Business And Hopelessness

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Frightened

Sitting on Luca's bed in his room, Valentina looked around eagerly. The grey walls were a bit unlike him, but all the greenery splattered around balanced it out well. Plants were hanging from the ceiling and littering a whole dresser in smaller and bigger pots. If she didn't know already, it would be obvious he was rather obsessed with plants. On one wall, pictures were hung, some with his siblings, some with his friends, and even a couple of family photos. Everything was rather tidy, which she didn't really expect, other than his desk. It was cluttered with various pieces of paper, some with Physics calculations, some with some random doodles. It was cute.

"Hey, I think I got everything packed away." Luca walked into the room, raising an eyebrow at her when he realized she was sitting on the bed. "What are you up to?"

"Just looking around," Valentina smiled, craning her neck to look up at him as he came to stand in front of her.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, slowly but sweetly. Smiling as he pulled away, he played with a strand of hair at the nape of her neck.

"We should go soon," He mumbled, sighing a little.

There was a knock on the door, which opened a moment later, revealing Luca's little sister, peering inside with a suspicious look. Valentina thought she looked a lot like Luca, except maybe her hair was a few shades darker than his. But his little brother was surely the exact replica of him.

Luca raised his eyebrows at his sister, waiting for her to speak. Valentina felt a bit embarrassed under the little girl's gaze, even though she was only fourteen years old. It was still a bit intense, and she was sure if she did Luca wrong in any way, the little girl would hunt her down.

"Mom never lets me be alone with a guy in my room when I invite someone over," She finally said, narrowing her eyes.

"I would never let you be alone with Micah in your room either, Hannah," Luca deadpanned, making his sister huff.

"Then why should I let you be in here with Valentina?" She sassed, placing a hand on her hips. "As far as I'm aware, she is the opposite gender."

"I thought you liked Val," He furrowed his eyebrows, making Valentina smile a little.

"Well, yeah, it's apparent how much you don't deserve such an angel," Hannah mocked, a grin widening on her lips. "But anyway, Liam wants to go out to skateboard with his friends."

"And why isn't he the one asking me?"

"Because you wouldn't agree to it, and I'm here to negotiate. I'll go with him, and make sure he doesn't break his arm like the last time," She offered, and Valentina suppressed a laugh.

"Fine, but be back by the time mom finishes with work or I'll be the one to get his ass beaten," Luca sighed, giving in.

Hannah flashed a thankful smile at him, then disappeared from the door, purposefully leaving it open. Luca's little brother was the youngest one in the family, and he himself was very protective of him. He was only ten years old, and he already broke an arm and leg throughout his life, along with a couple of fingers. Hannah told Valentina that he was a hazard to himself.

"I'm talking to Liam, and then we can go to Odette's, okay?" Luca shot a quick look at her as he headed for the door.

"I'm coming with."

Luca found both of his siblings in the kitchen, Liam eating a sandwich while Hannah shared the news with him. Luca gave them a quite lengthy lecture about being safe in the park they were going to. Valentina found it somewhat adorable.

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Luca parked his car in the Wraith mansion's personal garage, then killed the engine, gathering his things. Odette invited almost everyone in their small friend group over to watch a horror movie, and boasted about how scary it was, telling everyone to bring extra pants in case they peed themselves. Luca and Valentina, both found her a bit ridiculous, but it was mostly Ray against the idea. Which wasn't surprising in the slightest.