To Love Luca

Chapter 4

The Following Day - Luca

My eyes fluttered open as blinding rays of light began to show through my window. I turned to face the clock on my door seeing it read 7:25. I sat up waiting for the rest of my body to stir to life while rubbing my eyes tiredly. I heard a commotion coming from down the hall which piqued my interest. Why would anyone be awake this early? Was there something special about today?

I pondered for a moment trying to remember but for the life of me, I couldn't. I didn't think too hard since it was far too early to try to extensively use my brain. I swung my legs over the bed and like a snail scooted off of it painfully slowly. I winced as my feet touched the freezing cold floor, a stark contrast to my warm flesh, before standing up completely. I shuffled to the attached bathroom. Magnus extended the entire house outwards creating the very room I stood in now completed with an attached bathroom. After an incident when I was 12 that for the life of me I couldn't remember, Magnus decided it was in all of our best safety for me to stay in my room at night. I'll never forgot the humiliation of the one time when I was in excruciating pain because I had to go to the bathroom so badly in the middle of the night but I was locked in my room. I ended up wetting myself and crying hysterically for hours, when Magnus finally came to check on me and realized that I didn't have access to a bathroom at night he began renovations on the entire house to build a room with an attached bathroom. He cried into me begging for forgiveness, and somehow I couldn't help but give it to him.

I would often find myself thinking back to that night, my 12th birthday. Wondering what had happened for them to suddenly treat me like that. Lock me away every night, leave me to fend off horrifying night terrors on my own rather than having one of them hold me as I slept as they had done for years prior. I used to feel ridiculous amounts of happiness while being in a room with them, but now I just felt nothing. I was a wolf, after all, we are pack creatures, not meant to be alone so often. But I was. I was the lone wolf of this family.

I shook my head to disrupt my head's unpleasant trip down memory lane and commenced my daily bathroom routine. I put on some basketball shorts and a baggy t-shirt before heading towards the door of my room. I stood in front of it, sweat beginning to form on my forehead, so much so that a lone drip began to make its way down my face. I felt something beyond fear, terror maybe?

A terror that one day I would wake up and the door wouldn't be unlocked for me. That I would be trapped in here for the rest of my life. My family would forget I exist and board up the extended section of the house, making it easier to dismiss my presence. Maybe they would even plaster the walls, permanently sealing me in. I breathed in slowly as I raised my hand to the doorknob. The sense of dread refused to leave my body. As I touched the brass and twisted a breath of relief escaped my body almost as if I had just deflated. The door lightly clicked open. I opened it and stepped out away from my room like it was plagued. I stood still, trying to catch my breath and slow my erratic heartbeat. After two years of dealing with this irrational fear, you'd think I'd be fine. The truth was it never did get easier.

"Luca? You okay?" I flinched at the sudden noise. Normally it was impossible to sneak up on me with my heightened senses but when I'm too spaced out it's possible.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks though," Ryland eyed me suspiciously clearly not believing me. He reached out to grab my arm. A tingling sensation shot through it making me gasp and pull away immediately. Well, that's new. I looked to Ryland to see if he felt it but his face remained unchanged still adorning a look of worry.

"What's wrong?" He asked again. I sensed a bit of eagerness behind his words as he firmly clasped my hand. My mind went blank as it was pried open for foreign eyes to see. The words flew from my mouth whether I wanted them to or not.