Emily's point of view
My body gets dragged through the half empty parking lot to Luca's car right in the middle. I am not sure what I done wrong. I don't know why I made him mad but this situation is making me regret ever trying to be nice.
At first, I thought it was a good idea for me to try and enjoy this time. It will make it pass quicker and it will make Luca less angry; or so I thought. But as he drags me into his car, not too aggressively, I think I made a mistake.
"Please, don't hurt me. Whatever I done I- I will make up for it I promise." I plead for forgiveness. Luca's softened features make me believe it worked.
"Awh, baby. You done nothing wrong, I just have to get us out of her." Luca comforts whilst speeding out of the parking lot. The tires squeak against the gravely floor.
"Why? What happened?"
"I love how I distract you from the rest of the world, Emilia." He chuckles.
There is silence between us but it isn't very noticeable since I hold onto the side of the car to save myself from splitting my skull in half from the dashboard and Luca concentrates on not hitting things such as curbs, or sheep.
I am not sure where we are currently, but it is pretty. There are animals and fields everywhere. The roads are almost always empty which is something I know Luca deeply appreciates right now.
"They recognised us from the news. But as long as they don't tail us within.... seven minutes, we should be safe."
"I trust you."
.
It was all rushing and speeding for a while after that. Luca found a place surrounded by a forest that he swore they wouldn't find us. I wasn't sure how his plan was mapped out, but he seemed to believe in it so I trusted him. And I was right to, because an hour later, we are sitting in the back of his car, not being bothered by police surrounding us. I think it would be a good thing if police found us, but Luca and I made a deal so it doesn't matter if they do anyway.
The seats are pulled down to create a bed; a slanted one due to the tent in the trunk.
"I have something for you." Luca bites his lip, trying to supress a smirk but it doesn't work well.
"You do?"
"Yeah, a birthday gift." He leans over into the small compartment under his steering wheel, which I wasn't aware existed until now. A small, navy, velvet box lays in his hand as he works his way back into his previous position beside me in the back. "It is dumb so you don't have to keep it or anything." He reassures.
I open up the small box and my features overwhelm with surprise. The blue box holds a baby blue and a pearly white hibiscus flower pendant on a golden chain. The necklace is gorgeous; almost too gorgeous for someone like me.
"Why? This is beautiful I'm... I don't know what to say." I speak, completely stunned.
"You don't have to say anything, beautiful. My mother bought the necklace for me before I was born. She thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. She bought it because the doctor mistook me for a girl, when she found out I wasn't a girl she got upset because she knew I wouldn't wear the necklace. But then she decided something, and she told me this from birth all the way up until I was fifteen, when she left. She said 'Lucius, when you grow up, you're going to give this to the girl you want to spend the rest of your life with. And you wont have to worry about giving it away because it is always right there with you, like your love will be.' I know, it's dumb but..." He trials off, chuckling dryly.
"No, no I love it. And I mean it, thank you. Will you help me put it on?"
The truth was, it was the most beautiful necklace I have ever laid my eyes on. Hibiscus has always been my favourite flower, which makes me wonder if this is the universe telling me something.
Luca clasps the necklace behind my neck. The flower lays nicely against my chest.
My bottom lip slips between my teeth as examine the necklace.
"So... Lucius?" I look back up at him.
"Yeah, I never liked it because everyone called me Lucy for short. So when I was old enough, I told everyone my name is Luca. It's not like Luca isn't short for... Sorry I'm chatty."
"No, no it is okay I like hearing you talk." I nod and lay back, my head resting against the tent behind us. "Tell me more about your mom. What is she like? Were you both close before she left?"
"No we weren't close. I have never really been close to any of my family; except my grandparents. I loved her but I don't think she loved me back. Which made me want to hate her; I still do."
"Why do you think she doesn't love you?"
"She didn't let him do any of that to the others." Luca mumbles and draws hearts with his finger on the car window in the condensation.
My brow furrows. "What do you mean."
"She didn't let my dad hit the others. She would yell at him to not hurt them, and he never did. But when it came to me... she let him. It was like she accepted he needed to take his anger out on someone and better me than her, eh?" He chuckles, trying to make light of his words.
"How old were you... when he started?"
"Around three." He answers, so nonchalant it breaks my heart.
"You didn't deserve that." I whisper.
"maybe I did. Maybe I was destined to be evil and he just knew that, they both did."
"No Luca." My head shakes and I take his hand in mine. "You didn't deserve that."
"Don't do that."
"Don't do what?" I ask, genuinely curious.
"Try to get me to open up to you so you can make me weak. So you can leave me quicker."
"That isn't what I am doing. I just want you to know, everything that happened to you, wasn't your fault. And I don't blame you."
"Blame me for...?"
"Stabbing him. What was the worst thing he ever done to you?"
"Well... if anyone else was living my life, they would think the worst thing he done to me was break my leg or beat the fuck out of me in the yard for staying out an hour late. It was so bad I had to sleep on the grass because I couldn't move. But I think the worst was when he hugged me, the one and only time. I was seven, we were at a birthday dinner for a family friend. And he hugged me, I wasn't sure why. But it gave me false hope. You know? I thought we were going to go home and he would teach me to ride a bike or watch a movie with me or even tell me he fucking loved me. But it never came. And I wanted to kill him for that, I will kill him. Because he fucking deserves it, more than you could ever know. At one point I wanted to kill my mom too. Just for letting it all happen to me. All the times she took my siblings out of the room so they didn't have to see me bleeding out on the floor, or all the times she bandaged his fucking hand after-" He cuts himself off and looks out the car window opposite to me.
"Is that how you got all the scars?" I tilt my head even though he cant see me.
"I thought I covered those." He laughs.
"You do, except the ones on your face. But I see when your are changing your clothes or when you roll up your sleeves to pick something up or put a bracelet on. I take notice of things like that."
"Yeah, he ruined my hot body." He jokes.
"It isn't ruined at all. I have scars too."
"You do?" He looks at me.
"Of course I do, I do sports. I got this one from skating, I literally shattered the ice." I point to a scar on my arm. "I have a lot of scars, very prominent ones too. I didn't get them how you got them but I have them and I don't think they make me look bad, do you?"
"Of course not."
"Then you shouldn't think it about your own. I think you are rather beautiful, scars and all." I smile and kiss his cheek.
There is something strange about my emotions toward him, It is as though something changed overnight; or over hours. One moment I am running for my life from him, and the next I am kissing his cheek and not as a way to trick him.