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Carered, so so hts no better as he relived everything in his dreaot lost in the blackness Every night as he slipped into unconsciousness, he prayed that if he did wake up, he would finally forget everything He just wanted to fucking forget

It never worked, though Every ht before, the cycle starting all over again He was spiraling out of control, but he didn’t care It didn’t matter what happened to him anymoreall he wanted was some peace, no ht to Luna Rossa with Rehts long enough for the alcohol to take hold He ood friends under other circuet past that wall he had built And seeing Rereen eyes, didn’t help Carrief It reminded him of what he had lost, what he had left, what he needed, but what he could no longer have

Car that part expected of him, but when he was alone the crack in his façade deepened

It was early evening when Cary jeans hanging loosely fro it down another notch, as hein the hallway as he headed to the kitchen The air-conditioner wasn’t working, the house stifling and air hazy It burned his chest to take a deep breath, his head pounding as he poured sweat

His sto his sides Opening the fridge door, he pulled out a carton of leftover Chinese food He eyed it suspiciously, trying to rerabbing a fork

He grabbed a stack of h it: bills, notices, junk, shit that wasn’t even addressed to hi his na it open, he pulled out the card, reading the gold inscription on the front

Dominic DeMarco and Tess Harper request the honor of your presence at their wedding on October 27

There was a knock on the front door, fierce pounding that echoed through the silent house Carainst the counter as he stared at the invitation, hardly tasting the cold noodles he forced down A wedding His brother was gettingcontinued, harder and louder, before the front door thrust open Sunlight streah the foyer briefly and then the door slammed

"Carmine?" Celia shouted

"In here," he mumbled, his mouth full of food Footsteps veered in the direction of the kitchen, Celia appearing in the doorithin aat hi" He held out the carton "Want soroan as she reached for the switch on the wall The bright light was harsh and Car to shield his eyes "Christ, is that necessary?"

"Necessary?" Celia’s voice was laced with bitterness and disbelief "It’s called electricity, Carmine It’s a part of civilization Of course it’s necessary! But honestly, I’hts work around here The telephone certainly doesn’t seehed but kept his ue

"Look at this place," she said, crinkling her nose "It’s disgusting! It reeks!"

Again, Car apart the kitchen, throwing away trash and gathering dirty dishes His feet stayed planted in one spot as she cleaned,under her breath in frustration

After the kitchen was decent, she turned to hi to say When did you stop caring?"

"Is that what I did?" he asked quietly "Stopped caring?"

"That’s how it seems"

He stared back at her The ache in his chest, dull when he had woken up, grew stronger as they stood there "I wish that were true"

She scoffed, but the sound of a cell phone going off in another part of the house silenced her Car roo it off the couch cushion where it lay

"So the phone does work," Celia said "I’m shocked"

"Not now" Carmine shook his head "Justnot now"

"Is the whole house destroyed?" she continued, ignoring him "If the downstairs in this bad, I’d hate to see upstairs Do you at least have clean clothes? Are you doing laundry? Are you bathing?"

"Of course I a on top of everything else "Why don’t you go nag soyou," she replied "It’s just that this place is a disaster! It feels like an oven in here"

"I’ve been busy"

"Too busy to pick up after yourself?"

"Yes"

"Too busy to open a ?"

"Yes"

She stared at hi on, Carhed dryly "I have things to do, Celia I don’t have time for this"

"Fine," she conceded "This conversation isn’t over, though"