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“What are you saying?” I ask, dread crawling up my spine.

“You can’t stay here anymore,” he says, his voice breaking. “Not because we don’t want you here, Nora. God knows we do. But you’re disappearing in front of us, and letting you stay in this room while it happens isn’t loving you.”

“What!?” I stand abruptly. “You’re kicking me out!?”

My mother cups my face.

“You are my heart,” she cries. “I would give you everything, even this home, if it would save you. But it won’t.”

I shake my head.

“But this will help you get out of this,” she continues. “Staying here won’t.”

“You’re putting me on the street?” My voice cracks.

“No,” Nonna says firmly. “We’re sending you to the ranch Damiano left you.”

I look at her, breathing uneven.

“I walked this path,” she says. “And I know you don’t want this. But grief can blind you. Let us see for you, just for now.”

“And what do you see?” I ask.

Her smile is sad.

“That you still have a whole life in front of you. And if you stay here, in this hole grief dug for you... you’ll spend it all in your own personal hell.”

The words hit hard.

“What if I refuse?”

My father’s face crumples.

“Then you’ll have to find somewhere else to stay, because you can’t stay here and keep doing this to yourself while we pretend giving you a bed is helping you.”

My heart stutters.

“I’ll go to Chiara’s...”

“She already agreed not to take you in,” my mother says quietly. “So did Damiano’s parents. And the one friend that hasn’t given up on you yet.”

“They all agreed to this?”

My mother nods, tears filling her eyes. “Because they love you. Nobody is abandoning you, Nora. None of us are. If you need us, we’ll get on the first plane. But we’re not going to give you another room to disappear into.”

That lands deeper than anything else.

My sister... my best friend... won’t take me in.

I sit down on the bed. Hard.

“I...”

Nothing comes out.

“This can’t be happening.”

My mother steps forward, trying to hug me, but I shove her away.