about to turn and hide when my dad looks our way. His face brightens at the sight of his son, then completely falls when he sees me.
He stares in horror. Wide eyes. Gaping mouth.
“What is it?” my mother asks, her arm reaching into view. “What’s wrong?”
He doesn’t answer. He’s frozen.
Sebastian continues without me, walking to our father’s side while my mother stands.
I want to run.
To them. Away from them. But I can’t move.
I blink the blur from my vision as my mom turns to face me, her hand immediately raising to cover her mouth.
All I feel is panic and pain.
All I see is heartache and loss.
“Penny?” My mother glances from me, to my father, to my brother, and back again, her confusion unwavering.
“Pen, is that you?” my dad asks.
I tremble. Arms. Legs. Heart.
The eight feet of distance between us is so close, yet unbelievably far. No matter what I do, I can’t get my feet to move, my voice to speak.
“It’s her.” Sebastian starts toward me. “It’s really her.”
My chest restricts. My heart and lungs are ripped from me.
My mother takes a step, a sob breaching her lips. “Penny…” She runs, the pace hobbled, her face stricken. “My baby girl.”
I break, my tears rushing free, the heated trails searing my cheeks as air heaves from my lungs.
I’m engulfed in restricting arms, my mother’s love circling me even tighter. I close my eyes against the emotional onslaught, sucking in breath after hiccupped breath, not wanting the love to weaken me, and not being able to deny it at the same time.
“I don’t understand.” My dad’s voice approaches. “How did this happen?”
More arms engulf me. The scent of my father’s aftershave sinks deep into my lungs.
There are sobs and laughter and sniffles.
Hugs and questions and comfort. So much soul-shaking comfort.
I let it wash over me. Consume me.
I sway with the waves of emotion, taking in all the sensations of home as I squeeze my eyes tighter in an attempt to stem the unending blubbering.
“Everything is going to be all right, baby girl,” my mother soothes. “Everything is going to be just fine.”
After years spent denying my suffering, I give in.
I succumb to the pain. I let my grief break free.
I cry until the tears clean away the heartache, all my memories purged from the deepest, darkest depths of my soul. And when my sobs finally subside, I begin to breathe again, knowing I’m finally ready to start healing.
35
Luca
I scowl as the nurse flashes a light in my eyes.
“You don’t need to look at me like that.” She lowers the mini flashlight and grabs my hand. “I get that you’re not happy being here. I’m just doing my job, and apparently, looking after you is a top priority, so grip my hand and show me how macho you are.”
I clench her fingers, my scowl remaining in place. “Who says I’m a top priority?”
“My supervisor. I was told to make sure Mr. John Doe was taken care of and that he receives everything he asks for.” She holds my gaze, raising a brow.
I chuckle. “Feel free to call me John.”
“How kind of you.” She drops my hand and grabs the other. “Want to tell me what happened to your head, John?”
“I have no idea.”
She rolls her eyes and steps away, removing a blood pressure cuff from the monitoring equipment near the head of the bed.
While she’s wrenching my arm into submission, I cock my ear toward the door, trying to catch a hint of Penny’s voice.
This shit with Robert might be over, but the battles she has to face are only just beginning. And I want to be by her side for every single one of them.
“Your blood pressure is a little high.”
“No shit.” My girl is in the hall, facing one of the most monumental moments of her life, and I’m laid flat, unable to help her. “Give me some aspirin and a ticket out of here. I’ll be fine.”
“With all due respect, John, you’ve got a subdural hematoma. Which means you’re not leaving anytime soon. You need to be under observation to ensure the bleeding doesn’t increase.”
I revert back to glaring, not appreciating her calm superiority as Decker limps into the room. He moves to stand against the far wall, watching silently as the nurse takes my temperature like I’m a five-year-old with the flu.
He doesn’t talk. Doesn’t change his masked expression of exhaustion. He doesn’t give one hint as to what’s going on with Penny or why he’s left her out