Part 3
"I can't believe you're here," I said to him hours later in a small, spare room in the tunnel, which was called The Heartbreak Hotel. It had been damaged by the SP's before the uprising, and was still in the middle of being fully repaired for a concert.
"Of course I'm here. What made you think that I wasn't?" He asked, handing me a bottle of water.
"I don't know. Mom told me that...you were killed by some of those Boyzone kids in a fight. And I believed her in some weird way."
Gordon shook his head and replied, "She has such a great hobby for lying to our faces."
"Yeah. Exactly."
After some silence, I asked him why that girl kept calling him "Gaz".
"Remember when I wanted to be called 'Galileo' instead of my real name?"
"How can I forget? Mom smacked you so hard and actually almost killed you when you told her."
He smirked and replied, "Yeah, I know. But, being called 'Galileo' or 'Gaz' now just seems better to her and the rest of the Bohemians now than my real name. We all go by different names instead of our real ones. It's more civil and enjoyable that way."
"So...I'm going to have to call you Galileo now?"
"'Fraid so. You're going to need a new name later on so..."
I nodded and nervously took a sip from the water bottle, letting the cool, stale liquid slide down my already burning throat, which still hurt from the crying.
"Any better now?"
I nodded again and handed the water bottle back to him. He suddenly grabbed my wrist and I winced slightly. Gordon/Gaz saw that one of my hoodie sleeves were torn and it revealed a scar under my wrist from a previous razor blade cut, which was still in the process of healing.
"This wasn't from before...was it?"
"Not really," I answered, rolling up my sleeves to show him the pattern of scars, new and old, on my arms...not including the mishap with my palm.
"Most of these count the days I've been suffering after you left. Mom doesn't know," I replied, pushing my sleeves down, "she couldn't even care less. Never did anyway."
He sighed and looked down at the floor while I turned away again, thinking that I either scared or disappointed him.
"I'm sorry," I replied as he continued to look down.
"I didn't think you'd be in the same situation as me," he muttered.
I shrugged and said, "It happens, I guess."
(To be continued...)
