Nine Lives

"How much longer do we have to stay here?" I whined to Gabe as I pushed the shopping cart around. I was bored out of my mind. I've always hated shopping, I didn't know why I thought this trip we be any better than my past experiences.
"We're nearly done. I just have to pick up some bathroom essentials and we can go." Gabe said as I followed him to the health and beauty sections where he picked up soap, shampoo, conditioner, tooth brushes and what I could only assume was condoms with the way he casually threw the box into the cart like it was the same thing as a tube of toothpaste. He didn't put the toothpaste in the cart like that though.
We finally left after another thirty minutes of picking up more dead weight groceries and I was so tired that I didn't even want to have to carry the bags into the house, but Gabe couldn't carry all five hundred on his own. I grabbed half the load and opened the door. I set the groceries onto the island and exhaled.
"I'm going for a shower." I said to Gabe as I ran up the stairs into my room, but there was a rather cute Mexican lying on my bed which distracted me from my earlier intentions.
From where I stood he looked to be sleeping, but when I got closer, I could see and hear the heavy breaths he was taking.
"Vic. Vic what's wrong?" I asked worried as I sat next to the curled up boy.
He turned towards me, his eyes stinging red and tears streaming down his flush cheeks "Kells it's bad." was all he managed to choke out before another wave of tears and emotion hit him.
"What's bad? Vic, what's bad?" I was becoming more and more concerned as I wrapped my arms around him into a comforting hug. I didn't even care that his tears were soaking my shirt, or the fact that I'm pretty sure some snot got on there too. (Let's face the fact that half the time when your eyes cry, your nose does too) All I cared about in that moment was that whatever hurt Vic, whatever caused him this much pain... I wanted to be the one to comfort him. To hold him and tell him everything was okay. I wanted to be the one to love him.
He sniffled and wiped his nose and eyes with the sleeve of his crewneck before he spoke "So I-I w-went to see Mike a-and my parents I... I spoke to them and they didn't e-even know it was me, Kells. It killed me a-and then when I w-went to t-the p-plot I-" his breath was caught in his throat before he could finish his sentence.
"Shh, it's okay." I hugged him closer and he wrapped his arms tight around me like a young child who hasn't seen their mother in a long time.
"No. No it's not." he shook his head "He's gone."
"Whose gone, babe?" the babe sort of slipped out.
"M-my brother. Not Mike, F-Frank." he tried to wipe the fresh tears that poured out but it was useless. His eyes were Niagara Falls and I was the small boat trying to sail along in his water of misery, but is was falling useless as I felt my own heart sink. I knew how hard it was to loose a family member, someone you were once close too, and I didn't want Vic to feel this pain. I wanted to take all his pain and suffering away. To remind him of happier days and not dwell on this... this black hole of misery.
"It's okay, Vic. I'm here for you and I love you." I said my arms still around him, but he moved out of my arms to look at me through heartbroken tears.
"D-did you... What did you say?"
I bit my lip before I responded.
"I love you."