Page 166 of Green Flag
“I’m allowed to not be okay over this.” I’d somehow managed to put a baggy top on but I stopped short when I saw it was his. The one I’d worn in the hotel room when he’d walked in on me.
He was so intertwined in my life now. There would be a gaping hole if he ever left me.
“You are,” he agreed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I know you weren’t involved. I wanted to make sure it was destroyed before I told you, I didn’t want to worry you. I’m so sorry, Everly.”
“You don’t need to filter the truth,” I said and sat beside him with a sigh. “I want you to think I’m strong enough to hear everything.”
“I do,” he said and brushed my hair back. “I swear, I do.”
“It hurt,” I admitted. “More than thinking he’d framed me, it was you keeping the truth from me.”
“Never,” he said and kissed my forehead. “I won’t hold anything back again.”
I let him wrap his arms around me as he told me all the details about the PI report and how he’d set the PI to find more details about Pedro’s case to compare. I let myself cuddle up to him until he fell asleep.
And then I rolled away from him.
32
Chapter 32
Everly
Four months later
Luca had been on a high. He’d won Best Newcomer at the MCAs, the biggest annual motor sport awards, and thanked Alv during his speech. He’d unveiled the name of the new France track at the first race of the championship in honour of his cousin, and he’d made the front cover of SportsMag.
In the break of the championship, he’d bought a house in Italy, not far from his Nonna.
His family had been in the media frequently, with the lawsuit against Ciclati due to Alv’s death. Luca had become their spokesperson, and somehow, he didn’t once speak negatively about Ciclati. Something in the way Livie pursed her lips when I mentioned it suggested she may have helped him out.
And he was glowing. He seemed happy.
All without me.
We hadn’t spoken since that night in Florida.
I stayed with my mum as planned for the first two months of the break. When he didn’t contact me to ask how I was, I didn’t contact him.
Radio silence.
And the loneliness was starting to creep back in. Back home in London, even Fia was weird. She’d become secretive and glued to her phone.
I’d spent days pacing. During the four-month break, I avoided Arabella because she reminded me of him. She bombarded my socials until I finally broke and explained to her that I needed a mental break from the world.
When worse came to worst, I spammed logging in and out of the PlayStation he’d set up for me while he was online. He didn’t message me. He didn’t make us join to play a game together like before.
He was done with me. He’d got what he wanted.
When Marco and I trained and he subtly tried to bring him up in conversation, I’d abruptly change the topic. It was that or cry into my boxing gloves.
I made excuses and booked my own room, just to avoid the expectation of staying in Luca’s trailer.
When he came to the hotel to work for the girls’ racing charity with Nix and Livie, I’d breathed through my panic and gone to speak to him.
He’d hugged me and kissed my forehead, but it was public.
And it left a bad taste in my mouth.
