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I wanted her to tell me all of this.
I really wanted her back.
And she wanted…me to be human.
“Dad.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t die anytime soon.”
“Same to you.”
I smirked, nodding and standing a bit taller.
23
“In each loss, there is a gain,
as in every gain, there is a loss,
and with each new ending comes a new beginning.”
~Proverb
ETHAN
It was 9 pm.
Gigi had long since fallen asleep in my arms. She held me like she was afraid I would disappear…again. As I held her, I wondered what scars I was leaving in her mind. Would they be the same as mine? Or would they be worse? I prayed they weren’t. I had come to the realization that I wasn’t a good father, but I loved her and wanted her as my child even still. Tucking her into bed, I placed my hand on her head for the longest time before kissing her forehead. I finally made my way to the other person I was not too good to, but loved and wanted anyway.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I reached our door. Would she fire a round of bullets at me, throw bottles, stab me? I did not care. I entered anyway, seeing that she’d changed from her funeral clothes into a dark robe. She sat at her vanity, rubbing cream under her eyes. She did not say a word as I entered. Closing the door behind me, I leaned against it, waiting.
Minutes ticked by, and she still said nothing. Instead, she rose from her chair and moved onto the bed, laying down and turning off the lights. Sighing, I allowed myself to sit on the floor in front of the door opposite the bed.
“Dino, Italo, Vinnie,” I spoke softly into the darkness of our room. “They are dead.”
“Did they die, or did you kill them?” she asked.
“I had to.”
“The only reason you would have to is if you needed to keep a secret. What secret? Let me guess, your parents aren’t dead?”
I opened my mouth to answer but then kept silent.
“It seems this kingdom needed more of my blood than yours.” She snickered and rolled onto her side. “Congratulations, Ethan. You won…all on your own.”
“You know I couldn’t have gotten this far without you, Calliope.”
“A pawn is a pawn, Ethan. Don’t give me credit. I got played like the rest of them. In the end, I won and lost. I am Mrs. Callahan. Only you are not the Mr. Callahan I thought you were.”
“You know you are different. You are now the only one in the world who knows the truth about me…what really causes my headaches. Who I really am.”
Calliope didn’t say anything.
She wouldn’t say anything else.
She was upset. She needed time and space.
