Chapter Eighteen:Rowan
939 Words
I should’ve pulled away.
The second Elena’s hand slipped into mine while Luca stood on her other side, every survival instinct I had should’ve screamed at me to stop this before it became something none of us could come back from.
Instead, I held on tighter.
Her fingers were warm against mine.
Soft.
Shaking slightly.
And somehow that tiny tremor hit harder than any fight Luca and I had ever had.
Nobody spoke.
The rain outside filled the silence while Elena stood between us breathing unevenly, like she could feel the exact moment everything changed too.
Luca watched her carefully.
Not possessive.
Not demanding.
Terrified.
That surprised me most.
Because Luca Moretti never looked afraid of anything.
But he looked afraid of losing her.
And maybe I did too.
Elena slowly lowered her joined hands between us, staring at the floor for a long moment before whispering, “I don’t know how to do this.”
“You don’t have to,” Luca said quietly.
Her eyes lifted. “What does that even mean?”
“It means,” I answered carefully, “nobody’s asking you to decide everything tonight.”
She looked relieved and frustrated at the same time.
“That should make me feel better.”
“It doesn’t?” Luca asked.
“No.” She laughed weakly. “Because somehow that almost makes this more real.”
None of us argued with that.
The apartment suddenly felt intimate in a way it hadn’t before.
Dangerously intimate.
Luca finally moved away first, running a hand through his dark hair before walking toward the living room windows.
I watched his shoulders tense.
The guy looked wrecked.
And I hated that I understood exactly why.
Elena noticed it too.
She slowly let go of my hand before crossing the room toward him.
Every instinct in me hated watching her walk away.
But then she touched Luca’s arm gently, and something ugly twisted in my chest because of how naturally she fit beside him.
“You okay?” she asked softly.
Luca let out a quiet laugh without humor. “Not even remotely.”
That earned the smallest smile from her.
God.
She looked beautiful like that.
Tired.
Emotional.
Completely overwhelmed.
Real.
Luca turned toward her then, eyes softer than I’d ever seen them.
“You should go home tonight.”
Her brows pulled together immediately. “What?”
“I mean it.” His voice stayed calm. “We all need space to think before we do something reckless.”
Elena stared at him in disbelief. “You were literally ready to fight Rowan in your kitchen two days ago.”
“Still might.”
I snorted quietly.
Luca ignored me completely.
“But this isn’t a game anymore,” he continued. “And I don’t want you feeling cornered.”
The room fell quiet again.
Because underneath Luca’s jealousy and temper and obsession with her—
he genuinely cared.
Elena swallowed hard before looking at me.
“What do you think?”
Dangerous question.
Because the selfish part of me wanted her to stay.
Wanted to sit beside her until sunrise.
Wanted to keep touching her hand just to prove this was real.
But the exhausted look in her eyes stopped me.
“I think Luca’s right.”
She looked almost disappointed hearing that.
And somehow that made it worse.
Elena folded her arms around herself again. “So what? I just leave and pretend this conversation never happened?”
“No,” Luca said softly.
“Then what?”
He looked at her for a long moment before answering.
“We figure out what this is before it destroys us.”
My chest tightened hearing the honesty in his voice.
Because none of us could pretend anymore.
Not after tonight.
Elena nodded slowly, though uncertainty still filled her expression.
Then quietly—
“What if I choose wrong?”
I stepped closer before I could stop myself.
“You’re not choosing between us.”
Her breath caught slightly.
Luca looked at me carefully.
And for once—
there wasn’t hatred in his expression.
Just understanding.
Elena looked between both of us again like she still couldn’t believe this was happening.
Then finally she whispered, “That should scare me more than it does.”
“It probably should,” Luca muttered.
She laughed softly again.
And God, hearing her laugh while standing between us felt dangerously addictive.
Luca grabbed her coat from the chair nearby before walking back over to her.
Their fingers brushed.
Then his eyes flicked toward me.
A warning.
A challenge.
Maybe both.
Don’t hurt her.
The terrifying thing was—
I think we were both thinking the exact same thing.
Elena slipped her coat on slowly before heading toward the apartment door.
But right before leaving—
She turned back.
Rainlight flickered across her face while nervousness and longing mixed together in her expression.
Neither Luca nor I moved.
Then softly—
“Goodnight, boys.”
Boys.
Not enemies.
Not rivals.
Us.
The door closed behind her a second later.
And silence crashed into the apartment immediately.
Luca exhaled hard, staring at the door like he wanted to follow her.
I leaned against the wall, pulse still uneven.
Neither of us spoke for a long time.
Then finally—
“This is a disaster,” Luca muttered.
I looked toward the rain-covered windows.
“Yeah.”
Another silence.
Then Luca glanced at me with exhausted irritation.
“You fall in love with every girl I touch, or is Elena special?”
Despite everything, I laughed.
And to my surprise—
So did he.
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