Page 101 of Savior

He smirks devilishly. “Nope. You first.”

“You tricky little…” I shake my head as he moves his stupid knight over my pawn and takes it. “It’s only fair. You tell me, and I’ll tell you.”

“A secret for a secret?” I muse.

He nods, sitting back and waiting for my story and my move on the board.

“One time, he came and got me from school. It was in fifth grade. I was so confused because neither of them had bothered with school since third grade. I had to get myself ready and fed, and be there on time. Half of me worried that something bad had happened as I walked to the office; that Mom had finally burned down the house with one of her dimly lit cigarettes, she always fell asleep with. That my life was going to change irrevocably from that moment on.”

“That it was going to be a defining moment in your life. Yeah, your gut usually knows when those are afoot,” he adds solemnly.

I nod. “Exactly.”

I lean over the board and move another pawn, sitting back as I brush my hair over my ear.

“Anyhow, he was there, washed and ready for some adventure. He had flowers and a card for me and told the front desk clerk he was taking me home early to celebrate.”

“Celebrate?” He shifts on the couch, forgetting the game and that it’s his move altogether.

I sigh. “My birthday.”

Luca smiles warmly as if this story is going to redeem the idea of Ray Collins being a shit father in his mind, too.

“It wasn’t my birthday,” I add, and his face falls. I don’t know why I need him to be, but I want him on my side. I want him to see the shit way I was treated as a child.

I want him to see my strength and courage are how I survived and that his friend had nothing to do with it. The world has never been kind to Sloane Collins, and it’s why I don’t trust anyone.

My trust was broken early on.

“Even so, I went with him. He was clean-shaven, alert, and kind to me while we went to lunch together. Afterward, he took me to an arcade, followed me from game to game, paying for everything and just gobbling up how happy I was.”

“Sounds like an amazing day,” Luca adds softly, tugging his leg underneath him on the couch as he wipes his hands on his pants. It’s like he knows the other shoe is going to drop.

It always did.

“It was. Until…” I clear my throat, looking away from his penetrating eyes. “Did you know some arcades sell alcohol? For the adults, obviously.” I shake my head, berating inwardly at the tears about to fall.

Fuck, I thought I was over this shit.

I thought I was tougher than this.

Luca makes no move to rush me or comfort me. He lets me finish.

“He got us kicked out after he chugged his fifth beer. Got into a fight with one of the other dads there. When we left the arcade, he told me to make my way home, that the birthday was over.”

I sniffle and wipe my eyes. “I didn’t even know where I was. You see, I’d let my guard fall too far. I hadn’t been paying attention to where we got off on the subway or any landmarks and street signs like usual. I’m usually aware of my surroundings; I’ve always had to be. But I was so enamored with my dad and how happy and sober he looked, I let myself feel…”

“Safe,” Luca finishes for me.

I bite my bottom lip, and he gets off the couch and sits beside me.

“You should have a space to feel safe and loved, Sloane. Everyone should. And I’m sorry you’ve never had that luxury. I don’t know what else to say.”

“What is there for you to say? There’s no way to go back and change it, you know?”

He sighs, his massive hand touching my shoulder as he squeezes comfortably. “I broke the seal of confession to save a group of women from a trafficking ring,” he blurts, trying to take the spotlight off me.

I’m thankful; the glare was making it hard to think.

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