What am I even supposed to tell Luca?
I just need to ask if he’s heard from Theo. If he’s as worried as I am. Surely Theo isn’t ignoring Luca too. I pushed him too far, I know I did, but I couldn’t help but worry.
If he’s still talking to Luca, I’ll be happy, even if I will be slightly jealous.
I pull up behind Luca’s car and park before getting out of the truck and walking to the front door.
Luca opens it before I even have a chance to knock. “Hunter, what brings you to our neck of the woods?”
He doesn’t sound upset that I’m here. Just mildly curious, if anything. “I needed to talk to you about something.”
“Come on in.” He steps back, gesturing for me to step inside.
Kicking my shoes off at the door, I follow him across the living room and sit down beside him. “Where’s Austin?”
“At work. Are you okay?”
“I think so. Why are you asking?”
Luca cocks his head to the side, his gray eyes locked on mine, assessing. “You look like you’re about to lose your shit.”
I am. I really fucking am. “Have you heard from Theo?”
Luca bites his lip, his brows drawing together in thought. “Not for a minute. Maybe a couple of weeks.”
Fuck.
“What’s that face?” Luca asks. “Should I have? Is something going on?”
I shrug, trying to keep myself calm and come across like I’m not about to fucking lose it. “I don’t know.”
“It’s probably worth noting that this is normal for us. When he first went home after he came and stayed the night here, we messaged daily, but then he started texting slower.” He shrugs. “I figured he’d just been busy with work.”
“I’m worried about him. Before—” My voice cuts off. “Before this week, I talked to him daily. We text while he’s at work, and then we call when he’s on his way home. It’s our routine. We do it every day that he works, and even more on the days he doesn’t. Every few nights, we FaceTime.”
Luca sits up a little straighter. “And you haven’t talked to him since last week? Did something happen? Did you fight?”
I shake my head but then stop because, truly, I don’t know. Did we? I mean, kind of, but also not really. He hung up on me, but I didn’t think his goodbye text was a forever goodbye.
“Wait, he stayed here?”
Grimacing, Luca nods. “Yeah, his last night in town.”
Those words make me swallow hard. He was right here, and I just thought he went home entirely. “Was he… Did he…”
“Did he tell me about your…” Luca trails off like he’s not really sure how to finish that sentence. “Yeah,” he says with a sigh. “He did.”
Fuck. “I didn’t mean to hurt him,” I say quickly.
“I know, Hunter. You don’t have it in you to hurt someone. Not on purpose.”
No, I don’t. I’d never want to hurt another person, and especially not Theo. “I’m worried about him. Last week, we argued, I think. I don’t really know.” Luca nods sympathetically. “And then… he hung up on me, and he hasn’t talked to me since.”
“Do you want me to call him?”
Please. Oh God, fuckingplease. “If you wouldn’t mind.”
Luca grabs his phone from the table, then searches for his contact before calling. My legs don’t seem to want to stay still, and I tap my foot incessantly on the floor while I wait for Theo to answer.
