Forgotten Luca (The Four 1)

It had been a stark reminder that Violet's future with us was winding down, but there'd been no denying how attached the little girl already was to Marilyn when the woman had plucked her from the bed. If Marilyn had been concerned about seeing us in bed together, she hadn't said anything or even looked at us strangely. She'd merely smiled and invited me and Luca to join the rest of the family for the big breakfast she and Con were making. Violet had clapped her little hands together and called both our names, and there'd been no mistaking the way she'd then said, "Breakfast."

Luca and I’d been had, but we hadn't cared.

Breakfast had been loud and chaotic and perfect. All of Luca's brothers had been there, minus Lex of course, and Aleks had been there too. He'd given me the sweetest of hugs and a look that had said he'd have his own share of questions for me later. Surprisingly, I was excited at the prospect of talking to Aleks about Luca and our date, minus the more intimate details. It was the strangest concept to me, to have a friend to talk to about the man I was seeing.

The voice that reminded me that I wasn't actually seeing Luca because all of this was a temporary thing wasn't as insistent as it usually was. I wasn't sure if that was because of me or Luca. The man had pretty much been at my side all morning, and now as we walked through the hospital hallways, he was once again holding my hand. Guys who were temporary didn't do that.

Right?

That was another one of those questions I’d have to ask Aleks. I nearly laughed because Aleks was so innocent and sweet, and yet he’d somehow become the more experienced of the two of us when it came to relationships.

As perfect as our morning had been, I couldn't help but notice that Luca lost some of his fire as we made our way deeper into the hospital. I couldn't really blame him, considering the fact that I was about to go into his son’s room while he would have to continue to the waiting room alone. I wished there was something I could do to convince Gio to give Luca a chance, but I knew if I pushed the young man too hard, he’d break again. As it was, he and I had barely made any progress anyway. A few spoken words on his part at the last visit didn't count for much. Hopefully today, he would still be in a talkative mood, but I had no way of knowing.

As we got closer to Gio's room, Luca's grip on my hand tightened a little and then he dropped it. The plan was for him to veer off to the right where the waiting room was, but just before he did so, there was a loud crashing sound.

Coming from Gio's room.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Luca

The scene before me was reminiscent of the first time I’d pushed Gio too far. Only this time the object of his fury wasn't just me.

The room was trashed when Remy and I rushed into it. Gio was in the far corner of the room on the floor, his overturned wheelchair next to him. I could see that he was holding what looked like a piece of broken glass. Blood trickled down his fingers. His other hand was fisted. He was surrounded by two orderlies and a frightened-looking nurse.

My heart fell at the sight and I immediately looked down at my son's wrists. Thankfully, there was no blood pouring from the veins and arteries there. I hadn't witnessed either of his suicide attempts, but I felt like I was on the verge now. I didn't recognize the young man in front of me as my child. His normally pale skin was flushed with color and sweat and there were drops of blood on his white shirt. His face was pulled into a mask of fury and he was waving the piece of glass in front of his body. I was so stunned by what I was witnessing that I didn't register the security guard who rushed past me. But when I saw him pull what I knew to be a Taser, I reacted on pure instinct.

I lunged at the man and slammed his body up against the wall. "Stay away from my kid!" I snarled. I didn't care if I’d hurt the man or not, I was only interested in getting to my son. One of the orderlies tried to stop me, but one punch and he was down too. The other orderly backed off and the nurse scrambled to the far corner of the room, leaving me to face Gio's wrath.

"You did this!" he screamed at me.

I didn't know what he was talking about, of course, or what had set off this particular episode, but I had eyes only for the piece of glass in his hand. I had no clue where he’d gotten it from, nor did I care. One swipe across his wrists, or worse, his throat, and I'd lose him for good. In my gut, I knew this time he'd make sure he was successful in leaving me.