daisy , as in our new sister-in-law's best friend. Either Gabe doesn't want his balls to stay intact or my brother is just plain stupid. Because messing with one of El's friends is the quickest way to land yourself on her shit list. A list none of us want to be on.

"Well, if you weren't preoccupied, you'd have noticed that he started losing it about an hour after Gio and El went to their room for the night," I grunt.

"Wait here," Gabe says as he's slamming the door in my face. It only takes a minute before he opens it again.

Pushing off the wall, I follow him down the path that leads to Santo's room. "So Daisy, huh? Thought it was a onetime thing?" I ask him.

"Shut it. You didn't see anything. You don't know anything," Gabe grinds out.

"Oh, it's like that? Fine, I didn't see the exact same dress Daisy was wearing on your floor this morning." I laugh.

"I mean it, Marcello. She doesn't want people to know," he says, his tone taking on a more serious note.

"And you do? El is going to give you hell if she finds out. She was very vocal about us not fucking her friends," I remind him of the stakes of this secret relationship of his.

"It's not like that."

"So, I can assume you'll be the next one exchanging vows." I raise a brow at him.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Gabe groans, before quickly changing the subject. "What's Santo been doing?"

"Besides drinking himself stupid? He's talking to Shelli. It's like he can see her or at the very least it's like he thinks he can. It's fucking creepy." A cold shiver runs down my spine. I just can't shake the eeriness of all this.

"What if he can? I mean, no one knows for sure, right?" Gabe asks.

"Yeah, I'm not buying it. His head is messed up. He needs help, like professional help. Not the sort we can give him." I might believe in curses and shit, but seeing dead people? I don't think so.

Vin stomps the toe of his shoe into the ground as we approach the room. I don't need to see it to know what the kid's been up to. I can smell that shit a mile away. I wait for Gabe to start in on a lecture about the weed. We might sell some shit, but we don't ever indulge.

"Don't let Gio see you doing that," Gabe says, and I swear my head spins around like one of those stupid cartoon characters. Maybe Daisy literally fucked his brains out.

"Good thing he's too busy playing house then." Vin laughs.

We all pile into Santo's room, and I stand back and let Gabe take over. Hoping like fuck he can talk some sense into our brother.

"Santo, you good?" Gabe asks.

Santo turns his head and smiles at Gabe like a kid on fucking Christmas morning. It's scary as fuck. "Shelli's here. Come and say hello, Gabe. She's back."

Gabe glances over his shoulder at me and Vin. I shrug while giving him one of those I've got no fucking idea looks. Then Gabe sits next to Santo and looks at the wall. "Hi Shelli," he says.

"She's come back," Santo repeats.

"Yeah? Did she say why she left?" Gabe asks him.

They aren't facing my way but I can see the way Santo's body stiffens. "No. Why'd you leave, Shelli?" he asks the empty space.

"What'd she say? I didn't hear her," Gabe questions, and I have to give it to him. He's handling this talking to dead people shit a hell of a lot better than I could.

"She said she didn't want to, but it's okay because she's back now."

Gabe looks at me again. I don't know what he's expecting me to do. I've been trying to figure out this shitshow all fucking night. "Oh, good. Maybe you and Shelli should get some rest, mate. We've got a plane to catch in a few hours."

"Yeah, good idea," Santo agrees and lies on the bed while Gabe makes his way over to me. "Make sure Gio knows Shelli's coming home."

Gabe nods before exiting the room with Vin and me close on his tail. "What the fuck was that?" he asks as soon as the door clicks closed.

"That was our brother finally losing any sense of reality he had left," Vin says.

"We need to find a way to help him. We can't let him continue to spiral," I chime in.

"We need to get him to pull back on the drinking. Let's start with that," Gabe suggests. "When we get home, we need to find more shit for him to do. Give him shit to occupy his time."

"Might be a good start." I nod.

"What if it doesn't work? What if he's lost and we can't get him back?" Vin asks.

"We don't give up on each other. Ever. If he can't fight for himself, then we fight for him. We will find a way to get him back," Gabe says.

"You two go. I'll stay and make sure he falls asleep," Vin replies.

As soon as I get back to my room, I take a quick shower and then message Zoe. She's probably asleep, but I need to talk to her.

Me:

Hey.

The little dots pop up and then her name flashes across the screen. I immediately answer the call before pressing the phone to my ear.

"Why are you up so early?" she asks.

"Why are you?" I counter.

"I had a little body in my bed kicking at me all night," she says.

Yesterday, she mentioned that her family came to town. She's told me a bit about them. I know that Mikhail and Izzy, the people who took Zoe in, have three little kids that she adores. What I don't know is how she came to live with them. That's a question for another time, though.

"Yeah? Should I be jealous someone other than me is in your bed?"

"Probably." She laughs. "Why are you awake, Marcel?"

"I've been up all night with Santo. He, uh, he didn't handle the whole wedding thing all that well."

"What happened?" she asks.

"He started talking to his fiancée as if she'd come back from the dead," I say. "He was drunk, obviously, but still."

"I'm sorry. That must be hard," she replies without the hint of judgement in her voice. "On you as well as on him."

"Yeah, it's not easy. Tell me something good."

"You're coming home today. You still coming over tonight?" she asks.

"Try to keep me away," I tell her. "Is your family still going to be in town?"

"No, they're leaving around noon."

"Pity, I would have loved to meet them," I admit.

"Yeah, let's not do that yet," she says. "Lucy wants to do a double date this week. But it's okay if that's not your thing. I can tell her no."

"A double date with Lucy and Dom? Why not? Should be fun," I say while thinking a date with Dominic McKinley will be anything but fun.

"Are you sure?" Zoe asks.

"If you're there, I'm there, babe. Let's do it."

"Thank you. I gotta go, but I'll see you tonight."

"See you then." I hang up, fall back on my bed, and close my eyes. I just need a little catnap and then I'll be ready to deal with the flight home.