Fate's Playbook

Chapter 31 - Confession

"Confession is not betrayal. What you say or do doesn't matter; only feelings matter. If they could make me stop loving you that would be the real betrayal." - George Orwell

Luca had been worried all night after Nora had left early. What happened? Was it something he did? Or Said?

He send Nora countless messages and just hoped that she is okay. She also phones Lily and Lily told him that the two of them should talk the next day.

The next morning Nora woke up and opened her phone, she had many messages from Luca.

Luca: Hey, are you okay?
Luca: You're making me worry.
Luca: Was it something I said or did?
Luca: I'm really sorry Nora, whatever happened, I will fix it.
Luca: Please just answer me.
Luca: I can't sleep not knowing if you're okay.
Luca: You mean a lot to me and I can't live without you.
Luca: I'm going go phone Lily.
Luca: I just spoke to Lily, she said that we should talk tomorrow.
Luca: Can I pick you up at 10 am?

There was more messages, I read through them all and replied, "Hey Luca, sorry about last night. Yeah, I think we should talk. See you at 10 am."

She quickly got dressed and brushed her teeth. She woke up Lily and told her that she is going to go and talk to Luca.

Luca pulled up in his car outside of Nora's house, and she hopped into the passenger seat. As she settled in, she noticed that Luca's usually bright eyes were dark and sunken, with dark circles underneath them. She immediately felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't mean to keep you up so late last night."

Luca shook his head, taking a deep breath. "No, no need to apologize," he said, his voice quiet. "I just didn't sleep very well."

The two sat in silence for a few moments as Luca drove, the weight of his exhaustion filling the car. Finally, they pulled into a quiet park and climbed out, walking towards a bench in the center of a field.

As they sat down, Luca turned to Nora, his face grave. "What happened last night?" he asked, his voice low.

Nora's heart sank at the memory of what had happened. She told Luca about Brittany, the mean girl who had cornered her in the bathroom and said such cruel things.

Luca's jaw clenched, his eyes darkening with anger. "I swear to god," he muttered, his fists tightening. "I will murder that girl."

But then he paused, his expression softening as he felt Nora's hand take his own. He took a deep breath, holding her gaze.

"None of what she said was true, Nora," he said, his voice filled with conviction. "I'm not using you, I swear it. I like you way too much for that."

Nora's heart lifted at his words, the worry and guilt she had been feeling melting away. But then Luca continued, and her heart nearly stopped at what he said next.

"I've been thinking about you since the first time I saw you," he said, his eyes locked on hers. "It was at your brother's game, and I didn't even know he was your brother. I just saw you and I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful you were.You were dressed in a football jersey shouting loudly. You then later made eye contact with me and damn, I was a goner."

Nora's breath caught in her throat as Luca spoke, the realization of how long he had been thinking about her hitting her like a wave. She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

"And then the day I accidentally threw the football in your face," Luca continued, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I realized it was you, and I knew I had to do anything in my power to get to know you."

Nora's heart felt like it was soaring, her entire body filling with warmth and love. She felt as though she was falling for Luca, too.

As they sat on the bench, the sun setting behind them, Luca wrapped an arm around Nora's shoulders, pulling her in close. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the mean words of Brittany, not the exhausting football game from earlier in the day. Just Nora and Luca, wrapped up in each other, surrounded by the beauty of the park and the setting sun.

They sat there for what felt like hours, watching the sky turn from pink to purple to blue as the stars twinkled into view. And in that moment, Nora knew that she was falling in love with Luca