Emanuele stops eating at the same instant. She stares at him silently, pondering whether she should expose her thoughts at that instant, or wait a while and filter her words better.Johnny doesn't seem shaken by her reaction. On the contrary, the man raises one of his eyebrows and opens an inviting smile.She responds slowly:"Well... Maybe. Relationships can have very good moments... But they also have very bad moments.""You're right." He takes a sip of his juice and continues eating his omelets. "Do you think, in our case, we would have more good moments than bad?"Emanuele's cheeks are so hot she could fry eggs on them. She wriggles in her chair, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, and looks at the kitchen walls."It's hard to tell.""Really? I don't think so. I think we'd be fine almost a hundred percent of the time."She finally looks into his eyes as she asks:"Why did this typical one come up so suddenly?"Johnny ponders the question, scratches his chin and then contemplates Emanu
When Johnny goes upstairs, he sees Emanuele sitting with her cell phone in her hands, still without the courage to move, do or say anything. He notices her frightened physiognomy and is immediately concerned:"Hey. Is something wrong?"Her eyes are genuinely frightened and alarmed when she says in a thread of voice:"Alexandra is coming back from her trip."The boy crosses his arms:"I thought she was never coming back. Carlos and I were even betting on when she would break the news that she would be sticking around, wherever she is.""You guys don't know where she went?""No, no one. But you said she went to see a distant relative, a family member, right?"Emanuele nods and looks once more at the cell phone screen, still not having the courage to read those two sentences so short and precise, but still so shocking."I'll be there tomorrow morning. I have to get my brother ready for the funeral."The man who haunted Joshua's dreams, who made him go to juvie, rise from nothing, and car
Johnny's car stopped in front of Emanuele's building. Pained, the girl leaned on her broken nose, still bandaged with the special dressing. She looked at the boy behind the wheel, frowning in tension."Do you want me to get in with you?"The girl nods her head in the negative."Better not."He kisses her gently and holds her face, protectively and securely."Anything, Emanuele. Any screams, any threats or arguments, call me immediately.""I will, yes. I will."She makes mention of opening the car door, but he stops her by placing his hand on her shoulder."I'm very serious. Don't hesitate to call me.""I know. It's okay."After one last kiss, she finally puts her feet out of the automobile. Still, Johnny only starts it after the girl climbs the small steps up to the huge double doors of the building.Inside the elevator, Emanuele felt her heart racing, her skin sweaty, and her breathing difficult. So the girl began to do breathing exercises, trying to concentrate as much as possible o
Alexandra is very similar to what Emanuele saw in the photos, but different at the same time. In the perfectly calculated and angled images on social media, she is just a pretty woman with a serious air. But there, standing in front of the two, the former bride perceives a tremendous air of authority.It was explained why she simply rushed out of the apartment for a long trip, caring little for the feelings of others in the process. She did what she wanted, and probably did not accept being contradicted. She was wearing jeans, a long-sleeved blouse, and short boots. A small bag was in her left hand, and in the other, her key."Good morning," she greets them, absolutely surprised that they were both up so early.The dark-skinned woman with long, curly black hair caught in a bun and sparkling eyes takes a closer look at Emanuele's appearance and almost drops the bag."Good heavens! What happened to you?"She stares at Joshua, who holds his hands up in a defensive gesture:"Hey, come on
Emanuele watches Joshua's features change dramatically: first he tries to laugh, as if he were hearing a joke. Then it goes to sadness, a kind of endless anguish. Finally, the strongest emotion takes over and stands out: indignation. His voice is not as loud as before. He clenches his fists before asking in a very low tone:"What do you mean, he cut me out of the will?"Alexandra sighs and starts picking at her fingernails as she speaks:"Before he almost completely lost his cognitive functions, one of his last acts was to remove your name from all official documents. The house, the farm, and the small shares of the company are in my possession now."Although he says nothing, Joshua's very silence is threatening and oppressive. It is as if Emanuele can feel the aggressive aura emanating from his motionless body.Apparently, Alexandra herself could not see or feel this, for she kept talking:"Of course I think that's unfair. And so I had to stay there a little longer, trying to see wh
When Emanuele enters the room, Joshua is already opening the closet door and removing all his blouses, pants and other clothing items from there. The girl says:"Joshua, wait."The man doesn't even look at her as he replies, still focused on removing his clothes from the cabinet."I don't have anything to wait for. You heard.""You guys just lost your minds, I'm sure you can come to an agreement."Alexandra's voice sounds behind her:"There is no deal. I'm sorry, Emanuele. You seem like a sweet and kind person, and I see that, but my brother and I obviously have too many problems.""But that trouble is over, isn't it? Your father is dead. There's nothing left to fear or argue about!" Emanuele looks from one to the other, gesturing wildly. "Please don't do this, don't let yourselves get carried away by hurt and hatred."Joshua replies once again:"It's not that simple.""It is simple, yes. You just need to sit down and talk. Guys, you are brothers! You've been through so much, suffered
It all ended in the most disastrous way it could. Or almost.Alexandra did not go back on her decision, quite the contrary. She said that Joshua had two hours to collect all his belongings and return to where he came from. Emanuele noticed for the first time that she never knew where the home of her now former roommate was.Despite his requests to be left alone, the girl could not let him organize and pack without any help. While Alexandra took a shower and made important calls, probably to the lawyer or people from the company, Joshua folded clothes, shirts and pants, all with Emanuele's help.The silence bothered them, but there was absolutely nothing they could say to each other. There was no comfort or advice that made any difference at that moment."I wanted to stay longer," he murmured.She stopped the motion of putting away her clothes, surprised that he was speaking.Joshua clarified:"You look pretty bruised, I wish I could help with that.""... I'd like to help you too.""Ah
Amanda opens another can of beer. Emanuele stopped at the first one, and now all she wants to do is drink water and eat snacks. The two are on the balcony railing of the twins' apartment, and Amora is inside cooking something.It had been two weeks since Joshua had left, and there was a strange, horrible emptiness in Emanuele's heart.The week before, the group had wanted to propose a sort of collective lynching against Thabata, but the former bride begged them not to do anything to her. Despite being hurt, the girl with the honey-colored hair only got some peace and quiet when she fought back. She didn't want to restart the cycle.After taking a sip of her drink, Amanda mutters:"Can you have alcohol? I thought it would be harmful since you still take some strong pain medication."Emanuele shrugs."We all have a day when the rules don't apply. That's my case."The twin laughs."I can't believe someone as nice as you joined our group. I mean, we lost a mocre, swindling snake, and gain