"Too many memories, too many bonds to throw away that easily."

~

Stuck on You: Kapitel Sechsundzwanzig

"What is this?"

I had scanned my retina into the biometric lock outside of the base of La Eme. Demetrios had told me to let myself in when I had arrived and since the system already had pieces of my data entered it, I followed suit.

"What are we doing here?" I felt a hand grip mine as I turned out to face him, opening the big metal door. The several men guarding the entrance flashed one eye at me, making sure that I was indeed Brad Thorpe and no one else. "This way," One of the men said as he pointed down the long corridor towards the tall door, signifying my last destination. "Mr. Kanzaki awaits for you and your guest." He nodded and I winced, wondering what path of death lied behind that door. "I'm not sure why you thinking having me inside the Spanish syndicate is a good idea," Santiago chuckled darkly. "But it's most definitely not."

Oh fuck.

That was right.

We were in different territory now. We were on land that belonged to Ramone Vega and Raymundo Vega. We were on their property, their base. There was no telling if I was bringing forth war between two syndicates.

La Eme and the Zonglovia.

Especially if this was where I died. If anything happened to me, Santiago would not hesitate to bring the wrath of hell onto everyone involved. I hadn't told him where we were going, but once we drove past the gates guarding the base, he gradually gained some vague understanding. "Shit," I dragged him down the hall, fear consuming me as I gulped. "Welcome, Mr. Thorpe, long time, no see!" A maid waved at me and I waved back, genuinely feeling at ease. "Hello, Aisha." I said and Santiago snorted. "You've been here before?" He asked, smoothing down his black skirt and black jeans. 

"Hmph."

He turned his head away as all of the cameras in the vicinity tracked us. "Well," I let go of his hand as we stood in front of the door, Demetrios and Ramone no doubt, behind it. "Here we are." I put my trembling hand on the knob, sweating just a bit. Santiago looked down at me, brow raised as he got the idea that something was wrong with me. Hell yeah, something was wrong with me! I was going to be killed for lying. "Let's just go in..." I trailed off, slowly turning the knob.

I, with hesitation, pushed the door open, darkness alluding me. The room was silent as the door opened fully. "Huh?" I murmured to myself, squinting so that I could at least see some things in the dark, but it was no use. I saw nothing. "Look for a light switch, babe," Santiago stated and my hand started to slap against the wall, feeling for a switch. I stepped further into the room as my fingers landed on a switch. "There we go," I flipped it, hoping that this was the wrong room because it seemed to be empty.

"SURPRISE."

I jumped about sixty-five feet in the air when I heard four familiar voices. Santiago grabbed me from behind as I took in the view before me. There were balloons and streamers everywhere with a banner that said, 'We're sorry,' hung up over four tables, one filled with pizza, one filled with drinks, one filled with a large marble cake with green icing and the last one with pictures. I saw Micah, Derek, Demetrios, and David standing in front of the table with smiles and looks of regret on their faces.

To the left, almost in the corner, I could see their significant others standing there, offering me nods of acknowledgment. I was sure like Santiago, they had no idea why they were here.

"Huh?" I managed to get out as a wave of surprise washed over me. I could hear music playing in the background as the four of them looked at me, seemingly wanting to approach me. I was taken aback. I could see that a lot of thought went into this party and it warmed my dead heart. "I didn't expect..." I trailed off as they slowly walked over to me, uncertainty written on their faces. Santiago kept a hand on my back as if he was protecting me. That was right. I was bringing him into unfamiliar territory with unfamiliar people. My old friends stood in front of me, fiddling with their thumbs as they looked at me.

"We decided to throw you this apology party to show you how wrong we were," Derek smiled softly as he tilted his head down at me. "Who are they?" Santiago nudged me and I cleared my throat, awkwardness leaving my soul. "Santiago, this is Derek Giordano," I pointed to said man. "This is Micah McKenna," I pointed to him. "This is David McKenna," David nodded in response. "And this is...Demetrios Kanzaki." I finished, not looking at him. I wasn't too sure where we stood, considering he was the one who had the most to say.

"Guys, this is my boyfriend, Santiago Luzardi." Santiago shook their hands in reply, giving them a grin. "Go over there and mingle," David motioned to the back corner of all mafia men. "Let us steal your boyfriend for a few minutes." Santi nodded, giving me the look that said, 'if you need me, let me know.' He leaned down to kiss me on the forehead before walking over to the back. He was really something. He had no idea who these people were, but he was willing to do it for me because he saw how important this was to me. He had no idea why we were here but the fact that he jumped the gun without caution let me know that he really intended to stand by me.

"Can we talk to you for a minute back there?" Micah asked and I stared at him, slowly nodding. "...I guess so." It was tense in the air between us because no one wanted to state the obvious. No one wanted to admit how mad they were at me. At least they didn't want to kill me...or did they? 

As we walked towards the table with the cake on it, I turned my face over to see how Santiago was faring with the rest of the men. They were all tight-knit about who came into their circle, who they talked to, who approached them. None of them took too kindly to strangers, even more so if they were leaders of their own syndicate. My eyes landed on a heated scene as I took in the fact that they were all standing in a circle. I stopped in place, eyes widening.

They were all silently seething.

They all stared each other down.

Intensely.

The room was silent and you could the sound of swallowing. They all had that hidden ferocity in their eyes as they glared at one another, sizing each other up. There were no smiles on their faces, only looks of questioning. Why were you here? Do you know that I could kill you with the snap of my fingers? They seemed to be exchanging words via eye and I didn't know if I should intervene or not. I could see Santiago's hand twitching as if he was going to reach for his gun so I, with panic entering me, sought to run over to the group.

Then it happened.

"The name's Santiago Luzardi." A hand reached out to clasp the rest of them.

"What's good, man? I'm Raymundo Vega." A knowing smirk was exchanged.

"Don't forget about me," A body pushed itself through the two figures, a smile on his face as he stood tall and proud. "I got a long list of names but you can call me Isaiah Carlton," A wink came from the tan man and Santiago slapped his hand in greeting, clasping them together. "Move aside, I want to meet him too," A familiar flamboyant man ran a hand through his long locks, shaking my man's hand. "Do feel free to call me John Cavanaugh," Santiago nodded, tension leaving his shoulders. "The brooding man over there," He motioned to Ramone, who was slightly glaring. "Is Ramone Vega." I looked at Ramone, who silently stalked closer to Santiago, his blue eyes lidded over in some unknown emotion.

Were they really going to start a war here?

"Nice place you got here," Santiago drawled with indifference as Ramone came to stand in front of him, blue boring into brown. Ramone was the hardest to please out of all of them because he was so hard to get along with. "But it's not better than mine." I felt myself blink back and forth at Santiago's words, wondering if he really intended to die here today. His words were laced with sarcasm as he stared directly at Ramone, challenging him. I felt like slapping myself to make sure this was real and as my jaw dropped, seeing Ramone step closer menacingly, I figured it out that it was more than real.

Ramone stared at him, fire brewing in the depths of his orbs, his lips stagnant in a straight line. His jaw clenched as we all watched in unison, wondering what he was going to do next. We all were going to die because of Santiago's challenging words. I had no time to call Milo or Terrence. It was no use. Ramone was like a ticking bomb. Anything you said could piss him off.

"We're going to get along very well." 

I let out a breath of confusion, watching them. There was a small smirk on Ramone's face as he clapped Santiago's shoulder, the tension in the air disappearing. The five of them began to laugh and huddle in together, talking about something that the rest of us would never understand. Probably about how they planned to kill their next victims. They all appeared to have been strapped with weapons from head to toe, and I shuddered. Demetrios looked at me as if I held all the answers for the last few minutes.

"What the fuck just happened?" Micah sighed with exasperation, wondering just what the fuck took place here. "I-I don't really know..." I scratched the back of my neck, wanting to shove my face into the beautiful cake on the table behind me. I hadn't expected it to turn out like this. I wasn't too sure if it was a good thing or not. This party was for me, but I wasn't too sure how to feel. 

"Look," David came to stand in front of me, pushing his curls back so that he could look me in the eyes. I knew right then and there, he wasn't going to beat around the bush for anything. "I wasn't even there when they came to talk to you so I shouldn't even say anything, but know this, Brad," He reached down to grab my hands in his. "You had your reasons for doing what you did. You had your reasons to keep things from us. Everyone has something that they want to keep hidden, so I understand. Though, if you had told us, I would never have looked at you any differently." He finished and I could feel the tears in my eyes welling up as I looked up at him.

"So you'll need to let me fulfill my uncle duties to Ivory, okay?" 

I nodded, biting my lip. "Old man, don't be taking all of the glory for yourself," Micah butted in, pushing his dad out of the way. "I got something I wanna say too," He pouted, looking away from me as he spoke. "Brad, I may be younger than you, but I know that's no reason for me to have you treated you the way that I did. We should have looked at it from your point of view. I'm sorry for all of the things that I said, for not believing you, for doubting you." He looked utterly guilty as he fiddled with his fingers. "Please forgive me," He whispered and a tear escaped my eye.

"I-I," I stammered, overcome with emotion.

This was what I wanted.

"I guess I do." I stated in a calm tone, wiping my face. I wasn't too sure if I was in the wrong or if they were in the wrong, but I wanted to put it in the past. "Yay! I love you!" Micah pulled me close, peppering my face with sloppy kisses and my face blazed red as I pushed him away. "Get off me, you fucker!" I hissed as he giggled, latching onto me. "I'm still not calling you Anthony." I rolled my eyes, feeling a tug on my arm. "What is it, Derek?" I directed my stare over to him, wondering what he had to say to me. His words hurt because no matter how much I've lied to them, I was the same exact person.

"I'm sorry."

I gritted my teeth, studying him. 

He rubbed his neck as if he knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn't form the words and articulate it with speech. I chuckled to myself, looking fondly at him as he blushed, stuttering over his own mouth. "Oh my god," Demetrios came to stand next to him in front of me, letting out a huff as he garnered all of my attention. He fixated his fierce stare on me and I swallowed, unsure of what to say or how to go about things. 

"Brad," Demetrios stepped closer to me and I halted, wondering what he was doing. I was still a little wary of this. This could've been a trap. Was it a trap? I didn't think it was a trap. "No amount of redemption and pleading could take away the memory of the things that I said to you, things that I accused you of. I took my hate for my sister out on you and I'm sorry for discrediting your words. You did lie, yes," Demetrios bit his lip, his eyes watering and my heart lurched a bit at his sullen look. "But I understand why you did. I'm sorry for saying that I didn't know who you were because, in all reality, you're the same guy that I met in my dojo a year ago." I bit my lip to stop the impending tears as my fingers shook, his words destroying that insecure part of me. 

But he wasn't done.

"It doesn't matter what you have in your pants. All that matters is that you're here, with us. You're our best friend and we are terribly sorry for treating you the way that we did. We hope that you can forgive us and let us know more about you," His blue eyes searched my face for an answer and it took me a minute to think.

He had no idea, but that reassurance mattered to me. I had gone my whole life keeping that secret about who I really was, because I didn't want to be looked at differently. It was already hard enough for me to come to terms with the fact that I didn't have the same appendage as every other dude did, and I couldn't tell anyone because of that fear.

It was a soul-crushing fear.

"I'm sorry too, for lying to you guys." I lamented in a soft tone, bowing my head. "I should've told you all the truth." That was all I said before they attacked me with hugs, arms wound around me as tight as they could possibly go. I felt relief course through my veins as they held me to their bodies. "It's fine. You're here now and we can make up for five days without you." Micah nuzzled my chest and I allowed myself to laugh, feeling carefree in the moment. Demetrios had to ruin the moment with his matter-of-fact words.

"But yea, what Micah said. None of us are going to call you Anthony." 

I snorted, pushing him away. I couldn't with them but everything was going to be fine. "That's okay," I nodded with a smile. "There's only one person that I want calling me that." I tilted my head, turning my gaze to the man who held my heart tight in his grasp, watching as he threw his head back in a laugh, probably at something Isaiah said. He didn't know it, but he was the most handsome and the sexiest man that I had ever laid my eyes on. He had such a beautiful heart and I don't even think he ever realized it. It was the precise reason why I was in love with him.

He was everything that anyone could dream of having in a man. 

Santiago looked around, feeling eyes on him and those brown eyes landed on me, softening. 'I love you,' He mouthed as he grinned at me, so much adoration mirrored in his gaze and it made me wonder how I looked at him. It made me wonder if I looked at him the same way or deeper, more emotion conveyed. 'I love you too.' I mouthed back, my heart thumping in slow motion as I continued to stare, the sounds of Micah and Derek yelling at each other tuning out.

Aw crap.

I was hopelessly in love.