Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“Wouldn’t it be better if we left tomorrow? No one knows about this place. I mean, you just found out about it. It’ll take my father at least another few days.”
“You don’t seem to understand how much trouble you’re in.” He turned slightly.
“I do understand. I just want one more night of peace.” I looked at the tiled floor. When did peace acquire such a steep price?
“Fine. One night. We leave early.”
I nodded, feeling a weight lifted off my chest, until I turned around and stared at the rest of the chicken nuggets. I couldn’t eat anymore, suddenly terrified of what would happen. My father was supposed to be in Palermo while I was here. He wasn’t supposed to find out I took something from him yet. I was supposed to spring it on him, not the other way around. I grabbed the phone Mom gave me and saw a series of calls from her. My stomach sank. I knew they wouldn’t hurt my mother, but even bothering her with this would be awful. Her mother was freaking dying. Her mother was dying, and I was doing what? Pretending I could beat my father at a game he’d mastered long ago? God. I was so stupid.
Me: Is everything ok?
Mami: did Marchetti arrive?
I stared at the screen.
Me: YOU KNEW HE WAS COMING?
I dialed her number because fuck it. She answered on the first ring.
“You know he was coming?” I whisper-shouted.
“I was calling to warn you.” She sniffled. My heart dropped.
“Oh no. Mom, did she. . .did abue—”
“She’s gone.” Mom sobbed into the phone. I’d never seen my mother cry. I’d never heard her cry. Hearing her break down like this and knowing I couldn’t be there for her was heartbreaking. Not because I was the exemplary daughter but because she was alone. My mom had no one to help her get through this.
“I’m so so sorry,” I said, my voice catching. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She breathed in and out. “It’s okay. Death is a part of life. It’s okay.”
I didn’t know if she was saying it for my benefit or hers, but all I could do was let her speak. Nothing I said would lessen her pain.
She took another breath. “Stay with Marchetti. Don’t move away from him for a moment, do you understand?”
“Y-yes. You told him where I was?”
“He was very persistent and cares about you, Nora.” She sniffled again. “I have to make funeral arrangements. A funeral and a wedding that might as well be a funeral.” She laughed tightly. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I stared at my phone until Rocco took it from me, placed it on the nightstand, and carried me to the bed. As he got in the bed next to me and pulled my back to his chest, butterflies erupted in my belly. I didn’t want to be one of those who got clingy after having sex with someone, but being in his arms felt so right. When he kissed my neck and inhaled as I drifted off to sleep, I recalled my mother's words. He cares about you. If only that were enough.
21
ROCCO
“I hate long car rides,” Lenora said beside me.
“It’s only a two-hour drive.”
“Still too long.”
She’d cocooned herself in the seat, her seatbelt on the side of her right arm as she looked at me. I’d only looked at her twice in the ten minutes we’d been on the road and decided twice was enough. She was too distracting and I hated distractions. Her eyes were closed now. Three times. Three times I’d looked in twelve minutes. This woman was making me weak.
“Once, Gabe and I decided to drive from Connecticut to D.C. It was supposed to take us like seven hours. It took fifteen.” She shuddered, squeezing her body tighter. “Never again.”
“Why were you driving to D.C.?”
“I wanted to see the cherry blossoms and Gabe was bored. The flights were cheap, but he thought it was a better idea to drive. For bonding.”
“Did you bond?”
She laughed. “If you consider him mansplaining the stock market and all of its issues bonding, sure.”
I felt my lips tip up. When I looked over — the fourth time in twenty minutes — she was still laughing, and I found it impossible not to laugh along. Here I was on a rescue assignment, laughing. Admittedly, I hadn’t been on many rescue assignments, but the one I could remember, I’d spent the entire time calculating exit strategies and going over the steps in my head. I couldn’t even tell you who the fuck I rescued. That was how little attention I paid to them. When I was on a mission, I tuned the world out and focused. Lenora made that impossible.
“How were the blossoms?” I asked, looking at her for the fifth time.
“I didn’t see them.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “We miscalculated and went the wrong weekend.”