AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh. Can I go anyway?”
I look at Damian, but he just shrugs. “You have to ask your dad,” I say. “If he’s okay with it, then you can come. But you’ll still be able to see everything from your window, even if you have to stay inside.”
“Can I invite Clara? We can watch it together?”
“I don’t see why not. There’ll be a huge cake.” I wink.
“Did Luca say where he was going?” Damian pipes up. “I’ve tried calling him, but he’s not answering.”
“No. Someone called earlier, and he said he had to go. I don’t know who it was, but it sounded urgent. Maybe he’s in a meeting and turned off his phone?”
“Luca never does that.”
“Will there be a band?” Rosa asks. “Or a DJ?”
“I’ve hired a jazz band.”
“Oh no, that’s boring. And Dad hates jazz.”
“I know.” I laugh at the same time as Damian’s phone rings.
He looks at the screen and takes the call. A moment later he abruptly gets up from his chair. For a few seconds, he just listens to the person on the other end, his face going ghostly white, then nods.
“We’re coming right away,” he says and disconnects the call. “Rosa, go to your room.”
“But I haven’t—”
“Now!” he shouts.
Rosa jumps up off her chair and dashes upstairs as I stare at Damian. I’ve never heard him raise his voice.
“We have to go.” He takes my hand and starts pulling me with him across the entry hall toward the front door.
“Damian? What happened?”
“There’s been a crash. Luca’s car went off the road and into a ravine,” he says, and I stumble as my heart stops beating.
“Is he . . . alive?”
“Barely.”
There’s a piercing pain in my chest as if someone has thrust a knife into me. As soon as we get into Damian’s car, he hits the gas. I’m finding it hard to breathe, so it takes me a few tries to form the words. “How bad?”
“Head trauma and second-degree burns.”
“Burns?”
“His car caught fire. I don’t know anything else.”
I watch the road in front of us, trying to control the urge to scream.
* * *
The smell of antiseptic and medical supplies infiltrates my nostrils. People quietly talk around us. Someone is crying in one of the rooms. The sound of my heels clicking on the tiled floor echoes as we run down the corridor. Every single thing I see and feel gets tangled up in a mess of sensations. All I can make out for sure is Damian’s hand squeezing mine as he drags me behindhim, his long legs covering the distance much faster than my own. A man in a white coat comes around the corner and heads toward us.
“How is he?” Damian chokes out when we reach him.
“Mr. Rossi suffered significant trauma to his head. We managed to get the swelling under control, but we won’t know if there will be any lasting damage until he regains consciousness.”
