And suddenly, silence filled the room.The rain had calmed down to a drizzle now, gently tapping against the windows. I could feel the weight of his gaze on me, but I couldn’t dare look up. I stared at the floor, at nothing, trying my best to keep my tears at bay. Somehow talking about it felt like picking at unhealed wounds. “How… How did it happen?” Came his weak reply, shock evident in his voice. “Heart attack.” I said, “He passed away before we could even get him to the hospital.” “I’m so sorry, Cassie.”I shook my head, “It was inevitable.” “How is your grandmother?” “Not great.” I said, “Well, he was the love of her life. They spent decades together. She didn’t think he would go like that. She’s never been the same after that.” ‘“And you?” He asked, “It must have been tough for you too.” “It was…” I said, “Everything was happening all at once, and I… I felt alone. I had no idea how to handle grandma and how to take care of Emmy. It was overwhelming but somehow, I got thro
Reeling a deep breath in, I raised my hands to finally knock on the door. Silence. There was absolutely no response from his end.I inwardly groaned. I hated doing this. I pushed him away, and now I was coming back to him. This could not have gotten worse. Swallowing my pride, I knocked on his door once again. No, I banged on his door this time. It was urgent, and he better opened the door. I didn’t even have his number to call him. I waited for about a minute before a tight knot formed within my stomach. The dreadful realization of being helpless all over again in an unknown city filled me. Emmy was hurt, but Enzo did get her fixed up. Maybe I should not have blamed him like that. He deserved my attitude but using such a situation to punish him was perhaps a bit too much. And now, I was paying the price for it. I was all alone and in no position to help my daughter. What do I do? Dejected, I turned around to head back home. When I was on the last step, I heard the door unlock.
The expected downpour started late in the afternoon, drizzling at first and then aggressively tapped against the windows. The furious winds never sat well with me, and just like that, fear replaced my anger. I glanced through the transparent windows, trying to catch a glimpse of the house across from the street. “He’s not going to come back any time soon.” Emmy said, “You made sure of that.” I scoffed, eyeing my too-smart-for-her-own-good daughter. “Sometimes, it’s hard to believe you are just four years old.” “Why? Am I too annoying?” “Yes.” “Too bad. You’re stuck with me.” I shook my head. Both father and daughter were making sure this trip remained as eventful as possible. It had been several hours since my outburst, and it seemed that this time around, Enzo was going to respect my boundaries. He was nowhere to be seen. The lights in his house were off. In fact, I had missed seeing him walk into the house even, so I wasn’t sure if he was in there. Although my brain convinc
I halted in my step, turning around to look at him. “Ryan,” I said sternly. “That’s not nice. Apologise.” “Sorryyyyy.” He stretched it out like a song. Emmy then tugged at Enzo’s forearms. As he lowered them for her, she grabbed a candy from the pile of holding and flung it onto the side of the road, right toward the garbage. “There you go. Go grab your candy now.” She said. “No!!!” Ryan screamed, running to me. “Aunt Cassie, Emmy threw my candy away!” “You are so mean to me, Ryan. I’m never going to play with you again.” “Aunt Cassie! My candy!” “Sh, Ryan. I have another one. Now, calm down.” I said, rolling my eyes.That shut him up at once, and from then on, he grabbed my hand and continued to walk with me. I remained acutely aware of Enzo’s presence behind me, sensing his eyes on me as we walked. Emmy on the other hand remained completely unaware of the tension between us and refused to keep calm. She kept asking him silling questions and Enzo replied to each and every one
Cassie’s POV “Are you kidding me?” I groaned at the laptop screen in front of me. There were absolutely no flights to fly us out of here for at least ten days, thanks to the spectalure weather conditions here. I could almost hear Mark’s voice in my head, telling me I should have listened to him. He warned me about the weather here and promised that we could all go there together once he got less busy at work. But I didn’t listen. And now, I was trapped“Are you okay, mommy?” Emmy spoke in her groggy voice, scooting closer to me on the bed. “Yes, sweetie.” I said, patting her head, “Sorry, did I wake you?” “It’s too bright.” She said, covering her eyes. I shut the laptop screen at once and put it aside. And then, I joined her under the duvet. “I’m sorry, go back to sleep.” I said and kissed the top of her head. “Why were you upset?” I sighed, “I tried to book our tickets back home, but there are no flights available. That’s why.” “Oh,” she said, “How long are we going to stay
Enzo’s POV The way she was looking at me, her eyes full of accusation, anger and shock, it told me instantly that I had made a mistake. The realization hit me like a bucket of cold water, sending a jolt of adrenaline throughout my body. Cassie rounded the counter and came to stand in front me, still waiting for my answer. “Tell me.” She said, “Is that what you thought?” “I… yes.” “So.” She said in a quivering tone, “You’re saying… that…” “I thought you loved him.” I said, “And I thought I was in the way.” She shook her head, still struggling to wrap her head around the news. I’d never seen her this lost before. As her eyes found mine, I noticed that they were filled with unshed tears. “Is that why you left?” I didn’t have to give her an answer. One look at my face, and she could see the guilt in it. She let out a loud huff, looking at me, appalled. “Are you serious?” Her voice rose now, “You left me because you thought I didn’t want you? How the hell did you come to that con