Page 9 of Enzo

Rio and Raquel.

Zach and Maya.

Matteo and Elizabeth.

Me.

Mama.

The room falls silent. The idea of Father seeing all of us together, like this, makes my stomach churn. He's recovering from the operation. He wasn't invited. Mama has never invited him, not even once. It would have been strange if she had.

Now, seeing this, he’ll think we're doing it secretly behind his back. Truth is, we are, but being caught red-handed, like we're the guilty ones, gnaws at me.

Rio and Matteo hold him at arm's length. I have a feeling that Jett and Dex do, too. It’s only Zach and me who feel a shred of guilt, of remorse, of something we can't quite label.

Zach used to. He was the only one of us all who made an effort, but he distanced himself once Maya's truth came to light, and I don’t blame him.

Father is a difficult man to love, and I despise him for what he did, for all the wrongs he's done to all of my brothers, but even so, knowing all of that, a sliver of pain slices through me.

Because I still remember the man I adored. The Papa who would lift me onto his shoulders and walk around. The Papa who'd team up with me when we'd play football with Rio and Matteo.

I try not to think about those days, because they always make me sad. The past pains me, filling me with sadness and guilt so overwhelming that the only way I can deal with it is to block that time out.

I grieve for the loss of the Papa I once loved so much.

But now that he’s recovering from major surgery, the idea of him sitting alone in his penthouse tugs at my heart. I can't not feel it, even knowing how despicable he’s been through most of his life.

I can't shake the guilt away, when he sees us all together, even though it's his actions that have created this outcome. This is the future he created through years of lies, deception, and living a double life. This distance between him and his children isn't something that happened to him, it's the consequence of his own choices.

“Say hi to Grandpa!” Brooke says happily, oblivious to the shock rippling around the room. We all stay silent. My stomach knots.

He’s recovering from surgery, but he's back home and getting stronger every day, and now he’s watching all of us, together. He's the only one who isn't here.

Guilt twists in my chest before I push it away. This isn't because we wanted to hurt him. This is what happens when you spend a lifetime building walls between the people you love.

Still, I can't help picturing him alone, realizing there's a family dinner taking place that he isn't part of.

Once upon a time, that thought would have broken my heart. Now it just makes me sad because while he deserves the consequences of his choices, none of us did.

“Jesus.” Dex mutters.

He and Rio are doing a slashing motion with their hands at their necks. They think so much alike that it’s scary. Jett curses under his breath for giving Brooke his phone. Zach looks towards me, like he's expecting me to fix things. Matteo's arm tightens possessively around Elizabeth's shoulder and he hugs her closer to him, but says nothing.

I walk over to Brooke, reach over and gently take the phone. “Can I have that please, sweetie?”

Brooke hands it over without complaint.

“Father.” I sound awkward. I point the phone at me, so that he can see my face, and I can see his.

I've taken one for the team and spared them, but I’m quickly startled by the face staring back at me. Father's eyes look sunken, his skin is crepey, when it was always smooth, and he has more lines around his eyes. He looks thinner and his hair isn’t perfectly groomed. I’ve never seen him like this, but I remind myself that it’s five weeks after his surgery.

Yet this image of him shocks me. He was always so invincible. He always seemed larger than life, but now I see an old man who suddenly looks his years.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Perfect,” he replies, like he doesn't have a care in the world, but I can tell from his expression that this cuts deeper than he’s letting on.

He's being looked after very well at home with a top medical team. He rarely calls, so I wonder what prompted this, and why he'd call Jett of all people.