I close the door behind me with a soft click. I didn't mean to get home this late, but Luca kept distracting me in hopes that I'd accept his offer and spend the night with him. The only reason why I didn't was because I truly hadn't told my parents about it. I don't want them to feel like I'm disrespecting them. Yes, Luca and I are engaged, but I'm still living with them. And while I'm living with them, I owe them an explanation. I have to inform them about my whereabouts, especially during these uncertain times that have everyone worrying. I start to tiptoe toward the stairs, but a light in the living room turns on and I know that I've been caught. I feel like a teenager again, sneaking out to meet with my friends. I don't even have to turn around to know that it's my mother. "I'm sorry," I start to say. "I was with Luca. We lost track of time.""I don't mind that," she says. "You're an adult. You can spend time with whoever you please. I do wish you had told me where you were go
Luca I have a lot of work in the morning, so I get up early even though I slept late. This whole thing with Miguel and Mary feels like the biggest thing—the biggest tragedy—that has ever happened to us. Yet everything feels normal where our day to day lives are concerned. Nothing feels different. Nothing has changed. Dad and I still have work. The family still has dinners to attend. And all the while, I just keep wishing that the world had stopped a little, because maybe if it had I'd be able to breathe and process all of this without having to shove it away in a folder somewhere in the back of my mind. I shower and spend more time in there then I need to. I have always considered myself a strong person. It takes a lot to faze me or disrupt my foundations. I have seen a lot in life and I have survived a lot, too. I went through a lot of bullshit, but most of it changed me for the best and made me who I am. I lived through things that showed me the importance of maintaining my comp
When Brett and Victoria invited me to go to the mall, I didn't say no. I know that my parents and I agreed that I couldn't spend too much time in public places because of Mary, but the mall was different. There were too many people there and even if she followed me, she wouldn't be able to do a thing to me. Besides, I wasn't alone, and I was alert this time. I wouldn't let her lunge at me and slice me open with a knife.I meet them at the entrance. Things feel the same between us even though the last time I saw them was in the clinic. Well, I saw Brett there. Victoria never came inside my room to see me, so the last time I saw her was at the engagement party that went wrong. She seems a little awkward and I’m not sure why. Could it be that she’s embarrassed about not coming in? I understand it. If my best friend had been attacked by her own sister during her engagement party, I wouldn’t know how to handle all that either. Brett did, and he handled it really well, but I won’t criticiz
I look up at Luca when Miguel has disappeared from sight. “She’s dead?”He nods gravely. “That’s what you wanted to talk to me about?”“I found out an hour ago or so,” he says. “She was at the hotel. I didn’t know. None of us did. She called me before she did it and told me that nothing happened that night. She lied about it for over six years. Six whole fucking years, Laura.”I shake my head. “This is awful.”Just when I thought that things couldn’t get worse, this happens. It’s truly tragic. I can’t begin to imagine what he’s feeling right now. Guilty. Angry. Tired. He looks like it. I slide my hand in his and squeeze gently. He squeezes back. This confrontation with Miguel probably drained him even more. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”“No,” I say, rubbing my arm absentmindedly. “He was just a little agitated and I guess that’s what scared me.”He shakes his head. “You don’t know what it’s like for me to see him like this. I grew up with Miguel. He wasn’t like this. The man I saw t
When I told Luca about what Mary had done, he made a drastic decision that I didn't disagree with. We should leave our parents' houses and move in together. It was the most sensible decision we could make considering the circumstances. Why should we keep living with our parents when our lives were in danger? Clearly I wasn't safe where I was even though I thought I was. If Mary broke in to destroy my room, she could have easily done that with me inside. I couldn't fight her if she came with a gun. She could easily shoot me. I don't know why he didn't suggest both of us living at his family house. It was more spacious and had double the security. I think it has something to do with his mother. He mentioned something that got me thinking even though he didn't elaborate. Something about her losing him if she didn't respect his decisions. I didn't ask what it was. In time, he would tell me if he wanted to. Finding an apartment wasn't hard. We had the money; all we needed was to find a
It’s the day of the big move. I call it ‘big move’ because this is the only time that I’ve ever left home. I didn’t go away to college, and I only ever spent a few nights away from home. Two weeks at most when I went on trips with Brett and Victoria.Luca comes to fetch me. There are two cars with him, one behind and another in front of his. The security guards start loading my things into the cars. Luca looks at my baggage and asks, “This is it?”I frown. “You don’t think that this is a lot?”“I was expecting a lot more,” he says, then smiles. I step into his embrace and he kisses the top of my head. “How are things?”“The same,” I sigh. “There’s no sign of her.”“Same with Miguel. I don’t know how you managed to come across him at the mall, if I’m being honest.”My parents leave the house and walk toward us. We stand waiting for them to reach us. Luca shakes my father’s hand, and then my mother steps toward him and kisses his cheeks. “Won’t you come inside for a coffee or maybe a
There’s nothing sweeter than waking up in your brand new home for the first time. I stretch my arms high above my head and yawn. I then sit in my bed and inhale the patchouli lingering in the air. It’s therapeutic. The spot beside me on the bed is empty. Luca told me last night that he’d have to leave extra early because of a meeting, so I’m only expecting him later. Meanwhile, I’m going to have to figure out what to do all day. I make the bed and then jump in the shower. I’m revitalized. I didn’t know that what I needed to feel better was a change of scenery until now. I spent a good while under the hot spray. The water helps me relax. It also helps me think. There isn’t much food in the house. That’s the one thing we don’t have enough of. Luca said I have to be careful, and that if I had to leave, I could ask Gregory to take me. He said it wasn’t supposed to be done all of the time but I think today I can make an exception. I’m excited and we need groceries. I could ask someone t
LucaAs soon as Priscilla leaves, I’m relieved. I sincerely don’t know how she found out I’m living here. My mother, of course. I’m going to have to have a serious conversation with her. She can’t keep doing this. I’m honestly sick and tired of where everything is going. I came here to lead a peaceful existence. It isn’t enough that Miguel and Mary are after us to kill us? I have to have Priscilla chasing me around and talking about second chances? When my men told me that she was downstairs, I didn’t want to do anything about it. I was waiting for Laura to arrive. I didn’t need this shit. My first instinct was to ignore her, but then I felt angry. Furious, actually. What the fuck was she doing here? I knew it was my mother, but I wanted to know why she had come looking for me. I wanted to warn her to leave and never turn back. Couldn’t she understand that I moved on? That I was happy with someone else? At first, I told them to tell her I wouldn’t have her. She should get in her ca