Bianca's mouth fell open, and she stared at him for a moment, her big stunned eyes searching his face for something. With her chest still heaving, she shook her head, blinking a couple of times. More tears leaked out of her eyes and down her cheeks before she turned around and walked away without saying another word.
Drawing a blank about what to do or say to her now, Gio watched her walk away. As much as his heart begged him to go after her, he knew there was nothing more to say. He stood there immobile as the minutes passed. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d been standing there, but it was long enough to rewind everything he’d been through with Bianca since the day he’d first gone up to Felix’s cabin.
Relentless hope flew out from the grave, suddenly pounding questions in his head. Why would she come down here just to lie to him? Why would she be so hysterical about it? He’d let his clobbered ego strangle those two questions down when she’d stood there before him and unleashed what the blinding anger would only let him believe. What he’d obsessed about all week—she’d had regrets.
The only thing that kept the whispering hope from increasing into a roar was Felix. Gio hadn’t been able to hold back from hearing Abel’s version of Felix’s answer to his inquiry at the hospital. Gio had expected nothing less from Abel. He’d been far less careful about hurting Gio’s feeling, telling him straight out. It sure as shit appeared that they were back together, and to him, Felix had confirmed it.
Gio wasn’t dead yet, but he may as well be because that’s how he felt. Hope beat out pride and he pulled out his phone. Plopping down into his beanbag, he scrolled down his contacts. He could hardly believe what he was about to do, but he hit send.
It rang a couple of times before Felix answered. “Hey, G.”
Felix’s tone worried Gio. He sounded too laid back for someone who’d been so mad at him just a few weeks ago. Sure, he’d been civil at the services, but that was to be expected. His tone now sounded almost pleasant. Gio didn’t even know where to begin.
“Felix, I, uh—”
“I’m glad you called,” Felix interrupted him. “I was just waiting for all this laying Jack to rest business to be over. I don’t want you or anyone to think that because of the beef between me and you I’m turning my back on 5th Street. Now more than ever, I want that place to represent what Jack always dreamed it would: hope for the troubled youth of East LA. It’s what he lived for. I don’t want the dream dying with him. I promised him I’d help. I want to be part of that dream to give back to him what he gave to me—to all of us.”
Gio was getting choked up, thinking about Jack. The reason for this call now felt so selfish, so petty. “Thanks man. I don’t even know what to say. We couldn’t do it without you. That’s for sure.”
“It’s my pleasure, broth—”
The line went silent for a moment, and Gio squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like the biggest dick on the planet.
Felix cleared his throat and continued. “It’s my pleasure, G. It’s the least I could do for a place that did so much for me.”
“Well, it will be extremely appreciated by so many for years to come. I can guarantee you that.” Gio took a deep breath. “You’re a good guy, Felix. I only hope that someday you can forgive me for what happened.”
“That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about.”
Gio’s breath caught. Was this it? A final warning that he stay away from Bianca? This would definitely be the nail in the coffin, because no matter how much he loved her, there was no way he’d be that selfish to ruin this second chance for the rest of the guys.
“It sucks the way everything went down.” Felix spoke with a little less conviction than when he spoke about Jack. “But I got to thinking long and hard. I knew there was something different about Bianca from the moment I ran into her again last summer—different from any other girl I’d ever met.” Gio brought his hand over his eyes. God he didn’t want to hear this. Felix didn’t have to tell him how special Bianca was. “I just didn’t figure it out soon enough. She deserved better than how I treated her, than what I did to her, and it cost me in the end.”
The end? Gio’s hand came down slowly from his face, and he sat up a little straighter. He dare not interrupt.
Felix continued. “The night we left the hospital, Bianca nearly had a panic attack in the car. At first, she didn’t want to admit to me, of all people, that it was you she was so upset about. She did admit it later when she was calmer but said she’d be okay.”
Felix paused, prompting Gio to ask what he’d been dying to know all week. “What did you mean when you told Abel at the hospital it was complicated and they wouldn’t understand?”
He heard Felix sigh. “Even though I knew it was ultimately my own fault I’d lost her, that I was going to lose her anyway once the truth about Shelley came out, I was still hurt about how it all went down. I wanted them to think there might still be a chance for me and her. I knew it’d get back to you, and with all the shit on TV, I knew you’d believe. I was still pissed at that point. Hell, I still am, only not so much at you as I am at myself.” Felix let out an exasperated breath. “I ran into Evelyn just a few days after you left. She told me about you blowing her off. I know you wouldn’t blow off someone like Evelyn, especially after she said to you what she told me she did. I could only assume you and Bianca were already . . .” He stopped for a moment before continuing without ending that last statement. “You were loyal to Bianca even though she had someone else, and I’d bet my bank account that you still haven’t even thought about another girl, right?”
Gio didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. Of course, he hadn’t thought of another girl. He could barely think about anything else much less moving on to someone else.
“You know what I did that night, G? I made Evelyn’s little dangerous fantasy a reality.” Felix sounded disgusted with himself. “I think we both know who is more deserving of Bianca. And she deserves someone who can truly appreciate her. Except for the stuff about that girl being pregnant with my kid, none of that other shit they’re saying is true, G. It’s what those fucking tabloids do. Create a story where there’s not one. But even I wanted to believe there might be.”
Felix told him about how he’d swallowed his pride and went down to see her the day the press got all the pictures of them “back together.” Only what the press didn’t know was she’d turned him down flat.
Gio stood up in alarm. Bianca had been all but hysterical when she’d walked in. “I gotta go.”
“What?” Obviously Felix was stunned that Gio would cut him off mid heartfelt speech. But Gio didn’t have time to explain. He’d never forgive himself if Bianca had some kind of panic attack while driving or something because of his dumb ass.
“Listen, Felix, thanks for this. We’ll talk some more soon,” he said, pushing the garage door open as he stormed out. “I’ll explain later, but I gotta go!”
He hung up and dialed Bianca, already sprinting to his bike.