Make me fall in love

Calling Jen for help!

**Day 9**

Richard's POV:

"Richard, you didn't intentionally fall out of love." My grandma shakes her head but it doesn't matter what she says, I'm still going to feel guilty at the end of the day. "Who knows, maybe when Hannah comes out, you will fall in love with her again, maybe she will fall in love with you too. All over again."

"Can that actually happen?" I ask her with a hope.

"Of course." She smiles at me sweetly, "How many times do you think I fell in love with your grandfather? Everyday a little more, for 35 years."

I smiled and was about to say something to her when the front door opened and I heard the one voice I never wanted to hear again: Frederick's.

"Nonna,  nonna!" He called her in Italian, I couldn't run fast enough out of the door to the back garden. I hid as my grandmother passed me my bag and my denim jacket.

Looking inside the house through the window, I saw my brother  with my two little cousins, they were all sitting down at the dinning table speaking in Italian with my grandmother who looked a bit tense. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know how to go back home . If I want  to leave ,I need to go back inside the house and take the bus, Frederick has been trying to communicate with me for a while so he will probably follow me which I'm not looking forward to, I should have known better... My grandma is used to having all her grandchildren come to her house every day for a few hours, sometimes until late at night... I should have known that there was a big possibility that he would show up. Before I know it, I'm calling the one person I've come to trust, the one person I know will come to my rescue.

"Jennifer?" I ask her once she answers her phone.

"Richard?" She copies my questioning tone with a bit of mockery. At least she's not trying to avoid me anymore..

"Jennifer, I know you're mad at me for not defending our relationship, I know that it might have a deadline but its real and I know that I should have said something and I'm really sorry but I need you to please forget you're mad at me for an hour and help me?" I ask her, I hadn't realised I was scared until my voice began to break.

Of course I was scared, Frederick is the reason behind all my f*****g nightmares, behind all my insecurities. My own brother is the monster under my bed, the one hiding behind every shadow.

"What's wrong, love?" Jennifer says, her voice was now serious, all the mockery gone, if I didn't believe that she cared about me before, I do now. I've never heard Jennifer sound so... worried. Not when it came to me. But it isn't like I ran to Jennifer for help before "Tell me what you need, I'll do it."

"My brother..." I tell her trying to swallow back the tears and push away the memories. "My brother is here. I came to my grandma's house and I— Frederick is here and I don't want him to see me, I wanted to take the bus but he'll see me and try to talk to me."

"Turn your GPS on, I'll know where you are, I'll be there as quick as I can, okay?" I agreed and did as she asked, I try to keep my hand as still as I can and try to say something but I can't, words won't leave my mouth. "Richard, I will be there okay? And I'll take you anywhere you want, okay? Just please talk to me. Say something, love."

"You're worried about me." I finally manage to say something and it caused her to laugh nervously, trying to distract me.

"In my defence, the weeks I've spend with you.., it hasn't been all that bad." She said and I can practically see myself smiling like an i***t. "You're not as boring as I thought you are, you're actually pretty cool to be around. I guess when all this finishes we can be friends, maybe?"

"Jennifer please get here quickly." I tell her ignoring her question mostly because I didn't want to think about the end of this relationship. I can hear Frederick laughing, that stupid laugh, I  could never really forget his laugh, not when every time I asked him to stop he'd laugh in that exact same way and hurt me even more.

"I'm on my way love, I'm on my way." She said and I hang up. I couldn't be on the phone. I needed to focus one thing at the time.

I wanted to avoid Jennifer because of the conversation she had with Ben that night, the one I might or might not have accidentally heard. I was confused with my own feelings, I didn't need to add to Jennifer's "feelings". But I needed her, I needed a way out and Jennifer was the only one that I knew would definitely come.

Lately, Jennifer is always there for me, to listen, to help me, to support me, to defend me. But I couldn't do the same for her.

Jennifer's POV - Day 9 of 27

Never in my life have I drove my car so fast like I was right now. I don't know why I was so worried but I felt like my heart was going to explode with worry any minute now, it was something in his voice, the way he was trying to sound strong but his voice ended up breaking. he sounded scared and nervous, I felt my heart drop when I heard his voice. I've never heard him sound like that.

He is at the little Italian neighbourhood, I could have guessed... I knew where it was because two blocks away is the Colombian restaurant I always go when I'm missing my country's food.

I was at Sasha's beach house, it was an hour away from him but I made it in 30 minutes, I followed my phone until I am near the dot that was supposed to be Richard. Don't judge me but when I took his phone I linked it with mine so whenever he uses his GPS, I can find him.

Richard is at a little house painted light green, one floor building. I quickly and desperately knocked on the door praying that I got the right one. I knocked again a few more times to make sure my knocks are heard. I was about to knock again when I heard a deep voice speaking in Italian. A tall guy, well build with tanned skin, bright green eyes and black hair opened the door. The guy was indeed charming, he looked like a decent guy but I knew better than to judge a book by the cover and the familiar nose and his cheekbones allowed me to recognise him, he looked a little bit like Richard. And I honestly don't know why I was so stupid to never see it. I know him.

The way his smile reminded me of someone but I never knew who, the way she had this familiarity to someone but I couldn't tell who. This is him. This piece of s**t is Richard's brother. I knew him but I never knew his name, I never could put a name to his face. This guy... This piece of s**t was one of my brother's "friends",one of the druggies.

The friends that looked for Kayden when they didn't have money and needed him to buy drugs for them.

"Well, hello there." He smirked looking at me like he remembered me. He then pointed his index finger at me, biting his lip and resting his body against the opened door. "You're the Giamatti girl... Kayden's little sister. I remember you. You've grown, I'm not the kind of guy to get with my friend's sister but... I guess Kayden wouldn't mind."

I was frozen in place, I didn't want to hear him say Kayden's name, the way he talked about my brother as if they were indeed friends when this little piece of s**t only used him to destroy himself and my brother, but here he is, standing right in front of me and where's my brother? Rotting 6 feet under, forever a 18 year old boy who couldn't even make it to his 19th birthday. My brother will never smile at me again, he will never graduate high school, he will never go Uni or go around the world with his little camera and funny hat that he used to wear when the sun was out, he will never fall in love or get his heart broken, he will never marry or have kids. Kayden will forever be 18, almost 19. He is dead and this dickhead  is alive.

I remember him laughing and destroying things at my house. I remember them, I remember this piece of s**t, I remember the girl with a crooked smile who always tried to f**k my brother and used to steal things at my house, I remember the other guy who looked like a f*****g ghost and the smell of all of them, they smelled like s**t mixed with death. I made Kayden bath and thankfully he never got to be like his 'druggies' friends were, yes, he wouldn't shave and he would look dirty but he didn't look like a d**g addict, he wasn't alive for enough time to make himself look like one anyway. And I remember their d**g dealer. I remember that b***h most of all, I remember her because she was the one who sold the g*n to Kayden, she was the one who ruined my life.

Before I could reply to him, I saw Richard coming towards the door, an old lady following behind saying something in Italian to which Richard replied and my knowledge allowed me to understand that she said I love you too grandma. When Richard reached the door, he didn't even looked at his brother, he just passed by him and walks towards my car, I followed behind him.

"Ric?" The prick said as he followed behind us. He caught hold of Richard's hand, don't ask me how but he did. My blood boiled when I saw Richard's expression, I've never seen him so scared and vulnerable.

I'm not an aggressive person, I'm really not so I don't know what took over me but I just knew I had to help him, I need to keep Richard away from him because he could only destroy what he touched and Richard was way too precious to be touched by him. I know people do change, maybe people one day wake up and say, 'f**k, i'm f*****g up my life, let me try and start again', but that doesn't mean people are going to forgive the mistakes you've made.

I know my brother wasn't a kid, he was 18  . he knew where drugs would lead them and he still took that path but I can't help to think that maybe if this peace of s**t and his other friends would have stayed away from him, maybe Kayden would be alive today because everything began to go down hill when he started doing drugs. Also, I don't know what he has done to Richard but whatever it is, it has wound him deeply and whatever he did, even if he did change, I don't think Richard could get over it, judging by the terrified expression in his face, I'm 100% sure that Richard won't forgive him, even if he does change.

I don't know what happened but I punched him. Just how Sasha taught me, right in his nose. Frederick was holding his nose, growling in pain, I took Richard's hand and I lead him to my car, opening the door for him and making my way to the drivers seat. I am planning of asking him to go on a ride with me late at night, so I had my Ferrari, I know he likes this car, so I though I'd surprise him by teaching him how to drive or something. I quickly get in the drivers seat and lock the doors before the prick could even try to open one of them. He quickly reached us and began to try and open the door to Richard's side but he couldn't. He kept calling his name with blood running down his nose, he is now punching my window. Richard looked so tense, so scared.., never in the time I've known him have I seen him look like this.

"Please Jennifer." he said, I could hear the need to leave, to get out of here, it was almost as if he was begging me to drive away. I'd be lying if I said my heart didn't drop to my feet when I heard his voice with such pain.

Within seconds, I started the car but couldn't took off as the little prick wouldn't move away from the window no matter how many times I made my car roar like a f*****g lion, he still not in the mood to move, so f**k it, if I ran over his feet or something it will be his own fault. Not caring I put the car on first and within minutes I had to change to fourth. I wanted to get him far away from that prick as fast as I could, far way from whatever it is that is making him feel like this.