As the Surface Caves In

Last Day Home

"Giulia!" Alberto quickly wipes off the leftover water dripping down his shoulders, attempting to transform every still visible scale. "What are you doing up?" He masks his guilt with a nervous smile. He doesn't even notice his tail is still flopping around behind him.

Giulia takes a step to the side to peer behind him and scowls. "Answer the question, perdente." She steps back in front of him and crosses her arms, waiting for a magnificent excuse to barf out of Alberto's mouth.

"I uh--" Alberto scratches the back of his head, needing something to do with his hands. He averts his eyes to the sky, "Just needed to go out for a walk." The nervous smile stays plastered onto his face. Right after the worlds leave his mouth, he notices his tail transforming away.

Merda, there's no way she's going to believe that.

She frowns, "Ah yeah, you see, I would believe you had I not SEEN you walk out of the ocean and then talk to me with your stupid sea monster tail still behind you!"

"A swim— I meant I was going for a swim. Just to calm the nerves ya know," he attempts to save himself, but Giulia continues.

"I saw you come out here five times. You were carrying a ton of junk in your arms. You even dropped this." She pulls out a large tattered book titled L'Universo from behind her back and shoves it right into Alberto's face.

Alberto lets out a nervous laugh, "I-I can explain..."

"This is Luca's, isn't it?" she scoffs to herself, "Santa mozzarella, Why do I even ask? I gave it to him!" She pinches the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Alberto feels the cold sweat drip down his back.

"What, is it because I picked on you so much?" She moves her hand from her face to reveal tears already piling up in the rims of her eyes. " Is it because we fight all the time?" She pauses for a moment to catch her breath, "...I thought you were mio fratello, Alberto... I thought—I guess I thought we actually cared about each other."

She whips her head away as if she couldn't bear to even look in the direction of Alberto.

"I dont know maybe I did do the whole sibling thing wrong..." she pauses for a few seconds, then glares straight at Alberto, "but I couldn't have done it any worse than you." A tear glistens in the moonlight as it slides down her cheek.

Alberto reaches for Giulia's shoulder, "Giulia..."

She slaps his arm away, "Don't touch me, idiota!" She wraps her arms around herself and hugs tightly, "Don't come home tonight." The silence between her sentences is deafening. "Why don't you..." she brings her hands up to her eyes and grasps her scalp with her fingers, "Why don't you go hide out at your little shelter huh? Since that's what you were planning to do anyways." She removes her hands and stares right through Alberto.

Alberto feels his heart shatter into a million pieces. It's almost as sickening as the nausea he dealt with the other night.

"Take Luca with you too, I'm sure you've made room for him, right?" She tosses the L'Universo book to the ground and it kicks up some sand onto Alberto's feet. It feels grainy between his toes. Every sense he feels in this moment disgusts him. He's even disgusted with feeling his own skin. His vocal cords feel like they've snapped and he can't even mutter a sound. He just stands there, dumbfounded.

"Yeah," she sighs, "That's what I thought."

Finally, trying to explain himself, he blurts without thinking, "Giulia, You wouldn't be able to—"

"What, wouldnt be able to what, Alberto? SURVIVE?!" she cries out. "Because I'm human? I--I don't even care about that at this point." She digs her nails into her arms, "I care that you didn't think enough of me to even tell me."