Page 7 of Sins of Sorrow


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Rounding the bench, I sit down next to him, leaving as much space between us as possible. I follow his line of sight and stare out at the twinkling skyscrapers. A few blocks over, a helicopter lands on the roof of Lenox Hill.

After several minutes, I can’t take the silence. “Are you sitting up here alone because something made you sad?”

“I thought we agreed no talking.”

My mouth opens, then closes again. There areso many questions on the tip of my tongue. A large part of me thinks it may be wise to go leave and find Mason, or my brothers, after all.

The boy exhales and leans forward with his elbows pressed against his knees. “Sì,” he sighs. “I miss my home. I wish to go back.”

“I’m sure your family will be leaving soon. The auction has finished and everyone is just talking and dancing.”

He laughs as I speak, turning to look at me. With his full attention, it feels like there is a spotlight shining down on me, the warmth of the light stifling. I squirm uncomfortably.

“I did not mean my house, I meant myhome. Verona.”

“As in Italy?”

“Sì. The one and only.”

“Wow,” I whisper to myself, before asking. “What’s it like there? I’ve always dreamt of visiting. I’m half Italian, possibly a little more. My father is full, and my mother is half, mixed with Irish and French.”

“It’s very beautiful. A different beauty than New York has to offer.” He looks back out to the skyline. His tone is a little more chipper when he eventually turns back to me. “Were you born here? You must have been—your accent is purely American.”

“I was. Right here in New York, actually. My mom was born in Virginia and happened to meet my father when he was here for a summer abroad. They fell in love and he moved to the U.S. for her, and they settledhere.” It’s more information than a teenage boy needs, but I love the story of my parents. Their love story gives me hope I’ll find my own someday. If they could find their soulmate by chance, after living an ocean apart for so long, certainly destiny has plans for all of us.

“Romantic,” he says, scrunching his nose slightly, though his voice holds no sarcasm.

“When did you move her?—”

“Vincenza!” My mom stops my sentence, her voice carrying through the closed doors as she looks for me.

His gaze snaps back to mine when he hears my mom, and I swear I see his eyes widen for a moment.

I sigh with annoyance. I want to know more about this boy…hear more about growing up in Italy, and why he’s here. How long he’s lived here. But instead, I discreetly wipe my sweaty palms on the underside of my dress and stand.

“I have to go. Thank you for keeping me company.” Smiling sweetly, I notice the way he stares blankly at me instead of returning the sentiment. It wipes the smile off my face, and I take steps backward to the door, not taking my eyes off him as he continues to stare at me with a cold look in his.

He glares at me as I twist the handle and step back into the penthouse, wondering where I went wrong.

Boys are so confusing.

“Oh, there you are, sweetheart! I was worried when your brothers showed back up at the table, but you weren’t with them. It’s time to go—your father’s already sent for the car.”

“Alright.” I follow her to the staircase, and grab onto the railing, turning to glance over my shoulder one more time at where the boy sits alone again, cloaked in the night’s darkness. I can just make out his silhouette, and I ignore my inner persuasion that begs for me to go back out there and find out what I did to offend him.

Back on the main floor of the penthouse, Mayor Moser’s coat check attendant drapes my black coat over my shoulders. My father and brothers position their own coats, adjusting them while they talk amongst themselves.

When my mother ushers me into the waiting elevator and asks me if I had fun this evening, it’s with thedingof the doors enclosing our family inside that I realize I never even got the boy's name.

Chapter 3

Vinnie

Age 17

Ican feel the vibration of the bass before we make it to the top floor. My pulse races with every ascending number as the elevator climbs higher and higher.

This isn’t the first party I’ve been to this year, but it's the biggest.