Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Rekindeled

“Let’s go, Luna,” Johnathan growled, reaching for me.

“Don’t touch me,” I whimpered, backing away from him.

“Does any of this look like a joke to you?” he asked, looking around.

“You killed them. You killed all of them,” I sobbed, shaking my head.

“You shouldn’t have left,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

I sobbed and wrapped my arms around my body. He rolled his eyes and grabbed me before wrapping his arms around me.

“DON’T TOUCH ME,” I yelled, hitting his chest.

“Shit, Luna, relax,” he said softly.

“You killed him. Don’t touch me,” I cried, hitting him harder.

“Baby, relax,” he cooed.

“DON’T TOUCH ME,” I screamed, pushing against him.

“Open your eyes, baby,” he said softly.

I sobbed and slowly opened my eyes to see Giovanni looking down at me. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into me.

“He killed you,” I sobbed, crying into his neck.

“It’s okay, piccolo, I’m right here,” he whispered, rubbing my back.

I heard a knock on the door and I tensed.

“Is she awake?” Alessandro asked.

“Can we come in now?” Lorenzo asked.

“Is my sister okay?” Alex asked.

Giovanni started to get up, and I tightened my grip on him.

“Please don’t leave,” I whispered.

He stood up, taking me with him, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He walked up to the door and opened it.

I felt somebody touch my back and I tensed. The hand dropped and I relaxed.

“Are you okay, Lulu?” Alex asked softly.

I nodded my head but didn’t turn around to look at him.

“We’ll be back,” Giovanni said before walking off.

We stayed silent as he left the house. He pulled the car door open and set me in before running around the car. I buckled up as he sat down and leaned my head against the window.

He turned on the radio, letting it play quietly in the background, before pulling off.

We pulled up in a field and he stepped out of the car. I started to open my door, but he opened it for me. He took my hand in his and grabbed a blanket from the backseat.

He set it up on the ground and lay down, taking me down with him. I giggled and turned on my back so I was looking at the stars.

“Why’d you bring me here?” I asked, turning to look at him.

“This is my spot. I like to come here when I need space,” he said, turning his head to face me. I smiled at him and turned my head back to the stars.

“Your mom said you don’t go home anymore,” I whispered.

“Bad memories,” he mumbled, sitting up.

I bit my lip and sat up. “I’m sorry,” I said softly.

“For what? For throwing a knife at Jonathan and hitting me?” he asked, smirking.

“I was aiming for you,” I said, giving him a small smile.

“I know. I saw the sheet,” he said, giving me a proud smile.

“What sheet?” I asked, looking at him curiously.

“Target practice,” he said, winking at me.

I blushed and looked down.

“Could you always do that?” he asked softly.

“No. He taught me so I could protect myself. Ironic, isn’t it?” I said, shaking my head.

“What did he do to you?” Giovanni asked.

I shook my head and stood up. “We should get back. You need sleep,” I said softly.

“Let’s not act like you care about me,” he mumbled, standing up and walking toward the car.

“I do care about you,” I whispered, following behind him.

“I told you I loved you and you just stood there staring at me,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

“Giovanni,” I said softly.

“Why did you leave?” he asked, turning around abruptly.

“He was going to kill you. He was going to kill all of you,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“WE WOULD’VE BEEN FINE!” he screamed.

“A GUN TO YOUR HEAD AND FINGER ON THE TRIGGER IS NOT FINE, GIOVANNI,” I screamed back.

“You just wanted to go back to him,” he said bluntly.

My eyes filled with tears and I bit my lip hard to keep them in. “Fuck you,” I said, walking past him.

I started to walk the way that he had driven us. I heard the car door shut and let myself cry.

He drove past me and parked the car. I stopped walking and watched him as he walked up to me.

“That was out of line. I’m sorry,” he said, wrapping his arms around me.

I hugged him tightly and buried my face in his neck as I cried.

He pulled away from me and wiped the tears off my cheeks.

“Is the diner open?” I asked softly.

He smiled and nodded his head. He took my hand and led me to the car before putting me in the passenger seat. The car ride was silent but comfortable.

Giovanni parked and ran around the car to open the door.

“M’lady,” he said, bowing and holding his hand out.

I giggled and took his hand. “Thank you, peasant,” I said, stepping out of the car.

He chuckled as he looked up at me. He locked the car and led me inside to our regular table.

“How have you been?” I asked after we’d finished eating.

“You mean because the last time I saw you I told you I loved you and then less than thirty minutes later you were leaving with your ex-boyfriend?” he asked, smirking and looking up at me.

“He would’ve killed you, Giovanni. He would have killed all of you,” I said, repeating my words from earlier.

“Watching you and him act like a couple and watching you leave with him was worse than death,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

“Maybe for you. But if I stayed in the house and somebody came and told me you were dead, Giovanni, I never would’ve forgiven myself,” I said, closing my eyes.

“The only thing that kept me from setting the world on fire was Alessandro,” he said, chuckling humorlessly.

I opened my eyes again to look at him. “I’d do it all again, Giovanni, because I do love you.

“I didn’t say it before because it’d feel like saying goodbye, and I wasn’t going to say goodbye to you, Giovanni,” I said softly.

“What?” he croaked, standing up.

“I love you,” I whispered, biting my lip nervously.

He grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me deeply. “I love you too,” he said, smiling.

My heart clenched at the words I was about to say next. “Giovanni, I’m not staying with you guys for long,” I said softly.

His smile dropped and he scoffed. “You’re going back to him,” he said as he started to walk out.

“No, Giovanni—he’s going to come looking for me and I’m not letting it get as far as it did last time,” I said, following after him.

He ignored me and climbed into the car. He watched me expectantly and I climbed into the car silently. The car was dead silent as we pulled off and arrived at his house.

He sat in the car silently and I took a deep breath as I ran my hand through my hair.

“Thanks for tonight. I’ll be gone by morning,” I said before leaving the car. I closed the door behind me and walked up to the house.

“Why won’t you let me protect you?” he called out from behind me.

I turned around to see him walking up to me with tears in his eyes. “We tried that and you almost died,” I said softly.

“You were with him for five years. Were you happy?” he asked. He swallowed hard, like it was hard for the question to leave his lips.

“He tortured me the whole time. The only time I was happy was when I closed my eyes at night, wearing your sweater I took the last time I saw you guys.

“I’d dream about coming home, about seeing you guys again, even if it was just for a minute,” I whispered, looking at the ground.

I bit my lip hard to keep my tears in and released a shaky breath.

He took my hand and opened the door. He took me to his room and sat me on the bed.

“Tell me what he did to you,” he said, kneeling in front of me.

I shut my eyes tightly as the memories started to flood my brain.