Page 67 of His Pet

Merde.

“What are you going to do with her?”

Icicles form in my blood, and my heart stills. Not because I don’t know what he’s about to say but because this is a part of the conversation I don’t want to hear. This is the part that hurts. The part where he tells her he’s going to throw me away. I would get up and sneak back inside if my limbs would move.

“I’m driving her to a bus stop tomorrow morning. Or tonight if she wants. She isn’t required to stay here any longer.”

“And you let her pretend for you all evening.” Nemma scoffs. “What is happening with you,figlio? When did you become so cruel?”

I snort and instantly regret it. I cover a hand over my mouth and listen, expecting angry footsteps to pound my way.

“I didn’t ask her to. She’s… The situation is more complicated than I can explain.”

“Try.Per favore. Try to explain it to me.”

“She was…” Lorenzo sighs, long and heavy, like he’s been carrying the weight of the world on his chest. I lay my hand on my knee and listen. “She upset me, and I reacted poorly to it. I was cruel and vindictive, and I know these are parts of me you don’t like to see, but theyareparts of me, Mamma.”

“No. I know you,figlio. Better than you know yourself, apparently. You don’t hurt the innocent.”

“She wasn’t innocent. She… It doesn’t matter. I’m trying to right my wrong.”

“What does Syrus think of this?”

“He can’t know. Neither can Settimo or Anthony. You can’t tell any of them she was here.”

“I’m glad you feel shame, Enzo. Youshouldfeel it. But something like this impacts more than just you, and you know that. Your father must—”

“He knows.”

Nemma falls silent, and I imagine it’s because she’s thinking. So am I.

Syrus? That’s his father?

Why would he not want Settimo or Anthony to know I’m here? Was he already supposed to have let me go by now?

Anger seeps in, and my eyes narrow at nothing. Black forest is in my line of sight, but I see none of it.

If I had left sooner, today wouldn’t have happened. We wouldn’t have had sex, and he wouldn’t have felt the need to discard me afterward. I would’ve beenhappyto be discarded.

Because back then I wasn’t in love with him.

And now I am.

Fuck you, Lorenzo.

“They know she’s here,” Lorenzo explains. “They don’t know she’s leaving.”

Nemma stays quiet, but even if she spoke, I’m not sure I would hear it. My mind is too loud. I search for meaning in his words, and when I find them, everything goes silent. My mind. The crickets. Lorenzo and Nemma.

They don’t know I’m leaving.

What?

“I see,” Nemma says at last, her voice sad. “And you plan on hiding this from them?”

“I have to. I’m not able to reason with Settimo, and—”

“Let me try,” she insists. “I can talk to Syrus.”

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