Page 65 of The Mafia King's Lost Son
“I am focused.”
“On the memories, not on me.”
“How did you?—”
“Your breathing changed. Try again.”
Over the next few days, we fall into a pattern. Morning sessions in his office where Dante guides me through the trauma with careful questioning and I try not to notice how intimate it feels.
Sometimes Luca bursts in asking why we’re sitting so close, and I have to scramble for explanations that a five-year-old will accept.
“Mama, why are you and D whispering?”
“We’re just talking about grown-up stuff, baby.”
“But you’re really close together.”
Dante doesn’t miss a beat. “Your mama’s helping me with something important. It requires concentration.”
“Oh. Can I help too?”
“Not this time, buddy. But you can help Rosa make cookies.”
“Okay!” He runs off without further questions, and I release a shaky breath.
“That was close.”
“He’s five. Everything is an adventure and nothing requires deeper explanation yet.” Dante turns back to me. “Where were we?”
Other times the sessions are painful and serious. Like the day I remember Antonio’s hands on me, tearing at my dress, his breath hot and sour against my neck.
I break down completely, gasping for air like I’m drowning, and Dante pulls me against his chest without hesitation.
“Breathe. You’re safe. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“He tried to?—”
“I know. But he failed. You got away. You survived.”
I cling to him while the panic attack ripples through me, and when I finally calm down I realize this is the gentlest I’ve ever seen him.
“I’m sorry,” I say, pulling back.
“Don’t apologize for having a normal response to trauma.”
“It’s been six years. Shouldn’t I be over it by now?”
“Trauma doesn’t work on a schedule. It takes as long as it takes.”
I study his face, seeing something in his expression that baffles me. “You sound like you know from experience.”
“Everyone has trauma. Some of us just hide it better.”
Before I can ask what he means, he’s already shifting back into business mode.
“We should continue. If you’re up for it.”
During one session, something strange happens.
