Chapter Ten :Rowan
541 Words
Luca should’ve walked away.
Instead, he stood there in the rain gripping the front of my hoodie like he wanted an excuse to break my face again.
And maybe I wanted him to.
Because pain was easier than whatever Elena was turning me into.
“She loves me,” he repeated.
I held his stare.
“I know.”
The rain soaked through both of us while tension crackled violently between us.
Luca’s chest rose sharply. “Then why are you doing this?”
For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have a smart answer.
Didn’t have sarcasm.
Didn’t have another fight ready.
Because the truth was ugly.
“I can’t stop thinking about her,” I admitted quietly.
Luca’s expression darkened instantly.
“You don’t get to say things like that about my girlfriend.”
“I know that too.”
“Then stay away.”
I laughed bitterly, shoving his hands off me.
“You think I haven’t tried?” I snapped. “Every time she walks into a room, I notice. Every time she looks at me, I forget how to breathe for a second.”
The confession hung heavily between us.
Raw.
Dangerous.
Luca looked ready to kill me.
But underneath the rage was something worse.
Understanding.
Because he’d seen it.
Seen Elena hesitate around me.
Seen the tension.
Seen the way she looked back.
“She’s confused,” he said tightly.
“No,” I answered. “She’s loyal.”
That caught him off guard.
I stepped closer slowly.
“She loves you, Devereux. Anyone can see that.”
“Then what exactly are you trying to do?”
I dragged a hand through my wet hair, exhausted.
“I don’t know anymore.”
And that was the terrifying part.
Because this had stopped being about attraction days ago.
Now it felt personal.
Like Elena had crawled into my head and refused to leave.
Luca stared at me carefully, jaw tight.
“You’re obsessed.”
“Probably.”
“You’re toxic.”
I smirked faintly. “Definitely.”
He should’ve punched me again.
Instead, he looked away for half a second like he hated that part of him understood me.
“You think she’d survive you?” he asked quietly.
That question hit harder than the first punch.
Because deep down…
No.
I didn’t.
I looked at the rain pouring into the parking lot, voice rough when I finally answered.
“That’s why I said share.”
Luca went still.
“You love her enough to protect her,” I continued quietly. “And I—”
I stopped myself.
Because saying it out loud would make it real.
But Luca saw it anyway.
Saw the truth sitting ugly beneath my skin.
I cared about her already.
Way too much.
“You’re out of your mind,” Luca muttered.
“Maybe.”
The rain fell harder between us.
Then suddenly Luca laughed once.
Not amused.
More like exhausted.
“You know the worst part?” he said quietly.
“What?”
“She’d probably hate both of us for even having this conversation.”
For the first time all week, I smiled genuinely.
“Yeah,” I admitted. “She definitely would.”
- Writer
