Can you damage someone beyond repair?
Luca plays his role as the loyal underboss. Violent, lethal, flawless. The lapdog, the starboy.
On the surface, he maintains his facade of smirks and casual charm, but beneath the mask, thereʼs a profound dark...
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I FEEL LIKE AN ASSHOLE. I scandalized Wren Sullivan in the fucking school hallway, and she said “sorry” and “thank you” to me, like she’d inconvenienced me.
I canʼt fucking believe she slapped me— but I canʼt say I didnʼt deserve it, either.
I chased her away—deliberately—after she offered to pay me for a stupid twenty-minute ride. And then I spent the whole damn night tossing and turning, worried if she made it home alright.
Her dad was a damn cop, and that was bad fucking news.
Especially since I wasn’t planning to stop messing around any time soon.
Wren’s too good, too innocent for the shit our family’s tangled up in. And Torren was right, I need to stay the hell away from her. I was doing well, too — I’d managed to successfully steer clear of her the entire day.
I didn’t notice how she’d been sitting alone in the cafeteria, picking at her food. I didn’t notice Adriana Graziano join her a few moments later. And I definitely didn’t notice the navy-blue ribbon in her hair.
I don’t like her hanging out with Adriana Graziano. Adriana’s a bad influence, but Wren seems to be completely enamored by her, and a little part of me likes that she has someone by her side. Even if it is the spoiled Graziano prima donna.
I pause. What the fuck am I even thinking? She can hang out with whoever she wants to. It’s not like I’m her fucking keeper.
I don’t give a fuck about her.
I don’t.
I don’t.
But suddenly she was there, in front of me, wanting to give me back my hoodie, and it was impossible to ignore her. That material would definitely smell like her now. And I couldn’t fucking deal with that.
So I crowded her in and said the words deliberately. I knew what it would do.
Little Wren Sullivan had never heard shit like that in her life.
And the look on her face when I’d said those words to her...I couldn’t forget it. Just couldn’t erase the image from my mind.
Her face flashes through my mind, all soft and wide-eyed. I can almost hear her breath hitch, can picture those big brown eyes staring up at me, uncertain, and it only stirs something darker inside me.
The last thing I need is a good girl. I need it quick and easy, and she’ll never be either of those things.
I take a bite out of the burger in front of me, and Joey’s voice draws me out of my mind.
“You heard about the party on Friday, right?” he says, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “Word is, it’s gonna be a fucking wild one.”
“That good, huh?” I mumble, mouth semi-full.
He shrugs a little. “I heard they’re throwing it at that insane loft downtown. Top-shelf liquor and all.”
“You’re just trying to get me to show up, aren’t you?” I chuckle, shaking my head, but the idea is starting to sound more and more tempting.
