Ending Innocence (boyxboy)

Chapter Eighteen

Sometimes life will confuse us. It can seem so perfect one moment and in the nex, everything can change.

 Luca’s POV.

Walking into the room with nonnino, I’m shocked to see Aria lying in the bed looking paler than she did when I left yesterday. She smiles, though, when she sees me, so I try to focus on that for now and not on how bad she looks. Fact is she’s going to need us to be strong for her. And if Dante and mamma don’t support her she will need someone to do so. I hope I can actually help her, though, instead of making things much worse for her. She’s going to have a fight ahead of her, but I don’t doubt her ability to stay alive and be a great mom. After all, she survived everything with Michael. And if she can survive that, I’m sure she can survive pretty much anything.

The doctor strolls into the room, his face grim, and his eyes looking hollow. He doesn’t even try to break the news gently, instead he jumps straight into an ambush, hell bent on making Aria agree to the abortion. I stand stock still, watching, waiting for someone to say something in her defence. Mamma looks between them before she starts pleading her case. Dante looks at me. His mouth pressed in a tight line. I know he’s not going to take her side in this, and I get it, I really do. I understand their position. They don’t want to lose Aria. Neither do I. But I want her to be happy with her decision. She would hate us for forcing her to abort the baby.

She protests. And to be fair, she puts up a great fight. None of them listen to her, they just continue rambling on about the fact she’s signing her own death warrant. Nonnino grabs my hand, like he knows what’s about to happen. His silent show of support means a helluva lot to me. I don’t even know how I’m going to do this. But she looks scared. Downright scared and they’re all ganging up on her. Telling her what she should do. Not bothering to ask how she feels about this baby, or about the abortion. I know she doesn’t want to die. But I can see the love she has for this baby, her baby. My niece or nephew. It’s all so sudden.

“Shut the fuck up!” I finally snap, shocking myself as well as them.

“Nobody can tell Aria what to do with her body and her baby, not even you, doctor,” I say, looking him square in the eye. “She’s a legal adult. This baby is hers, and will be my niece or nephew. Sure, the circumstances aren’t ideal. But those are the ones we have to work with.” I face mamma and Dante; both have that dear-caught-in-headlights look. It would be funny if I wasn’t trying to help Aria right now. But I am, and the look on both their faces can’t distract me from saying this.

“Aria’s ours. She’s our family. None of you did this when I actually wanted to die. You stopped me, yeah, but I wasn’t shouted at and none of you got mad at me. I deserved it.” I take a breath. “I hurt myself intentionally. Aria just wants to have her baby. You can get mad at her for that.”

I try really hard not to notice the shock on their faces. Even the doctor, who doesn’t know me from Adam, has a weird look of shock on his face. I know I’m not the most standoffish person in the world, but I can – and will – stand up for those I love. It’s not impossible for me to lose my temper, and yes, I have one. Sometimes I think people don’t see the real me because they would know everyone has something that can make them lose it. Even if it takes a lot of pushing and scratching at the surface. I’m not perfect. I don’t want to be perfect either. I just want to be normal.

“Sorry, Luca,” Dante says like a lost puppy.

“That was so totally awesome!” Aria exclaims. “I never knew you had it in you, Pooh Bear. Obviously we were all wrong about you.”

Nonnino barks a laugh beside me, just as the door opens. “No. I did know this, Aria. I knew your brother had fire in him. It is the same fire I have. People just chose to see perfection where there is none. He would not be human if he was to be perfect.”