Page 135 of Saving Her

I’m not strong enough for that.

Despite all this anger, I’m nothing but goddamn weak.

“Goodbye,” I whisper. “I love you.”

“We love y—”

I disconnect, unable to listen, and hand the device to Sarah who looks at me with a mix of disapproval and pity.

“That wasn’t really talking, now, was it?” She pockets the cell. “I told you, you need to let this out with someone. If not them, then Luca.”

“And I’ve told you, he doesn’t need more trouble from me. He’s babysitting out of obligation. I’m only here because there was no alternative… Please, just leave me alone.”

“He cares about you.”

I shake my head, the movement taking too much effort. I’m not even going to argue.

A light tap sounds at the door, and the man of the moment pokes his head into the room, his intense eyes taking in the destruction of the room before settling on me. “Am I interrupting?”

“No. Come in.” Sarah walks toward him. Both of them stop at the foot of the bed to stare at me. “Penny and I were just having a conversation about her coming to live with me for a while. I think it’s for the best.”

“What?” Luca stiffens.

I do the same, completely blindsided.

That wasnotwhat we discussed. Yet the denial remains caged in my tightening throat, waiting for his relief to show.

“You’re no longer obligated to look after her,” she continues. “It’s my job now.”

“Obligated?” His eyes harden. “She’s never been a fucking obligation, Sarah. I chose to come back here. With her. If she goes, I go. I’m not leaving her fucking side. Not for a minute.”

My emotions swirl, creating a washing machine of confusion and denial. I don’t want to believe him. Idon’t. Yet I crave it, too. Oh, God, how I crave.

Sarah cringes. “Luca, we all know you got dumped with the babysitting job. Let me take over. I’m better equipped to look after a woman. We can have a girls’ retreat at my place.”

“Is that what you want?” His frantic gaze searches mine. “Do you want to leave?”

No. What I want is to make things easier on him. To stop being a nuisance. To take the burden off his shoulders.

“Penny?” He steps closer, his hand reaching out only to fall back to his side. “Do you want to stay with Sarah?”

What I want is to stop being this person that isn’t me. To return to who I was before Luther and Greece and violation. I want peace. Normalcy. And more than anything, I want to be whole.

Sarah meets my gaze from over his shoulder, her lips tweaked in conniving satisfaction. “She’s a hassle you don’t need.”

The truth hurts. But there’s confusion, too.

Sarah is enjoying this, and I don’t know why.

“Shut it,” Luca growls, his eyes softening in my direction. “Tell me the truth, shorty. Do you want to get out of here?”

Sarah’s smirk grows as she winks at me.

Winks. At. Me.

I struggle to understand the taunt. Then, like a light bulb, my awareness switches on to expose the meaning behind her tactics.

She’s created this drama in an attempt to prove me wrong about the burden I’ve placed on his shoulders. She doesn’t want to take me away. She wants me to feel at home.

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