Luca’s parents had a small life insurance policy and not much else. The home they lived in was a rental, and now they’re gone. They’re just… gone.
Luca sniffles, and I squeeze his hand tighter, trying to infuse him with strength. Sixteen-year-old me had no idea thenext time I saw Luca, it would be for his parents’ funeral.
How do you prepare for that? How are you supposed to act when your best friend in the world calls you crying in the middle of the night to tell you his parents—people you loved like parents too—died in a car wreck on their way home from a date?
It still seems fake. Like Ronald and Marjorie are going to pop out from somewhere and yell that they got us.
“Do you understand everything I’m saying, Luca?” Damien asks.
There’s something slimy about this guy, I think. Something I don’t trust, but after today, we’ll never have to see him again.
“Yeah,” Luca croaks out. He’s staring at his lap, his dark hair falling over his eyes.
“Okay.” Damien slides a card across the table. “This has my personal cell number on it. Call me if you have any questions, okay? Or if you needanythingat all.”
There’s something about his tone I don’t like, but Ma’s always told me I’m way too protective of Luca, so maybe that’s why. Either way, Luca has no one left for him but us, so I narrow my eyes at Damien. “I’ll take care of what he needs.”
He settles icy blue eyes on mine. “That’s sweet. What did you say your name was?”
“Austin.” I hold my chin a little higher.
“It’s nice to have good friends, Austin, but sometimes after a loss like this, you need the help of a professional. That’s what I’m here for.”
I slump in my seat, a fresh wave of grief nearly swallowing me whole.
After thanking Damien, Luca stands, and I do too, wrapping my arm around his shoulder to lead him out of the room.
“Okay, so we need to pack you a bag, and then we can talk to Maand Dad and see what we need to do to get the rest of your stuff back to Silverpine.”
Luca’s head snaps up, his tear-stained gray eyes locking on mine. “What?”
My face scrunches in confusion. “You’re coming back home with me, right?”
His hesitation makes my stomach churn, and he shakes his head slowly. “No. I—I’m not.”
Oh, but… “I thought…”
He shrugs, eyes filling with fresh tears. “My parents are here. I can’t leave them.”
His parents are dead. And I’m alive and here to take him home where he belongs. “But I thought you were coming home when you turned eighteen?”
“I was,” he whispers, his voice cracking. “But I don’t want to leave the house my parents lived in.”
“It’s a rental, though,” I say, grasping for anything I can to get him to come home with me.
“I’m on the lease. They had to add me when I turned eighteen, and I just got a twenty-thousand-dollar life insurance policy. I want to stay here.”
“The money will run out.” My heart races, going faster and faster as my chest starts to cave in.
He shrugs again. “Then I’ll get a job.”
“But—” I try again, but I’m cut off by Luca shaking his head.
“No, Austin. I’m staying here. This is my home now.”
Chapter 1
Luca
