Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 82678 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82678 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Mother was awake, but it took a moment before recognition shone in her eyes. Then she smiled, and for a moment, despite the tubes disappearing in her nose, she didn’t look like death had already marked her as his. Aria immediately walked toward the bed and hugged Mother carefully. Gianna was tense beside me. She and Mother hadn’t seen each other in a while, and they hadn’t exactly parted on good terms. When Aria stepped back, Mother’s gaze settled on Gianna and she started crying. “Oh Gianna,” she whispered. Gianna rushed toward our mother and embraced her as well. It almost broke my heart that this reunion had such a horrible reason. I wished we’d come together like this long before today. I pulled two more chairs toward the bed and put them next to the one I’d spent countless hours in. We all sat down and Mother looked at peace for the first time in a while. I let Aria and Gianna talk and listened. Gianna leaned over to me when Aria told Mother about a new exhibition in New York. “Where’s Fabi? Shouldn’t he be home?”
“Father always has someone pick him up from school and then I don’t see Fabi until dinner.”
“Is he inducting Fabi already? Fabi’s way too young for that bullshit.”
“I don’t know. It’s difficult to talk to Fabi about it. He doesn’t tell me everything like he used to. He’s changed a lot since Mother got sick. Sometimes I don’t recognize him.”
“The mob changes them all. It sucks the good out of them,” Gianna murmured.
“Look at Matteo and Luca, and Romero they aren’t all bad.”
Gianna sighed. “They aren’t good either. Far from it. With Fabi, I know how he used to be before the rottenness wormed its way into him, but with Luca and Matteo I always only knew them as Made Men, so it’s different.” Gianna narrowed her eyes in contemplation. “Are you still crushing on Romero? Shouldn’t you have moved on to a new target by now?”
I flushed, but didn’t reply. Luckily, Aria involved Gianna in the conversation and I could relax again.
***
Gianna, Aria and I fell asleep in our chairs. Two hours later we were woken by Father’s sharp voice. “What is she doing here?”
I sat up, taking a few seconds to get my bearings. Father stood in the doorway and was glaring daggers at Gianna. He still hadn’t forgiven her for what she’d done. He’d probably take his wrath into the grave with him.
“I’m not here to see you, believe me,” Gianna muttered.
Aria rose from her chair and went over to Father to give him a quick hug. Usually his mood always brightened when she was around but he didn’t even look at her.
“I don’t want you in my house,” he said to Gianna.
I spotted Fabi a couple of steps behind him, obviously unsure how to react. I knew he’d missed Gianna very much and had always been eager to talk to her on the phone, but Father’s influence on him had grown in the last few months and it was clear that my little brother wasn’t sure which side to choose.
I stood, chancing a worried look at Mother. She was still out from her meds. I didn’t want her to witness this. “Please, let’s discuss this outside,” I whispered.
Father turned on his heel and stepped out into the corridor without a single glance at Mother. The rest of us followed. Gianna didn’t give Fabi a chance to make up his mind, she hugged him and after a moment he hugged her back. Father glowered at my brother. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t able to let his stupid pride take a backseat for once. Mother needed us in her last days, but he didn’t give a damn. He didn’t even wait for me to close the door before he went off again.
“I forbade you from stepping foot into this house,” he snarled.
I slid the door shut and leaned against it. My legs felt shaky.
“It’s also Mother’s house and she asked to see me,” Gianna said. It was true. I’d lost count of the many times Mother had asked about Gianna.
“I paid for this house and my word is law.”
“Don’t you have any respect for the wishes of your dying wife?” Gianna hissed.
I was pretty sure Father would have hit Gianna, even though she was Matteo’s wife, but Luca came upstairs in that moment. It didn’t stop Father from saying more nasty things and Gianna from firing right back at him. I couldn’t take it anymore. I rushed past them. Their fighting followed me down the corridor and even downstairs I could still hear their shouting. I stormed into the kitchen, threw the door shut and leaned against it before I buried my face in my hands. The tears I’d been fighting for so long, pressed against my eyeballs. I couldn’t hold them back.
A noise made me look up. Romero stood at the kitchen counter and was watching me over his coffee cup. I cringed in embarrassment and quickly tried to wipe my cheeks clean. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know someone was in here.” I didn’t even know Romero was here at all, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Since Matteo had stayed in New York, Luca needed someone who could keep an eye on my sisters when he was busy.
“This is your home,” he said simply. His eyes were kind and understanding. I had to look away or I’d really start bawling, snot and sobs and all, and that was the last thing I wanted.
“It used to be,” I whispered. I knew I needed to keep my mouth shut but the words kept coming. “But now it feels like I’m trapped. There’s nothing good. Anywhere I look there is just darkness, just sickness, and hate and fear.” I fell silent, shocked by my outburst.
Romero set down his coffee. “When was the last time you left the house?”
I didn’t even know. I shrugged.
“Let’s take a walk. We can get a coffee. It’s really warm outside.”