A Hart To Call Home

Chapter Twenty

It was early Thursday night when Luca walked into the familiar bar where he'd spent most of the last four years. It was early, and the place was empty aside from a few barflies.

"Holy shit. Luca, where you been?" Jay, his old friend and landlord, looked up. As Luca walked up to the bar, his brown eyes flashed from curious to concerned as Luca got closer.

"What happened to you? You don't look so good," Jay said as Luca sat.

"I'm not so good," Luca's voice was rough; he only passed his dad's driveway before letting out the loudest and longest scream he had ever heard. He didn't stop until he reached that damn Willow Park sign, and then he thought about her and broke down into tears.

"My dad is dying," Luca added, and Jay immediately gave him that look. That annoying pitying look he'd been able to avoid up until now.

"Shit, I'm sorry, man," Jay said as he poured him a whiskey. "You've never talked about him much."

"We haven't spoken in years," Luca confessed, "I just got back from seeing him, finally."

"Ah," Jay poured himself a shot and sipped it. "How was that?"

"Sobering," Luca sighed. "He said he has a feeling that he's almost done."

Those words had been haunting him ever since he'd heard them.

"Fuck."

"Yeah." Luca slammed the drink.

"What are you doing here then?"

"Don't matter," Luca said, "I'm leaving tomorrow. I packed up all my shit and fit what I could in my car. You can keep the furniture. Sorry, I can't give you a notice."

Jay nodded slowly, "thought I heard some noise up there earlier. Don't worry about it, Luca. You have been a solid renter for years. I can hold it for you in case you want to come back. You know, after."

"Nah, rent it out." Luca held up his glass, and Jay refilled it.

"You sure?" Jay asked. "It's one of the best apartments in the city; it'll go fast."

"My future is somewhere else," Luca admitted. "just wrapping my head around it, I guess."

Jay raised an eyebrow at those words, "So there's a girl?"

"Can't shake her."

"Then don't," Jay advised.

****

"I have everything we need for margaritas and lots of them!" an excited Carly burst into Kit's kitchen on Friday night with two buckets of Margarita mix and a huge bottle of tequila. Andre was behind her rolling his eyes as they walked in.

"You realize you mostly bought that to supply Jase and his friends with booze, right?" Kit told her, and Andre laughed.

"That's what I tried to tell her."

"Oh, stop, Andre, I know you can't drink, but Kit, you are going to have some fun tonight."

Leonardo had all but insisted they ALL enjoy the block party tonight, Andre included. So, Andre hired a nurse to sit at the house. After the long and emotional week, Kit only wanted to wallow in self-pity, but Carly and the block party had other ideas.

"Hey!" Jess stepped into the kitchen. She was all dolled up in a summer dress with her dark hair curled. "Where's Jase?"

"Getting some smoke," Billy, one of Jase's friends, stunned her, and Kit whirled around. "Where did you come from?"