“It’s not,” Enzo growls, unable to hear Zane out on what he’s getting to.
“I have been in this family only a short time, but I have loved Amelia for a long time. The one constant that has been there is the true family you have formed without the likes of Gio or Sal. She dotes on what you bring to her life, Enzo. You, Bruno, Carlo, and Manuel were her true family. When all else failed, she had you four. I know you are reeling from Manuel’s death, but you either let people like Salvatore and Giovanni win or you do what you set out to do,” Zane breaks off, strengthening his fervor. “You make a life that you always promised Manuel you’d all be living.” He stands beside my bed, strong and unrelenting. Even in his exhausted state, Zane looks unprepared to back down and allow us to tear one another apart. “I might be overstepping so many boundaries here, but I cannot sit and watch this family fall apart anymore. I came into this family to fight for Amelia, and when I was here, I saw something I wanted to be a part of far more...the revolution. What I saw happening beneath the facade of the Dio Lavoro was so inspiring that I counted myself lucky to be able to be a part of it.”
“Manuel died,” Enzo comments, his tone quivering as he repeats that solemn truth.
“And that is a fact that won’t change if you decide to give up,” Zane states. His response holds strong as he acts as the final pillar of support we need. “This is going to be painful and it won’t get better overnight, but it will never get better if you start giving up on all what’s important to you. Manuel would hate to see this happening when he always had you to protect him most when he faced moments of such diversity. You are a family that doesn’t think any less of one another regardless of what happens.” Zane briefly pauses, watching the both of us and even as Enzo stands a broken man, his fight to break away is diminishing. “When Manuel came out gay, you were all there to make sure he wasn’t going to become an outcast. When Amelia chose me over your family, you stuck by her. You all love one another so unconditionally, I cannot and will not sit on the sidelines and allow you to tear yourselves apart.”
“Enzo,” I whisper to my brother, in the hope that he’ll listen to Zane. “Please, don’t let them take more away from us than they already have.”
“How do I not? I love you all so much, but what good have I done for the family if this is how we all end up?” Enzo is becoming as torn up as I once was by the demons that reside within. The ones I have been saved from on copious times. “Carlo is a broken man, Bruno is distraught, and you’re laid up in a hospital bed, Lia. Right now, I can’t see past that. I cannot start to piece us back together when I don’t have the strength to keep myself together. This is too much to cope with.”
“We are all going to have monsters, Enzo. I know that more than anyone, but you cannot let them win now,” I start to say, but I’m cut off by my brother shaking his head vigorously at me.
“I can’t do this,” Enzo mutters. I can sense he’s about to leave, but before actually doing so, he says one sentence that cuts me up more than anything ever before. “Sorry to disappoint you, Amelia, but all the monsters in our life are human and family.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The irritating scent of battling flowers infiltrates my sense. I have so many bouquet arrangements that not only is the smell nauseating, but the various colors dotted around my room is dizzying. What makes it worse is the name attached to every single card buried within the petals – Papà. The offending peace offering is enough to make me physically throw up and it only hastens the anger burning up through my veins.
I don’t have much of a clue of what’s going to happen to me and my life once I’m free of the hospital, but I know I won’t be able to tolerate being under the same roof as my father or where hell broke loose. I can barely comprehend surviving without my little brother there to offer me that one piece of salvation that no one else can offer, let alone how I’ll survive stepping foot into the house where life has only been an upward battle.
I allow my attention to drift across the room as I notice a newer presence to my right. I look to see a middle-aged man dressed in scrubs with a white coat over them standing in the doorway to my room. He’s handsome with a serene face and the moment he sees me look, he offers me a small grin.
“It’s nice to see some color in your face finally, Ms. Abbiati,” the doctor announces, allowing himself into the room.
“It’s Amelia,” I tell him dryly, correcting him as I push myself up slightly.