42. Matteo

42

MATTEO

I slide my phone back into my pocket. Enzo's gathering a team before heading over here so we can come up with a plan for tomorrow night. As I stand here and watch Lux breakdown, I can't shake the feeling of needing to comfort her.

Resuming my seat back on the couch next to her, I pull her onto my lap, and she comes willingly. I wrap my arms around her and hold her to my chest as she cries.

After a few minutes, her sobs begin to lighten, but the sniffles are still there. She pulls back and peers up at me through her glazed over, bloodshot eyes that send a kick to my gut.

"I'm s-sorry," she murmurs before breaking eye contact. Her puffy eyes and broken tone nearly break my soul.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Lux. I'm sorry you had to see that picture, but we're going to get her back. I promise you. I'll do whatever it takes to get your mother back."

She readjusts herself so she's straddling me. Wrapping her hands in my hair, she places a soft peck on my lips before pulling away.

I gaze into her eyes. The eyes of a fighter. She's been strong. Too strong. Having to deal with this: her mother's kidnapping, finding her father, being forced into a marriage to a man who's from a different world than hers. It's a miracle she's been able to hold it together for as long as she has.

"The emotions that I'm feeling right now. They're too much. Please, Teo. Can you just hold me?"

"Anything you want," I say before I reposition us on the couch with her leg draped over mine and hold her as she breaks down again. Her sobs are like torture, but I do my best to be here for her.

Comforting her.

Letting her know I'll always be here no matter what.