Page 61 of Prideful Union
I rush out of my car and hurry through the growing crowd of people. Some give me dirty looks as I push past them, but I don’t fucking care. Luca is going to kill himself, whether it’s because he’s drunk or because it’s deliberate, I’m not sure. Either way, I have to stop this.
For Lucia’s sake. She can’t lose her brother. It would kill her.
I burst into the building and run up the stairs, not stopping once I reach the roof. Luca is precariously close to the edge.
“Luca,” I say in a calm voice as I slowly walk over to him. “What are you doing?”
He looks over his shoulder at me. “Santino? What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same question.”
“I’m having a party!” He has a can of beer in his hand, and he swigs it back.
“Ok. But why are you standing on the edge of this building?”
Luca looks down. “Oh shit. I am? I didn’t even notice.” He stumbles closer to the edge. I keep steadily walking toward him. I can hear the crowd people murmuring louder.
“Luca, why don’t you step away from the edge?”
“I don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
He laughs. “Because I shouldn’t be alive. I was born out of rape. My mom hates me. Franco hated me. So, what’s the point in living?”
“Your sister loves you. That’s what matters. You don’t need to do this?”
“Do what?” he steps back, standing right on the edge.
“Luca, don’t. Come on. Let me take you back to my house. You can talk to Lucia.”
“I don’t want to talk to her,” he slurs. “She doesn’t think our mom is in the wrong. How can she think that?” He stumbles back again, flapping his arms out wide.
I run forward, closing the gap between us, but before I can touch him, Luca holds up his hands.
“Don’t, Santino. Don’t try and stop me.”
“Why are you doing this? Because you’re sad? Because you’re angry?”
Luca looks at me like I’m dumb. “Obviously.”
“So … what? You’re going to throw your life away because you’re upset? People get upset, Luca. Just ask your sister. But at least she knows how to handle it.”
“I’m not my sister. She’s always been the strong one between us. She doesn’t need me.” He turns away from me, walking so close to the edge that if he tipped forward, he’d fall.
“She does, Luca,” I say in a softer voice. “She needs you right now. She’s going through the same thing you are. Let me take you home, and you can talk to her.”
“No.” A sob escapes him. “I don’t think I can.”
I can see his body tipping over, and I react.
I grab Luca by the back of his jacket and hoist him off the ledge. He falls right into me, making us both fall back onto the roof. In the process, I can feel my ankle snap. The pain is almost blinding. Luca’s entire weight is on top of me, suffocating.
But he’s alive.
He rolls off me, crying into his arm.
I lay there, feeling a combination of relief for saving Luca’s life and pain for my damn ankle. I sit up and inspect it. My ankle is more than twisted. It’s broken, I know it. Honestly, not one of the worst injuries I’ve faced, but I still need to go to the hospital.
