Undeniably Claimed

Chapter 21: Time

Time is a bitch. That was all Luca could think sitting in the uncomfortable chair hearing the constant beeping of the machine beside him. One moment things could be never better and in a single second everything changes. He can only recall one or two other times in his life time that he felt so helpless... so lost. 

"Thank you doctor"

Hearing the familiar voice, he turns his attention to the door where the eldest Andrews is walking back into the room. Her face showing the immense pain she is experience. It was only an hour ago they were all joking in her home and having a good time. It felt good to Luca to be included in such a group. Not once did they make him feel excluded even when they called him by his surname. He wasn't sure if he should have corrected them so he let it go for the evening. 

He was able to experience a whole new thing. Friends. It was such a weird concept to him. When he was younger, he attempted to make friends but the only ones he truly trusted were his family. His only 'friend' was his uncle Nicholas. That man knew how to rile up both his parents enough. He was a military man and boy did he love his job. He eventually went back when he got older per a request for help. It was the last time he got to see his uncle alive. That note still sits in his office because he refuses to read it yet. 

Shaking his head of those negative thoughts, he reaches forward taking the sleeping beauties hand into his own. Her wrist now holding a hospital band with her name and age printed on it. How did it turn so fast? 

"There was nothing we could have done Luca."

He lifts his gaze to find Jessica gently rubbing Sophia's hair away from her forehead. Her eyes remaining trained on her baby sister. Her other hand gripping her hand firmly. 

"She doesn't deserve this." His voice heavy with frustration. 

"I know.." Jessica whispers gently as she leans down to leave an affectionate kiss on her forehead. She sits down in the chair behind her. "She is fighter though. Whether or not she admits it... she is."

"What did you tell Taylor and Brad?"

"To help me with Destiny and I would let them know what was going on." She says with a sigh of her own. "It's not my place to tell."

"I can't describe how I felt..." Luca says feeling his own emotions come forth. He has never been this open other than with his mother but he feels Jessica doesn't judge him. She has this aura that reminds him of his Aunt Cami. 

"It's fear" She says still not looking at him. She leans forward so her other hand can rub her sister's arm. "I've only felt like this one other time in my life."

Luca looks to her with a questioning gaze. After a moment she continues but her gaze seems to be elsewhere. 

"The night my parents died I was away at college. It was around 7 or so that evening when I got the call... A police officer asked if I was Jessica Andrews and my blood froze. It was as if I couldn't breathe. After confirming my identity he informed me of the accident stating I needed to get home. I can't even recall how I got home that night." She chuckles humorlessly before her teary eyes train back on Sophia. 

"I felt so heart broken. The people who gave birth and raised me were gone like that." She snaps her fingers. Her body trembling with a silent cries before collecting herself. Luca continued to listen to her story. "That night, I really thought I would die. I laid in my old bed crying when my door opened. Sophia stood there with her own tear stained face but tried to look brave. She didn't care that I was a mess, she crawled into my bed and just held me. The entire night, my baby sister kept me together as the world crumbled around us."