Page 116 of Knights Game

“Can you not?” I say, pushing him back, and the fucker leans back grinning. “Anal is the furthest thing from where my head is at right now.”

“And where’s your head?”

“A chaotic place to be,” I answer honestly.

“What would help?”

I don’t answer for a minute.

“A bubbly bath.”

“You can have a bubbly bath at mine. I’ll even let you scrub my back.”

I raise my eyebrow. “I think you’re getting confused with how my bubbly baths work.”

“It’s going to be in my tub, therefore it’s my bubbly bath rules.” He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I let out a small laugh.

The door to the office creaks open and Sylvia walks in with two bottles of water. My muscles tense and I reach for Luca. Temporary bubble burst.

He places one hand on my knee and takes my other hand.

“Here we are,” Sylvia says brightly, placing the bottles down on the desk in front of us. “Sorry about that, I just popped my head in once more. He’s sleeping soundly.”

“And his arm?”

“Bruised, not broken, we think. He’s going to be just fine Layla. But there are some things we need to talk about.” She opens her top drawer and pulls out a file.

“What caused the fall?” Luca asks.

“We still aren’t sure. But he had a visitor this afternoon.” I sit up. “A Mr White?” she looks up at me questioning and I cross my arms tightly as I frown.

“No, I’m the only person who visits him.” I feel sick. I fidget in my chair, crossing and uncrossing my legs, shifting my body. I know exactly what caused this.

I did.

I made the deal.

No wait, not me. Him. The devil that sits beside me. This is his world, his doing. He was supposed to keep him safe, yet here we are.

“We’re still looking into it,” Sylvia says. “We think this Mr White may have gotten him worked up, and somehow, he managed to get out of the chair and fall.”

Luca can’t protect Grandad.

Tears burn the back of my eyes.

“Do you have CCTV?” Luca asks.

“Yes, but it’s not really in our policy to share it.”

“Of course.” He nods. “Please, can you make sure that no one is allowed access to him unless it’s Layla or someone we approve?”

“Of course. I can assure you that he’s safe here, Layla. You know how strong he can get if he’s worked up, the human body is capable of surprising things. Now whilst you’re here, I wanted to walk you through the new care plan.” She shuffles the papers onthe desk. “They have upped his care package, but as you know it doesn’t cover everything—"

“Whatever he needs, you do it, money isn’t an issue.” Luca interrupts.

“Can we do this another day.” I say, my voice small, my head pounding.

She smiles at me sympathetically and nods, “Of course. I’ll take copies so you can digest the information, and before you go, I’ve got the boxes you asked out of storage. I’ve pulled together everything we have. It’s at reception if you wanted to take it back with you today, but no problem if you want to grab it when we talk through the care package.”

---