I set her down gently, cut the water, step in, and immediately regret it. Cold.
So cold my dick goes into hiding. I pause mid-submersion. Let it adjust. Mental pep talk.
Okay. I slide down, and my back hits the marble. My head falls against the edge.
Ohhh, yeah. This is life. This is the top of the pyramid.
No emails. No people.
Only the doorbell. My head snaps up. No. Absolutely fucking not. I'm not doing this.
Whoever it is, if they really love me, they'll come back later. If not? Natural selection, baby.
I lean back again.
Close my eyes. Let peace take me. Doorbell again.
And again.
And again.
Yup. That's my mom. I'd bet my soul on it.
I put on some clean clothes and walk to the entrance. Oh, look. My mother stands there. And she's dressed too perfectly for just a casual visit. Her eyes are on me like she's scanning for flaws. "Mom," I say flatly.
"Giovanni," she replies. "Have you been eating well? You look thinner. You're not working too hard, are you?" She steps in without waiting for an invitation.
Her eyes drift over my place like she's tallying up everything she disapproves of. I let out a slow breath, tilting my head back against the doorframe.
"Can we skip this part?"
"What part, son?" My whole mood flips.
"The part where you act like you care about my life. You didn't come here to check on me, so whatever it is, just get to it." She looks bothered. Like I hurt her feelings or some shit.
She's been here not even two minutes and the mask's already slipping. Good.
I'm too tired for the act today. Even though I used to care about that look. There was a time I really tried.
Like, really fucking tried. Wanted us to be normal.
Family dinners.
Family moments.
Vacation together.
Reassurance. Anything.
But nah. She didn't want that. So I left. Packed up and dipped to Spain. Because I was broken.
Cracked in every fucking direction after my dad died.
She didn't get it. Didn't eventryto get it. That was the real shock for her. Not that I was grieving, not that I was alone, just that I had the audacity to leave.
To choose something other than the life she mapped out for me. But I couldn't stay.
I swear the house felt like a tomb after dad was gone. Every room was heavy with what used to be there, with what would never be again.
