25. Luka
Luka
I hate leaving Adrianna to get on the plane back home, but we have another away game. I just can't shake the feeling that something is going to happen and I am not going to be there to stop it.
"Dude, she will be fine. You have Mr. C picking them up from the airport. I am sure she will be calling you to tell you that it was ridiculous to do. You will talk to her in no time." Jake laughs at my pouty face.
"I just don't understand why I couldn't ride home with her and then meet you guys in Florida. It makes no sense." I climb into the SUV.
Jake gets in beside me, laughing. "You are insane."
I pull out my phone and text my family.
Me:
Can you guys make sure Adrianna makes it home okay?
Liam:
Sure.
Romeo:
Aren't you having The Old Man pick her up?
Cross:
Still haven't got the tracker yet?
Me:
Thanks Big Bro. Yes The Old Man is picking her up, and I only have the phone tracker, but it isn't enough.
Callum:
Did something happen while you guys have been in North Carolina? Lacey said Adrianna seemed off when they talked this morning.
Cross:
What the fuck happened?
Me:
Nothing. Just Tucker and his brothers causing some issues. It has been taken care of.
Romeo:
Are you sure?
Liam:
Callum...
Callum:
On it. I will have info for Tucker and his brothers sent over to your email in 10.
Me:
You don't have to do that. It wasn't anything crazy.
Romeo:
CeCe just showed me the video from the bar that is going viral on social media. Something needs to be done, Liam.
Cross:
Tell her to send it to me.
Callum:
*Video*
Me:
It was seriously nothing. Don't worry about it.
Liam:
Cross, take care of it.
Fuck, I shouldn't have even said anything to them. I look at my watch.
"She still has 2.5 hours, Man." Jake elbows my side and looks down at my watch. My phone vibrates with a text I am sure is my family.
My Gattina:
I miss you.
A warm feeling washes over my body. I am not the only one feeling this pull.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Jake stares at me.
"Like what?" I look at him like he lost his mind. I don't feel like I am smiling weirdly.
"Like you are in love," Jake says. I can't help but smile bigger because I am.
The next day, I am about to knock on Adrianna's door when it flies open.
"What's wrong." Her head is down, and she is putting something in her purse, so I have to grab her so she doesn't run into me.
"Luka?" She acts surprised to see me even though I just talked to her and told her I would be by soon.
"Yeah, Gattina. What is the matter?" I push a strand of her beautiful red hair behind her ear.
"It's Lacey." My whole body goes rigid.
"What do you mean? What is the matter with Lacey?"
"I am not sure anything is the matter. She was supposed to come by a couple hours ago, but she hasn't.
I have texted and called her and it goes straight to voicemail.
You know she isn't like that. I was going to run to the dance studio to see if she was still there.
She was supposed to come here right after.
Your parents have Layla for the day." I can hear the concern in her voice and she isn't wrong. Lacey is never late for anything, ever.
"Okay, Baby. Let's go check on her together. I will call Callum. She might be with him and just forgot to let you know."
"She isn't with Callum, Luka."
I go to pull out my phone but stop. "How do you know that?"
"Because they got into a huge fight last night. That is why she was coming over here. She wanted to talk to me about it. Someone outside the family, I guess." She does quotation marks around outside and I don't like it.
"You are our family, Gattina." She gives me a little huff like she doesn't believe me. I pull my phone out and dial my brother as we make our way to the elevator. "You will see, Adrianna. There is no getting away from us."
My brother doesn't answer his phone. Which is highly unusual, so I call Liam.
"Have you seen Callum today?" I ask him as I start my car and pull up the tracker app on my phone. I quickly switch it from Adrianna's number to Callum's before she can see. He is at the dance studio.
"Not since this morning. Why? What is the matter?"
"Never mind, I found him. See you guys at family dinner tonight.
" I hang up before he says anything else.
"Callum is at the studio, so Lacey must have decided to stay late and forgot to tell you.
" I squeeze Adrianna's hand. "Do you want to go get coffee since we are already in the car?
" I can see her biting the inside of her cheek. "What is it, Baby?"
"I want to go to the dance studio and check on her myself. Is that okay?" I don't think it's necessary, but if it will make her feel better, I will take her. I nod to her, put the car in drive, and we head toward the studio.
The door to the studio is locked, but the music is blasting so loud I can hear it from out here. I put in my key code to open it but stop Adrianna from running inside. "Maybe I should try to call Callum again. I don't want to walk in on something going on with him and Lacey."
Adrianna tries to push past me, "I can guarantee you nothing is going on with Callum and Lacey."
I grab her arm. "How do you know there isn't anything?"
She stares at me for a minute and gives me a quick grin.
"Because I do. Trust me, okay." For some reason, I do trust her; I trust her with everything.
So I let her go and follow her into the hallway.
We don't get but a couple feet before one of the doors to a room opens up and the music becomes even louder.
I watch as my brother steps through the doorway, cradling Lacey in his arms. She has her head buried against his chest and her feet are raw and bleeding.
He abruptly stops when he sees us standing there and Lacey lifts her head and looks at us.
I don't think I have ever seen someone look so broken in my entire life.
She sobs loud enough for me to hear it over the music and Adrianna runs to her.
Callum refuses to put her down, but her and Adrianna have a whisper conversation as I slowly walk toward them.
I am trying to keep the rage I feel inside from showing.
I don't know what is going on, but I feel the need to kill someone.
Adrianna steps back when I get close to them and nods her head at Lacey.
I continue to stare at my brother, trying to read his face.
He looks just as broken as she does. I lean down and brush the hair off of Lacey's tear-soaked cheek.
"Are you okay, Lace?" I know she isn't, but I don't know what else to say. She glances up at Callum and then back at me.
"I don't know." Hearing her small admission, Callum tightens his hold on her.
"Can you close down, Brother?" Callum looks at me, and I will give him anything at that moment.
I grip his shoulder. "Anything, Brother. Anything you need."
"Can you keep Layla tonight? Let Ma and Pops know we won't be at family dinner, " he asks. Before I can say anything, Adrianna places one hand on Lacey's leg and the other on Callum's arm.
"We got her. You take care of our girl, " she whispers. Lacey starts crying again and pushes her face into Callum's chest again. He nods at both of us and walks away.
I walk into the room they came out of and shut off the music while Adrianna picks up Lacey's dance shoes. She holds them up and inspects the blood on them. "I wonder if Mia knows the best way to get the blood out. She has been friends with Lacey long enough that she might know."
I don't say anything. I can't find the words I need right now. I am still so angry and don't know who to be angry with. We spend the next couple of minutes closing down the shop before Adrianna talks again. "I feel so bad for Lacey. I hope everything works out okay."
"What do you mean?" I turn to look at her and her eyes widen. Like she said something and just now realized she shouldn't have. "Adrianna, what do you mean?"
"I think she should tell you." She turns to turn the open sign around, but I grab her and spin her around. Picking her up, I set her on the front desk.
"What do you mean?" I know I shouldn't be so short with her, but I need to know what she knows, even if she feels sharing it with me is against some girl's code.
"Lacey talked to her parents, " she says and looks down at her hands. She is picking at her fingers, which is a tell-tell sign she has something else to say. "She was so happy they finally called her, but..."
"But what, Gattina?"
"They told her she has to get married." She says and looks up at me. I start laughing.
"Well, we are known for doing last-minute weddings around here. I am sure it will be no problem for her and Callum to get married tonight if they want."
"No, Luka. They already have someone picked out. She is supposed to go marry him next month."
My world stops for a minute. "They can't do that. She is meant to be with Callum. What about Layla?"
"They told her that Layla isn't hers. She won't be the best parent for her, and she needs to get married and have her own kids so that she can raise them from the start. She told them no, but they had something they were using against her, Luka. She has to do it." She puts her head in her hands.
"There is no way in hell that is going to happen, Baby. We will figure it out." I promise her. I also make that promise to myself, Callum, Layla and most importantly, Lacey. Because she is a fucking Rizzoli and that isn't going to change.