Lia’s POV

Luca is curled in a ball on the couch, his small body rising and falling with every jagged gasp. He is drained, exhausted by tears, by fear, by the raucousness of the evening. When he is asleep, his body is shuddering, his hands clasped around mine in white-knuckle grasp, as if he is afraid to lose me should he ever let go. I sit beside him, brushing his soft brown hair with my hand in reassurance, each stifled sniffle causing my own heart to ache. He should not have been ...