Lissy Romano

86| That is your name.

Lissy Romano

Everything feels different now that Amara is gone. A week ago, we held her funeral. It was incredibly hard to be there, but the ceremony itself was beautiful.

We brought stunning flowers for her, and there was live music that filled the air with a sense of peace. Her name and memories were engraved on the large headstone. Giovanni made sure there was a smaller one placed beside hers, honoring their unborn baby. That was one of the most heartbreaking sights I've ever seen.

Giovanni's trying to act like he's okay, but we all know he's not. We're doing our best to be there for him, but he's clinging to me as though I'm the last person left on this earth.

It's nighttime now, and I'm sitting at the kitchen counter, working on my schoolwork. Since I'm homeschooled, I get to choose when I want to study, which is a pretty cool freedom. I didn't feel like sleeping, so I decided to be productive instead of just lying in bed scrolling through my phone.

Jax is curled up in my lap, getting bigger every day, but he'll always fit there. He's my little Jax, and that will never change.

"What are you doing here?" a deep, soothing voice asked as the familiar smell of alcohol wafted in with him.

It was Dante. We haven't spoken much since the time he yelled at me. Honestly, I don't want to give him another reason to yell at me. It's just easier to keep my distance, especially when he's drunk.

"Schoolwork," I answered without even looking up.

"Lissy, we haven't talked much..." Dante began, sitting on the stool opposite me.

I raised an eyebrow. I wonder why... I thought, sarcasm lacing my mind.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," he said, his voice laced with guilt. "I didn't mean to scare you."

His apology was hard to take seriously, especially with the lingering stench of alcohol on his breath. I didn't even acknowledge his words. I was too focused on the numbers in my book, trying to block out the discomfort.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," he repeated, a bit more insistently this time.

I let out a quiet sigh, my eyes still glued to the pages in front of me. It was so much easier than being confronted by his gaze. Homeschooling had its perks—like being able to cheat a little during tests without a teacher watching over my every move.

"Lissy, I said I'm sorry for yelling at you," Dante said again, and this time my gaze shifted to meet his.

"And I don't care anymore," I replied, shrugging my shoulders in resignation.

"Did you even hear what I said?" he asked, looking at me in frustration.

"I heard you perfectly fine," I snapped. "You're sorry for yelling at me. I get it. Now, you can leave me alone."

It wasn't just about the yelling. Yes, that was part of it—he raised his voice at me, and that hurt—but what bothered me most was how he had seen the fear in my eyes and walked away without a second thought. He didn't care about my mental health, yet he knew exactly how badly it could get.

I glanced down at my notepad and realized I could barely read what I'd written. I needed to work on my handwriting, badly.

"Why are you so mad?" Dante's voice broke through my thoughts, his words hitting me like a slap. "Was it really that bad that you're treating me this way now, Elizabeth?"