Held Together By Threads

Held Together By Threads
Steam curled around Diamond like a shroud, blurring the glass walls of the shower until the world outside was just a muted haze. Water poured over her head in steady sheets, each droplet hot enough to sting, yet it wasn’t enough to burn away the pain coiling in her chest.

Her palms pressed against the cool tile, head bowed, the spray hammering against the back of her neck. She told herself she was just washing the day off, just rinsing away the dirt, the adrenaline, the faint metallic smell of fear clinging to her skin. But no matter how long she stood under the water, the weight didn’t lift.

The truth was pressing in on her from all sides.

The man who raised her, the one she once thought she could trust without question, had been the one to order the slaughter of her family. The Bureau, once her sanctuary, had been stripped down to two people she trusted. Asher and Chelsea. Both of them were dead now. And Adriano… Adriano was lying in a hospital bed, his chest carved open, his heart literally stitched back together because he’d thrown himself into the line of fire for her.

And then there was the other truth.

The one that could ruin her in an instant.

The one that would make the Greco brothers turn on her without hesitation.

She felt trapped. Completely, utterly trapped and alone.

Her breathing started to hitch. At first it was quiet—a small, uneven tremor she could swallow down. But it grew, hitching again, her chest tightening until her knees buckled. She slid down the wall, the tile cold against her skin, curling in on herself as the water ran over her head.

It came in waves. Sharp sobs that wrenched her throat raw, tears mixing with the shower’s stream. Her shoulders shook, her breath breaking into uneven gasps. She hugged her knees tighter, as if she could somehow hold herself together that way. But the harder she tried to stop, the more the grief spilled out.

Minutes passed. Or maybe longer. The water kept running, but she barely noticed. By the time the tears dried up, she wasn’t even sure she’d stopped because she wanted to. It was more like her body had run out of strength.

Her face felt puffy, her throat sore, her chest hollow. She took a slow breath and forced her limbs to move. She reached up, turning the faucet off, and the silence that followed was deafening. Wrapping herself in a towel, she stepped out, her skin flushed from the heat.

In her room, she dressed in soft clothes—loose sweats and an oversized hoodie—the kind of clothes that didn’t demand energy she didn’t have. She tugged the hoodie’s sleeves down over her hands and stepped into the hallway.

Halfway to the kitchen, she froze.

Alessandro and Gabriele’s voices drifted from around the corner. It sounded hushed, urgent and tense. She couldn’t make out the words, but the tone made something coil in her gut. She moved closer, and their voices dropped to an even sharper whisper.

When she stepped into the kitchen, both men stopped completely.

They straightened in their chairs like schoolboys caught doing something they shouldn’t. Alessandro’s jaw tightened, his hand curling into a loose fist against the table. Gabriele’s gaze flickered down to the counter, avoiding her eyes altogether.

Diamond paused in the doorway, her hazel eyes flicking between them. “Don’t stop on my account,” she said, her voice flat but edged. “What were you talking about?”

Gabriele’s mouth opened, but Alessandro cut him off instantly. “It’s nothing.”

Her brow arched. “Really?” She crossed to the fridge, pulled out a water bottle, the cool air puffing against her skin. “Because the both of you are acting… weird.” She twisted the cap off slowly, the sound of the plastic threads echoing in the silence. “Go ahead, say what you were saying before I walked in.”

The brothers exchanged a quick, loaded look and then both turned toward her.

“Diamond, are you… okay?” Gabriele asked finally, his voice cautious.

She blinked, thrown for a second. “…Am I okay?” She tried to laugh, but it came out thin and inauthentic. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“It’s just…” Gabriele hesitated, glancing at Alessandro before continuing, “we heard you in the bathroom.”

Diamond froze with the bottle halfway to her lips, her fingers tightening around it.

“We just wanted to check in on you,” he finished.

“Oh.” She forced a small shrug, her eyes fixed on the floor. “That? It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Alessandro’s voice was softer, almost careful. His eyes searched her face in a way that made her want to look away. “You know I’m here for you if you ever wanna talk.”

“I said I'm fine,” she repeated, sharper this time.

Gabriele lifted his hands in defense. “Yeah, sure. We’re not saying you’re not fine. But we’ve seen you since Adriano took that bullet for you. You haven’t eaten in two days, Dee.”

“Don’t call me that.” she snapped at him with an edge in her tone. “Only Adriano gets to call me that,” she added, eyes fixed on him.

Gabriele’s shoulders dropped, his voice lowering. “Alright. I'm sorry.”

She took another drink of water, her eyes fixed on the table now. “I appreciate the concern. Really. But I don’t… I don’t need it right now.”

“Just eat something,” Alessandro said quietly.

Her gaze flicked to him—cold and guarded “I will. In the morning.”

She set the bottle down, the hollow thunk against the counter making the silence stretch. “Goodnight.”

She turned and left the kitchen without another word. The sound of her bedroom door slamming moments later echoed through the house.

Alessandro exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “See what you did? I told you not to bring it up.”

Gabriele didn’t reply. He just gave his older brother a long, unreadable look before walking past him and out of the kitchen without a word.