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“It’s not a police raid, is it?”
“No.” He sighed. We both heard Grazia’s voice at the same time. “It’s worse.”
He walked to the door and jerked it open.
“The door isn’t locked. Why are you yelling?”
“Where is she?”
“She’s right…”
He didn’t get to finish because Grazia stepped in his face.
“Don’t play games with me, Garon. Where is she?”
“You want to know, then let me answer. In the kitchen.”
“You,” Grazia was fuming, “I will deal with you later. Sasa, get him.” She ordered her husband and Garon glared at her.
“Get me? It’s my house. Where the hell do you think I’m going?”
Salvatore was laughing in the background, Garon was pissed, and Grazia was ready to fight someone, so I gathered myself and hopped off the counter to get to her.
“Hey.” I said, trying to make my pathetic smile look livelier. “I’m here.”
I was expecting the same hostile treatment, but instead, my friend’s arms curled around my neck and she hugged me like a bear holding on to honey.
“You’re alive.”
I blinked, looking at her face. “You thought I wasn’t?”
“Pina, you disappeared! You left like a thief in the night. Salvatore got a ping on your parent’s passport when they crossed the border to Switzerland, but not yours. I must have called you a million times.”
“Yes, I know, I was just…” working in a brothel, barely scraping by, “I had to hold my head down for a while.”
“You hid from me. From me!”
“You hid from me when you and Salvatore were meeting in secret, so let’s call it even.” I said back. We were best friends for a while, I had my ammunition too.
“I woke up from a coma and my best friend was gone. Why would you do that to me?”
I sighed and looked to Garon. He never told Grazia about what happened, I knew that. He looked back at me, tightening his fists until his fingers started to whiten from the cut off circulation.
“I had to get out of here, Grazia. What Ariana did to you… I couldn’t show my face around here anymore. I was ashamed, so I left. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up.”
Salvatore cleared his throat.
“I have some things to talk to Garon about. We’ll give you girls some time to chat.” He didn’t wait for an answer before pulling his brother-in-law away into a back room, leaving Grazia and I alone.
She was standing with her arms crossed, her eyes burning me. My friend was gentile, but there was a streak of anger in her, and I really didn’t want to feel it. I had to smooth things over, but throwing Garon to the wolves wasn’t an option.
“Do you want some coffee?” I asked her. “Or anything?”
“Oh, God.” Grazia rolled her eyes. “It’s so weird to see you so comfortable in Garon’s house. I’ll take the coffee.”
I felt anything but comfortable in that moment. While I poured her coffee, Grazia made herself comfortable on the couch. When I joined her, it felt really strange and I hated it. She was my best friend, but after everything that had happened there was a stone wall between us and I hated it. There was enough strange and weird in my life, I didn’t want things with Grazia to turn the same.
“None for you?” She pointed at my empty hands.
