Page 102 of The Unraveling of Julia

“Not as much as somebody whodoesn’twear a wedding ring.”

“Basta.”Tonio stepped over, raising his hands, his check shirt wrinkled at the elbows. “We are all here for Gianluca. If he chooses Julia, that ishischoice, and if we love him, we will choose her, too.”

Raffaella averted her eyes.

Tonio patted Julia’s shoulder. “We can only visit him for ten minutes at the top of each hour. You can take a turn this time.”

“Thank you,” Julia said, her mind racing. She wanted to see Gianluca, but more importantly, she wanted to help him.

Helen had told her how.

Julia hesitated at the entrance to Gianluca’s room and though she had seen him like this before, couldn’t get over the initial shock. The bandage over his head. The tape sealing his eyes. The hose snaking from his mouth.

Julia went to his bedside and sat down. She wanted to kiss his face, but she couldn’t, there wasn’t enough skin showing around the thick plastic seal of the respirator. IV ports were attached to his arm, and monitors clipped his fingertips. The only sound in the room was the beeping of monitors and theshush-shushof the ventilator, which inflated and deflated his chest to such an oddly dramatic degree that she had to look away.

Julia let her gaze travel to his face and linger there, remembering the glint in his dark eyes, his long, flirty eyelashes, his grin, so warm and wide, and the curls in his hair, blowing in the gentle breeze. She could feel her arms around his waist, and how she pressed her body against his back on the motorcycle, the two of them moving easily together. She couldn’t begin to think about him in bed, especially not now, when she was on a mission to help him.

Julia remembered Helen’s instructions:Touch him and close your eyes.

Julia took Gianluca’s hand and placed her palm on top, then closed her eyes.

Clear your mind and focus only on the message you want to give him.

Julia kept her eyes closed, trying to focus on telling Gianluca that she loved him, that he had her heart, that he was going to get better and he had to fight for his life.

Gianluca, please live, for me, for all of us, Julia thought, and in the next moment, a strange sensation came over her and blackness obliterated her thoughts. An image materialized from the darkness in her mind and began to take shape. It was a round light that began to flicker in the center, then blurred into a white streak.

Julia didn’t know what was happening, but she kept her eyes closed, both afraid to lose the vision and afraid of having it. The white streak morphed into a single round light, then into the headlight on a motorcycle. An entire scene materialized of Gianluca riding through the rain before the curve at which he crashed, as if a movie were unspooling in her brain.

Julia gasped, fearing what came next. Gianluca was leaning forward on his motorcycle, rain pelting his helmet and jacket, when a white van appeared behind him. The white van accelerated closer and closer to him. Gianluca sped up along the straightaway that headed toward the curve. He looked behind him, then waved the white van to pass him. It didn’t, dogging him.

Julia felt her heart start to pound. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She squeezed her eyes shut and watched in horror as the white van accelerated. Gianluca veered to the left to avoid the white van. The white van swerved left behind him.

Gianluca switched to the right side of the road. The white van tailgated him dangerously. Trees lined the road so Gianluca couldn’t drive onto the grass. All of a sudden, another car sped out of the rain behind him, shooting toward him like a bullet. The car was black with a red stripe. Its side door readCARABINIERI. It was a police cruiser.

Julia’s mouth went dry. She watched as Gianluca approached the curve at top speed, chased down by the police cruiser and the white van. The three vehicles reached the curve. The police cruiser and the white van accelerated to Gianluca’s motorcycle, forcing him off the road. He veered directly toward the rocks.

Julia covered her mouth. Gianluca flew off his bike. His arms pinwheeled. His body flopped through the air. He landed on the rocks, tumbled over their jagged tops, then rolled over and over. He ended face up on his back, writhing in pain. Rain poured mercilessly on his visor.

Oh my God.Julia reeled, stunned and terrified. The scene vanished as abruptly as it had appeared, leaving her breathless. She realized Gianluca was communicating with her, showing her that what happened to him wasn’t an accident, but attempted murder.

Gianluca, I’m so sorry, Julia said in her mind, and the next moment, she heard Gianluca speak to her, again as clearly as if he were beside her:

Julia, be careful, you’re next.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a nurse in pink scrubs popped her head in. “Time’s up. You must leave now.”

Julia felt disturbed and terrified. She’d just seen Gianluca’s crash, but didn’t know what to do next. She couldn’t risk calling the police if they were involved.

“Miss? Time to go.”

“Coming, sorry.” Julia rose, trying to get her bearings. She touched Gianluca’s hand.I love you, she told him. She turned to go but froze on the spot.

Standing across the hall in the waiting room, black cap in hand, was Marshal Torti.

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Julia crossed to the waiting room, her thoughts racing. She didn’t know why Marshal Torti was here. She didn’t know if he was thecarabinierewho ran Gianluca off the road. Nor did she know if she could take as truth what she’d just seen in her vision. Her gut told her to proceed with caution.

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