“Let’s go,” Mel tells Samantha. “Let these two have their moment.”
Samantha hesitates, but out of everyone, she seems to have warmed up to Mel the most. They might be three years apart, but I wonder if they could be friends. “Okay,” she agrees.
When it’s just me and Pandora left in the room, I kiss her. “Thank you. You really didn’t have to do that. Fuck, I didn’t even tell you the worst part.”
I don’t know that I want to tell her.
But I have to tell someone, and who else am I going to talk to?
Pandora squeezes my hand. “The worst part? Not more missing fingers, I hope.”
“My mom’s gone,” I say bluntly.
I watch her reaction, wondering if it’s going to be like it was when Franklin had died, with her not seeming to understand thesignificance. But then, is it really all that significant when I’ve never actually had a good relationship with my mom?
Her mouth parts, and I wait for words to follow.
Finally, she lowers her gaze. “Gone, like… dead? Or gone, like missing?”
“I don’t know,” I tell her. “My dad says she up and left, but it’s not like he’s reliable. Her phone is out of service, her stuff is gone, but who the fuck knows?”
Telling her makes it feel even fresher, like the wound is reopening—or maybe like the wound is opening to begin with, because I hadn’t even felt this strongly about it when I’d been at home with my dad.
“I don’t know why she wouldn’t have warned me. It’s not like I’d have snitched to him,” I say.
And I wouldn’t have.
Pandora doesn’t say anything for the longest time, fiddling instead with the wrapped box Giulio had given her.
“My grandmother disappeared,” she finally says. “Papa’s mother. Before he even met Mama. That’s why there’s a picture of granddad’s mutilated corpse on the tree.”
I did not know there was a picture like that on the tree, but somehow it doesn’t surprise me either.
“I guess your papa thinks he was responsible for her disappearance then,” I say, keeping my voice low. This is probably not something Giulio Pavone wants us talking about, least of all on Christmas. On the other hand, if he wanted it to be completely hushed up, he wouldn’t have a picture like that on the tree.
“Well, it’s not a secret that Emilio Pavone was kind of a dickbag. To put it mildly.” Pandora gets closer and rests her head on my shoulder. “Do you want help finding her? Uncle Slayer still has resources. He could do it for you.”
I hesitate.
If she did bail on me without telling me, I’m not sure I’ll want to talk to her.
But if she didn’t bail and my father is responsible…
“Yeah,” I say, speaking before I even fully make the decision. “At the very least, I want to make sure she’s okay.”
And if she’s not? I don’t know what I’ll do, but I can add my dad to our ever-growing revenge list.
“Okay!” Pandora squeezes my hand. “If she’s alive, Uncle Slayer will find her. Hell, he’ll probably enjoy the work. He’s always moaning about how bored he gets with me off at college and Ares and Kratos too busy to go hunting with him.”
“I’ll be sure to thank him,” I say, even though the idea of having to speak that closely to Slayer is nerve-wracking. “Anyway, your parents are probably going to get pissed if they have to come find us. We should go eat with everyone.”
I feel lighter for having told her about my mother, despite the uncertainty.
I have hope now.
That’s more than I had yesterday.
14
