Page 56 of Ruined
Luca paced in the living room, talking to Maria on the phone. His sweatpants hung low on his hips. He was a walking temptation, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
“Miss you, too,” he deadpanned, ending the call.
My guts churned. It made no fucking sense. Fucking Maria. She wasn’t the problem. I knew what Luca was doing. He clung to her because she was safe. He could pretend with her.
I hated it.
He didn’t pretend with me.
I crossed my arms. “You’re limping again.”
Luca scowled at me. “I’m alright.”
“You say that every time I catch you wincing.”
I grabbed his arm and nudged him toward the couch. He sank down, cursing. It’d only been three weeks since the stabbing. He needed to slow down. I grabbed the first aid kit off the table and sat next to him.
“So, does Maria know you cheated on her?”
Luca stiffened. “I didn’t cheat.”
“Is that how you’re playing it now?” I peeled back his bandage, catching the flicker of pain in his expression. Good. He could feel a fraction of the ache I carried around every time he shut me out.
He sighed roughly. “Maria and I aren’t exclusive.”
“That’s convenient.” I peeled back the bandage on his abdomen. It looked okay. Still pink and healing.
He winced. “You’re the one who?—”
“Whowhat, Luca? Gave you exactly what you wanted?”
Luca glared at me, but we both knew the truth. He asked for it. The more Luca kept up this shit, the more it bothered me.
“You know what?” I leaned back, crossing my arms. “Maybe I’ll give Maria a call. See what all the fuss is about.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“If she’s good enough for you to keep crawling back to, maybe I should see for myself what’s so damn special.”
Luca’s face darkened. “You don’t like women.”
“I don’t need to like her to fuck her throat.”
“Don’t joke about that,” he snarled. “Maria’s got nothing to do with this.”
“She’s the one you keep calling, isn’t she? She’s the one you’re so desperate to pretend with. So what are you running from, Luca?”
His breathing quickened. I spread my hand over his thigh. The muscle twitched under my palm. The heat of him seeped into my skin.
“Who are you really lying to?”
His pupils blew wide. I watched him, waiting for him to crack, but when he didn’t break, I yanked my hand away and stood.
The couch groaned as Luca staggered to his feet, his face stormy. His hand wrapped around my wrist. He yanked me back, spinning me to face him.
“I don’t even touch her, okay?” he said, his voice shaking. “I had sex with her once, and Ihatedit.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding. “Only once?”