15| two strangers

Luciano

"Son?" I hear my mom's voice but my brows come together when I notice the worry in her voice. "Mama? Are you ok?"  I ask.

"Where's  Isaak?"  Her horrid tone becomes more evident.

"His right here. I'll put him on speaker," Isaak shoots me a questioning look but walks over anyways. "Mama?" Once she hears his voice, she let's out a shaky breath making me more anxious. 

"Ma what's going on?"

"Your father, " She let's out a small cry. My heart clenched. Mama barely cried-- especially when we were present. She had the best poker face one could ever find. Only dad saw that side of her and the fact that she mentioned him now, had my heart racing like crazy.

"What happened ma?"

"T-they shot him. They shot my Malcom. They killed my Malcom,"

Time seems to stop and I can't seem to hear anything else.

And that's when my gaze averts to the TV, showing there was a shoot out at Highfields.  People were caught running and many were crying. There was a couple of bodies just laying there unconscious as the camera rolled but the only thing that was on my mind was my father.

Isaak fell on his knees, his eyes never leaving dads unconscious body. No matter how many times I cried out and asked him to come back, he never did. "Where's the bloody ambulance?!" I roar.

"Are you all just gonna stand here and watch him die?" I yell,  my blood boiling. I was getting angry because I wasn't there. I couldn't protect him. I couldn't save him. I couldn't look him in the eye one more time. "Pathetic, " I bite out.

All they did was look at us with pity and guilt in their eyes.

The tears threatening to escape my eyes  as my nose flared.

In Highfields my dad was always known for his dark past as a teenager. He was apart of a gang and I guess that never left him no matter how hard he tried to change.

And on this day, August 2, became my worst day. It was the day I realized that dad was gone and it was for good this time.

I wake up to the sound of my alarm, signaling that it's 5:30am. I remove the duvet ready to begin before my morning.

Then right opposite my bed, from a distance, I hear  someone mumble. I immediately become alert. I furrow my brows. Who was in my room?

"No Diane please, I don't wanna go,"

I recognize that voice.

"Please, "

Claudia?

My head spins. What was she doing in my room? "Claudia?" I call out but to no avail.  "Claudia," I walk closer to the source of the voice. "Claudia," And that's when I hear a faint gasp.

"Luciano?" She seems just as surprised.

What was she doing here?

Flip.

What did she hear?

My heart pounds.

Whenever I had dreams like such, I always ended up talking in my sleep. This had been happening ever since my father died and I thought I was over it. But clearly I wasn't. 

"What time is it?" She asks, her voice raspy. and damn did her morning voice sound sexy.

"It's a little after 5:30," I murmur. Still trying to figure out why she was sleeping in my room.

"5:30? What the heck are you doing up?"

"This is the time I wake up," I say which seems to shock her even more. "Wow," She whispers.  "Well I,  am going back to sleep,"

I frown. "No you're not,"

"Why not? It's way too early," She whines like a baby. "Okay fine," I give in. Not being used to such a stubborn being. I throw my head back with a sigh.  "Just sleep in my bed. It's more comfortable, " I say hoping she'd listen to me just this once.

But I hear nothing. Signaling she had gone back to sleep.  I sigh again.

This woman will be the death of me.

□□□

"You really haven't changed," She states. "Still as driven and focused as before,"

"I wish I was like that when I was younger," Something about Leyla's tone makes me wonder. Leyla is a person who's never spoken about her past with a lot of people.  You'd be lucky if you witnessed it or if she told you- which I highly doubted because Leyla didn't like people knowing about her past. Just like me. So it was strange that she said something like that now. My brow arches up.  "What do you mean?"

"You've always been so... robotic almost. Cold, distant and detached after Uncle Malcolm died," The mention of my father has me clenching my jaw.

Like it all happened yesterday. 

"It's always scared me, if I'm being honest,"

"You, afraid?" I scoff.

"Yes, Luciano. I'm human too you know that? Heck who am I asking, you wouldn't know about that," She runs her butter knife across my heart.   "Ouch," I mutter sarcastically with an eye roll.

"I took care of us-" She reminds me. Leyla was the only one who was there for us. Though a lot can change over 5 and more years.

"While you were suffering as well, " I complete.  "You don't have to pretend with me,"

I must admit her poker face was always well done but it never worked on me because I was a person who grew up her. Hence, I knew her pretty well to know when she was lying. I knew how she was brought up and her history  shaped her into the person she was right now. And she's one strong woman. She was like an annoying sister. Except, we didn't share the same blood and unfortunately for me, it was obvious in a lot of ways.

"That was the first time I've ever seen you so hopeless and so fearful," She carries on. Like there's something she wants to let out . "It also happened to be the first time we  shared our first kiss and ever since then.. I never got to see that side of you again. He had vanished and the one I'm staring at right now.. is like a stranger. Why am I even saying it like I don't know this side of you? Heck I know this side of you better than anyone."

"Leyla-"

"It's okay," She chuckles dryly. "You don't see me crying right, "

Judging by her tone, I knew nothing had changed over the past few years like I had hoped for it to.

But boy do I wish that I'm wrong.

"But hey let's do something,"  She claps her hands in attempt to break the ice .  "The mood is a little... sappy, isn't it?"

"What do you have in mind?" I ask.

"Swimming, "

Although I had to admit one thing,

She knew me well.