CHAPTER 28
The morning light poured through the curtains in soft streaks, warm against the pale fabric of her sheets. Mia sat at the edge of her bed, blanket still wrapped around her shoulders, her sketchbook clutched loosely in her hands.
She hadn’t slept much.
The drawing lay open in her lap his face. Still there. Still staring back at her.
She had told herself she wouldn’t look at it again. That she’d leave it under her pillow, forget it existed. But as soon as she’d opened her eyes, her fingers reached for it.
Now she sat quietly, legs folded beneath her, gaze fixed on the sketch like it held answers to questions she hadn’t dared speak aloud.
She didn’t understand why she couldn’t stop.
Why her chest ached when she looked at him.
Why his eyes felt like a place she’d been before.
A low murmur drifted up from the living room.
Mia froze.
Voices.
One calm. Familiar.
Grayson
And the other
Her heart skipped.
Luca.
Her hand closed the sketchbook without thinking, fingers trembling slightly. She tucked it beneath her blanket, just as the voices below grew clearer.
She stepped softly across the room and opened her door just a crack.
“…She’s quiet,” Grayson was saying, his voice quiet. “More than usual.”
Luca didn’t respond right away. She could hear the low clink of a coffee cup being set down.
Then his voice, lower than hers had heard in days.
“She’s drawing?”
Grayson exhaled. “Yeah. A lot. And hiding it.”
Silence.
Then Luca again..clipped, measured.
“Is it the same face?”
Mia’s breath caught in her throat.
Grayson hesitated. “I didn’t see it. She was fast.”
Another pause.
“She hasn’t said anything to you yet?”
“Yes,” Grayson said softly. “But it’s there. She’s distracted. Unsettled. And whatever it is, she doesn't want to talk about it .”
Mia pressed her forehead lightly against the doorframe, eyes shut.
They knew.
Mia backed away from the door, careful not to make a sound. Her fingers found the edge of her blanket and curled tightly around it as she sat back on the bed.
She didn’t want to lie to them.
But she didn’t know how to tell the truth either.
How could she explain that the face in her sketchbook the one she couldn’t stop drawing belonged to a man she didn’t know, who had said nothing to her, but looked at her the wayhe did?
And how could she admit that part of her wanted to see him again?
Mia sat still, heart thudding softly in her chest.
In the living room the conversation moved on, voices fading slightly then she heard the soft creak of the floors.
One step. Then another.
Her breath caught.
Then stopped completely when she heard the faint knock on her half closed door.
“Mia,” Luca’s voice came gently through the door. “You up?”
She hesitated for a second too long, then whispered back, “Yeah.”
The door opened slowly.
He didn’t walk in right away just stood there, framed by the hallway light, his dark clothes in quiet contrast to the soft calm of her room.
His eyes landed on her.
She looked small again.
Wrapped in her blanket, bare feet tucked under, eyes puffy like maybe she hadn’t slept much either.
“Hey,” he said softly, closing the door behind him.
" Hi".She smiled looking up at him she had missed him, she always did when he was away.
Luca walked in slowly and sat at the edge of her bed without asking, resting his forearms on his knees, hands clasped loosely.
“I talked to Grayson.”
Her stomach twisted.
She kept her eyes down, and locked on the folds in her blanket and refused to look up at him, she knew Luca would read her too well.
Luca didn’t push. His voice stayed even, low.
“He said you’ve been quiet and zoning out during lessons.. and ....”
“I’m okay,” she said quickly, too quickly.
That silence settled again.
Then Luca spoke again, even softer this time.
“You don’t have to tell me what’s going on, if this is about what happened with mu.
...” he couldn't let himself finish that statement, instead just cleared his throat and stared at his sister's small frame.Their parents death was such a painful story to tell, he didn't want to put her through it again, the nightmares she had was already bad enough and he hated that he couldn't do anything about it.
His throat tightened then he continued.
“I just want you to know… I’m here. Alright? If there’s something on your mind, if something’s bothering you… you can tell me. Or Grayson. Just don’t carry it by yourself.”
Mia’s fingers curled around the edge of her sleeve. She nodded, eyes stinging a little, she hated lying to her brother, she never has ....so why does this feel like a secret she needed to keep to herself.
“I’m not mad,” Luca added. “or disappointed. I’m just… worried.”
That part, she could hear in his voice more than the words. The unspoken ache behind them.
She finally glanced up at him, eyes wide, soft.
“I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
“I know,” he said quietly.
Luca reached out and tucked a strand of her hair gently behind her ear.
“You don’t have to hide anything from me.”
Her eyes flickered, but she didn’t answer and he didn’t press.
“Alright,” he said after a pause, rising slowly. “I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”
She nodded again, voice small. “Okay.”
He stepped toward the door, then hesitated.
“Mia?”
She looked back at him.
He didn’t ask about the sketchbook.
He just said, “I love you, princess.”
Her throat closed up.
She whispered, “I love you too.”
And then he was gone making sure the door was half shut behind him, leaving her room wrapped in the soft light and the quietness again.
Mia sat there for a long moment.
Then slowly, carefully, she reached beneath the blanket and pulled out her sketchbook again.
Her fingers traced the edges of the drawing and … She just stared at it ..