C6 The Past

6- The past

Jane's POV

Luca was currently sound asleep on his stomach, his back bandaged with blood stains still visible on top. I sat on the bed next to him as I played with his hair soothingly. I've been doing this for the past half an hour until he slept. Another hour had already past since he fell into dream world.

I never once in my life, thought I'd come across someone being abused, and by his father non the less. And I never thought that one of my friends would be a victim to such crime. It just makes me feel how obvious I am to the everyone around me. What if the neighbors abused their daughter, or what if one of our teachers is abusing someone? The thought itself made the hair in my back stand to an end and my blood boil inside of me.

I felt Luca's hand grab my hand which was in his hair, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Why did you stop?" He asked weakly and that's when I realised that I stopped stroking his hair.

"You're awake?" I asked softly with a smile. He smiled back at me and nodded.

He attempted to sit straight but he was a bit constricted by his pain. I helped him up until he was in a comfortable position next to me.

"You probably want answers by now, right?" He asked, gazing at the wall infront of us.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want. The story is pretty obvious." I said the last part through gritted teeth.

"That's not the whole truth." He stated. "He's not my real father." His words made me snap my heads towards him.

"What?" I asked angirly.

"Let me tell you a story. There was once a man and a woman who lived each other so much that they got married soon after they finished college. They spent about five years together but we're never blessed with a child. They tried everything but still nada. The doctors said that they were both healthy and there was no problem but for some reason, they couldn't have a child. After some time, the woman met an engineer. They spent alot of time with each other and soon enough, they were having an affair. They dated secretly for three months and then, the woman got pregnant. Her husband thought that it was his child but when the woman was five months due, the man found out about her affair. He was so angry and swore to kill the engineer and send his wife to jail, but the only thing that was keeping him sane was the slight possibility that the baby was his.

The woman finally gave birth and a DNA test was instantly conducted, confirming the man's fears. The baby wasn't his. The woman and the engineer were afraid from the man so they decided to run away together, leaving the baby in the hands of their enemy. When the boy turned eight, he wondered where his mother was. He would look around to find all the kids his age with their mother's but he didn't, and the first time he asked and cried for his mother was the first time the man beat him." Luca turned to me and reached his hands to cup my face and wipe my cheeks with his thumbs.

"Don't cry." He said softly and that when I realised that my water works had probably started somewhere in the middle of his story.

"Does the boy still search for his mom?" I asked, trying to find my voice.

Luca shook his head and go back to his story telling position, gazing at the wall.

"Why?" I asked confused.

"She came back." He replied and I gaped at him but before I could say anything he cut me off.

"When the boy turned thirteen, his mother came back. Her lover had cheated on her, leaving her broke. She came back for her husband and because he didn't want to cause a scene and risk the image of his empire, he begrudgingly took her in. The boy thought that his mother will save him, show him the love and care he never experienced before, but again, life put him down. The mother hated her son as he reminded her of her ex-lover. All she wants right now is for him to marry a daughter of a rich family so their family empire would grow and be more powerful. All the boy can do now is pray for his life." As Luca continued the story, I felt a part of my heart pack its things and leave right then and there. More tears streamed down my face as I looked at Luca. He turned to look at me and his gaze softened. He caught me off gaurd as he leaned closer, pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his arms snaked around my waist, his face buried in the crook of my neck. We stayed like that for a while, each one of us comforting the other with pats on the head or fingers running through the hair.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I said between sobs, after some time. I still didn't recover, but I knew that I had to be strong for him.

"Nothing is your fault Janey. You shouldn't apologise. If anything I should be grateful to you." His muffled words resonated. He pulled away slightly, his face void of all sad emotions.

"Oh yeah. I've been wanting to ask you. Why did you over think the hug you gave me?" He asked in amusement. I gaped at his sudden change. But then again, he was probably used to hiding his feelings.

"W-what do you mean?" I stuttered out.

"The hug on the roof. You acted like you've committed a crime or something." I explained.

"Well...I...uh..." I stuttered. What do I tell him? How can I say that I actually am very self conscious?

He raised an eyebrow at me.

He already told me his past. I don't think it'll be a problem for me.

Yeah, maybe I can just tell him.