Recollection

twenty - five | stars

Billie Eilish – listen before I go (slowed & reverb)

Laying on my bed, I stared up at the stars on my ceiling. They still clung to their places, glowing faintly in the dark, but one was still missing, the same one my fallen star had taken off months ago.

It had been two weeks since we returned to Italy. My devil, Diablo, had been waiting for me. The second I stepped out of the car, he ran toward me, tackling me in the driveway. I'd left him with Zeta in Greece, and she'd sent him here after. I missed him more than I thought I would.

Falling back into the routine with everyone wasn't as weird as I expected. I'd been gone for a year, and a lot had changed. Little Dom was talking now, which was the biggest surprise of all. His head was full of wild curls and that mischievous smirk never failed to make me smile. But it wasn't the usual first words you'd expect from a toddler. No "mama" or "papa" from him.

No, his favorite word was "fuck."

He said it every single day like it was the most normal thing in the world, but only when Haley and Duke weren't in the room. The second his parents walked in, he transformed into the perfect angel baby. Rosalyn insisted they'd never heard him curse and didn't believe he even knew the word. Mateo, though? He was the culprit. Of course, it was Mateo. Who else would be teaching his baby brother to swear like that?

Then there was Levias. I'd been watching him closely. And by closely, I meant I hadn't left his side since I got back. We even slept in the same bed sometimes because I didn't want him drifting too far into his own head. Rosalyn told me he'd stopped speaking after I... after I died. It hurt all of them in different ways. I just wanted to make sure they were alright now, especially him.

Levi was in the bathroom, and I checked my phone for what felt like the hundredth time. No response. Again. I'd sent voice messages, texts, emails, left voicemails—everything I could think of—but Atticus still hadn't answered. A part of me, the part that belonged to him, was crumbling more with each passing day.

I heard the bathroom door open and quickly wiped away a stray tear before setting my phone on the nightstand.

"What's wrong?" Levi's voice came from behind me, catching me mid-action.

"Nothing don't worry about it," I lied, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Now I'm worrying even more." He walked over and sat down beside me. His presence was comforting, but it also made it harder to hold back the emotions I'd been trying to keep buried.

I sighed, finally admitting it. "It's just... this whole thing with Atticus. It's a mess."

Levi nodded, his expression softening. "I'm not defending him or you, but he was really hurt, Lia. When you were gone... he wasn't the same. He was a shell of himself, just like the rest of us. But when he heard you died—something in him snapped. I saw it. Even Leo and Marcelo couldn't get through to him the way they used to."