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I didn’t want any of it.
Finally, when I declined all of it, Ava sat down on my bed.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m just exhausted,” I said.
“Something else is up,” Ava said, but I didn’t want to talk about it. I shut my eyes.
When I opened them again, the room was dark, and it wasn’t Ava on the edge of my bed, it was Noah. His blond hair was a mess, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Are you watching me sleep?” I asked with a small smile, attempting to tease him.
“I’m watching you breathe,” he said. “I really thought I’d lost you, sis.” He took my hand, and he looked like he was about to fall apart. “I’m so glad I didn’t.”
“Me too,” I said.
“You were hurt pretty badly,” he said. “The doctors said it’s a miracle you guys made it through. So much could have gone wrong.”
“Lorenzo knows something about surviving in the forest,” I said. Saying his name made me wince.
“What happened?” Noah asked. “You’re not talking to him.”
“He’s not talking to me,” I corrected. “I don’t know what happened. He promised he wouldn’t leave me, and then…” My eyes welled with tears. “He did.”
Noah stroked my hand, his thumb over my knuckles.
“You should talk to him.”
“I want to. It’s just hard to go to him right now. I’m so fucking sore I can’t even explain it, and I feel like I want to sleep for a year.”
“Then do it,” Noah said. “Sleep as long as you need to. We’re here, and when you’re ready… I’ll take you up there myself so you can talk to him, okay?”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you deserve the world, Celine. You don’t see it, but you’re perfection, and you deserve to be treated right. If he fucks it up, that’s on him, not you. You deserve closure, though.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks when my brother talked, and I pushed up to hug him.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
26
LORENZO
“Lorenzo?”ZiaLuanacalledto where I stood in the cellar, looking absently at the casks of wine.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing down here?” she asked, coming down the stairs.
I looked at my email again.
“Trying to decide what I’m going to do.”
“About Italy?” she asked.
I nodded.
