Silent Prejudice

20

“Is Aldo the reason you’re leaving?” I can’t help but push for more. I want to know what’s happening. He takes a slow step back without offering an answer, spoken or otherwise. When he takes a second step and starts to turn away, I call out one last question. He may be adamant about refusing to discuss Aldo, but there’s one topic he can’t deny me. “What is this, Z? What’s happening with us?” He pauses, his inscrutable gaze coming back to mine. “This is whatever you want it to be. I’ve told you how I feel—it’s been the same since we were teens. What comes next is up to you.” His admission winds me. Baffles and bemuses me. I don’t say another word as he slips into his car and disappears into the night. I am speechless. A part of me genuinely expected him to be distant this evening and show some sign of second thoughts, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Zeno De Rossi cares for me. He still wants me, despite the horrific things I said. The insults. The accusations. And if I’m honest with myself, I want him too. It’s like Gia said weeks ago. Some people we simply never get over— no matter the time or distance that spans between us. That has always been Zeno for me. It’s the reason his insults continued to hurt, and it was my motivation for never giving up on him. Z is that one person who will always live in my heart and own a piece of my soul. I never dared to dream the opposite might be true—that I might be that person for him as well. Who am I to reject that kind of divine connection? I couldn’t even if I wanted to. And I don’t. Even now, I’m anxious for him to return. Now that I’ve had a taste of what we could share, I’m ravenous for more. I take a lungful of the mild, humid air to ground myself. The sentries Zeno summoned have sunken back into the shadows and are no longer visible. I appreciate knowing they are watching, but their invisibility is an unsettling reminder of how easy it would be for an enemy to approach unseen. I hurry back inside, locking the door behind me, and wind my way to the back of the house, where I happen to spot Carter in the kitchen. When I step closer, I discover he’s alone and decide to seize the opportunity. “Hey, Carter. Do you have a minute to chat?” He whips around from the fridge, a bottle of water in hand. “Sure! I was just grabbing some water. Want a bottle?” “No, thanks. I’m good.” He closes the door and strolls toward me. “What can I help you with?” “I wanted to talk to you about Gia,” I say softly. Both because it’s a sensitive subject and because I don’t want to be overheard. His lips thin, and his blond eyebrows knot together. “Is she okay?” “She is now, but your stint in the city was hard on her. I would normally never butt into someone’s life like this, but this is important. Gia isn’t like most people. She keeps her emotions guarded, so it can be hard to tell what she’s feeling. I want you to know that she adores you and the kids. If there is any doubt in your mind, please know that it’s unfounded. I’ve never seen her so happy as when she learned you were returning.” Lord forgive me, but it needed to be said. If I leave it up to Gia, Carter might never feel confident enough in her affection to pursue her. Carter toys with the lid on his water bottle, eyes cast downward. “She’s come to mean a great deal to us. The last few weeks weren’t easy on me either, and we won’t be leaving again anytime soon.” When his eyes lift to mine, they glow with love and conviction. I give his forearm a gentle squeeze. “That’s so wonderful to hear. I guess we better get back outside before they devour the cake without us.” “They wouldn’t dare.” He gives me a scandalous look. “Wouldn’t they?” I tease back. We start for the back patio, and I can’t help but dig for information on his sister. “Did Cora decide to stay in the city a while longer?” “We decided it was best for everyone if she spent a little less time here.” He glances back at me with a cryptic glint in his eye. “Ah, well. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.” “Indeed.” Carter opens the glass patio door and motions for me to go first with a smirk. The rest of our night passes without further disruption. Dad takes Elena home before coming back to chauffeur us to the cottage. “Liv texted that she’s back home,” Mom informs no one in particular. “She said she was going to bed early because she wasn’t feeling well. Hopefully, she hasn’t picked up a stomach bug. We’ll all end up with it.” Dad parks out front of the house, ignoring Mom’s comment. “Isa, why don’t you come around to the front for a minute. I’d like to have a private word.” Mom, Gia, and Marca all turn to stare at me. I widen my eyes with a look that says, “What? You know as much as me,” then exit the back seat. Talks with my dad are rarely heavy, so it’s easy to make like of his request in front of the others, but on the inside, I know this talk will be different. This isn’t our normal subject matter, and I can sense how upset he is. Once we’re alone, the car becomes saturated with tension. It radiates from my father like heat from a flame, and I begin to realize how much he’s been holding back since they returned home. Since he learned what his willful ignorance has enabled. “Did Zeno call you?” I ask quietly. “He did. First thing this morning. He told me what happened last night. You can’t imagine how upset I was.” Dad pauses, his eyes unseeing out the front windshield. “But when … when he informed me that it wasn’t the first time Aldo had gone after you, I thought my skin would blister my anger burned so bad. At myself and Aldo, but also you.” His words are brutally honest and spoken with painstaking calm. They slowly drive a stake into my heart and wrench my chest wide open. My lips part to speak, but no sound emerges. Emotion squeezes down on my throat. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to find out my baby was—” his words catch, and he has to take a deep breath before continuing. “My baby was attacked right in our own home, and she didn’t trust me enough to tell me? To let me know so I could make sure it didn’t happen again?” Dad clenches the steering wheel in both hands, his knuckles bleeding to white. “I know none of it was your fault and that you’re innocent in all this. I’m not trying to blame you. I just always thought that of my four girls, you’d be the one who would trust me with anything. Yet, somehow, I f****d up enough that even my Lulu thought she had to take on a monster by herself.”