Hollywood Bleeds

seventeen

LUCA WAS CALLED in by Mavis for an important meeting that Brandy urgently needed him to attend. On any other occasion Luca would've stayed at home sleeping and drinking, but when Mavis practically begged him to show up, he knew this meeting was important.

He sat in the rolling chair tiredly. He bounced his leg agitated, spinning the chair back and forth as he stared up at the ceiling bored. Being in this room, sitting like this was a living reminder of when Luca signed his soul and happiness away. The room-the entire building and the people in it were living reminders of Luca's nightmares.

Mavis was looking through the large cupboards frustratedly . Luca would've asked what she was looking for, but he didn't care enough to help her. She hadn't told him anything about the meaning of the meeting, which to Luca meant nothing good for him.

"Ah ha!" She suddenly exclaimed excitedly. Turning to Luca with a brown glass bottle in her hand, she excitedly offered it to him. "Here."

Luca scoffed, looking between her and the liquor bottle. "It's eleven, Mavis."

"That's never stopped you before." She remarked back with a smirk.

How bitter, but true, her words were.

He wanted to stop- he knew he could stop if he really put up a fight. But for right now there wasn't a reason to. Brandy was doing everything in his will power to keep Luca drinking.

After the night with Amina Luca hadn't touched or drank liquor if he knew he was going to see or be around her. When brandy noticed that, he gave him all the liquor he could whenever he could.

Luca had gone through withdraw once in his life. When he was twenty eight and noticed that drinking wasn't giving him his control back, but making his mental health and depression worse. He needed to get better-he wanted to get better. And for the two weeks of withdrawal were hell, but a hell he'd gladly go over again to stay healthy. But when brandy saw Luca sick and wanting to get better, he went on a rampage. Threatened and blackmailed himself and others that if Luca decided to quit drinking, brandy wouldn't just make Luca's life a living hell, but Luca's closest friends too.

So, he went back to drinking. Staying oblivious and under Brandy's control like he was seventeen years old all over again. He still was under Brandy's control.

Mavis sighed, putting the bottle in front of Luca as she walked back to her chair.

"What's this meeting even for?" Luca asked again.

"You'll see."

He groaned, leaning his head back as he went back to staring at the ceiling.

He knew she expected him to pick up the bottle and drink the liquor inside-but he didn't want to do the expected anymore. He didn't want to drink knowing that everything Atticus said was true. He used drinking as an advantage of control, but drinking was something Brandy inflicted upon him. Drinking was his therapy-or at least that's what Luca kept on reminding himself.

A loud squeak from the door hinge echoed throughout the once quiet room. Luca and Mavis both looks to the door to see an awkward looking Amina.

"Did I walk into the wrong room?"

Mavis quickly shook her head. "No, this is it."

Luca eyebrows furrowed at her words as Amina muttered, "oh."

What was she doing there? What was he doing there? Why were they both doing there? What did brandy have planned that involved both Amina and Luca that didn't resolve in something bad to say or ending.

Luca sighed, leaning back into his chair. Brandy was going to give them hell-more precisely try to warn Amina to stay as far away from Luca if she didn't want to lose her growing path to stardom.