Nomads

Chapter 22

"... And it turned out we were living in the same town, so Luca decided to ask me out on the first day of school."

The table was silent for a long beat.

Then Julia broke it. "So. you're telling me that you guys seriously had no clue that you'd be in the same state, let alone the same town?" She asked incredulously.

Mara nodded, shrugging. "I had no idea where I'd be living until the very last minute, and since Luca never mentioned the name of his hometown I had no idea until I saw him on the first day of school."

"That's so romantic," Maggie murmured, smiling dreamily.

Mara smiled back, blushing slightly. "Yeah, Luca can be pretty dramatic at times..."

Said boy rolled his eyes, gently pulling her closer with the arm he had wrapped around her shoulders. "I'm a catch and you know it." he told her with a wry grin.

She giggled, shrugging. "Whatever you say, Luca."

The conversation died down for a moment, with all Luca's friends absorbing their story and Mara trying really hard not to overthink how deafening the silence was.

Sarah huffed suddenly, crossing her arms. "Are you even sure you two know each other well enough to date?" she muttered. "If you couldn't even manage to find out that you two were gonna live in the same area, how could you have a proper relationship?"

Mara grimaced, avoiding Sarah's glare. "Well–"

"Do you two even know anything about each other?" she snapped. "How can you be good enough for Luke if you haven't known him for nearly as long as the rest of us?"

"That's enough, Sarah." Luca interrupted sternly. "Don't talk to Naomi like that. And you have no say in who I choose to date."

Mara sighed, "Luca–"

"No, I'm getting really tired of the way you've been getting treated by people who want to say they're my friends." He turned back to look at Sarah. "Just because you don't know her doesn't mean she's dangerous or suspicious, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped acting like you need to protect me from her."

Mara opened her mouth to protest, but Luca kept going. "Honestly, I don't care how you feel about her. I like her, and I know how good she is for me. Naomi is too kind to tell you to stop insulting her every chance you get, but I'm only going to tell you once: stop trying to scare her away. It's not okay and I'm not going to let it slide anymore."

Mara frowned, shaking her head. "Luca, please. You didn't need to say all that."

"I think I did, Naomi. It seems like she doesn't understand that I'm not going to change my mind about you."

"I'm not going to change my mind about her either, Luke!" Sarah snapped. "I don't get why you can't see that she's hiding something! There's something off about her, and I'm not going to just keep my mouth shut until you get your heart broken."

Mara put her hand on Luca's shoulder before he really lose his cool. "What, um, do you think I'm hiding from you?" She asked quietly, trying to quickly think of a way to diffuse the situation. "If there's something you want to know, you can just ask. There isn't much about me that I won't tell you. I'm sorry if you feel as though you can't ask me questions. I want you to feel comfortable with getting to know me, and I don't want you guys to fight because of me. Whatever it is that you want to know to ease your mind, just ask."

"Naomi–"

"What are your intentions with Luke? What do you see in him? What does he see in you?" Sarah fired off quickly.