He nods, his bushy gray eyebrows drawing together. “That should be fine.”
When I push myself to my feet, Luca catches my hand in his, and I turn to him. “You’ll come back, right?”
The fear in his quiet plea is unmistakable. “Of course. As soon as the doctor gives you the all-clear, I’m booking us flights, and we’re getting the hell out of here.”
I give his fingers a squeeze and let his hand fall from mine, then turn and make my way out of the room and into the hall. Sitting down on the floor—which is probably not advisable in an emergency room—I pull my phone out.
I’m not sure how long this will take, or if the doctor will even let Luca fly today, but there’s no harm in looking for flights. I’ve never been so thankful for my small savings in my life. Iwassaving for a down payment on a house, but it’s fine. I can make more money.
I’m not sure I ever would have forgiven myself if something had happened to Luca.
There’s a flight leaving in five hours that has seats available, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea to book it yet. The only bad thing is that the only other flight isn’t until tomorrow morning. I guess we could get a hotel room for the night, but that’s more money to spend—again, not a huge deal—but also, it’s another night that Luca has to stay in this city.
Fuck. I book the flights. If I have to change them, I guess I can. I’m not worried about having to pay any fees. It is what it is, but as it stands, I want to get us out of here as soon as possible. I also don’t want to take any chances on the seats being gone.
After booking the flights, I scroll through my phone to distract myself. I’m not sure whether it’s really working, because my thumb is moving, but my brain isn’t seeing anything.
My only thoughts are of how I’m going to make a one-bedroom rental work for both of us in a way that he’s comfortable with. I can always get an air mattress and sleep in the living room. I want Luca to have privacy. I can also sleep on the couch, but I’m truly too tallto sleep comfortably on it. All I know is I won’t expect Luca to sleep in the living room. He can take my room, whatever that looks like for me.
I haven’t talked to my mom or dad about any of this. Outside of calling into work and hightailing it out of town, I didn’t tell anyone. Partly because I wasn’t sure what I was going to be walking into, but also because I didn’t know how much Luca would be comfortable sharing.
My parents have always loved Luca like their own, and they ask about him frequently. It would kill them to know what he’s been going through. I don’t even know how or what to tell them. We usually have dinner together on Sundays, so I’ll probably cancel that until I figure out what Luca wants them to know. Chances are, he’ll want the worst of his injuries to no longer be visible before he sees any of them.
My phone is a waste of time, so I shove it back in my pocket and run my hand through my hair. I can’t even remember if I combed it before I left the house to go to the airport. I doubt it. I didn’t even pack a bag. My one goal was to get to Luca as soon as humanly possible.
If we end up having to stay the night here, I’ll probably need to find a store and get a change of clothes.
The door beside me swings open, and the doctor steps out. “You can come back in. For a second anyway.”
I don’t need to be told twice. I climb to my feet and rush into the room. Luca looks defeated, his head hung once again. “Do you think I’ll be able to get him out of here tonight? I booked a flight that leaves in five hours.”
The doctor looks between the two of us. “Yes, I think he’s okay to travel. If this were normal circumstances, I’d say that I’d preferfor him to stay overnight for observation, but…” Dr. Moran trails off. “I’m going to get discharge papers together with instructions. Do you need documentation on concussion protocol?”
I shake my head. “No, sir. I’m a first responder.”
With a nod, the doctor closes the door and walks out.
“He said I could take acetaminophen for pain,” Luca says, not raising his eyes.
“Makes sense, given that it’s a lower risk of bleeding.”
Luca shrugs. “He also said I should press charges and get a rape kit done.”
My stomach tightens. “You should.”
“I don’t want to.” He swallows hard. “I just want to leave before I talk myself out of it.”
“Can I sit down here?” I ask, gesturing to the bed. He glances over, then nods slowly. Once I’m seated beside him, I let out a deep breath. “It’s totally fine if you don’t want to press charges. I think you should, but you certainly don’t have to. This is your choice. All of it.”
“He said he was going to buy me a laptop for my writing.” Luca’s eyes dart to mine before his gaze lands on the bed in front of him. “I know it was a ploy, but some small part of me is terrified it wasn’t. What if this is the time I get the gift, and he means it? That’s stupid of me. I know better.”
Shit. That’s a lot to unpack. “I think hope is often the last thing we lose, Luc. And that you still have hope? That tells me you can heal. But it won’t be with him. You asked if I thought there was a market for a book about someone escaping domestic violence and riding off into the sunset with Mr. Right?”
Luca nods, swiping quickly at his eyes. “I think there is. But it’s not about Mr. Right. It’s aboutyou. It’s about you loving yourselfenough to say, ‘That’s it. No more.’ And following through. That’s what you’re doing. That’s why I’m here. He tried to break that in you, but it didn’t work, did it?”
Luca sniffles, making my heart ache and my throat tighten. “No,” he whispers.
“What was that? I didn’t hear you?”
