“Why wouldn’t you come back?”
I reach out and grab my brother’s face. “Don’t worry about it, okay? This is only a precaution. Will you do this for me?”
He nods, but I can see the skepticism in his eyes.
“Thank you,” I say and then kiss his cheeks.
I turn away, ready to leave. Every step I take away from Ugo, I become less like the brother he knows and more like the monster I can be.
“Stai attento,” he calls to me. My steps falter for a second, but I don’t turn back.
Careful isn’t something I’m normally good at. Certainly, Ugo has never said that to me before. But on my way out of my parents’ garden, I hear Zoe and my mother laughing with one another, and I think that maybe I can try to exercise a little caution for once in my life.