Page 46 of One Breath After Another

Luca flinched. “I’m sorry.”

“Should have expected it, right? Eventually, someone was going to put things together or figure out who I am. It was all over the news. Not like I could pretend—”

“Some people are just cruel because they can be. They don’t really understand the weight of the things they say; they just say it for stupid reasons. Fuck him.”

That earned him a small smile.

It was something.

“I punched him. There might have been some blood. I don’t know, I left pretty fast. I should have stayed right there and done it again.”

His first thought?

Good for her.

His second?

Yikes.

That wasn’t going to help the caseworker thing, never mind the fact that the school already had a hard nut for Penny, according to Naz. Luca decided that then probably wasn’t the time to point any of that out.

Then, he murmured, “I should call Naz and Roz, though. At least, let them know something happened so they have a heads-up before the school calls to inform them. Better they hear it from me—or you.”

Penny frowned. “Yeah, okay. Will you do it?”

“Sure.”

Why the hell not?

He thought it was better for her to be the one who delivered the news, but why argue? The day had undoubtedly been traumatic enough for Penny without him adding to it by forcing her to do something else she wasn’t comfortable with.

Naz’s phone rang twice before he picked up Luca’s call. The first thing out of his friend’s mouth was, “Is she okay?”

Luca passed a look Penny’s way, saying, “He knows.”

Her face scrunched up.

Well ...

Some shit couldn’t be helped.

“She’s fine,” he told Naz. “Called me right away and I made the trip over to pick her up. As far as that goes, I’ve got it under control. The school, though ... that’s another matter.”

“Fuck them.”

Luca chuckled. “Yeah, I know, man.”

“We’re on our way home, so—”

“I’ll bring her your way, then.”

“No,” Penny said suddenly, bringing Luca’s attention back to her for a second. She shrugged, picking at her nails and avoiding his stare when she whispered, “I just ... I don’t want to go home right now. Can we do something? Drive or—”

“Change of plans,” Luca told his friend, not even bothering to decide what he was going to do with Penny. Something. He had an idea. “I’ll bring her home a little later, okay?”

“You sure?” Naz asked.

“Yeah, man. No worries.”