Chapter 5.3 - Teen Boys

The next morning I could tell Angelo was still mad at me for our argument last night. he ate breakfast and then went into the art room to work with his chemistry set. I felt bad for yelling at him but he is a teen now and he really needs to give up this childhood fantasy of having an imaginary friend. An hour later Angelo came back inside and hollered for me.

"Coming," I said as I walked into the living room, noticing a young man I had never seen before with Angelo.

"Mom, i want you to meet Scotty."

"Scotty?" I said as I thought to myself "Isn't that the name of his imaginary friend?"

An hour ago
"I will prove to them that you are real," Angelo said to Scotty as he worked hard at his chemistry set "Just one more ingredient and.."

*poof*

"It's done! Are you ready to become real, wait lets go outside first," Angelo said looking at Scotty and then looking around "It would probably be best if we weren't around all of these chemicals.

 Present
"It's nice to meet you Mrs Abruzzi," Scotty said shaking my hand.

"You too."

"Mom, can we finish my driving lessons now so Scotty and I can go to the school pep rally?"

"Yea, that's fine. We only have to do one more hour."

We finished his driving lessons and when we got back home I let the boys go out.

"Just be home before curfew and be careful!"

"We will," Angelo said as they drove away.

Angelo's P.O.V.
"Man, this is going to be great and telling my mom we wanted to go to a pep rally was a good idea!"
"Hell yea! What are we going to do first?"
"I say we prank the Striker's first, I hate those guys!" I said as we parked down the street and picked up a carton of eggs "With these!"

We walked up to their house and started hurling eggs at their house. Within seconds their front door was smeared with eggs, dripping down to the ground.

We noticed someone coming to the door so we ran back to the car and took off.

"Hahaha, that was awesome and we didn't even get caught!"
"I know dude," I said "My parents are going to freak if they find out!"

We started to drive towards downtown with the stereo blasting when a commercial came on.

"Attention all of you teen and athletic junkies out there in Bridgeport. If you think you got what it takes to compete against some of the top athletes and you want to put your muscles to the test come on down to Llama Stadium and compete in the Amateur Olympics. Win and you will be taking home the $3,000 grand prize!

And for all you young adults and adults out there come check out Bridgeport's new dance club/entertainment club, Club Kama Simtra. it's sure to get you up and dancing and get your heart pumping!"

I looked at Scotty and knew we were thinking the same thing!

"$3,000 grand prize?" He said
"and a new club?" Scotty said
"Let's do this, maybe we can get some hot chicks!"

With that we went to the stadium, signed up for the Olympics, and then we competed in the long 2 hour competition.

2 hours later
"Geez man, that was a vicious challenge."
"No kidding but at least we won. Now we can take this 3 grand and spend it on booze and girls."

Club Kama Simtra was any mans dream come true (or women's dream come true) from the moment you walked through the doors. Not only did it have a bar and catwalk but downstairs there were 4 "fantasy" rooms to fulfill any desire.

We went straight to the bar, tossed back a few drinks, and watched the girls on stage.

"Hey Angelo," Scotty said tugging on my shirt sleeve "Doesn't that girl over there look familiar?"

I looked at the girl he was pointing at and ended up doing a double take. The girl did look very familiar but I couldn't think of anything until...

"She almost looks like your Aunt Bianca," Scotty said "Only hotter."

Right about then the girl walked up to Scotty, whispered in his ear and then he handed her some money and they went downstairs. He was doing the same thing I wanted to do but the other girls here weren't even worth it!

~~~

When I saw Scotty coming back towards me with a huge smile on his face awhile later I was going to ask him all about his little rendezvous with the girl but then my phone rang. Lucky for me they had just turned the music off in between "acts" because it was my mom.

"Hey mom, what's up?"

"I know you still have a few hours before curfew but I need you to come home now."

"Oh...ok, we are on our way."

I hung up the phone and got Scotty.

"hey, I gotta go home. I think something might be wrong with my family. My mom said a bit distracted."

"Alright, i'll go with you. I hope everything is ok."

Back at home ~ Mia's P.O.V.
"Angelo, i'm glad you're home," Julian said "Hi Scotty."

"Hi Mr Abruzzi."

"What's going on dad?" Angelo said "Mom sounded a little anxious on the phone."

"I am anxious," I said as i walked into the kitchen "Me, your dad, and your Aunt Bianca have won a 2 day vacation to a wine club in Bled island. We leave in an hour."

"Cool mom!" Angelo said as he glanced at Scotty, the both of them smiling "Sounds like fun!"

Chapter 5.2 - Our Babies :(

Just a few months had passed since I was able to get Bianca her job back and now she seemed more alive than ever. She was working almost every single day, constantly doing interviews, being a spokesperson for anti-drug ads, and making appearances on many t.v. shows.

While the kids were playing and Julian was making dinner, I was trying to finish up some last minute paperwork for a big meeting with a potential client that my office would be meeting with the next day.

**Knock Knock**

"Mia?" Bianca said as she slowly opened the door," Do you have a moment?"

"Not really sis but come on in and sit down."

"How are you feeling? You look great, I love the new makeover."

"I am feeling great and thank you. I want you and Julian to know how much I have appreciated all of your help. I could never have gotten through any of this without your help. But I have some major exciting news!"

"Oh yea?"

"Yes, first I got a makeover because I have been promoted to feature Actress. I landen the role in the new horror movie Descent 2 that comes out next summer."

"That's awesome Mia!"

"That's not all, I finally have enough money saved up to get my own place which is perfect because I have to move to Bled Island for this new role."

"You're moving out...already?" It made me sad to hear this because I have loved having Mia with us these past couple years.

"Yes, but if it's ok with you I would like to stay until after the kids birthdays and maybe a couple weeks after that. I don't want to miss them grow up."

"Of course it's ok Bianca!"

I gave Bianca a big hug and then we heard Julian calling us for dinner. We all sat down as a family and had spaghetti for dinner. It was nice, talking about nearly everything and as we were finishing up the girls decided to toss their food all over the place. We all chuckled a little and cleaned everything up, then us adults watched terror t.v. and exclaimed about how Bianca would be on this channel soon.

"Mommy, Mommy!" Angelo called as I was coming downstairs.

"I'm right here Angelo."

"I want you to come meet my friend."

"Friend? Wait, why do you have a friend over at 9:30 at night, especially on a school night?"

"My friend said to call him Scotty, he's right here."

As Angelo pointed next to him i realized what was going on.

"Hunny, that's not a real friend, you made up an imaginary friend to keep you company."

"What are you talking about mom, he's right here."

Angelo got a confused look on his face and walked away towards the playset. I watched him as he got on the seesaw and was shocked to see him actually seesawing back and forth. How in the world was he doing that by himself?

It was time to make an appointment with the school counselor to see if she has noticed anything strange with Angelo at school. But first I needed to concentrate on the kids birthdays tomorrow. We were finally going to have the whole family over and I was very excited. I hadn't seen most of my family in so many years.

The next morning I made crepes for breakfast, finished cleaning the house, and then set out all of the balloons and cakes for the party. We were all anxious to see our family and not long after we were done everyone showed up. Hours of laughing, joking, and catching up later it was time to light the candles and celebrate the kids birthdays as they all were overcome with the familiar shimmering sparkles.

Our kids were getting so big, neither of us could believe how smoothly their childhood had been so far but we weren't complaining. If their whole life could run this smooth we would be happy but we knew that wouldn't happen. Wishful thinking I guess.

(top to bottom - Angelo, Haley, Tara, and Gloria)

"Hey mom."

"Yes Angelo," I said as I came back from throwing away all the garbage from the party.

"Do you care if I go downtown with Scotty?"

"Angelo! You have got to forget about Scotty, he's not real!"

I could see the hurt in his eyes but he was a teenager now and he needed to realize the truth.

"I'm sorry but until you give up this imaginary friend you wont be going out and I wont be teaching you to drive."

"Gosh, this is bullshit! I will prove to you AND dad that he is real!"

Before I could say anything to Angelo about the language he dared to use towards me, he stormed off and locked himself in his room.

Chapter 5 - A Challenge

 I stood at the door for a good 5 minutes before I could manage to say anything at all.

"Bianca?" I said softly "What happened to you?"

 Once again I felt like crying, the beautiful sister that I once had was completely gone. This person standing in front of me had dirty, greasy hair, black as night circles under her eyes, and the tackiest make-up, clothes, and shoes I had ever seen. The only thing that helped to recognize who this person was was her eyes.

"A lot," Mia said beginning to cry "Rob died after a drive by shooting in our neighborhood while I was at work. After that I got addicted to drugs, really bad drugs and because of that I lost my job and my apartment. I ended up selling everything I owned for more drugs and I started hooking in order to support my addiction."

"So, let me guess, you need money so you can go get high right?" I said beginning to think that that was why she was here.

"No, Mia, that's not what I want," She said "I want...no, I NEED your help Mia! I don't know how I let my life get like this and it is scaring me! I am begging you, please help me!"

I was surprised to see my sister asking me for anything. Neither of my sisters have ever asked me for anything, in fact I hadn't heard from Julia in years.

"Bianca, I want you to go all the way upstairs to my bathroom and take a nice long bubble bath. This will give me time to talk to Julian and I don't want the kids seeing you like this. Then I will come up there and re-dye your hair and cut it for you."

As I was talking to her I walked to the basket of clean clothes and handed her a pair of really comfy sweats. Before I had a chance to talk to Julian, Angelo came storming in the house slamming the door behind him.

"Excuse me young man!" I said sounding a little to strict "What is your problem?"

I immediately felt bad for sounding strict when Angelo turned around and I saw all the dirt on his face and the streaks of tears from him crying.

"After school I had to go get my books from my locker and when i went outside to get my bike some kid came running towards me. I think someone said his name is Devin and he is in high school, a big bully. He pushed me off my bike and then threw my books on the ground and started calling me names."

"What is this kids last name? I am going to find out where he liv..."

"Mom, you don't have to that. Jeremy, the star quarterback of the high school football team came running over and stuck up for me. Since I didn't want to come home looking like this I asked Jeremy if he could help me out with my homework and he did. He was very nice, like the big brother I never had."

After Angelo gave me a hug and went outside to play I sat down with Julian.

"So, Bianca is here huh? What does she want money?"

"No, it is a lot more complicated than that."

I explained everything to Julian and went into detail about everything that was going on in her life.

"We really need to help her Julian, she needs us."

"Ok, it's fine, but you do realize how hard this is going to be right? I mean especially when she is detoxing!"

I nodded my head and then got up. This was defiantly going to be a test but we were her last hope. We had agreed to take care of her until she was off drugs and had her life together again. I went upstairs, told Bianca the good news, then did her hair and put a little bit of make-up on her. She was starting to look a little better already.

~~~~~~~

The first 5 months were the hardest since Bianca had to detox. She always laid around and she complained all the time. It was very tiring and honestly it got annoying sometimes.

But finally 1 year later Bianca was completely off drugs, looked healthier than ever, and she was a huge help around the house and she took great care of the kids when Julian and I had to work. She even taught Julian how to stand up to bullies, which ended up making them leave him alone and she also helped him get ready for an upcoming school field trip to the science facility.

"Bianca!" I shouted as i walked into the house "Come here...hurry!"

"I heard a crash in the kitchen and began to worry but as I started down the hallway Bianca came through the doorway of the dining room.

"Who got hurt? What's wrong?" Bianca said with flushed cheeks.

"No one and nothing, sorry if I scared you. get in the car, I have a surprise for you. Julian, Bianca and I will be back in a bit," I said as I gave him a hug.

"Ok, be careful," he said with a smile, he already knew what was going on.

~~~~~~

"Where are we going?" Bianca asked me as we drove through downtown Bridgeport.

"It's a surprise but you will love it."

As we pulled up to the building and parked I looked at Bianca and saw her her jaw drop and then she smiled a smile I had not seen in many years.

"You didn't...they wont hire me.."

"I did and yes they will."

"But how?"

"I was able to pull some strings and after a long talk Mr Littler agreed to rehire you as long as you were all better."

"Really?" Bianca asked me on the verge of tears "Even after everything I have done, after the way I treated everyone?"

"Yes"

We walked into Plumbob Pictures and were escorted to Mr Littlers office by a very mad looking receptionist.

"Just wait here," She said and then she looked at Bianca and added "Do NOT touch anything."

A few minutes later Mr Little came in.

"Bianca hunny! I am so happy to see you!" Mr Little came over and wrapped Bianca in a hug "How are you? You look amazing, so much better!"

"I feel great and I am done with everything and ready to get back to work."

"That's great! I am going to let you start working here again and don't worry, you wont have to start at the bottom. You are getting your old job back as a TV Actress. I already have shows lined up for you. Once people found out you were making a come back everyone wanted you. Your fans are very excited too."


Bianca's face lite up and I could tell we finally had the old Bianca back.

"I can't believe people missed me. I didn't think anyone liked me anymore."

"See those over there," He said as he pointed to two big postal bags in the corner of the office "Those are all letters to you or about you. they have been coming in from your fans ever since you quit. You have touched a lot of people and changed a lot of peoples lives and you can continue to do that."

We sat and talked to Mr Littler for awhile longer and then we headed back home. Bianca smiled the whole way and kept thanking me and talking about how much happier she was going to be now.

It didn't take Bianca long to get re-adjusted to her celebrity pre-drugs state. She had realized how much she had given up and how much she missed everything and she made a vow to us that day that she would never mess it or her up again!