Page 78 of Angel

Chapter Twenty-Four - Paige

Clattering, chattering, and all other sorts of noise filled the dining room. I sunk back into my seat and relaxed as the sounds wrapped around me.

So far, being around such a big family proved to be extremely comforting. The noise level, contrary to being a disruption, became a protective shield against the world.

Or rather, the thoughts in my own head.

With Franco and Tre shouting at each other from opposite ends of the table, Mrs. Salvatore and Dominic discussing Easter plans at a thousand miles per minute, Pops and Angelo talking shop, and Lia and Paige gushing about New York’s last fashion week, it became pretty hard for my own neurotic worries to find space in my brain.

I sipped some orange juice and smiled to myself. From down the table Angelo caught my eye and sent me a wink.

Mrs. Salvatore clapped her hands together. “Who’s coming to pick out the tree after breakfast?”

“Huh?” I couldn’t help but mutter.

“It’s a Salvatore tradition,” Franko explained, adding extra maple syrup to his already soaking pancakes. “No tree till two days before Christmas.”

Pops waved his hand. “That American tradition of getting it on Thanksgiving is ridiculous. Families used to put trees up on Christmas Eve. They decorated them together, made a ceremony out of it.”

“People still decorate them together, Pops,” Lia pointed out.

“But they get them too early,” he said.

Sophia opened her mouth to add something, but her words turned from syllables into a long, sustained buzz. I was hundreds of miles away, trapped in a place from years ago.

My heart clenched. Nausea filled me.

I’m going to vomit. Right here at the table.

I stood quickly and ran for the doorway.

“Paige?” Angelo said from somewhere far away.

I sped down the hall and into the closest bathroom, slamming the door behind me. Going to the sink, I grabbed both sides of it and held on for dear life.

The walls spun and tilted. I kept my gaze down, focused on the sink’s drain. It became my life saver, the only thing anchoring me in reality.

My breath came short and labored. I felt in my jeans pocket for my inhaler and took a hit.

Someone knocked on the bathroom door. “Paige?” Angelo asked. “Are you all right?”

I took another deep breath and straightened up. The pale girl in the mirror looked back at me, both of us uncertain as to what to do.

I’d broken down enough in front of Angelo. He didn’t need to see me broken up all the time. I liked Sunny Paige better. Loving Paige was great. Joking Paige was a good one too.

“Paige?” he asked again.

“I’m fine,” I said in a cracked voice.

“I’m coming in.”

I straightened up, about to protest, but the door was already opening.

“What happened?” Angelo asked, coming in behind me and closing the door.

I watched him in the mirror. At least I could now look at something other than the sink. That was good.

“It just… I had a memory come back.”