Daily life is tolerable, I suppose, but tinged with fear.Is it any better in America?Can friendship survive two opposed ideologies, and the suffocating grip that power seems to hold over these men?
Halfway through the letter, my phone rings.Seth’s name pops up.Frustrated that he’s interrupted my letter-reading, I answer abruptly.“What?”
His tone is somber.“Damiano was in an accident.He’s at Margaret Chung.”
* * *
SETH
A head of brown hair, just visible over the frosted portion of the windows, moves down the hospital hall.Madison?She was extremely upset when I told her what happened to Damiano.Maybe she had been angry about Alessia, but now she’s only worried about Damiano.Her heart is so forgiving, perhaps more than it should be.
I stand up and start to say her name before realizing that the woman approaching isn’t Madison—it’s Alessia.
Of course.She’s been coming by every few hours—ostensibly to check on Damiano, but more, I think, to hassle us about beefing up her personal security measures.I want to send her packing because all she does is make Damiano miserable with her sickly-sweet attention and her fear-filled diatribes about her ex-boyfriend.But if I were to force her out, the ensuing drama could upset Damiano even more.
“Alessia’s here,” I mutter to Damiano.
“Great.”His voice is hoarse, but he’s so much stronger today than he was when I arrived yesterday.A minor concussion, and some bruising on his face, as well as on his chest and ribs where the seatbelt pinched when his car spun.
A moment later, Alessia steps into the room.I greet her as politely as possible.I need to hurry her through this visit.I don’t want her to be here when Madison arrives.Damiano needs to remain as calm and stress-free as possible.
Alessia goes straight to Damiano’s side.“Baby.How are you feeling today?”
“Good.Ready to get out of here.”
She tries to hold Damiano’s hand.He pulls away.She reaches for him again.
I speak up.“Is there anything you need, Alessia?Damiano should be resting right now.I can manage your Nove guards.”
Alessia gives me a scornful look and starts talking to Damiano in Italian.I recognize the move for what it is—an attempt to push me out of the conversation.
“Alessia,” Damiano says, “enough.We’ve provided you with guards and an emergency number to call if you believe you’ve seen Francesco.Everything you need is taken care of.I have to rest.”
She starts to argue, but I stand abruptly and gently nudge her toward the door.“Thank you so much for checking on Damiano—it’s really touching how you care for your ex-husband.The doctor said that Damiano needs quiet, so how about we walk to the cafeteria and give him a little break from our company?”
Her pink lips twist in a shape of displeasure, but she can’t find an argument.“Very well.”
I buy her a coffee, which she complains about, and see her off.Her Nove guards escort her to her car—well, Damiano’s car which they’re using to take Alessia wherever she wants to go.
He needs to cut her off.She’s far too comfortable with the perks of his protection.
When I return to his hospital room, I’m shocked to see Alessia’s head of dark hair.How’d she get here before me?Then I realize, this time it isn’t Alessia, it’s Madison.Madison’s hair is a bit lighter, but something about the way they both style it made me do a double-take.
I wait outside the room, not wanting to intrude.Damiano says something and Madison responds, her voice a high counterpoint to Damiano’s deep rumble.Damiano laughs at whatever she said.
I could be in there, laughing with them.But the whole reason I went to Germany in the first place was to create much-needed distance.
Madison laughs, and I can picture those pouty lips stretching in a smile.
Fuck it.
“Hey,” I say as neutrally as possible when I step into the hospital room.
“Hey.”Madison’s face lights up, and damn if it doesn’t make my heart do a flip.
She sits in a chair next to the bed, her fingers interlaced with Damiano’s.If she’s still angry about the Alessia issue, it doesn’t show.
“So tell me about Germany,” she says.
