05.
x
"In the end, I decide that the mark we've left on each other is the color and shape of love. That's the unfinished business between us. Because love, love is never finished. It circles and it circles, the memories out of order and not always complete."
-SARA ZARR, Sweethearts
Chicago city lights were the first thing Korinna saw when she opened her eyes. A huge smile welcomed it's self onto her lips as the lights blurred by, she felt like a child watching the scene zoom by as if it were her first time seeing them. Six months was a long enough time to be away from the true place she called home and the city lights put her at ease. Many nights Korinna had no choice but to roam the streets at all times of the night on her own due to avoiding her abusive mother or hiding from foster care. These lights were one of the many things that gave Korinna some sort of comfort. Those city lights shined bright through the dim rough streets and when it was time for them to say their goodbyes for now, Korinna always knew they would be back which gave her the extra push to keep living.
Korinna wished she had these lights back in Skiathos maybe if she did, she wouldn't have done much harm to herself. It was all a part of her mental state and her mental state has suffered in both destinations. After she felt a slight headache coming on, Korinna lifted her cheek from the car door and finally checked her surroundings. To her left lay a pillow next to her on the backseat, a soft cushion was also wrapped around her neck with a quick glance down she realized it was a neck pillow that smelled like fresh laundry, sand, tree bark, and citrus. Anwar's scent.
Lifting her eyes she spotted Anwar with both of his hands gripping the wheel in front of him. Korinna shifted her body to the middle of the backseat and inched forward to lean over the center console peeking over at Anwar's mother that was wrapped in a blanket with her eyes closed. Anwar knew Korinna had been awake for some time now but didn't bother to say anything to her just yet.
"Hey." Korinna croaked out, clearing her throat a few times before meeting Anwar's see-through mixture of green and yellow that were now more of a pale green blue eyes.
Anwar offered a small smile, "Hi moró. How'd you sleep?"
"Good. Surprisingly," Korinna muttered with a roll of her shoulders.
Anwar stopped at the next light, "See. I told you Roosevelt would help you sleep."
Korinna frowned, "Roosevelt?"
"The guy wrapped around your neck."
Korinna peeked down at the navy plushy neck pillow and breathed out a laugh, "You're an odd one Anwar."
With that said Korinna removed the pillow from her neck and motioned for Anwar to lift his head from the headrest and placed the pillow against his neck and shoulders. Anwar let out a dramatic sigh as Korinna leaned back into the warm leather seats while balling her legs underneath her.
"Where are we off to?" Korinna asked, playing with the sleeves of her sweater.
Anwar blinked through half lidded eyes as he drove through the next few familiar lights, "I'm taking you home."
xxx
Her heart felt as if someone were filling it with warm liquid as she stared at the brick home. There were no lights on but Korinna knew they were home, she sat frozen in the backseat for a few seconds until Anwar climbed out of the driver's seat to stretch his legs. Anwar eyed the scene around him, he found the urban streets strange to him since he only ever lived in Iran, Amsterdam, and Greece. It's not like Anwar never walked through streets such as these before but of course it was different than what he were used to. The girl he developed a small crush on grew up here, these were her roots and her father had no right to rip her from her growth. As a her friend he would do what was right.
Anwar let out a small yawn and used his cool fingertips to pull the back door open. He watched Korinna as she stared up at the house behind them in shock, wondering if she were really here or just dreaming. Anwar could confirm that everything from their leave of absence to now was definitely real. Holding his large hand out to the fifteen year old, Korinna swallowed as she placed her hand in his allowing him to gently tug her from the car. Korinna stepped to the side as Anwar pulled her backpack from the backseat and moved to pop the trunk to retrieve her duffle bag.
The sixteen year old moved to stand beside Korinna as he held her bags, his eyes trained on the side of her face. "Don't be scared."
Korinna dragged her eyes away from the home as her face now held determination, "I don't get scared."
Anwar gave her moving form a lopsided grin as he moved to follow her up the very steep steps. Korinna waited until Anwar stood beside her to throw her fist against the dark green door before Anwar bugged her some more. The two stood beside each other in silence with Anwar's eyes shifting from Korinna's to the car where his mother lay resting. Korinna turned to face the car and took her foot to kick against the door some more knowing that would wake someone in the home.
"Who the fuck is knocking on my door like they want to start some shit?!" A voice screamed, as they roughly pulled the door open, the door hitting the lamp not too far away from the door.
Korinna turned to face no other than Nicky Gimello who stood at the front door ready to break some jaws no doubt. Korinna took in Nicky's appearance, the man still looked the same besides growing out his beard (alot!) and his appeared exhausted. The man's frown disappeared as he stared at the fifteen year old in front of him who offered a smile and a wave. In an instant Nicky stepped down from the home, one hand flying out to yank Korinna by the back of her neck to his chest with his other hand holding her mid back and his chin resting against the top of her head.
Korinna swallowed the lump in her throat as both of her arms wrapped around the small of Nicky's back. There were no words that needed to be exchanged between the two just yet, all they needed was to enjoy this moment to lock this in for as long as they needed. Through closed lids Nicky felt his eyes go moist but he wouldn't dare let a tear drop from his eyes.
"Ay, Nicky! Who is it?!" Another voice called from the staircase.
Anwar made sure to move out of the way to give some room as another man came to the front entrance. He eyed Anwar with a frown as he tried to peek over his brother's shoulders to see who he could possibly hugging since Nicky wasn't the most affectionate guy. Vito placed his hand on Nicky's shoulder trying to pull him back some. Nicky let go of Korinna who used her knuckle to wipe the corners of her eyes. With a sniff Korinna lifted her head to meet Vito who eyed her before a big grin erupted over his face. The man jumped down and scooped Korinna up into his arms who threw her arms around his neck as he spun her around.
"Vito!" Korinna laughed as she held on for her dear life.
When Vito pulled back his eyes scanned over the teen's face, "Shit. It's sure good to see you, sweetheart!"
Korinna placed a kiss to both of Vito's cheeks, "It's good to see you too. You baby faced bitch."
Vito laughed as he placed Korinna back on her own two feet, tossing an arm around her shoulders as they turned to see Nicky mean mugging Anwar.
"Who the fuck are you?" Nicky barked, pointing a finger at him.
Anwar pointed to himself, "Me? Oh um. I'm Anwar, a friend of Korinna's."
"Damn sweetheart, got yourself a new boyfriend while partying it up in Greece eh?" Vito teased as he glanced down at Korinna who rolled her eyes.
"Shut up Vito. Anwar's not my boyfriend, he along with his mom brought me back from Skiathos." Korinna answered.
Anwar smiled as both Gimello brothers turned their attention back to him.
"We're not giving you any fuckin' money if that's what your intentions are by bringing Korinna back to us." Nicky spoke his truth as he continued eyeing Anwar, there was something about him he wasn't buying his whole "Nice Guy" act.
Korinna glared at Nicky as Anwar stared down at his shoes his cheeks tinting a bit against his tan cheeks, "Hey Nicky would it kill you to stop being the archimalakas (chief of assholes) for a second? If it wasn't for Anwar, I wouldn't be standing here right now."
Nicky grunted before stepping into the home leaving the three on the small stoop.
Korinna shook her head at the man noticing that he was still the same old Nicky. Vito stepped forward to Anwar and held his hand out to Anwar, "Sorry about my Faccia a culo (assface) of a brother. We're both really thankful that you brought Korinna back to us, honest. Where are you and mother staying? The both of you can stay here for tonight if you'd like?"
"Oh no. It's okay, my mom and I are only going to be here for a few weeks until my sister gets back from Iran so we can drive down to Kentucky. We're going to stay at a hotel," Anwar declined the offer politely.
Korinna's brows furrowed, "You don't have a key to your sister's?"
"My sister's very private." Was Anwar's only reply.
Korinna didn't feed into it too much while Vito found it a bit strange. Private sibling or not, no family member should have to stay in a hotel for a few weeks if they have more than enough room in their home whether they were home or not. Vito shrugged it off as he took the bags from Anwar, "Alright man. Thanks for everything, take care. Sweetheart, when you're ready you can come in."
The dark haired teen nodded at Vito who entered the home as Korinna turned to Anwar who already had his eyes trained on hers.
"Are you sure you and Ms. Yolanda don't want to stay? I swear Nicky isn't that bad," Korinna joked.
Anwar blinked as he shook his head, "I'm sure. I'll text you the hotel I'm staying at and you can come visit me or I'll come and visit you."
"Thanks again, Anwar." Korinna said.
Anwar stepped forward as Korinna wrapped her arms around his waist with both of his arms holding her in a bear hug. After a few short seconds, Anwar let go but not without a kiss to her forehead.
"Na sai kala koukla."(Be good, doll) He whispered, removing his lips before jogging down the steps to the car.
Korinna watched as Anwar strapped himself into the car, him glancing over his shoulder at her while she waved at him giving her a wink in return before he sped off into the night.
Soon the fifteen year old found herself behind closed doors with the Gimello brothers. Nicky already had the pull-out couch ready for her which made Korinna wonder what time it could be. Korinna plopped down onto the couch as the Gimello brothers stood beside her.
"Where's Nona?" Korinna yawned combing her hair back with her fingers.
She didn't miss the hesitation between the two until Vito answered, "We'll talk about that later in the morning over breakfast okay?"
Nicky looked away from Vito, "Yeah...get you some rest kid. We'll talk about everything in the morning."
Korinna nodded with knitted brows, "Okay?"
Nicky was the first to move giving Korinna a tight squeeze in the space between her beck and shoulder before heading up the steps.
Vito kissed Korinna's cheeks, "It's good to have you home. Sleep tight, sweetheart."
With that said he turned off the lamp before heading up the steps. Leaving Korinna to lay awake in the dark hours not only wondering but wishing everything around her home life wasn't damaged.
She couldn't believe this. Being away from your family for six months might as well have been two years. Korinna felt as if she missed everything all thanks to the cult, over strawberry oatmeal and orange juice the Gimello's filled Korinna in on their drama and Korinna later with hers. Nona Gimello was placed in a home but only for a little while, Nicky promised. The elderly woman had early stages of Alzheimer's disease and slowly began to mistake her grandsons for her father and older brother. Korinna didn't want to see the woman like that but Vito told her the woman would not stop asking to see the "little girl." Vito lost fifty percent of his hearing by a business deal gone wrong - the woman had stabbed him in the ear with a screwdriver and now Vito was secretly screwing her behind her father's back. As for Nicky he kept Nona's business alive on the side by creating her goods from meals to sweets to booze and also selling them internationally with the help of Vito's new broad which brought in a lot of cash.
Vito couldn't help but to throw in that Nicky might also have a child on the way but Nicky was certain that the kid wasn't his. Things have unquestionably been eventful, Korinna could say as she hung around the two brothers for majority of the day meeting Vito's girlfriend Nadia at dinner. Just as Korinna got some alone time to herself she received a text from Anwar letting her know the address of the hotel and apologizing that he hadn't sent a text earlier since he's been sleeping all day. Korinna decided now would be a good time to visit the boy as she got herself together telling Vito, Nicky, and Nadia that she would be back later.
"Why hasn't she asked about Gallagher yet?" Vito wondered as he watched Korinna through the blinds.
Nicky exhaled the smoke from his cigarette, "Just because she hasn't asked doesn't mean she isn't thinking about him. For all we know she could be making a pit stop by his place before seeing that Anwar kid."
"Should we trust Anwar...I mean he did bring her back?" Vito replied, sitting back down next to Nadia who continued typing onto the computer but listening to the conversation.
"We don't trust nobody that ain't family." Nicky stated.
Nadia gasped, "Heey what about me?"
"What about you?" Nicky inquired, taking long inhales.
Nadia shook her curly locks around as Vito wrapped an arm across her shoulders, "Vito your brother's kinda a dick."
Vito kissed her cheek laughing a bit, "We know."
Nicky smirked apologetically, "Hey Nadz. You were into some computer hacking back in your high school days right?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you hack this Anwar kid? Dig up some dirt on him?"
"First you say you don't trust me, now you need my help? Huh." Nadia clicked her tongue.
Nicky scowled, "Can you do it or not?"
Nadia sighed, "Sure. What's his name?"
"Anwar." Vito snapped his fingers with a goofy smile.
Nadia turned to her boyfriend and pinched his chin, "I know that sugar. What's his last name?"
Vito turned to Nicky who shrugged his shoulders not having a clue either.
Nadia stared at the two in disbelief, "For some thugs sometimes I question how intelligent you two are. If you don't know his last name I can't really hack him but I can find him through Korinna's facebook page but- that would also include me hacking her too..."
"Do it." Both of the brother's replied.
Korinna hummed along to Rihanna's, "Desperado" as she walked the streets of Chicago with her hands in her pockets. It would be a twenty minute walk to the hotel from her side of town to the hotel Anwar resided at but she didn't mind clearing her head a little bit since her headache wouldn't subside. Maybe a little fresh air would make it go away. As Korinna approached an empty lot she heard small talking between two guys and almost half way through passing she decided to lift her head to spot two guys sitting on a hood of a car. One guy was hunched over with a dark hoodie, natural dark hair springing up over his head, dark skin, rugged facial hair, and wild eyes. Next to him sat another boy, a boy with cornrows, a bright red hoodie, low eyes and a bottle attached to his lips with his knees crouched.
"Carl?" Korinna called out with slits in her eyes, since she didn't have her contacts or glasses in or on.
At the sound of his name Carl pulled his lips from the bottle, "Who's asking lil mama?"
Korinna snorted out a laugh as she stepped onto the lot, her presence becoming known from underneath the streetlight. "Me. Korinna - not little mama or whatever the hell you just said."
Carl leaned forward on his knees to get a good look at the girl in front of him. Same bronze skin, same dark dyed hair, same height, same busty chest, same petite body, same oval dark tunnel eyes, same laugh, same stance, same lips...
Korinna Rokos was back and Carl felt like his chest were going to cave in at the sight of her standing before him. He wanted to pull her into his arms and never let go but he was over her, she was out of his system. He didn't need her so she was no factor to him. Carl swallowed as he turned his head slightly to the man beside him, "Nick lets be out. It's brick out here."
Carl jumped down from the hood of the car making his way around the car. Korinna smile faltered a bit not knowing why Carl was giving her the cold shoulder but she wouldn't just accept it. Nick slowly climbed off the hood as the dark haired girl made her way to Carl placing her hand on his shoulder. Carl shrugged her off turning to Korinna quickly, one fist balled as he started to pant air roughly through his nostrils.
Korinna raised her brows as she eyed Carl who kept flexing his fingers, a look Korinna had seen before in Nicky and in Dacey who on the other hand always had his fist ready to swing.
With a tilt of her head Korinna spoke, "Oh Killa, Carl. You look like you want to hit me. For what reason? I don't know but go ahead, I fuckin' dare you."
Carl clenched his jaw as he felt his eyes begin to burn. He stepped back from Korinna who had their foreheads pressed together, "Look at you. You've been gone for six months without a trace and it seems you already forgot what I'm about. I thought you knew me better than that, I would never put my hands on you no matter how bad you fucked me up."
The words Carl spoke to Korinna made Korinna's impulse come to a halt. She didn't think, all she felt was coldness from Carl and she didn't like it. She didn't think his reaction would be so cold to her after she had left. She forgot that Astrid and Dimitri never sent her letters or how hard she fought to get in contact with him. She forgot all of that when she saw him sitting there with his new friend, she got so wrapped up in the sight of him she didn't think to remember how he must feel without her.
"Carl...I'm sorry," Korinna started as Carl licked his lips, "I'll explain everything-"
"Explain?! There's nothing to explain, you left! That's the end of the story, you're just like my mom and Bonnie. Matter of fact you're just like your father, you leave when shit get's tough. I got out early, obviously, just to find that you're not around. After you gave me your first letter I was looking forward to seeing you - having you come to juvie to let me know you'd hold me down until I got out. I wanted to hear that from your mouth but no I was stuck reading that everyday and every night wondering why you never came through to see me. Your words don't mean shit to me, Ren." Carl exploded.
That's when Korinna shoved Carl backwards causing the fourteen year old to stumble a bit. She was furious that Carl thought that low of her, there was never a day in her life when she knew Carl that she stopped caring about him. He didn't want to hear her truth, he just wanted to assume to make himself feel better.
"Don't you ever compare me to those three again! If you just let me speak you would know that I didn't leave on purpose!" Korinna yelled back at the boy.
Carl sucked his teeth, "Why are you still even talking to me right now? There's nothing to say, we're done. I'm done talkin' to you, Nick let's roll. You might want to move out of the way, Nick drives recklessly unless you want to stand there like a speed bump, you can. Do you like you've been doing for the past six months!" He snapped climbing into the passenger seat.
Nick watched in silence, watching the girl inhale a shaky breath. He climbed behind the wheel as Carl kept his eyes trained out out the window shield but anywhere from Korinna's frame.
"Screw you!" Korinna growled slamming her fists onto the hood of the car as Nick started it.
Carl clenched his jaw again meeting Korinna's tears. He's only ever seen her cry a few times in his life but this one might have just been one of the saddest he's ever seen. Carl met her eyes for the final time that night thinking about giving her the finger but decided not to, "Drive around her. She's not worth hitting."
She was worth a lot but dying wasn't one of them. Nick turned the wheel and zoomed out of the parking lot leaving the girl out on her own. As they drove down the street for a few minutes in silence Nick quietly asked, "You want to talk about her?"
"No. Just drive," Carl ordered turning the radio on softly nodding his head to the beat.
Korinna sat on the ground in pain as her fingers shook over the keyboard on her phone.
TO: Anwar
let's find a party tonight.
A/N: Yeah...so that happened! We all knew this reunion was coming and we can all say we conquered our fears. There's still much more to come, last week I sat down and wrote out main points that will happen throughout this story and there's a major plot twist within this story. I'm excited for tonight's episode and I just had to write this chapter out instead of Mad Hatter's - I hoping you didn't notice lol.
Also I created another playlist for this story which you can find on 8tracks under the username velvet_veins. Can't wait to see your reactions!
