Forgotten Luca (The Four 1)

Luca silently handed me Violet, and the child, sensing the tension in the room, remained quiet and clung to me. I stayed where I was as I watched Luca approach the men. One of the men was taller than the others and had dirty-blond hair that was cut short along with a thick five-o'clock shadow. He had a big, heavy body that looked like it could do some damage and there were tattoos on the backs of his hands and across his knuckles. He was the kind of guy I would definitely avoid on the street, or anywhere else for that matter. The other guy was somewhat shorter and had a rangier body, but he was no less muscular. His black hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

I watched Luca approach the men and couldn't help but feel a little tense, especially given the way Vaughn and Luca had ended things the last time they'd talked. Vaughn looked as forbidding as ever, but when Luca approached him, something shifted and then the two men were embracing. I found myself hugging Violet tighter as I watched Luca being held by his older brother. I couldn't hear what Vaughn said to him, but Luca nodded fiercely and, in my heart, I knew it was something about Gio. I remembered Luca saying how he and his brothers had tried to help kids like me and his son and realized that was probably who these men were.

Luca went on to embrace the other two men who also spoke to him in low voices. The idea that they’d come here from wherever it was they lived to be with Luca made me both grateful and envious. I glanced in Aleks's direction and saw him watching me. I couldn't help but think he understood where my head was.

I watched my friend step forward into the group of men and once again felt those same emotions, this time for how easily Aleks was accepted into the fold. Luca even put his arm around Aleks's shoulders for a moment to give him a side hug.

Aleks said something to Vaughn, which had all the men turning and looking in my direction. Vaughn nodded and said something back, then gave Aleks a quick kiss. Aleks hurried toward me, but my eyes were still on Luca who was watching me with an expression I couldn't name. He cast a quick glance at Stan and motioned toward me. Stan had basically become my shadow, so I figured that's what the silent order was… for the bodyguard to stay with me.

When Aleks reached me, I didn't resist the embrace he gave me. We’d never really been the kind of friends who had a lot of physical contact, but I’d always figured that wasn't unusual, considering our backgrounds. I tried to hold myself stiffly in his arms, but when he didn't say anything, it made the embrace all the more stronger and I ended up gripping him tightly. It was like he knew what I was going through without me having to say it.

"There's a little playground out back. You want to take her there?" Aleks asked.

I nodded emphatically because I was having trouble forming words. Much as I would've liked to have been embraced in Luca’s little circle of family, I knew I wouldn't be. I was just an obligation to him, a way for him to ease some of the guilt he felt for what had happened when I’d been younger.

Aleks and I didn't talk as we made our way outside and found the little playground he’d been talking about. Violet pointed at the sandbox right away, so I sat her down in it and then settled on a nearby bench in case she needed me. Aleks sat close to me, but he didn't say anything. I should have been happy about that, but the reality was that I needed someone to talk to.

"Are they his brothers? The other two men?" I asked.

"Yes and no," Aleks responded. "King and Con grew up with Vaughn and Luca. They’re as close as brothers can be, but they don't share any blood. There's another brother, a younger one named Lex. But he hasn't been around for a while. I've never met him."

I nodded in response. I had a million more questions, but I didn't really know where to start and they were questions I should be asking Luca.

"King called us last night. I guess Luca had told him Gio was awake," Aleks explained.

The idea that all the brothers had come together to support Luca, even Vaughn, made me glad for Luca and strangely envious again. What would it be like to have people like that come running when you needed them? Even as I asked myself the question, the answer hit me. I did have someone like that, and he was sitting right next to me.