Chương 8
Alessia opened the messages anyway.
The family group chat had exploded.
Her aunt had asked if she was okay.
A cousin had written that nobody should jump to conclusions.
Another cousin had replied that there was literally a video.
Her mother had posted, This is not the place to discuss family matters.
Someone else had answered, Then maybe stop discussing them.
Alessia stared.
“What?”
Valerio asked.
“Apparently civilization is collapsing without me.”
She scrolled.
Her mother had sent a private message.
Call me before you make this worse.
Alessia read it twice.
The old reflex arrived immediately.
Call.
Explain.
Soothe.
Reduce.
Make everything smaller until everyone could tolerate it.
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
Valerio watched without asking.
Alessia locked the phone.
“I hate that she can still do that.”
“What?”
“Make me feel like I'm twelve.”
He was quiet.
Alessia looked toward the curtain.
“When Veronica broke my wrist, Mom made me apologize.”
Valerio's head turned sharply.
“What?”
The sentence had escaped before Alessia decided to say it.
She wished she could pull it back.
“It wasn't broken because of her.”
“You just said—”
“I fell.”
“Because?”
Alessia rubbed her thumb along the edge of the phone.
“We were kids.”
“How old?”
“Fifteen.”
“And Veronica?”
“Thirteen.”
“What happened?”
Alessia stared at the screen.
“We were fighting over a jacket.”
“A jacket.”
“She wanted mine.”
“That sounds familiar.”
“She grabbed it while I was wearing it.”
Valerio's expression hardened.
Alessia continued before he could interrupt.
“I pulled back, she pulled harder, and I went down the basement steps.”
“Jesus.”
“It was four steps.”
“You broke your wrist.”
“Hairline fracture.”
“That is still a fracture.”
“I know.”
“What did your mother make you apologize for?”
Alessia gave a humorless smile.
“Calling Veronica a psycho in the emergency room.”
Valerio leaned back slowly.
“Why have I never heard this?”
“Because it was twenty years ago.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is the only one you're getting.”
He absorbed that.
“Fair.”
Alessia looked down at the family messages again.
A new one appeared from Nina.
I backed up the original video.
I won't send it anywhere unless you tell me to.
Below it came another.
I am sorry I froze.
Alessia read those two messages several times.
Then she typed.
Thank you.
She stopped.
Deleted it.
Typed again.
Keep it safe.
Do not send it to Veronica.
She hesitated, then added.
Please don't post it.
Nina answered almost immediately.
I won't.
Alessia set the phone on her chest.
Valerio nodded toward it.
“Nina?”
“Yes.”
“She still has it?”
“Yes.”
“You should have her send you a copy.”
Alessia looked at him.
“You told her not to.”
“I told her not to distribute it.”
“You said not to send it to anyone except me if I asked.”
“Then ask.”
“I don't want to watch it.”
“You don't have to.”
“Then why have it?”
“Because if this becomes an insurance issue, a legal issue, or simply a family issue six months from now, memories will change.”
Alessia's mouth tightened.
“You've already decided this is going to court.”
“No.”
“It sounds like it.”
“I've decided evidence should not exist in only one place.”
The businesslike language irritated her because it made sense.
She messaged Nina again.
Please send me the original file when you can.
Nina responded with a thumbs-up.
Alessia hated the little yellow hand.
It looked cheerful.
She turned the phone facedown.
“Happy?”
“No.”
“Good.”
An orthopedic resident arrived shortly afterward, followed by an attending physician whose gray hair and tired eyes suggested he had been called away from something more pleasant.
They repeated the examination.
They studied the images.
They asked about sensation.
They pressed carefully around the ankle.
Alessia clenched the sheet hard enough to wrinkle it.
The attending introduced himself as Dr. Mercer.
“The fracture involves the distal fibula, and there is some widening in the ankle joint.”
Alessia looked between him and the resident.
“In English.”
“It may be unstable.”
“Meaning?”
“You may need surgery to restore alignment.”
Her stomach dropped.
Valerio asked, “When would that happen?”
“Not tonight unless something changes.”
Alessia focused on the first half of the sentence.
“So I can go home?”
“Possibly.”
“With a broken ankle.”
“With immobilization, crutches, strict instructions not to put weight on it, and close follow-up.”
“What about the numbness?”
“That is the part I want to watch.”
Dr. Mercer checked her toes again.
“I'm getting a slightly different response than earlier.”
Alessia sat straighter.
“What does that mean?”
“You felt this?”
He touched the side of her foot.
“A little.”
“Earlier?”
“Nothing.”
He repeated the test.
Alessia concentrated.
There.
Faint.
Like sensation arriving through thick fabric.
“I feel that.”
Dr. Mercer nodded.
“That is encouraging.”
Valerio's shoulders shifted.
Alessia noticed that too.
“Can swelling cause numbness?”
“Yes.”
“So it might come back?”
“Yes.”
The answer was simple enough that she almost cried.
She looked away before anyone could see.
Dr. Mercer discussed elevation, pain management, warning signs, and an orthopedic follow-up within several days.
Alessia listened carefully until he mentioned surgery again.
Then half the words stopped attaching themselves to meaning.
Valerio began taking notes on his phone.
She resented him for being useful.
When the doctors left, she said, “Don't organize my life.”
“I wrote down the instructions.”
“I can write.”
“You weren't writing.”
“I was listening.”
“You asked what non-weight-bearing meant after he explained it twice.”
“I know what it means.”
“You asked whether touching the floor with your toes counted.”
“That was a legitimate question.”
“It was an alarming question.”
She glared at him.
He put the phone away.
“Fine.”
“What?”
“I won't organize your life.”
“That sounded sarcastic.”
“It was deeply sincere.”
She reached for the pretzels and threw one at him.
It struck his shoulder and fell onto his lap.
Valerio looked down at it.
“That was assault.”
“Call the police.”
“Evidence everywhere.”
She almost smiled.
Then her phone vibrated again.
May you like
This time the message came from Daniel.
Don't panic, but there are people outside the hotel asking guests about the video.
