Chapter 16

Luca stood facing the wall as Daisy's eyes flickered to the back of his head several times. She knew he wouldn't look, not that she cared if he did, but the fact that he refused to leave the room for even just a minute to let her change back into her clothes made her feel safe in some strange way. She quickly pulled on her jeans and buttoned her silk blouse before tossing the hospital gown into the small basket they had in the corner of the room.

"Done?" Luca cleared his throat.

"Yes," Daisy nodded, her voice weak and exhausted from crying.

Her eyes burned from the amount of tears she had cried on Luca's chest. When he turned around, she could see the stains on his cool crisp white shirt right above his heart. She wanted to reach out and try to smooth out the fabric but the idea of touching him was too painful at that moment. Daisy continued to stare as Luca stepped forward and reached out. Her breath caught in her chest, making it ache as he carefully pulled her hair out from beneath her shirt.

"Thanks," Daisy muttered, pulling her hair back and tossing it into a quick bun at the nape of her neck.

"Are you ready to tell me what's wrong?" Luca asked, trying to catch her eyes. He was only about half a foot taller than Daisy, yet it always seemed as if he was towering over her, ducking his head to find her eyes when she didn't want to look at him.

"Why are you here?" Daisy asked, letting out a deep sigh. "Where's Gia? She's not answering any of my calls or texts. I don't want you here. I texted Gi-"

Luca held up Gia's phone.

"Isn't she a little too old to get her phone taken away?" Daisy asked.

"She wasn't being very smart," Luca said, putting the phone away. "She got herself into a lot of trou-"

"She's not a kid!" Daisy clicked her tongue. "Let her make her own choices!"

"She ran away with Daniel and he left her," Luca said, his voice hard and stern.

"What?" Daisy blinked back in surprise.

"Yeah," Luca raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. He walked back to the chair beside the examination table and took a seat as Daisy waited for him.

"What do you mean he left her...?" She asked.

"He planned everything," Luca said. "Getting Gia's hopes up and then shooting her down."

"Why..."

"Because of me," Luca felt his chest tighten. "Because he blames me for his sister's death."

"Where's Gia?" Daisy asked. "Is she okay? Why hasn't she called me?"

"She's not okay," Luca shook his head. "Our dad is in down and I was trying to keep you away fro-"

"Why would you do that?" Daisy yelled. "I could have stopped her! I could have told her how stupid she was being by running off with that boy!"

"She would have done it anyway," Luca said. "Our dad freaked her out."

"Oh my god," Daisy placed a hand over her beating heart. Her thoughts ran wild as she tried to control her emotions. "I have to go see her."

"Not until you tell me what's going on with you," Luca said.

"It can wait," Daisy said, grabbing her bag off the examination table.

"No," Luca said, grabbing her arm. "It can't."

He slowly rose to his feet and pulled her closer. Her scent was the best thing Luca had ever smelled. It made his heart beat twice as fast. She was warm against him as her stubborn eyes glared up at him.

"I don't ever want to see you cry like that," Luca whispered. "Tell me what's wrong."

Daisy's heart fluttered from Luca's words. She didn't know how much she needed the attention until he had walked into the room. With a mother like Patty who never wanted to have children in the first place, Daisy had learned from a very young age how to take care of herself. But that didn't mean she didn't need a hand to hold sometimes. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew Luca's presence was stopping her from curling up into a ball and screaming her head off at that moment.

"Are you sick?" Luca pushed.

Daisy shook her head.

"Are you hurt?"

"No," Daisy shook her head again.

"Are you sure?" Luca asked. "You were throwing u-"

"I'm pregnant."

Daisy wanted to disappear into a black hole. It was the first time she had said those words aloud. Hearing it felt as if someone took a huge junk of her being out of her existence and left her with a gaping hole in her chest.

Luca stared at Daisy silently. His eyes watched her face so intensely she feared he would burn holes onto her forehead.

"Say something!" Daisy snapped. "Tell me how stupid I am for getting knocked up. Tell me that I'm crazy for......for considering.....for thinking about...."

As Daisy lost her breath and struggled to speak, Luca moved his hand from her arm to her back. He pulled her closer and held her against his chest as she began to cry again.

"Did you just find out?" He asked, his nose buried in her hair.

"No," Daisy shook her head. "I found out about a week ago."

Luca slowly pulled back, "When I was at your place...."

Daisy wiped her eyes with the base of her palms and nodded, "Yeah."

"It wasn't food poisoning," Luca said to himself.

"No," Daisy shook her head.

"And Eric...." Luca pushed down the burning rage inside of him as his head began to spin. "He's the...."

"Who else would it be?" Daisy's eyes sharpened as she pushed Luca's arms off of herself. "Contrary to what you may think of me, I don't go around sleeping with half the men in the city, Luca."

"That's not what I me-"

"Yes, Eric is the father," Daisy said. "Which sucks because he's going to make a horrible dad. I don't think I even like him like that. I don't know what I'm doing, you're confusing, and everything is now a hundred times more complicated because of this baby!"

"Daisy-"

"No," Daisy shook her head and stepped around Luca to plop down on the chair he had been sitting on. "I'm freaking out. I think I might actually be going crazy. I was sure I didn't want this baby for days. I even brought myself here today to take care of everything and make a responsible decision for myself but I can't do it. I couldn't do it."

"What decision are you talking about?" Luca turned to face her. He watched as Daisy's eyes flickered to the paper cup on the counter.

"I was here for an abortion," she said, quietly. "But I can't do it..."

Sensing her emotions, Luca kneeled before her and took her hand. He held it firmly between his as he squeezed tightly before pulling her chin up.

"You don't have to make a decision right now," he said. "Think it th-"

"I want this baby," Daisy said, looking Luca in the eyes. "I don't need to think about this. I....I knew from the moment I found out that I was pregnant."

"Then why are you here?" Luca asked. His eyes slowly hardened as he pulled on Daisy's hand, "Did Eric make y-"

"It was me," Daisy shook her head. "I...I thought I had to make the smart choice."

"What makes you think not having the baby was the smart choice?"

"Because I never thought I wanted kids," Daisy's eyes welled up with tears once more. "I have no idea how I'm going to do this. I don't have a job right now, I'm still finishing up school, my relationship is shit and I'm so overwhelmed wit-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Luca placed his hands around her face to sooth her as fat tears fell down her face. "You're not alone. You have Gia and Carla....and me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Daisy peered at Luca with her lashes coated with tears and her nose red. She chewed on her bottom lip to keep herself together as the air in her lungs came out in broken sobs.

"I want this baby, Luca," Daisy cried. "This is my chance to have a family of my own. I don't know if I'm making the dumbest decision of my life but I can't give up this baby. I love them already and knowing I'm going to meet them and hold them.....I.....I can't give that up."

"You don't have to give that up," Luca assured her. "Ever."

"I'm so scared," Daisy's voice lowered as if she was too afraid to admit that, even to herself.

"I would be worried if you weren't," Luca said.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Daisy said once more. "I need to get my life together."

"Step one would be to get out of this place," Luca said. "Let me take you home. You can see Gia. You both need each other right now."

Daisy nodded, "I want to see her."

"Okay," Luca rose up. "Let's go."

"I need to stop by Eric's apartment first," Daisy said. "I need to tell him I didn't get the abortion."

Luca's jaw tensed as if he didn't like the idea. But for Daisy's sake, he stayed quiet. He took her hand and helped her stand up before taking her bag and walking her out of the room.

"Oh," Dr. Patel looked up in confusion as Daisy followed Luca. "Did you change your mind?"

"Yes," Daisy nodded. "I...I want to keep the baby."

Dr. Patel's eyes flickered to Luca, "Alright."

"Thank you," Daisy said.

"Good luck to you both," Dr. Patel smiled.

"Thank you," Luca's hand tightened around Daisy's.

__________________________

The drive to Eric's apartment was long and dreadful. Luca's head throbbed with tension he couldn't seem to get rid of. His eyes constantly flickered towards Daisy to make sure she wasn't crying again as she curled up on the passenger seat beside him and let her head rest against the door. Luca drove as slowly as possible to make sure he didn't hit any potholes or speed bumps. Her eyes were closed but he could tell she was not asleep.

The rain didn't help much with Luca's anxiety either. He hated driving in the rain. But at least it wasn't Del Mare. He could handle New York rain. What he couldn't handle was the way Stella kept popping up in his thoughts.

I'm pregnant. Both Stella and Daisy's voices spoke together in his mind over and over again. I want to have this baby.

Every time Luca heard those words in his mind, every muscle in his body tensed as if ready to snap. He gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were beginning to turn white.

"I have to tell my mom," Daisy's quiet voice grabbed Luca's attention and pulled him back into the car.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I don't want to," Daisy pulled Luca's blazer closer and covered her shoulders. "Not yet."

"Whenever you're ready," Luca said.

"I also have to tell Richard."

"Who's Richard?"

"My mom's ex-husband," Daisy sighed. "And for all intent and purpose, the closest thing I had to a father growing up."

"You went to go see him when you ran away from home."

"How do you know that?" Daisy's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Gia?"

"She had me send my men searching for you," Luca said, his eyes fixed on the slippery road. "We searched through the city's CCTV cameras until we found you by the subway near the house."

"Yeah and then one of the security guards came into the house and yelled at me," Daisy said.

"I didn't know that," Luca admitted.

"He threw me into the back of his car and drove me to my mother's house," Daisy pulled back. "He said it was an order from the boss. I had assumed he meant your dad..."

Luca couldn't remember who Paul had sent to check on Daisy that night at the house. His memories were full of thunder, rain, a car crash, and an aching pain that never left his chest since that night. He wanted to know who had touched her. Who laid their hands on her and had the nerve to throw her into the back of their car?

"I was so scared that night," Daisy muttered, turning away to look at the road ahead. Luca's death grip on the steering wheel tightened. "I was asleep and he came in..."

A chill like none other he had ever felt came over Luca. His heart froze as he tore his eyes away from the road and turned towards Daisy.

"Did you get their name?" He asked.

Daisy shook her head, "I don't even remember their face. I was too frightened and confused."

"He took you home, right?" Luca asked.

Sensing the tightness in his voice, Daisy turned her eyes towards Luca. His jaw was clenched as he struggled to keep his eyes on the road while waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Daisy," Luca called to her when she didn't answer and continued to stare at him.

"He pulled me out of bed. Dragged me by my arm down the stairs and then shoved me into the backseat of his car," Daisy said. "When I tried to scream for help, he pulled his gun out and held it to my temple the whole drive to our apartment."

The tightness in Luca's chest made breathing difficult. He couldn't stop imagining the raindrops running down the windshields of his car as Daisy tears from that night. She must have been so frightened, he thought. He had seen her asleep. He had seen how peaceful she looked. To suddenly know someone terrorized her under his orders was like being punched in the gut.

"Can you pick him out from a line up?" Luca asked.

"Just let it go," Daisy shook her head.

"Do you remember what he looked lik-"

"He was just doing his job, Luca," Daisy reminded him. "Doing what the boss man asked him to."

"I'm -"

"Can we not talk about this anymore?" Daisy clicked her tongue. "I'm tired. I've never been this tired in my whole life. All I've been doing is sleeping."

"How far along are you?" Luca asked, his eyes moving towards Daisy's belly.

"Only about a few weeks," Daisy said. "We don't even have a heartbeat yet."

Luca slowly nodded. His mind still railed from what Daisy had just told him but he held it together. In his experience, nothing good ever came out of losing his temper. Maybe she didn't want to talk about it but that didn't mean he didn't have other ways of finding out who had made the house call that night.

The rest of the drive was quiet. Luca wanted to hold Daisy's hand to assure him she was okay and beside him. But Daisy was detached. She leaned against the door, using the seatbelt as a support for her head. Her eyes were on the road but her thoughts were miles away. Luca didn't push her to speak as he parked the car and walked around to open her door.

"I want to come upstairs with you" he said as they entered the building.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Daisy shook her head. "Eric doesn't like you. I don't think he'll be happy to see you."

"If he had done his job and went with you today, he wouldn't have to be looking at my face," Luca said in anger.

"His job?" Daisy asked.

"Responsibility," Luca said. "His duty."

"I told him not to come with me."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I don't need him to hold my hand," Daisy said. "I can take care of myself."

"You shouldn't have to," Luca said.

"Is that why you're here?" Daisy asked. "Because you're taking care of your responsibilities? Which I am not, by the way. Neither am I your duty."

"Yes," Luca said, pressing the elevator button and watching the doors slide shut. "You are."

"No, I am n-"

Luca's hand suddenly wrapped around Daisy's waist as he gently pressed her back against the interior walls of the elevator. He rested his forehead above her head as he leaned forward and looked her directly in the eyes.

"You're mine," Luca said, making sure Daisy heard every ounce of yearning in his voice.

"Since when?" Daisy asked.

"Since the first moment I saw you," Luca searched the hazel in her eyes until he found the hints of green.

"Do lines like that work on girls in Del Mare?"

"What?" Luca chuckled.

"I'm not your responsibility," Daisy placed her finger against Luca's chest and pushed him back. "I am not your problem."

"What makes you think you're a problem?"

"I don't need anything from you," Daisy shook her head.

"I haven't offered anything to you," Luca smiled.

"I don't know what game you keep playing with me, Luca, but I cannot play it anymore," Daisy said. "I am about to be responsible for another life form and I need all my attention."

A deep frown formed on Luca's face as he slowly pulled back, "I'm not playing games."

"Then tell me what your feelings are for me," Daisy said.

Like a trunk, Luca felt his throat closed up and all his words disappeared. He stared at Daisy with a beating heart that couldn't function without skipping several beats that would have been fatal if it weren't for the way Daisy willed him not to look away from her eyes.

"Be clear with me," Daisy said, waiting for an answer as Luca slowly pulled back and retreated his hand. "You can't, can you?"

Luca remained silent.

"You confuse me," Daisy said. "You're so so so confusing. Ever since you came into my life...I don't know what you want and I can no longer afford to figure it out."

The elevator door opened but either Daisy or Luca seemed to care. They stood staring at each other as Daisy's hand lifted to her belly.

"I need every bit of myself for this child now," she said. "Whatever this is....I don't want any part of it anymore."

"So you keep saying," Luca said.

"What does that mean?" Daisy's brows furrowed.

"You keep saying you don't want it but you keep coming back around."

"I keep coming back around?" Daisy asked in disbelief. "Me?"

Luca stepped away and walked out into the hall.

"Excuse me," Daisy followed him out. "But am I going completely fuckin' insane or are you not the guy who pulled me out of bed to tell me to leave with you."

"Why doesn't that show you how I feel about you?" Luca asked, his voice filling with frustration. "Why do you keep asking me?"

"Because then you go back and act like this!" Daisy said.

"So what? I'm supposed to say the words and it's going to magically make me stop acting like this?"

Daisy stopped in her tracks. Luca looked over his shoulder and stopped a few feet ahead. As he turned to face her, he witnessed how the shift behind her eyes made some of the color on her face draine.

"You're right..." Daisy said. "Even if you say the words...you're not going to change. You'll still be...you."

"Exactly," Luca's head spun. "I'll still be me."

"That's why we need to stop," Daisy said. "I don't want to keep doing this."

"Fine by me," Luca turned away, his heart burning inside of his chest as if he had swallowed charcoal from the fire pit.

Muttering under her breath, Daisy pulled out her keys and marched up to her apartment door. Luca stood behind her as she unlocked the door and stepped inside, letting the door swing in his face. He stopped it just in time as Eric looked up from his laptop and began to rise.

"What's he doing here?" Eric pointed at Luca walking into the living room.

"He picked me up from the clinic," Daisy said, tossing her purse onto the couch.

"Why didn't you call me?" Eric wondered. "I could have picked you up."

"I didn't have the abortion, Eric."

"What?" Eric's face scrunched up in confusion.

"I couldn't do it," Daisy placed her hand on her hips and shrugged as if she wasn't just crying her eyes out in the car downstairs. Luca stared at the 'cool girl' before him as Daisy waited for Eric to say something.

"I want to have this baby," she said.

"But you know...." Eric laughed nervously. "You know how I feel about kids."

"I know," Daisy nodded.

"I'm not going to change my mind because you suddenly had a change of heart."

"I don't expect you to," Daisy spoke as if she had researched the parts a thousand times in her head.

Luca's eyes moved back and forth as he took note of the way Daisy spoke to Eric. He couldn't believe how quickly she had transitioned from the crying girl in his arms to the grown woman who was trying not to hurt the feelings of a child while still telling him how things were going to be around the house.

"So what....you're going to have a baby?" Eric asked, his eyes widening with shock. "And trap me."

"For fuck's sake," Luca stepped forward from the back but stopped as Daisy spoke up,

"You're free to do whatever you want," She said. "I expect nothing from you. This is my decision. And I say that with no bitterness in my heart. You can stay if you want and be involved in this child's life but if you chose not to, I understand."

"Daisy, this is fuckin' stupid!" Eric yelled. "We had plans. We were going to focus on our careers. What about your school? Your modeling career?"

"Eric, my plans are shifting," Daisy said. "I never would have imagined this for myself but I want this. And I can't justify it to you."

Eric shook his head in disbelief. His eyes moved towards Luca as his lips pressed into thin lines. "It's his baby, isn't it?"

"What?" Daisy asked. "No."

"Then why is he here?" Eric demanded.

"I don't know, Eric!" Daisy said. "I don't know why he's here. He's just the very confusing part of my life right now that I can not focus on."

"I don't want a child!"

"And that's okay!" Daisy moved forward despite how Luca tried to hold her back and keep her away from Eric. She pushed his hand off and moved to stand beside the guy. "I am not mad at you or upset with you. You and I had the same plans but now our paths changed. We want different things from life."

Eric shook his head as if he didn't buy what Daisy was selling. He stared at her in suspicion as she took his hand and Luca's eyes darkened.

"Eric," Daisy began slowly. "You're a good guy....but not for me anymore. I'm so sorry. But please trust me when I say I expect nothing from you in regards to this child."

"I...I can't think right now," Eric sat back down on the sofa.

"Okay, okay," Daisy followed. "That's okay. You take your time. Do you need something to drink? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm feeling like shit," Eric spat.

"I'm sorry."

"So are we breaking up now?" Eric pulled on the collar of his shirt. "Is that what's happening?"

"I guess..." Daisy sat back.

"Are you moving out?" Eric wondered. "I mean....you can stay until you find another place or something...."

"She's leaving," Luca announced.

"Don't listen to him," Daisy shook her head, ignoring Luca.

Eric's eyes flickered up towards Luca, "The baby isn't yours?"

"Trust me," Luca's eyes narrowed like a slithering snake. "Your shadow wouldn't even be able to touch her if it were mine."

"I am surrounded by the dumbest humans in this galaxy," Daisy shook her head and muttered to herself.

"She's coming with me," Luca said. "She's not staying here any longer."

"You can't decide that," Daisy protested.

"Yes. I can," Luca said, his angry eyes turning towards her.

"Don't look at me like th-"

"Gia is waiting for you," Luca announced, knowing very well Daisy wouldn't be able to fight against that. He felt horrible for using his sister's name but the only thing he could focus on was the way Daisy held Eric's hand and comforted him as if he was the one being told they were about to grow a whole child in their womb.

"Shall we?" Luca asked as Daisy closed her mouth but cursed his with her poisonous eyes. 

Luca! Just say the words!