Page 117 of Pomegranate Seeds

For some reason, it still made her a little sad. “I wish you could have shared it with your family. I wish you didn’t have to go through it alone. Sometimes you need to share your struggles.”

I knew she was right, and she knew she was right. Yet it was not always so easy. Not for people like us.

“Do you do that?” I asked with a soft voice. “Do you share your pain?”

Realization sank into her. “I share it with you.” Only with me, just like I only shared it with her.

We didn’t need anyone else. I could find a way to be enough for Priscilla.

“You know I never went to my mother’s grave after the funeral,” she said suddenly. “What you do is amazing. I just acted like it didn’t happen. I acted like she never existed because it was easier. I just hid my pain in the most disgusting way, and you owned it up.” Just when I was about to tell her she was not disgusting, she pressed a finger to my lips. “You are the good one in this relationship, Antonio, and I am the one winning because you are better than me in every way.”

It was a ridiculous thought. I pressed my thumb to her full bottom lip. “I am always the winner, Priscilla.” When she shook her head, I pressed her to my chest. “Just never give me fake sunshine.” I felt her giggle into my chest, and I pressed a pleased kiss to her forehead. “I only need you.” I really only needed her.

Priscilla pulled back and shook his head. “You are horrible. I am not wearing waterproof mascara. Don’t turn me into a panda.”

“You’d be a cute panda.”

She laughed, and a smile appeared on my face. “I really would be.” Then she turned a little more serious. “Do you have a picture of her?”

I nodded.

Priscilla got free from my arms and sat down on the floor, next to my mother. She extended a tiny hand towards me. “Come, tell me about her. Let me meet her. I want to know if she would have liked me.”

I sat down next to her, but throughout the whole talk, something funny was inside me because I knew my mother would not have liked her.

She would have loved her.

Priscilla

After the graveyard, Antonio took me to the Vasile Mansion. He drove the whole way with one of his hands on my thigh. It felt like he couldn’t stop touching me. Visiting his mother really affected him.

Rosetta. Such a pretty name.

I also asked him for a picture. She was a pretty woman. Very tall with brown hair and the softest hazel eyes. Antonio had her eyes, but his were so rarely that soft. Maybe only for me.

I was glad that he brought me there. He really opened his soul to me. He showed me what broke him. He didn’t say it, but it felt like he wanted me to fix it for him. He wanted me to understand and fight for him.

He never let anyone fight for him. No one ever even thought about fighting for him.

But I was going to do it. I was going to end his pain. Ease the chaos.

“Are you spending the night?” Antonio asked with a tight voice when he parked in the front.

“It is a sleepover, Antonio.”

He nodded and then squeezed the inside of my thigh, his pinky slipping under my black dress. “I will miss you.”

My heart melted as usual. I unbuckled my seatbelt and buried my knees to the seat so I could lean close to Antonio. I kissed the tip of his nose, making his brows furrow. “I will miss you too. If you really want, I can come back.”

He shook his head and, this time, softly squeezed my butt. I loved when he did that. “It is okay. I like that you are getting along well with my family.”

To that, I felt a little sting. I was close with Mia and Bella. I didn’t have a big problem with anyone either, but at this moment, I didn’t feel close to his family. I wanted to shout at their faces. It was a fantasy I couldn’t get out of my head. Our grave visit made it all more intense.

I only smiled and kissed him as an answer. He didn’t need anything negative. I didn’t want to blame his family even though they were to blame.

“Are you going to come inside to see them?”

His body went rigid under my hands. I felt his fingers slightly tense over my soft flesh. “Not today. You’ll tell them I need to work.”

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