Chapter 7


    Victoria''s pov


    "Luka?"


    He''s here. A part of me was slightly relieved, but another part of me was pissed. Pissed that he took so


    long toe, in addition to the anger I was feeling towards my shitty ex-boyfriend. He really chose the


    wrong time toe.


    "What is it with you men and your terriblete timing?" I asked, turningpletely towards him. He


    could see that I was not in the mood.


    " Yea sorry about that. I got carried away in my thoughts" He mumbled as he scratched his neck


    awkwardly. I simply stared at him in disbelief. That''s his excuse?


    "Okay" I simply said before making my way to my cotton candy.


    "Okay?"


    "Yes okay Luka" I stopped to face him. "Look if you don''t want to be friends, it''s okay. You don''t have to


    feel sorry for me and try to force a friendship you obviously don''t want" I really wanted to get to know


    him and maybe help him, but you can''t bring the horse to the water only to force him to drink.


    Or however that saying goes.


    He sighed again before exining. "It''s not that I don''t want to be friends, Victoria. I just can''t. It''s just


    really hard to be" He admitted, looking defeated.


    "Why? Why is it so hard?" He really caught my interest there. Why was it really?


    "Can we go somewhere else to talk?" He asked nervously, and I nodded in agreement. Well this should


    be interesting.


    ***


    Surprisingly Luka doesn''t know many ces in town, so I took him to Charlette''s diner to talk. It was


    rtively quiet there, so we could talk without disruptions.


    We sat in silence for a while before he chose to speak up.


    "There''s a lot of about me you don''t know" No shit Sherlock.


    I nodded, telling him to continue. "Some things you probably don''t want to know..." He trailed, making


    eye contact with me as if warning me.


    "Why wouldn''t I want to know?" I asked in a shaky voice. I wasn''t too sure if I wanted to know, but my


    mind wouldn''t give me a rest until I found out anyways. I was simply too curious. Curiosity killed the cat,


    but at least the cat had nine lives.


    "It''s not something a human mind can handle" He pointed out, confusing me to the brink. What does


    that even mean? Weren''t we all human?


    But then it hit me--I swore I knew it all in that moment. It took a lot of thinking and reasoning, but it all


    made sense now.


    "Look Luka if you are a serial killer or in some mafia shit and your hiding from the police in the woods


    then-"


    "What are you talking about?" He asked, amused.


    "Well it all makes sense now. That''s why I don''t see you in town, and why you live in the woods. You''re


    hiding aren''t you? That Caleb dude, he''s so protective. You''re working for him aren''t you? You tried to


    end it all and I stopped you. " I cursed under my breath. “You can''t live with the guilt. You poor thing" I


    cooed cing my hands on his.


    "Well aren''t you afraid madam detective?" He asked, his eyes dancing with amusement.


    Am I afraid? I mean I should be. I let two maniacs in my home and now they know where I live. They


    could take me captive anytime. It''s not like I have any immediate family who woulde looking for


    me.


    "No I''m not afraid" I finally concluded confidently. I couldn''t show any signs of weakness.


    "Good because you''re talking crap" Heughed a little. Well this is embarrassing. "I''m not a serial killer


    Victoria. And I''m not in some ''mafia shit'' either" He added, using air quotes.


    I felt bad knowing I thought the worst about him, but who could me me? He was so secretive and


    mysterious to the point where it was almost alluring.


    He had a small smile on his face as he watched me carefully, as if trying to read my mind. It''s messed


    up in here bud, better stay out.


    I finally actually got a chance to take in his features. His hair seemed slightly messier than the first time


    I saw him, as if he was running his hands through it continuously. His face looked a lot younger too. I


    noticed he shaved, making him look 10 years younger and more fresh. His eyes were grey and


    shimmering. I could imagine how beautiful they were when they were bright and full of life.


    They seemed to hold a story. Deep behind those silver pools was something more than just a


    charming, broken man with a lot of mysteries.


    They also had hope, but still I could sense that he doesn''t know where to even start searching for that


    hope. But I could help him look. Somehow...


    "You know, it''s rude to stare" He said in a cocky tone, giving me a glimpse of a sense of humour.


    "I was just-"


    "Hey Vic can I get you anything?" I beamed up at Nick for saving me, though I was genuinely happy to


    see him.


    "Nothing for me, thanks. Do you want anything?" I turned to Luka as I asked him.


    "No I''m fine. I''m Luka by the way." He introduced, holding his hand out to Nick. I saw as he reluctantly


    took it as he nced at me for a second.


    "Nick" was all he said, then he turned on his heels and left, not before looking at me one more time


    though. That was weird. That''s not like Nick.


    "You know he likes you right?" Luka pulled me out of my thoughts by asking.


    "Once upon a time but that was just some teenage crush. He knows I see him as a brother and nothing


    more"


    Nick doesn''t still have feelings for me. Right?


    "Well I know when someone is hooked. And he is" He nudged his head in the direction Nick went.


    Even if he was right, it wouldn''t happen. I''m not looking for love either. Nick knew that.


    "We never finished talking about why it''s ''hard'' to be friends" I prolonged, attempting to change the


    subject. He sighed.


    " I have a whole other life that you can''t know about. I''ve never been friends with anyone outside of my-


    home... and it''s been like that ever since. I knew someone who had friends from here though. She was


    such an adventurous and warm person" He looked lost, as if remembering that someone.


    "What happened to her?" I heard my voiceing out soft and gentle, trying not to startle him. This


    person seemed important to him.


    " She left" was all he said. I waited for him to borate but he didn''t. "My point is Victoria, it''s just too


    risky for us to be friends. It will keep us both safe and it''s better that way" He dared not to meet my


    eyes.


    "So are you saying..."


    "Yes I''m saying this is goodbye Victoria" He confirmed, finally meeting my intense gaze. " I know the


    main reason for you initiating this friendship was to ensure I don''t pull another stunt, but you don''t have


    to worry about me. I''ll be fine"


    He was right. At first that was my only reason for trying to know him, because it kills me to know


    someone was trying to take their life; whether it is my business or not. But in the short time that I knew


    him, and the little conversations we had, something else sparked my interest.


    He''s full of mysteries and secrets, and I can see so much life in him that just needed to be woken up


    again. But I guess I''ll never see any of that happen.


    I respected his decision and I won''t force something that he doesn''t want. No matter how much I didn''t


    want to, I had to let him go.


    "I understand" I mumbled as I stared at the table, not trying to hide my disappointment.


    "In other circumstances I think we could''ve been good friends" He offered, smiling a little. I returned it


    even though it was strained.


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    We sat for another couple minutes, no one making a move to leave first and it reminded me of the cliff


    that night. He was so determined not to move, and it felt like he was challenging me again, daring me


    to walk out first. But I won''t. So there we sat, in tense silence, staring each other down.


    Then, his eyes softened and his shoulders slumped.


    "You look so much like her" He whispered almost inaudibly. I look like who?


    "Who do I look like?" I voiced my thoughts and I saw him tense up a bit. He quickly shifted his gaze as


    his eyes became cold and detached like the night at the cliff.


    He looked deep in thought, and I swore I saw his eyes sh dark like the night in my living room. Then


    he...whimpered? Like a puppy whimper. I would''ve been swooning about how cute it sounded but the


    sadness on his face made me keep my mouth shut.


    "No one" He mumbled eventually, answering my question. Yea right. "I''ll get going now. Goodbye


    Victoria" he stood up and nced at me onest time before he turned his back and left.


    I watched his retreating form as he exited the building, not once looking back. With a sigh, I organized


    my things and waited until I was sure he was gone before heading out also.


    I drove home slowly, thinking about everything that happened today. As much as I hated to admit it to


    myself, another big reason why I wanted this friendship was because other than Kera and Nick, I had


    no friends my age.


    I thought that if I knew Luka, I would get a chance to escape from the loneliness I felt sometimes when


    I was away from work.


    I heard a long sorrowful wolf howling from the woods, and all I could think about was how simr I


    felt to him/her in that moment. You and me both little wolf. You and me both.


    So as I drove home all alone, all I could think about was the leftoversagna that I''d eat for dinner once


    again by myself, and how I didn''t even get a chance to buy my cotton candy.