Heart and Soul [bxb]

Chapter Forty-Six (Pt.1)

In the week following dinner with Johnny's family, Carter felt he had once again found a new routine. 

He was spending a lot of time with his friends, like it was freshman year all over again. Bella's friend, Lauren Santiago, had somehow officially met Jenna and Mel and they seemed to have gotten along. They all ended up hanging out together at the Santoros', on Thursday.

Minus Johnny. 

Carter kept telling himself he was going to talk to his family soon. The more he repeated it in his head the more convinced he felt about it too.

On Friday evening, Carter found himself in his living room, texting Johnny, while Frankie and Luca played FIFA next to him. Bella sat on the armchair to the side, back leaning against one armrest with her legs swung over the other, phone in hands.

When the doorbell rang, Carter looked up to see no one standing. 

"Can somebody get that?" Tony shouted from the kitchen.

Bella, Frankie and Luca didn't move. Carter was considering getting it himself, when Mike appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Don't worry, I'll get it," he said dryly, though none of his siblings seemed to note the edge of criticism in his tone.

Carter watched him disappear into the foyer, before he heard the front door click open.

"Jack!"

That did the trick.

Frankie and Luca paused their game, heads turning toward the living room entryway. Bella's head snapped up at light speed. When the second oldest Santoro brother popped up into the living room, bag swung over his shoulder, all three of them shot up from their seats to launch at him. No one beat Bella, though.

"I thought you were coming tomorrow morning," she exclaimed, swinging her arms around her brother's shoulders.

"Surprise," Jack sang back, wrapping his own arms around Bella's waist, lifting her off the floor a little bit.

No matter how often Jack visited, the Santoros always acted like they hadn't seen each other in years. At first, it had felt a tad overdone in Carter's mind; he wondered for a while if it was a cultural thing. There was a certain stereotype of dramatics surrounding Mediterranean cultures. Slowly, though, this attitude was starting to slither into his sense of normality.

Mike stepped in behind Jack, as Bella broke free from the hug.

"Hi," he said, making his brother twist around to look at him. "How's the new semester?"

Jack laughed, slipping an arm around Mike's shoulders for a quick yet warm side-hug. "Shaping up to be a real killer," he answered truthfully.

"Found a job yet?" Tony's voice sounded, right before he came in from the kitchen, wearing one of his personalized aprons and holding a wooden spoon.

Jack rolled his eyes playfully. "Looking," he murmured. "Good to see you too, old man."

It was Tony's turn to roll his eyes. "You're here every other weekend. Just throw the dirty laundry with the rest and I'll have it cleaned by tomorrow night." 

Despite the dismissive words, Tony stepped closer to his son to put his free hand on one side of Jack's face before kissing the other. When he pulled away to walk back into the kitchen, Luca took the opening.

"Got a new man yet?" He asked with a wink, and only a tinge of teasing in his tone.

Jack snorted. "Taking some me time, little dude," he said, before the two of them engaged in a complex handshake that culminated in a quick hug.