CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Liana
I'm starting to feel human again.
It's been three weeks since I woke up here. Three weeks of healing, of nightmares, of slowly piecing myself back together.
My ribs don't hurt as much anymore. The bruises are fading. I can walk without feeling like I'm going to collapse.
But the scars inside are still there. Still raw.
I remember more now. Not everything. But enough.
There were three of them. I'm sure of it now.
They grabbed me outside the diner. Put something over my face—chloroform, maybe. I woke up in a van. Tied up. Terrified.
They drove for a long time. I don't know where. And then they...
I can't write it. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
But I remember their voices. The things they said.
One of them had a scar on his hand. I remember seeing it when he...
I told Luca. He's looking for them. I know he is.
Part of me wants him to find them. Wants them to pay for what they did.
But part of me is terrified of what will happen when he does.
Because I know Luca. I know what he's capable of.
And I know he won't just turn them over to the police.
I should be horrified by that. Should be begging him not to do anything violent.
But I'm not.
Because they deserve it. They deserve everything he's going to do to them.
Is that wrong? Does that make me a bad person?
I don't know anymore.
What I do know is that I'm starting to feel something for Luca. Something more than gratitude.
He's been so patient with me. So gentle. He holds my hand when I have nightmares. Sits with me when I can't sleep. Makes me laugh when I feel like I'll never smile again.
He makes me feel safe.
And maybe, eventually, he could make me feel whole.