Slowly, she looked up at me and it sent a chill down my spine. Mia's body was there but her eyes were completely lost, overtaken by shock and grief.
Who the fuck had done this?
Chapter Sixty Five
Mia
Ihadn't cried. I hadn't screamed. Both of those would require me to feel something and all I felt was numb.
Luc had taken over all other emotions. His anger laid across hallways and the kitchen in the form of shattered glassware, but it washed over me entirely. When his anger subsided, he tried to comfort me. Luc was insistent that he would find who was responsible for Dad’s death, as if that would right the wrong. Vengeance was not what I was interested in. Vengeance would not bring my Dad back to me.
My Dad was dead. He was no longer with me. I couldn't even remember the last words I had said to him, but I knew they were not about how much I loved him or how lucky I was to have been raised by him. He would not be there to see me get married or to see any grandchildren he might have. Dad was gone. One day he walked this Earth and in mere seconds he had been wiped from existence.
"Mia."
We were at home and I was sitting on a chair in the kitchen. Luc was crouched down in between my legs, looking up at me. Everything sounded like it was muffled and underwater and I had to focus on his lips to fully comprehend what he was saying. A mixture of grief and exhaustion made simple tasks so much more difficult than they needed to be. Sleep had evaded me and considering whenever I closed my eyes, I saw Dad’s lifeless body in my arms, I wanted nothing to do with sleep.
"You need to try and decide some things for your Dad's funeral. I... I'm not sure what he would want," Luc said to me.
Luc would have no idea what my Dad wanted. They hadn’t spoken enough on civil terms for them to know anything about each other.
"Mia, please," Luc implored. He put a hand on my cheek, and I leaned into the touch. It was warm and brought miniscule comfort to the hole that had been ripped into my soul. "You can't keep going like this, sweetheart."
I felt like I couldn't keep going at all. Every movement, every breath suddenly felt like a colossal effort.
"Mia."
I closed my eyes and I could see him again, covered and surrounded by his blood. I’d knocked on the door, but Dad had not answered, so I had let myself in. It had been so quiet, and I knew something wasn't right. My Dad wasn’t the silent type. He pottered around the place. He hummed and whistled. Dad couldn't stand the silence so why would the house be so quiet?
It was as if I was stuck in quicksand and I had no desire to help myself out. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Luc stood and slammed a fist into the table, causing me to jump. A not so subtle reminder that my heart was still in my chest even though it felt like it no longer beat.
"Dammit, Mia! Please! You need to talk about this!"
I was up on my feet and moved past him out of the room. He wanted answers for the funeral.
"Whatever you think is best," I told him.
It was a funeral. What would be the point in picking out things my Dad would have wanted? He wasn’t here to appreciate them. He’d never be here again. Grief had enveloped me in its arms, and it had no intention of letting go. It had weaved its way through my mind and body until I was so consumed by it that nothing else mattered.
Nothing else mattered.
As I walked up the stairs, I could hear Luc yell, "Fuck!"
∞∞∞
"I don't have to go, Mia," Luc told me. "I can stay here, and D can sort it."
"It's okay," I replied.
"I can call Lydia or Dom if you want. Or do you want Dante?"
I shook my head at him.
"Vittoria? Gabriel?"
I shook my head again. I wanted to be left alone. The house had been full of people coming and going. Everyone wanted to know if I was okay. Everyone wanted me to speak, but I had nothing to say and having people hovering so close set my teeth on edge. Why wouldn’t they just leave me alone?
Luc heaved a sigh. He did it more often these days, tired of me not answering his questions directly. I didn’t have the will to placate his every whim. This wasn’t his fault and I knew he was trying his hardest, but I just couldn’t find it in myself to cooperate with him.
