Page 17 of Mine Again
I want to believe him, I do. The conviction in his eyes should be enough. But my soul is screaming.
Don’t leave me.
I cling to him, but the space between us grows with every reluctant half-step he takes. Our fingers stretch toward each other, only our fingertips touching now. Until, one by one, they slip away.
“Luca,” I croak, frozen in place.
When his last finger lifts, the dam breaks.
Sobs rack my body as Luigi slams the car door and rounds the hood. I’m shaking, gasping for breath.
“No! Don’t go. Don’t go.”
The engine revs. I snap out of my stupor, running toward the black Audi. I lunge for the car door, yanking at the handle like I can change the course of events with sheer will.
“I’m coming with you. Iam.”
But Luigi locks the doors.
I slam my hand on the window, desperate.
Luca mirrors me from inside, his palm against the glass.
“I love you,” he mouths. “I’ll be back.”
The tires screech as the car tears away, spinning dust into the night. It swirls like smoke, like something burned to ash.
I collapse to the ground, burying my face in my hands. My body shakes with the force of my sobs.
The dust settles.
The silence is deafening.
He’s gone.
From one heartbeat to the next, Luca is gone.
How will I survive this?
Chapter Five
Luca
Five years later
Isa stirs in bed, lashes fluttering against her cheek. Even in sleep, she is art, my art… my ruin.
I watch the way sunlight touches her face, gilding her hair, softening the shadows under her eyes. She turns, hugging the pillow close like it could ever be me.
“Happy birthday,farfalla.”
I whisper it in my head, knowing the words won’t reach her ears today. But next year, they will.
By the time she turns twenty-three, Iwillbe there.
No more ghosts. No more distance.
She’ll wake up in my arms, not clutching a pillow in place of me. And we’ll start the day the way I’ve dreamed of for years, her lips beneath mine, her skin beneath my hands, me worshiping her until she knows every second of waiting was worth it.
