"come in, come in!"
there stood a beautiful, black haired woman in a tan sweater, gesturing us to enter excitedly. ansel and i stood behind everyone else, following as she shook hands with each of them - stopping at ansel and i.
"blair! oh my goodness! and ansel! you two have grown so much!" she said, "beautiful! i smiled widely, my cheeks up to ears turning red.
"hi, mrs.polibio, you look lovely." i said quietly, as she walked with us into the kitchen. "mirna!" she corrected me and hugged my shoulder, as she walked in front of me. "HEY!" mr.polibio exclaimed as we walked in, his hands over his head with a big smile. mr.polibio stood behind the counter at the stove, turning the heat on low before coming to hug each of us. after we greeted each other, mrs.polibio showed mom and dad around the house. ansel, and i sat at the kitchen table while mom and dad followed mirna, corrine ran off with gianluca to play. no sign of mattia, yet. we made small talk with mr.polibio as he cooked. he asked ansel about college, and how he felt about moving before asking me how i've been, and what's happened since we've been gone. he talked to us a bit about his restaurant and the new house, and how proud he was of mattia.
ansel glanced at his watch, before getting up to find mom. leaving mr.polibo and i in the kitchen.
"blair?" mr.polibio called to me as he patted the counter, motioning me to sit on the bar stool. i took a seat and smiled at him, my heart racing. mr.polibio and mrs.polibio felt like second parents to me before i left and even though it's a new house - the cozy, home feeling remains thanks to them.
"mattia hasn't said much about what happened between you two," he said as he watched the food, "but i know that it was hard for him to see you go." i nodded slightly.
"it was too hard to say goodbye." i said, "and i regret it everyday. but i know his life's been crazy lately."
"boy wouldn't come out of his room for days!" he laughed slightly, looking at me. "but, blair, i hope you two work everything out now that you're back. i really do think you two need each other, capire?" i nodded again, huffing slightly, watching as mrs.polibio, mom, dad, and ansel walked in.
"guess who's leaving already?" mrs.polibio stretched the corner of her mouth as she pointed to ansel, smiling after.
"oh, no! you're going to miss mattia!" mr.polibio said, looking at the time on his phone. "ah well, ciao - you're missing out mr. ansel." ansel laughed slightly before saying his goodbyes and leaving.
"where is mattia anyways?" mom asked, taking a sip from her wine glass.
"you know how boys are at this age!" mrs. polibo winked at me before grabbing her phone and taking a seat on the couch with mom. "blair, come!" she exclaimed as she walked through the spacious house.
"you can go downstairs to mattia's room, if you want. he has a t.v. and all that good stuff down there." she directed me to the entry-way to his bedroom - downstairs. i followed where she told me to go, walking down the stairs to find the boy had an entire LEVEL to himself. "jesus." i whispered to myself. the room wasn't dirty, but it wasn't clean. he had racks hung on his wall full of hoodies and shoes, along with a couple jerseys on the walls. LED lights hung around his room - typical tiktok boy. i took a seat on a chair in front of the t.v., too scared to sit on his bed like i did when we were younger. i let my eyes gaze along his room, stopping on a box of travis scott reese's puffs in the corner of his room.
not weird at all.
i decided it was best to not touch any of his belongings, just in case he still hates me. i sat on the black chair, scrolling on my timeline and texting my friends back "home."
after about twenty minutes or so, i heard the bedroom door close and listened closely as footsteps approached down the stairs. oh no. the person coming down coughed and went directly into the bathroom, not even noticing me. my heart dropped as i watched mattia walk by. he had his phone close to his face, on facetime with someone. he was dressed in a white adidas shirt with green accents, and a pair of jeans.
"i can't, bruh. i can't." the voice said over the phone, causing mattia to chuckle from the bathroom. he turned the sink on and began brushing his teeth apparently. "i'll talk to you later, bruh. i am not trying to listen to you gag." the boy said, ending the call. mattia brushed, gargled and spit then turned off the light. he walked out of the bathroom, throwing his phone onto his bed before turning to me and yelling loudly, causing me to yell.
"ah, what the fuck!" he screamed, jumping away from me. he pulled his hands to his chest .
i stood up, widening my eyes, "what the fuck what, you psycho? youre the one yelling!"
"no! you're yelling!" he ran his fingers through his black hair, taking a seat on his bed. "you scared the fuck outta me."
"is everything okay down there? mom told me to ask." gianluca asked from the top of the stairs, "yes!" mattia and i said together, gianluca shut the door.
mattia exhaled, still shocked from a couple of seconds before, "what are you doing here?"
i raised my eyebrows, dropping my head slightly as i crossed my arms. "i live here again."
"here? in my house?" he raised his eyebrows back in disbelief.
"no, are you brain dead?" he rolled his eyes, throwing himself onto his bed. "i live next door."
"then why are you in my house?" i made my way over to the bed, resting my shoulder on a pillar-thing he had from the floor to the ceiling. "your mom invited us over for dinner." he nodded, scooting over from the middle of the bed to the edge - patting the bed slightly with a goofy smile as if he was asking me to sit.
"listen," i began, taking a seat beside him, "i'm sorry." he nodded, i watched as his smile disappeared. "and i hope you're not mad at me, and even if you are - i hope you understand how difficult it was to bring myself to say goodbye. just say the word and i'll never talk to you aga-."
"shut the fuck up." mattia chuckled, sitting up. "holy fuck, you're still annoying after three years."
"are you not mad at me?" i looked down at my white fingernails, trying not to pick at the polish.
"no, i was mad, for a really long time." he said, looking at me, "but, i talked to my dad a lot and he made me feel better." he watched me with a smile, before adding "i didn't tell them you didn't say bye to me though, you're welcome." he smirked at me slightly, before resting his head against the head board of his bed. we stared at each each other for a couple of seconds, before his phone started going off. he declined quickly. "fucking kairi." he chuckled before looking at me awkwardly.
"friends?" i held my hand out to him.
he placed his large hand in my mine, beginning to shake it slightly, "friends." we smiled at each other softly, pulling away.
