75. Not A Quitter

[HAZEL]

I storm through the giant double doors of Nonna’s home office, my fists clenched into balls, only to stop dead in my tracks when I find her sitting with two older men in expensive suits.

Well, not as old as Nonna but close. They must be a decade younger than her.

But then again, Nonna has always carried herself with such grace and poise that I have never been sure about her actual age. Not that I ever asked. I was told from a very young age that it was a very rude thing to do, and the fact that kids weren’t supposed to be rude, because that’s just…well, not right, I guess?

Probably.

Not that right now any of those things matter.

I huff, stomping my foot on the floor as if I’m ready to charge at anyone in the room (I’m not, it’s just an expression).

“What is going on here?” Nonna asks, her perfect eyebrows scrunched up, not as nicely as she usually does; there is an angry edge to her words, as if she wants me gone without creating a scene. But the way those men in expensive sui