Page 145 of Savior

He tugs on my wrist, coaxing me to roll over to face him, and I do.

For a long moment, he only softly wipes away my tears and brushes my hair back. “No one can take what we have, little dove. You didn’t come for him; you came for me.”

His words settle, and my stomach untangles.

“That you had me with you at all, and I was some comfort, makes me feel good, Sloane. I couldn’t get to you, and it was killing me.”

His eyes swim with emotion, and I bury myself into his chest, letting his heavy arms of steady comfort lull me into letting more emotion go.

There are no more words. I confessed what I thought would ruin us, and Luca tossed away all my worries with one smooth dismissal.

Maybe we’ll be alright.

I hope we’ll be alright.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

LUCA

A WEEK LATER

“Thanks for coming. This is a bit out of my depth,” I tell my mom as she bounds past me through the open door with three woven grocery store bags hanging from her arms. “What the hell have you brought?”

“Oh, you leave the church and forget how to speak properly towards your mother?” She narrows her eyes on me as she places all the bags on the table, making me feel five years old again.

I sigh. “No, Mama. Sorry.”

“I brought things I thought she might need or like. How is she doing today?”

I look toward the open door before I shrug. “As well as expected, I suppose. She’s been through an ordeal, and I don’t know how to… Ardesia thinks she needs to go to an institution.”

“Ardesia Ricci?” Mama asks, pausing her perusal of the bags she’d placed down.

I nod.

“I don’t like that you know men like him, Luca.”

“A priest knows people from all walks of life, Mama. Knowing the community was my job.”

“Still, men like him are dangerous; it’s best to steer clear. Ardesia might be right, but I’ll let you know. Has she showered?”

I shake my head. “It’s been nearly three weeks, Mama. I can’t get her to do much more than go to the bathroom briefly and eat the bare minimum.”

She nods once, heading toward our kitchen with an armload of meats, cheeses, and a loaf of bread. “Leave it to me,” she says.

Part of me feels guilty for calling her in for backup, but I don’t want to betray Sloane’s trust and have Ardesia call the local institution to come pick her up when it was her expressed wish to remain here, but I also can’t watch her waste away. Last night, while listening to her writhe in a nightmare I couldn’t get her to wake from, I thought about who I’d want beside me if I were to be suffering. Mama’s face instantly flickered through my mind, and I called her without hesitation.

Though I thought she would give me advice, not show up with armloads of food and wine.

“Come. I’ll help you get her up and into the shower. While you wash her, I’ll cook her lunch,” Mama tells me. I trail after her in wonderment at how she thinks she will convince Sloane to get out of bed. I repeatedly asked her if she wanted to shower, and she shooed me away.

“Sloane, I’m Miriam Russo, Luca’s mama. I hate that we’re meeting under such dark circumstances, but I’m here to help, not judge.”

Sloane looks at me from where she lies on her side, staring off. She’s been lost in thought for weeks now, tormenting herself with memories on a loop.

Her admission to me she came while Barone was molesting her had seemed to be the one thing she worried would bother me—the one thing she was carrying shame for. I thought she’d wake up feeling better once we talked a week ago.

It’s like all her demons came to collect their debts or the box she keeps them housed in was opened somehow, and now all hell has been unleashed inside her.

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