Rift

Chapter 10

I woke up later the next morning to the smell of pancakes and bacon wafting into my room; Luca was already out of bed, probably helping my parents prepare the food that I was smelling. I let my senses carry me out of my room, almost like I was floating towards the smell of Dad's homemade chocolate chip pancakes and the bacon we always got from the butcher down the street; I liked to imagine that I was in a Disney cartoon, like how when a character smelled something delicious, their head would spin in the direction the smell was coming from and they would lift into the air, seemingly carried by their noses towards the thing that they were smelling. I loved it when Dad's cooking made me feel like that, it made my life seem less real and gave me a feeling that maybe, just maybe it wasn't as horrible as my nightmares made it out to be.

"Morning sleepy head," Dad called to me as I entered the kitchen, grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured some of the coffee that sat steaming in the pot. I sat down across from Luca, who was reading the sports section of the Toronto Star and drinking coffee himself, and grabbed the entertainment section of the paper and began to read. It was a small weekend morning ritual we had been doing since...images of myself as a child with these parents flashed through my head, but I shook them out of my head and continued to drink because I knew that they weren't real.

"Where's Mom?" I asked.

"She's on the phone with Dr. McKinnon and Chris at the moment. Somehow they managed to get you a visitation with Thaddeus for tomorrow," Dad said. My heart skipped a few beats. Luca practically slammed his cup down on the table and stormed out of the room, tossing the newspaper as he went.

"What's with him? He seemed ok last night," I asked, taking a small sip of coffee.

"Luca's just worried about you, honey. He doesn't want Thaddeus to hurt you more than he already has," Dad came over and rested a hand on my shoulder, which I took happily.

I got up after a few minutes of silence and went up to my room, where Luca was sitting on my bed. From the doorway, I launched myself onto the bed beside him, grabbing his hands as I landed on the mattress. He tried to pull away from me, but I managed to pull him down beside me. He kind of half-assedly tried to roll away, but I was trying much harder than he was and was ultimately successful in my attempt.

"Please don't do this, Sawyer. You know how dangerous it is, you know he's going to try and hurt you, I just..." Luca said.

"He's not going to hurt me. Chris will be there, Dr. McKinnon will be there, and I am sure that they'll let you come too if it will set your mind at ease. I have to do this, Luca; if there is any chance of this being able to help with the nightmares, I have to go. I really need your support on this one okay?" I asked, moving my body just a bit so I could pull his arm around me and snuggle into him like I always did. He pulled me closer, smoothing my hair back so it wasn't in his face as much, and nestled his head on top of my own.

"I will always support you, Sawyer, no matter what. I just want you to be safe. In case you haven't noticed, I like you just a little bit," Luca smirked.

"I kinda like you too," I laughed before I kissed him.

We spent the rest of the day in my room watching Netflix on my laptop. It was nice to have some quiet, alone time. Most of the time Artie and Sophie were with us, and lately, it seemed like I never had any time to myself, let alone time with Luca where it could be just the two of us. I relished the moment, taking quick peeks at Luca whenever he wasn't looking and smiling when he caught me, planting light kisses on his cheeks or forehead when he didn't expect it. After we had finished watching the season finale for American Horror Story: Asylum, Mom called us downstairs where she sat on the couch in the living room with Dad and Dr. McKinnon.