Luca

“I like being here, lying here, feeling…close to Freddie…and you. It feels…safe. You make me feel safe,”

He smiled, a rare smile that pulled at my heart strings and touched me to the very core. Luca Marquez didn’t smile for anyone but he did for me.

“I like making you feel safe.”

I held his gaze with mine for what felt like an eternity before I jumped in at the deep end and said what I was really thinking.

“Will you wait for me?”

His head whipped back slightly as if he was puzzled and not quite getting what I was asking him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean will you wait for me to catch you up, be the right age for you to give me a chance? I don’t want you to fall in love with anyone else whilst I’m catching up to where you need me to be.”

The expression on his face softened and he rolled onto his side now to speak to me. He didn’t laugh at me like some older guys might have, Luca never teased me. He always wanted the truth because he always gave the truth back.

“Chloe, it’s not about me choosing the right age for you to be or putting a date on things. It’s got to be natural, you can’t force these things.”

I felt the tears well up in my eyes. He was giving me the brush off yet again. Lying so close, so temptingly close then pushing me away.

“Don’t do that Chloe, please.” He leaned up on his elbow and wiped a tear from my eye. “I didn’t say no I said don’t keep forcing it. If it’s meant to be it’ll happen.”

“It is meant to be. I love you Luca, you’re mine and I don’t want to share you with anyone.”

His smile was sincere and melted me all over again. How could he be so cruel keeping me at arm’s length and be so adorable and protective at the same time?

“You know what Chloe I promise I will always be here for you. Will that do for now?”

I shrugged, it sounded like I was being friend-zoned.

“I suppose if that’s all you can give. I won’t ever give up though.”

I whispered the last part to myself as I stared back up at the sky and when Luca responded my heart almost burst free from my chest.

“I’m counting on it.”

He moved his left hand to lie next to my right on the grass, our skin touching ever so slightly sending shocks of electricity to course through my body making the stars seem trivial and unimpressive next to this beautiful boy who held my heart in the palm of his hands. My life felt interconnected, entwined forever with his in that moment. He curled his little finger around mine and it meant the whole world, more than any words he could say. He would wait for me, he loved me. He just couldn’t tell me. We stayed like that for ages, lying side by side, silent but saying so much with our fingers laced together. It was the sweetest most romantic thing that had ever happened to me in my whole fifteen years. It might have looked so little to anyone on the outside but it was huge for us. Luca was reaching out to me, to my soul. He would wait for me and I would love him forever.

Chapter 11

I stood under those same stars next to Luca’s pool gazing up in awe of the beauty and grinning to myself. I still couldn’t find Orion or his belt or Ursula Major whatever Freddie had called it. My star map just showed twinkling gems of wonder and reminded me that whatever happened in the darkness of the night, the sun always rose to herald a new day with new hope.

It had been a few days since Luca’s revelation that I may have my life back soon, but I’d heard nothing else from him since then. He was like a ghost in his own home; heard but never seen. I was going stir crazy and suffering severely from lack of human contact.

Suddenly I heard the patio doors sweeping open and I spun round expecting to see the ghost himself. Vinnie was dressed in black jeans and a smart black button down shirt, the buttons around his neck were open showing off his chest hair.

“Where’s your medallion hot stuff?” I laughed making it obvious I was sweeping my eyes up and down his body.

“Fuck off.” He snapped then he went quiet before stating. “I left it at home, the chain catches on my chest hair.”

I threw back my head and laughed.

“Oh my God how did I guess you were one of those posers?”

His cheeks reddened so I walked over to him and rubbed his chest with my hand.

“Don’t panic big boy I’m sure wherever you’re going tonight you’ll have all the girls falling all over you even without your lucky medallion.”