But Giulia invited me.
And sitting alone in this room, drowning in silence, sounds worse than facing a table full of strangers.
I grab my phone. Scroll through my contacts. Gianna. Claudio. Oliver. Papa.
My thumb hovers over Gianna's name.
She's probably asleep. I shouldn't wake her. She has class tomorrow. She needs rest.
But I need?—
I need to hear a familiar voice.
I press call before I can talk myself out of it.
It rings once. Twice. Three times.
"Nella?" Gianna's voice is thick with sleep. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." The lie comes automatically. "I just wanted to hear your voice."
Silence. Then. "It's after midnight."
"I know. I'm sorry. Go back to sleep."
"No, wait." I hear rustling. She's sitting up. "How is it? The house? The people?"
"Big. Quiet. Everyone's been... polite."
"Polite?" She laughs softly. "That's not exactly reassuring."
"It's fine, Gi. Really."
More silence. I can picture her face. The worry in her eyes. The way she chews her bottom lip when she's thinking.
"What about him?" she asks finally. "Your... husband?"
The word sounds strange coming from her mouth. Strange and wrong and too real.
"He's..." I search for the right word. "Complicated."
"Complicated how?"
"Just complicated," I say. "I'm still figuring him out."
"Nella." Her voice drops. Serious now. "If he hurts you?—"
"He won't."
"You don't know that."
"I know I can handle myself."
She's quiet for a long moment. When she speaks again, her voice is small. Young. The voice of the little sister I've been protecting since she was born.
"I miss you already."
My chest aches.