Vincenzo’s jaw tightened. His eyes stayed fixed on me.
“No. This is on you,” he said flatly, pointing. “You’re the one causing problems.”
Something in me cracked—quietly, but deeply. The kind of break that doesn’t heal cleanly. They looked like they belonged together standing there, a unit. A family. And I was just… the leftover piece no one wanted to admit still existed.
Noel suddenly reached for my bag again, tugging at the zipper.
“I’m hungry. What’s in there? Food?”
The urn slipped.
It dropped to the floor with a heavy sound that made my stomach collapse.
“No—stop! Don’t touch that!”
He crouched anyway, curious, reaching with careless hands. “What is it?”
I shoved him back before I could think twice. Harder than I meant to. Or maybe exactly how I meant it. I didn’t care anymore. Everything I cared about was already gone.
Vincenzo exploded.
“Are you out of your mind?!” he shouted. “He just got out of the hospital! He’s sick, and you push him like that?”
Noel started crying and immediately latched onto me again, grabbing my hair and pulling hard enough to blur my vision with tears.
Through it all, I managed to speak.
“It’s Gabriel’s,” I choked out. “It’s my son’s.”