8. Luca
LUCA
Pulling away from Ro, or I guess it’s Rose now, was the second hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my entire life.
The first was leaving her after graduation without a word.
I’ve wanted to contact her every single day for the past fifteen years since I left.
It killed me every time she reached out, and I had to ignore her.
I was equally relieved and gutted when she finally stopped trying to contact me.
I could see the hurt in Rose’s eyes tonight from across the booth when I pretended it wasn’t a big deal and said that it “slipped” my mind.
One thing I know for sure is that Rose Lusso has never and will never slip my mind.
From the moment we met until my dying breath, Ro has and will always consume my waking thoughts and haunt my dreams. I had thought, once all her calls, texts, and emails stopped, that she had moved on and forgotten about me, but I guess I was wrong.
I can’t believe I kissed her tonight, but as soon as my lips felt hers, it was like all those years without her didn’t happen, and we were just kids in the back of my mom’s Honda Civic sharing our first kiss.
It took every ounce of willpower and strength to pull away from her.
I couldn’t take the devastation and hurt I saw in her eyes and just ran like a coward.
Now I’m driving aimlessly on the dark, winding rural roads before heading back into town to grab a few hours of sleep before having to face Ro in the morning.
I don’t want her to know we are both staying at the same motel, especially after tonight, but I want to stay close to her to keep her safe.
I’m hoping she goes straight to the motel tonight so I don’t have to drive around for long.
I can’t face her again tonight. Maybe I should rent a place in the area instead of the motel for the rest of this job.