Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
I wasn’t sure where my phone was. Had it been destroyed during the crash? Or had the Russians destroyed it to avoid it being tracked?
“Where’s my phone?”
Mom got up and took it from the kitchen counter. The screen had a crack, but when I turned it on, it worked as always.
Soon, messages started flooding in.
“We messaged you last night. We didn’t know you didn’t have your phone,” Inessa said, looking up from her bowl, her spoon an inch from her lips.
I scanned my messenger. There were messages from my sisters, Valerio, Gianna, Aria, Marcella, and Isabella. Not one from Paolo. If he and his parents wanted to inquire about my health, he could have messaged me. I opened Isa’s message first.
If you want to talk, I’m in the gym operating the counter today. It’ll be boring as hell. Many hugs.
Isa and I were cousins and liked each other, but we were different. She was three years younger than me, so we’d never hung out together. She, Flavio, and Valerio had always been inseparable, and I didn’t want to meddle with their bond. Isa had been kidnapped three months ago. She’d never talked to me about the incident, and I had never dared to ask. Maybe it was time to change that.
I opened the other messages, but they all basically told me the same.
“There isn’t a message from Paolo,” I said, disappointed.
Mom put her spoon down, and her smile became even tighter. “Maybe he wants to give you some space.”
“Maybe.” I could tell that Mom was keeping something from me. I didn’t want to think about Paolo and my wedding right now. Part of me felt guilty, almost as if I had any say in what had happened. On an intellectual level, I knew that was nonsense, but that didn’t change what I felt. “I would like to see Isa in the gym today. She invited me over.”
Mom’s eyes widened in shock. She got up and picked up our bowls. I immediately helped her while Inessa and Alea wiped the table and loaded the dishwasher. “Do you think it’s a good idea to go out yet?”
“I won’t hide.”
“You shouldn’t hide, but…” Mom leaned against the kitchen counter, the dish towel clutched in her hands as she watched me with furrowed brows. “You seem so… composed. I’m worried you’re trying to be strong for our sake.” The last she whispered so Alea and Inessa, who were singing a song from Taylor Swift at the top of their lungs, couldn’t hear her.
“Would you prefer if I broke down and cried?” I swallowed hard because I could feel a storm brewing deep inside me, and I was terrified of the destruction it might cause if unleashed. I wanted my old life. I wanted normalcy. I never broke down. I was never overly emotional. I was reliable and calm. Maybe it came with being the eldest child. When Mom had struggled after giving birth to Alea, I had taken over responsibilities. Even when things had become easier after a few months, I had just never stopped being a sort of shadow parent.
Mom touched my shoulder. “Of course not. I’m just worried about you.”
“I know, Mom. But life has to go on.”
Mom’s eyes glistened, but she nodded resolutely and picked up her phone. “I’ll see if your father or Flavio have time to take you there. I’m sure it’ll do you good to talk to Isa.”
Thirty minutes later, Dad and Matteo picked me up. I was surprised to see my uncle.
“Your mom said you are determined to see Isa in the gym. Are you well enough to go out?” Dad asked as he held the door to the black limousine open for me while Matteo sat in the driver’s seat.
“I’m not injured,” I said. The abrasions were hardly worth mentioning, and the soreness was better by now. Dad wasn’t referring to physical scars, though. The two showers I’d taken this morning had definitely helped a lot—not only with the soreness but also with the icky feeling.
I got into the back seat. Matteo smiled at me.
“I didn’t expect you,” I told him.
“It’s been a while since I’ve visited Gianna in the gym. Today’s a good day to change that,” he said after a searching look at my face.
Dad sat down in the back seat with me. I gave him a curious look, but he only smiled. Did they think I didn’t know what was going on? They were upping my protection. I’d seen Marcella and Isabella lose many freedoms after they became victims of our world.
I tried not to think about the fact that Matteo had probably seen the video of me too. If I wanted to live my life, I needed to forget about that.
When we stepped into the Famiglia gym, my cousin Isa was indeed behind the reception desk, but she was immersed in a book propped up against the computer screen. Isa’s mother, my aunt Gianna, owned the gym. Through the glass wall on the right, I could see her giving a yoga course to half a dozen women, all of them familiar faces.