" I was home when it started that night. I ran away, Alessia, and you know what happened next. All because I just ran away like a coward!"
"Matteo, please calm down," Alessia begged.
She thought she had successfully kept her siblings away from the bane that frustrated her entire existence. She was wrong, but she couldn't think of that now. She still had Lisa to protect. Lisa didn't know much about their father or anything about their mother's death, and Alessia wanted to keep it that way.
"Matteo, please, let's talk inside," Alessia said as tears pooled in her eyes. Over and over, she had beaten herself up for just watching and doing nothing, and it haunted her to this day.
Matteo stormed out of the house, and Alessia ran after him. Catching up with him, she hugged him from behind, and the dam tore open. As she cried, she apologized, choking on her words.
