Page 33 of When the Leaves Fall

LUCA

“ Y ou need to make sure you get some rest, Mom,” I say to her as she slumps over the sink, washing dishes. “I can do the dishes.”

“No, honey. You do too much around here as it is.” She tries to plaster a smile on her face. “Why don’t you give Sean a call and see if you can hang out for a bit?”

While I’d love nothing more than to get out of this house and hang out with friends, I can’t leave my mom like this. I already don’t recognize who my dad has become. I don’t want to lose my mother, too.

“ D ude, have you been sleeping?” Sean gestures to me. “Like, at all since Drew left?”

“Yeah, I sleep…dude,” I snap at him .

“You sure, ‘cause not only do you look tired as fuck, but you’re also like super cranky.”

I glare at him.

His arms rise in surrender. “I’m just calling it how I see it, man.”

I roll my eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “Sorry, man. I…just…” I trail off.

“I know, but you need to take care of yourself. Not sleeping or eating properly isn’t gonna change anything. It’s not gonna bring Drew back.”

I know he’s right, but that doesn’t make me want to punch him any less.

I haven’t been sleeping well, and I don’t remember the last time I ate an actual meal.

It’s been a week since Drew broke things off.

I know her Mom was discharged a couple of days later.

I sent flowers to her room at the care facility.

There’s no way Drew doesn’t know that. I thought Drew…

well, I don’t know what I thought. I didn’t do it for Drew anyway.

I genuinely liked working in Sandra’s room.

She and Frank were both great people, and hoots to be around, just like their daughter.

Fuck, this hurts so damn much.

“What are you gonna do about it?” Sean asks.

“About what?” I ask, exasperated.

“To get her back.”

I roll my eyes at him again. “There’s nothing to do. She might even be back in Colorado by now. She’s blocked my number.”

“And what are you gonna do about it?” He asks more sternly .

“Sean!” I yell out. “What the fuck, man? There’s nothing I can do. What? Do you think I should track down her parents’ address and just show up there? And if she’s already gone, beg them for her address in Colorado. Huh? Is that what you think I should do?”

We stand there for a few moments, staring at each other in silence. That stern look never fading from his face.

Calm washes over me.

“I need to find her,” I say out loud. “I need to tell her how I feel. What the fuck did I let the last week go by without making sure she knew how I truly felt?” I slap my forehead. “I’m such an idiot.”

A smile spreads across Sean’s face.

“Fuck off,” I say. I jog down the hall to my bedroom, where I see my suitcase is already open on my bed, completely packed. Sean appears behind me.

“‘ B out damn time you figure it out. I was ‘bout ready to drive you there myself.”

Don’t ask, and I won’t tell how I tracked down Sandra and Frank’s address. I hope I don’t creep them out when I show up out of the blue.

What if Drew is gone already? Will they give me her address, or will they tell me to move on and stop being a stalker ?

There’s only one way to find out.

I inhale deeply before knocking on their front door. Frank appears in a few seconds.

“Luca? Wow! What brings you by?”

The look in his eyes tells me he already knows.

“Uh,” I rub the back of my neck. “You know, I just wanted to check in on you and Sandra. And, uh, Drew.”

“Mmhmm.” Frank smiles. “Well, Sandra just came home the day before yesterday and is doing great.”

“That’s fantastic,” I reply, my body bouncing in anticipation.

“And Drew,” he finally adds after a torturous amount of time. He sighs, “Well, she headed back to Colorado this morning. She has a big meeting tomorrow at work that she couldn’t miss.”

My chest plummets. I’m too late. I waited too long.

No. I can still turn this around. Flying to Colorado last minute hadn’t been on my BINGO card for this year, but that’s what’s about to happen.

“Uh, Frank?” I start. “Do you think—” But Frank holds his hand up, cutting me off.

“Here,” he pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it to me. “Her address.”

My eyes meet his, and I can see the understanding. I slowly take the paper from him.

“Go get her, son.”