I shake my head. “No.” At least not physically.
“I’m not talking about hitting you. Did he hurt you emotionally?”
I pause, then nod. “I trusted him. I trusted him, and he betrayed that trust.”
“Because he knows?” Luca asks.
Growling in frustration, I sit up, shaking my head as Luca’s arms fall away from me. “No, it’s not that. It’s not that heknows.”
Confusion knits Luca’s brows. “Can you tell me what happened from the start? I’m sorry, I just don’t understand.”
I do. I tell him about how I’ve been helping Hunter, about how I’d started to trust him, about how I’d told him things about myself, and about Damien. I tell him about sleeping in Hunter’s bed, how my day was going so well, and how I couldn’t resist the urge to kiss him.
I tell him about Hunter feeling my scar. How he didn’t seem surprised. How he took the chance for me to tell him myself away from me.
By the time I’m done, Luca’s eyes are shiny. “I’m sorry, Theo,” he says again. “I didn’t even think about the fact that he might have seen those files. He questioned me in the hospital after Austin beat Damien to death, and then, before they even cleared Austin of any charges, Hunter’s dad had died, and he’d quit.”
“He still lied to me,” I choke out. “He made me trust him. I thought he—” My voice cuts off as my throat tightens. “I thought he saw me as something more than what I was, and then he… He knew the whole time.”
Luca frowns. “That must be really hard to reconcile.”
It’s miserable, is what it is. “Yeah, kind of.”
Luca holds his hand out to me, and I rest my palm against his. “Maybe you should call your therapist,” he says softly. “Not because I’m not happy you came here when you needed a friend, but because I think it might help you make sense of everything.”
Not happening. “Maybe,” I say softly. “Can I stay here tonight? I’m leaving tomorrow anyway, but I—I don’t want to go back tonight. To Hunter’s.”
Nodding, Luca gives me a sad smile. “Of course. You’re always welcome here. Let me text Arlo and Jasper and let them know tonight isn’t a good night.”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t want to cancel our plans because of my shit.”
He gives me a stern look. “Theo, it’s okay. Let’s just have a low-key night and watch TV, and I’ll make dinner, okay? No need to be ‘on’ for a game night. It’s okay, I promise.”
Hesitating, I bite my lip. “You’re sure they won’t mind?”
“I’m positive they won’t.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Okay, thank you.”
After shooting off a quick text message, Luca looks up at me. “Can I go get Austin out of the bedroom?”
My lips curve up even as jealousy twists my gut. I want him to be happy. So much. His happiness is my proof. The proof that even though I failed him, not all is lost, but fuck, it still hurts so damn bad that I can’t be. Two truths.
I nod. “Of course. I’m sorry I came in losing my damn mind.”
Luca shakes his head. “No, don’t say that. We all need that now and then.”
Blowing out a breath, I close my eyes. “Thank you.”
Leaving me on the couch, Luca stands then pushes open the door to his bedroom. “You can come out, Austin.”
I clear my throat, then stand, trying to appear normal and like a fully functioning adult who has his shit together. “You didn’t need to leave your own living room.”
“Not a bother at all,” Austin says.
I’ve noticed that his accent isn’t as deep as Hunter’s, but it’s deeper than Luca’s. Although given that Luca left for ten years, it makes sense.
Something tells me that Damien would have made him feel bad about his accent, because he was a fucking dick like that.
