Chapter 3: Sad Goodbye’s
"I bought you something," Adam said, shrugging his shoulders as he held out a gift bag, "it isn't much but I hope you like it,"
"Aw, you didn't have to get me anything Uncle Adam!" Keith smiled accepting the bag.
Sitting on the couch he tore open the wrapping paper, eager to see what was underneath. A gasp escaped his lips as he pulled out a large photo frame with a picture of Keith holding a newborn Luca in his arms, the father of Luca standing next to the hospital bed, both of them smiling, tears on their cheeks. Ethan and Elijah stood on the other side of Keith, Carol and Adam standing next to Luca's father.
"It's beautiful!" Keith said before hugging his uncle tightly.
"No problem, kiddo," Adam chuckled ruffling his nephew's hair, "I know you have one in your photo album but I figured it would be nice if you had a family photo that you can hang up somewhere,"
"That's so sweet, Adam!" Elijah said, smiling.
"Yes, thank you, Uncle Adam," Keith thanked him one more time, smiling, "I think I'll hang it right above the fireplace,"
Keith placed the frame on the shelf above the fireplace, taking a couple of steps to look at the angle.
"Perfect!" Keith said, placing his hands on his hips, his black coloured hair swaying as he spun to look at his family.
"Well, I guess this is it, huh?" Elijah says.
Keith bit the inside of his cheek, nodding slowly. Even though Keith was only moving out, it almost felt as if he wasn't going to see them again for a while. Just the thought of leaving made a slight lump in his throat rise.
"I guess so," Keith said as Elijah sniffled and wiping his eyes with the sleeves of his sweater.
Elijah wrapped his arms around Keith, biting back his tears even though they were already falling. Keith hugged his dad back softly, burying his head in his shoulder.
"I can't believe you're leaving," Elijah cried, his voice breaking.
"I'm not leaving you, papa!" Keith laughed, breaking the hug and taking Elijah's hands, "I'm only going to be an hour and a half away so you can come and visit anytime! Of course, I don't mind visiting too. Also, we do live in a time where technology is at it's prime. We can video call every day if you want!"
Elijah sniffled before letting out a small laugh. Keith felt him squeezing his hands slightly before taking one away to wipe the stray tears on his face once again.
"It's just... I'm going to miss you so much," Elijah said, his voice muffled through his sobs.
"I'll miss you too, papa," Keith whispered. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ethan wiping his eyes.
"Daddy, are you crying too?" Keith asked shaking his head.
"No, I just have something in my eye," Ethan snorted as he continued to wipe his eyes.
"Aw Daddy, it's okay to cry!" Keith cooed gently.
Ethan grabs Keith and pulls him into a warm hug. Keith could feel tears threatening to leave his eyes as he hugged Ethan back.
"I'm going to miss you, Keith," Ethan said.
"I'm going to miss you too, daddy," Keith said, noticing his father's grip tightening before letting go, wiping at his eyes.
"Alright my turn!" Carol said, hugging Keith, "I'm so proud of you Keith! Frank and Bella would be proud of you as well,"
"Thanks Aunt Carol,"
"If you need anything, and I mean anything, just give me a call and I'll be here," Adam said, hugging him
"I will," Keith said, stepping back.
"Mama, why is everyone crying?" Luca frowned, tugging at Keith's hand to get his attention, "did something bad happen?"
"No baby," Keith said as he picked his son up, resting on his hip. "everyone's just little emotional, that's all,"
"Why?" Luca asked.
"They are just happy that this is happening for us!" Keith responded, everyone nodding in agreement.
"So..." Luca said as he looked at everyone. "Happy tears? No sad tears?"
"Happy tears," Keith confirmed, Luca's face brightening up.
"I am happy too, mama!" Luca said, causing the five adults to chuckle.
"I'm glad, bud," Keith said, smiling.
Before saying their final goodbyes, Keith walked his family back outside along with Luca. His parents, Aunt and Uncle got into their respective vehicles.
"Say bye-bye!" Keith said, waving his hand, Luca imitating the gesture.
"Bye-bye!" Luca called out, getting a wave and a honk in response before both of the cars left, pulling out of the driveway.
Keith and Luca stayed until the cars disappeared down the road. Then they were gone, leaving nothing but the peaceful sound of the waves crashing into each other to echo in the air.
Keith wiped away a tear quickly before turning to Luca.
"Are you hungry?" Keith asked and Luca nodded.
The pair began to head back into the house and went straight to the kitchen. As they walked past the living room, Keith couldn't help but think about how his parents broke down.
It wasn't normal to see your parents upset so seeing them so upset practically tattooed the memory into his mind.
"What do you want for lunch?" Keith asked Luca, pushing the memory away into the back of his mind. He picked Luca up and sat him down onto a chair while he had a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Umm... hot dogs and cheese!" Luca told him.
Keith grabbed the hot dogs from the fridge and a box of Macaroni and Cheese from the pantry. His Aunt and Uncle were nice enough to bring him some groceries that would last him a couple of days until he needed to go shopping. Keith decided to just have an apple and a glass of water since he wasn't really hungry.
Maximus suddenly wandered into the kitchen and went straight Keith's lap, trying to get a bite of his apple. Keith jolted back, laughing a little before patting the pitbull's head.
This was what his life was going to be like from now on. Although he was sure that his parents would come to visit often, it would just be him, Luca and Maximus.
Once Luca was finished with lunch, Keith brought Luca into the living room and sat him on the couch. He took the remote and turned on the TV, changing the channels until he reached Luca's favourite TV Show- Paw Patrol, on the television. Luca cheered and clapped his hands.
"Now," Keith says as he kneels in front of Luca, "I am going to do some unpacking ok? I want you to stay here and don't wander around unless you have to use the bathroom. Do you understand?"
"Can I help?" Luca asked.
"I don't want you getting hurt, so just stay here okay? I'll be back in a few," Keith said shaking his head.
Keith planted a kiss on Luca's forehead then stood up and headed up to the second floor where the attic was located. His parents had always told him not to go up there as a kid.
His grandparents didn't seem to mind much but his parents always told him before they got to their house to never go up there. He was finally going to be able to see what was up there since the house now belonged to him.
It was in his right to see. That same flurry of emotions from earlier on today began to battle against themselves as he walked up the staircase.
Keith walked to the end of the hallway, a door at the end of it. He took out the key to the attic with a shaky hand and unlocked it.
'Hopefully, they don't know I'm borrowing this,' Keith thought to himself. His parents had hidden it from him which just increased his curiosity. He couldn't help but feel like they were hiding something from him. He knew it was wrong but he couldn't help himself.
With a small click, the door began to creak open, revealing nothing but darkness. He hesitated for a moment. Whatever was up there was very important to his parents for them to hide it from him for so long.
"Let's hope this was worth the wait," Keith muttered to himself.
He placed his hand on the right side of the wall inside the attic and found a light switch. He pressed it, causing the lights to flicker wildly. Keith squinted, waiting for the flickering to stop. When it did stop, instead of seeing an actual attic, he was shown another staircase.
Keith frowned at his discovery while he walked up the stairs.
Keith started walking up the stairs, the stairs creaking like they were struggling against his weight. Once at the top of the stairs, there was another door. Keith tilted his head to the side, praying that there wasn't another set of hidden stairs. All the walking was making his anxiety worse.
Without thinking, Keith pushed the door which to his surprise was already open. Yet again, he was faced with nothing but darkness. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of his own breathing. His heart was hammering so hard against his ribcage that he was shocked it wasn't rattling the walls of the house.
Keith took in a deep breath before stepping inside the room and fiddling around for a light switch.
"Come on, where is i-"
Before he could finish, the light's came on, exposing the wonders that his parents had been keeping from him.
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