The Loner and Her

Chapter Eleven : Dinner Party

Being part of the Moretti family- even if it is not her legal last name- Gia is to attend all social events along with her mother.

The Moretti family has money for quite a number of reasons. Some is old money from Italy. Other is businesses that Filomina and Salvatore own.

The rest of the money...well, that comes from something none of them speak about out loud.

The party Gia and Rosa are attending is for the Mayor of New York. The entire Moretti family is invited to celebrate Mayor Wellington's birthday celebration.

Gia hates being dragged along to these types of parties. They're boring to her and she never knows anybody, yet, they know who she is.

The Mayor and his wife are the first couple Rosa and Gia see as they make their way towards the entrance to the dining hall.

"Ah, you must be Salvatore Moretti's daughter. You're the splitting image of your father," Says Mayor Wellington as he kisses Rosa's hand.

Mrs. Wellington smiles at the two ladies in front of her, "It's a pleasure to meet the both of you," she says, not realizing this is her third time meeting them, actually.

"I heard you two moved down to Oakwood," Says the Mayor, making conversation.

Rosa nods her head in response, "Yes, it's very lovely down there."

"But, not as lovely as New York, of course," Mayor Wellington winks their way, causing Gia to flinch in return.

"Of course," Rosa smiles, uneasily.

"It's funny, actually. I just hired a new attorney, who lives there."

Gia's eyebrows raise, "He drives three hours to see you?"

The Mayor shrugs, "We do a lot of our work over the phone, but when he needs to see me he does come up to my office. I pay him good money to do so."

"Why not someone in the city? There's, like, a million of them?" Gia can't help but ask.

"But this man is one of the best I've seen in ages. Of course, since your father moved to California, that is."

Rosa's eyes close and Gia bites her bottom lip to hide the urge to groan. She hates talking about her father with strangers. Especially ones that think they "know" him.

"Speaking of which," says Mayor Wellington, "Have you spoken with Edward recently- "

His wife pats his arm roughly, "Dear, the Governor is here," she says, almost giddy.

Mayor Wellington smiles quite brightly, "Ah, yes. I remember he had R.S.V.P.ed." As if someone would forget the Governor of New York is attending their party. "Will you excuse us?" He says, not glancing at either Gia or Rosa again before going in the direction of Governor Russo and his wife.

When they're gone, Rosa sighs. "Well, that was eventful," she speaks, sarcastically.

They enter the dining hall to find fifty round table and hundreds of people scattered everywhere.

Gia sighs, "I really hate this."

Rosa gives her daughter a side-glare, "If I'm forced to suffer, you are, too."

They both smile bright, fake as ever, before entering.

They get seated with Filomina and Salvatore, her aunt Caterina is there as well. Her cousins and Aunt Donna never come to the events anymore after her uncle. Too many nosey people ask questions that they don't want to relive.

A tall man is also seated at their large table. He looks familiar, but she can't quite place where she had maybe seen him before.

"Ah, Salvatore Moretti. It's a pleasure," the tall man sticks out his hand, "My name is Frederick Prescott. Attorney down in Oakwood."

Salvatore nods his head, shaking the man's outstretched hand, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Prescott. What a coincidence. Oakwood? That's where my daughter and granddaughter now live," Salvatore gestures his head in the two ladies' direction.

"Really? What a small world." He looks at Gia, "You must go to school with my daughter. Maybe you two are friends...."

Gia's eyes widen at the last name. Prescott?

Finally, she notices the couple behind her.

Griffin and Lexie.

Gia immediately bows her head. What are Griffin and Lexie doing here together? Are they each other's date? Obviously, that man must be Lexie's dad, so that explains why she's here, but not Griffin!

She feels as if her head might explode.

Gesturing behind him, Mr. Prescott waves for Lexie to step forward. He begins to introduce her, "This is my daughter, Alexis. A bright one, she is." Then he lets out a quiet sigh before gesturing for Griffin to do the same.

Griffin hasn't noticed Gia, yet. His head has been bowed, and he's only staring at his shoes.

"And this," he says, grabbing Gia and Griffin's attention, "is my oldest son, Griffin."

Son?

Griffin's eyes finally lock with Gia's when he picks his head up. "Giules?" He accidentally talks out of turn, too much in a state of shock.

Gia's voice cracks slightly, "Griffin."

Lexie rolls her eyes and huffs.

Mr. Prescott's eyes flash with something Gia can't quite understand, "You two are friends? How splendid!" He then glances back at Salvatore and Filomina, "Please excuse the absence of my wife. My little boy at home is sick with a fever and Isobel is taking care of him."

It's been almost a week since the park fiasco, and Griffin has a splint on his hand. He sprained his finger when he punched the slide. On that following Monday, he explained to her that he had a hard time getting around cause his dominant hand is his right. So, for the whole week of school, Gia has been helping Griffin out with school work and opening and closing his locker, although he hates the help.

Gia notices the splint arm is behind his back. He's wearing a all black tux, and she realizes it's the first time she's ever seen him in something besides a jacket.

She looks down at her own attire, suddenly feeling a bit insecure. She's wearing a short black dress with a heart-shaped neckline. Her hair is straight, for once, since she decided to take the time to flat-iron it.

Mr. Prescott pulls out the chair next to him for Lexie, and Griffin takes the seat beside her. He gives Gia a quick glance, winking over in her direction once, before turning his gaze back on to her grandparents.

They both have many, many questions to ask one another, but they will wait until they have a moment alone.

Filomina smiles at the teenagers in front her. "Oh, how old are they, Mr. Prescott? They look close in age, but they can't be twins!" She says, speaking of the elephant at the table.

For one, they look nothing alike. Griffin is blonde and blue-eyed, while Lexie is a brunette with brown eyes.

Mr. Prescott's smile falters for less than a second, before responding, "Isobel and I decided to adopt Griffin a couple years ago. He was a young kid in need of a home, you know? No parents...no other family or guardians. We thought it would be the right thing to do."

Rosa is seething. She can see through Mr. Prescott's bullshit. His eyes...his blue eyes are way too similar to the teenager sitting two seats away from him. And no parents? His mother just passed away. But he obviously, doesn't realize Rosa and Gia already know that.

"Aw, you poor thing," Filomina cooes before she takes a bite from her salad. "How old were you, dear, before you were adopted by the Prescott's?"

Griffin clears his throat, answering as if it is rehearsed, "I was fifteen when Mr. And Mrs. Prescott f-found me. I've very lucky to have met such k-kind people who have offered their home to me and made me feel like part of t-their f-f-ffamily ever since," Griffin stutters, as if pains him to speak at all.

What a load of garbage, Gia thinks, and she frowns at the way Griffin stutters. She knows he has a hard time speaking in front of others, let along a group of people he doesn't know.

She likes to think she knows Griffin. Mr. Prescott must be holding something over him to make him say all this crap.

Salvatore continues to eat, never once smiling or joining conversation that he didn't care much about.

Caterina glances at Lexie's dress, "Is that from my spring collection?"

Lexie blushes and pushes a lock of hair behind her ear, "Yes, it is actually. I was wondering when you'd notice- "

Caterina rolls her eyes, "That's last season, darling. I wouldn't be caught dead in that old thing." She then gestures her head towards Gia's dress, "Now, that, is a one of a kind Caterina Moretti."

Caterina, who always says she has a heart as cold as ice, felt the tension between the two teenagers and didn't like it. No matter what anyone says, she loves her niece and just wants the best for her in the world. When she noticed the dirty looks Lexie kept sending Gia's way, it reminded her back when she went to Parrington herself and how some of the girls treated her there.

When Gia begins noticing the way Mr. Prescott is flirting with her mom and aunt, she stands up from the table. "Will you please excuse me? I need to go and...get some fresh air."

"Giuliana, honey, you just got here- "

"I know, Nonna, but I'm feeling a bit overheated," Gia then waves a hand over her face as if to prove her point.

"I'll go with you," Griffin mumbles quietly, loud enough for only the table to hear. His father's head snaps in his direction, disapprovingly.

The two then begin to walk out of the banquet room, side by side. Not once acknowledging each other until they make it down the elevator and out the doubled-doors of the hotel.

"Look- " they both say at the same time, causing them to blush and laugh lightly.

Griffin sighs, "So...when I learned your mother's maiden name is Moretti...I didn't know she meant as in Salvatore Moretti..."

"Yeah..." Gia shrugs in response. Then she raises an eyebrow when looking up at Griffin, "I thought you and Lexie were dating," she admits.

Griffin's eyes widen and his face twists as if he wants to barf, "Dating? What? Why?"

Gia shrugs, "A couple weeks ago I saw you two fighting in the Science Building and honestly, it's not like you two look alike or anything and you never mentioned her before- "

Griffin runs a hand through his hair, beginning to feel a bit stressed, "She-oh, God, why did you never mention it, Giules? Didn't you wonder why I never talked or even bothered to look in Lexie's direction at all?"

Gia shrugs, "I kind of forgot about it after a couple days. Then when I saw Mr. Prescott and you and Lexie standing behind him..."

Griffin groans, "She's-She's my sister...My half-sister."

Gia widens her eyes, "I thought you were adopted- "

He scoffs, "Oh, please. Did you really believe that s**t?"

Gia shakes her head, "Not really, I just thought we were going to go along with the story you said."

His blue eyes stare deeply into her hazel ones. After a long moment, he shakes his head ever so slowly, "No...Not you. I can't lie to you like that."

Gia can't help but respond with a watery smile, "Griffin, I...I'm sorry."

Griffin's gaze softens at the corner of his lips twitch up just a bit, "What're you sorry about?"

Gia sniffs, "About my family. About what I saw in the Science Building. About- "

He shakes his head, "It's okay, Giules. You did nothing wrong."

Her eyes fill with tears and she shakes her head, "Then why do I feel like I did everything wrong?"

"What?"

Gia bends her knees and wraps her arms around herself. She begins to cry without even realizing it.

Griffin kneels down to her height. He places a hand on her shoulder for comfort and whispers, "Gia, what's wrong?"

She sniffs again, "I'm sorry, you must think I'm such a freak!" She uses her hands to wipe her eyes, not caring that she's ruining her makeup in the process.

"Just tell me what's wrong. I want-I need to fix it- "

"It's just me. You can't fix me, I'm sorry, I just have issues, I'm crazy!" She blubbers. "I tend to cry when I just feel a bit too much, I have a hard time handling my emotions sometimes. I'm sorry you had to witness that," she says, finally calming down.

With the help of Griffin, Gia is able to stand back up now. The two of them outside on the very streets of New York City. People passing them by giving them weird looks or not even sparing them a glance.

"Did," Griffin wonders loudly, "Did you just have-like- a mental break down?"

Gia shrugs, "Kind of..." She sniffs, "It's something I'm working on with my therapist. Again, I'm sorry."

Griffin ignores her apology because she need not to be, "Therapist?"

She shrugs again in reply.  "Doesn't every teen feel like they need to see one?" She jokes, half-heartedly.

"But- "

"I'm fine, you know. I mean, yeah, you just witnessed one of my crazy episodes that I thought I had control over, but I guess I was wrong." Gia sighs, "Well, I guess there is something I need to tell my therapist next week."

"I'm supposed to go only every couple weeks, since I thought I was getting better and because of the move. It's only two hours away, but that's still kind of a far drive."

Griffin doesn't reply at first. He stands there, staring straight at her face. Eventually, he says, "Your makeup is everywhere."

Gia laughs till her stomach hurts.