What We Left in the Dark

Thirty Five

Gian's sudden presence, covered in blood, sends me spiraling. My breath comes in quick, shallow bursts as I stare at him, unable to speak. My whole body trembles, the crimson splatters on his clothes burning into my mind. It's too much—too real.

Gian rushes over, his face crumpling with concern as he drops to his knees beside me. "Cat, what's wrong? What's going on?" His voice is thick with urgency, but I barely register it. My eyes are wide, and my pulse pounds in my ears.

Before Gian can get too close, Luca pushes him back roughly. "Back off, you're scaring her! Look at yourself!" Luca snaps, his voice sharp, more protective than I've ever heard him. "Go clean up. Now."

Gian freezes for a moment, then slowly looks down at himself, taking in the dark splatters on his clothes as if noticing them for the first time. The sight seems to hit him hard, and without another word, he stands and heads to the bathroom. The sound of the door closing echoes through the small cabin.

Luca turns back to me, his expression softening as he scoops me up from the floor. I feel limp in his arms, my mind retreating to some distant place, far from the chaos surrounding me. He carries me up the narrow stairs to the loft, gently placing me on the bed.

He pulls the blanket over me, tucking it around my body, but I barely move. My eyes stare blankly ahead, my breath shallow, as if I'm somewhere else entirely.

"Cat," Luca whispers softly, brushing my hair away from my face. "You're safe now. Just rest."

But I don't respond. My mind is lost in a haze, replaying the events of the last few days in a blur—Gian with a gun, the fight at the gala, the gunman, and now this. My body feels numb, my thoughts distant, like I'm floating somewhere beyond myself.

Luca sits by my side, his fingers lightly brushing mine, as if trying to coax me back. His touch is gentle, but I can't bring myself to acknowledge it. I'm stuck, trapped in my mind.

Luca leaves me alone, and the cabin falls quiet for a few minutes, with only the distant sound of water running as Gian cleans up in the bathroom. But soon, the voices of the brothers drift up the stairs, pulling me from the fog I've been lost in.

"I shouldn't have come in like that. I wasn't thinking," Gian's voice is low, full of frustration and something deeper—regret. "I didn't want her to see me like that."

"Then why the hell did you storm in here?" Luca's voice is sharper, still protective. "She's terrified, Gian. You've got to stop acting like this around her. She's already been through enough."

"I know, I know," Gian shoots back, his voice breaking slightly. "But I couldn't stay out there after what happened. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I had to see her."

"Then start by calming the fuck down. She can't handle both of us throwing chaos at her right now. Especially not after tonight."

Their voices grow quieter as they move farther away, but I can still feel the weight of their words pressing down on me. Luca's care, Gian's guilt—both pull at me in different ways.

But I'm not ready to deal with either of them. Not yet.

As I lay there, eyes squeezed shut, I wish the world would stop spinning for just a moment. I wish I could rewind to a time when none of this had ever happened, before the Ricci brothers pulled me into their orbit, before the chaos that now consumes my life. But it's too late for that. I'm in too deep.

Downstairs, the murmuring voices of Luca and Gian drift up, muted but still present. I can't make out the words, but the tension in their voices is unmistakable. Luca's concern, Gian's regret—it wraps around me like a suffocating blanket, and I can't escape it.