He didn’t say anything else after that. He just sat there across from Luca while the silence stretched thick between them. Luca took down the rest of his drink then set it quietly on the glass table. A tear slid down his cheek, seconds later his tears felldown rapidly. Roy didn’t react and didn’t try to pretend like he didn’t see his brother crying.
Luca thumbed them away with the sides of his thumb. He sniffled and looked away from Roy to finalize his thoughts before he spoke them out loud.
“She gon’ always be my love,” Luca whispered with more tears falling down his face.
Roy’s stomach turned because he could already feel the ‘but’ in Luca’s follow up sentence.
“But not in this lifetime,” Luca finished.
“Nah,” Roy shook his head, not believing a word Luca was spitting. “Not even you believe that.” He chuckled dryly.
Luca looked toward the ceiling as if something up there would force him to take back his words. He looked back down at Roy then stood up slowly.
“I do,” he whispered. “I need to feel this shit.” He tapped his chest twice, it felt like he was about to go under cardiac arrest.
“The pain makes it real…all of everything.” He winced out again in pain.
“Bro—”
“Tell her to leave.” Luca cleared his throat, picked up his empty glass cup then trekked toward his bar.
“Bro what?” Roy tugged at his earlobe like something had clogged his ability to hear Luca clearly.
Luca was always a man sure of his decisions. Roy hesitated and eyed the liquor behind Luca accusingly.
Yeah, this nigga got to be drunk…Roy thought.
“Tell her to get the fuck off my property,” Luca whispered coldly, popping the top off his cognac.
“Luca—”
“And don’t ever come the fuck back or I’ll kill her,” he added for great measure.
It was the coward route, he knew it the second he said it. He knew it before the words even finished leaving his mouth. It just felt easier than walking outside and facing her. Easier than choosing this time between his father’s memory and the woman inside her camper.
“You sure about this?” Roy stared at his back, waiting for Luca to say he was just drunk off liquor and tripping.
When Luca didn’t answer, he nodded once then turned and walked out just as Luca’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He stopped mid-pour, pulled his phone out his pocket and stared at La’Nova’s name, indicating it was a text message. His heart stuttered instantly as he unlocked his phone and read the message.
La’Nova- I knew today was one of those days the second I pulled up. The twins told me that you would be sad three days ago when I took them out to Dave & Busters. Cain snitching self said it was your father birthday today… I shouldn’t have come, I could have parked in the back of Serenity’s apartment or somewhere else… Truth is, it feels like I have this undetachable soul tie to you Luca……You don’t have to explain silence tome…I understand the kind that comes from grief… I experience it on a daily……I never meant to be the reason your heart carries two directions at once and I never meant to be something that made loving your father even after death harder. I also never meant to fall for you to the point where I stopped resisting it just to feel secure just from being in the proximity of you. Even with my freedom to go where I please now, I still end up here because the walls of your home make me feel what I felt when I was young with my own parents still alive… You taught me what stillness feels like… you taught me what patience looks like when it’s real. (Especially since you so stingy with the dick) Lol …You taught me so many things in the small amount of time we’ve spent together. I will carry that with me wherever I go next… I’m starting something new…something honest and away from the lifestyle you inherited that caused me my loss. I want something that belongs only to me. A life where I learn how to be whole before I try belonging to anyone else…again… Maybe one day…or maybe in another lifetime…we’ll meet again when the timing isn’t carrying so much weight between us.
Until then….
I love you.
~Nova Baby
The phone slipped from Luca’s hand before he even realized he dropped it.
“No,” he whispered.
It felt like something snapped loose in his chest as he moved faster than he had all day. He rushed out of his man cave, through the hallway, and past the staircase and dining room. His footsteps echoed loud on the marble floor as his hurried steps turned into a panic run. Soon as he crossed the foyer and pushed the front doors open, the breeze chilled his tears.
Roy stood alone on the lawn. La’Nova’s camper was gone. He scanned the entire front of his home desperately, already knowing she was gone.
“Fuck no!” He mindlessly stepped down the steps.
Roy didn’t move as Luca approached him. When he felt his brother close enough, he turned toward him. Luca froze at the sight of Roy looking broken. Tears ran down Roy’s face which confused Luca immediately.
