“Yes. By making me more miserable, tormenting me. Forcing me to play this fucked-up game. The same one that is responsible for my mother’s death! Great plan, Luca.” Her shoulders drop as she utters, “Please, I’m begging you. Just leave me alone.”
“I tried.” I really did. I knew I’d break her even more. But I couldn’t stay away. “I can’t.”
She stares through me as I tell her, “I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right.”
“You can’t do that either.” Tears trail down her cheeks as she continues, “I said some horrible things to her, then you took my chance away to ever take it back.”
She pulls away from me. And it takes everything I have not to grab her, shake her, and beg for her to let me do something to make it right. But I know deep down, the only thing that would fix it is impossible. I’d need a time machine to obliterate what I did to her. That’s the only thing that can remedy this.
“That is the one decision I would take back if I could. I’d never accept the invitation if I could. I’d not play even if it meant my brother winning. I’d give anything to give you the chance to see her again.”
She doesn’t look at me as she utters, “I said those things to her. At the end of the day, it’s still my fault.”
“Ivy, please.”
She shakes her head, and when her eyes meet mine, I recognize the hollow stare. I’ve seen it before. She’s completely given up. I realize her intention a split-second too late. Like I’ve hit fast-forward on the remote, she’s stepping off the curb into the path of an oncoming car before my body can react. Then the scene around me slows as I reach for her—but she’s already gone. It’s too late. I’m always too late. The screeching of tires fills the air as the car swerves. The sound of the impact jars me as it hits her legs before she slams against the hood, her shoulder taking the brunt before she tumbles to the pavement.
“Ivy!” I shout and drop to my knees beside her in the roadway where she lies bloodied and lifeless.
The driver’s door swings open as he shouts, “I tried to stop.”
“Call 911,” I yell to him before I beg her, “Please don’t leave me. Please stay with me. You promised me, Ivy. You can’t give up.”
I put my ear near her mouth; her breathing is faint though I see her chest rising, but she’s unconscious.
It’s probably minutes later, but it feels like an eternity when the flashing lights approach. The scene in front of me blends with the one from months ago. And both are life-shattering. And neither can be taken back.
“She can’t die. Please help her,” I plead with the paramedics as they start to examine her.
One confirms, “She’s breathing.”
Hearing the words from someone else gives me a shred of hope. I pray harder than I ever have in my life. Because if she slips away, I will too.
84
LUCA
The calmness in the room is unnerving. She’s peaceful and serene as her chest rises and falls in slow, steady breaths.
She’s still breathing.I can figure out the rest later. Her not existing… that’s something I couldn’t handle.
“She’s not awake yet,” I state as Anthony peeks in the door again. He’s been here constantly. Just him. He informed me that her dad was made aware and said he’d come by. Her brother said it’s normal attention-seeking behavior and he wouldn’t be coming to visit her. But I know it wasn’t attention she wanted. She intentionally stepped off the curb in front of the car. She wanted to die. If the driver hadn’t been paying attention, things would’ve been worse.
My fingers pull at my hair as I stand from the chair.
“Go home and freshen up. I’ll wait until you get back,” Anthony offers.
“I’m not leaving until she wakes up.” I want to see her. I need to look her in the eye. I need to make her understand how much life she has left to live.
“I’ll be in the lobby. Please inform me when she wakes.”
“I will.” I drop back in the chair and watch her.
It’s hours later when she finally stirs and a few more minutes before she reaches for her leg and opens her eyes with a groan. She searches around the room before assessing her broken leg then looks to me.
I tell her, “You promised me.”
She exhales, her head resting against the pillow as she closes her eyes. “The nightmare never ends.”
