Where I Wanna Be Read Online Free PDF Page A

was Eli had a girlfriend, but he had never revealed her name. Eli kept her a closely-guarded secret, only revealing it to his mother because she was determined to know. He even hid the love letters she wrote to him underneath his mattress. “Why do you want to know?”
     
    “ Because,” Kieran began as Joey and Nick parted like the red sea and revealed Simone sitting on the couch with Nicola, “she just joined us for dinner.”
     

Four

     
    Eli’s eyes widened and the pizzas fell out of his arms, just in time for Joey to catch them. “Move,” Eli shoved his brothers out of the way and made a bee-line straight to Simone who politely waved at him. He sat beside her and gave her a quick hug. “Moni, what are you doing here?”
     
    “ I ran away from home,” she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
     
    “ Y-y-y-you what?” Eli’s mouth hung open.
     
    “ I ran away from home. My parents said I couldn’t see you anymore while I was living with them, so I left,” she nervously smiled, “so here I am.”
     
    Eli should’ve been happy but his mind was going a mile a minute. After the warnings Simone kept giving him about her father, Eli just knew it was going to be his last day on Earth. “And you came here?” he asked.
     
    “ I had nowhere to go, Eli!” Simone explained, “And then I remembered you told me where you lived and I came straight here.”
     
    “ But you came here?” Eli repeated. While he kept the house nice and clean, it was nothing to write home about. Picture frames covered holes. A bucket underneath the sink collected water from the leaky faucet. Silly putty was a simple fix for the broken chair legs. His bedroom had the basic sheets and old, torn blankets with just one pillow and he often had to put extra clothes underneath it to give his head some support. While Eli didn’t consider himself poor, in comparison to Simone he definitely didn’t have any money. He was dependent on Nick giving him a weekly allowance from his DJ gigs for school meals and some type of social life.
     
    “ Maybe I shouldn’t have come here at all,” Simone’s eyes grew sad again.
     
    “ Don’t be silly,” Nicola interrupted the young couple, “Eli is just in shock because he just told me about you not too long ago. Anyway, both of you go wash up for dinner. Simone, you can eat with us but we’re going to take you home afterwards. Now hurry up before my pizza gets cold.” The young couple then left.
     
    The other brothers watched the couple head upstairs. “So what’s going on?” Joey asked.
     
    “ It seems her parents don’t want her to date your brother because he’s Italian.” Nicola raised an eyebrow.
     
    “ And how do you feel?” Nick asked. “Are you okay with Simone being Black?”
     
    “ Honestly, I would’ve preferred she was Italian. Then I got to know her and she seems like a sweet girl.” Nicola smiled. “But I also told her I’m not harboring a fugitive. She’s going back home tonight after she eats here.”
     
    “ Are you dropping her off or are you going to talk with the mother?” Kieran asked.
     
    “ At first I was going to drop her off and be done with it, but if Meredith has a problem with my son because he’s Italian,” Nicola’s eyes danced with a mischievous glitter, “then she’s going to have a real big problem with the mama.”
     
    ****
     
    “ I’m getting the feeling you don’t want me here.” Simone watched Eli wash his hands.
     
    “ No, it’s not that I don’t want you here, Moni,” Eli turned off the faucet and began to dry his hands. “It’s just…it’s just…”
     
    “ It’s just what, Eli?”
     
    Eli let out a sigh and looked into this girlfriend’s eyes. “The reason why I never invited you over here is because I’m ashamed of how I’m living, okay? I have to share a bedroom with my younger brother and you can tell this place has seen better days. So many things are broken and torn up around here. I get