Who: Luca Darby & Sophie Duncan What: Anger, realisation that Luca is an ass Where: Sophie’s apartment When: The morning after this Warnings: Anger. Lots and lots of anger.
The sun had long since risen into the sky by the time Luca woke in the unfamiliar bed. Sleep had been fitful at first, thoughts racing, still hyper alert even with the alcohol dulling his senses. At some point, he had fallen asleep, and from that point on, had slept like the dead. Upon finally waking, he started with his customary full body stretch, only to be halted by something restraining his arms.
Almost immediately, those dark eyes flew open and he jerked his arms, finding them very securely bound to the headboard. “What the fuck, Sophie! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he roared, quickly coming to his senses as he raged against the bed. Whatever was going through her pretty little head, Luca didn’t find amusing in the slightest. “I told you I’m not fucking playing any goddamned games with you!” He didn’t see her in the room immediately, but he was sure his growls of anger would meet her ears, wherever it was she hid in the apartment. There was literally no way possible for Sophie to say what she had been preparing to say, but the laptop on the table lay open on a newspaper article and next to it sat Sophie, still in her night clothes, eyes dark and a scowl on her face that demanded injury or death for what had occurred. Her eyes were now covered with dark glasses, prepared for what was coming.
“Oh, I’m playing games?!” She hissed, sat on the table top, legs folded, staring directly at the man in front of her. He had not been kidding in the slightest when he said she’d be disappointed. She was furious. “Do you know what I think is playing games, Luca?” Through gritted teeth she spoke, trying to maintain composure. “Murdering an innocent young girl in a back alley, a hooker, then turning up to another hooker’s house expecting goddamn sympathy. What the fuck, Luca?!” She stood up and threw the newspaper at him with more rage than she thought she could muster. In the newspapers already. He hadn’t thought the murder would break so easily, hadn’t expected Sophie to see it so quickly, but it had and she had, and there was no turning back now. Luca strained again at the bonds that held his arms out to his sides, his biceps flexing with the force he exerted, but nothing gave. As the newspaper hit his chest, Luca growled deep in his throat, going so far as to bare his teeth at her.
“I came to you because I was fucking afraid I’d kill someone else, Sophie! Because last night was bad. Worse than I’ve had in years, and I thought if I came to you, I could calm the fuck down. You didn’t need to fucking tie me up, what the hell!” He flexed again, skin reddening with exertion before he flopped back against the bed, chest heaving. His words just made her all the more angry and she grit her teeth, making a sound that was all stifled fury and confusion and pain. She didn’t know what to do. “And what if you’d killed me, hmm?” She hissed, fists clenched.
She walked closer to the bed, realising he really couldn’t touch her, and yelled down at him. “What if you’d decided one wasn’t enough? You should be thankful I haven’t killed you in your damn sleep!” She spat, running one hand through her hair, massaging her scalp to keep composure. “I can’t trust you, Luca, I can’t trust anyone who kills girls like me just because they’re having a bad fucking day.” And she was thankful for a second that her eyes were covered, because there was no disguising the slightest hint of hurt in them. “I wouldn’t have fucking killed you, Sophie, because you look nothing like her!” Luca snapped out as he pulled at the bonds, the full depth of his anger matching hers measure by measure. His heart was racing, adrenaline soaring through his veins, and he flexed again, feeling fabric tear, giving way with the pressure. With that one hand now free, he all but lunged towards her, his expression a mask of fury that was ill-concealed.
He went for her throat, shameless in his attack, mindless in his anger. “You don’t fucking look like her so I wouldn’t have fucking touched you! It’s not about being a god damned hooker, so stop taking it so god damned personally!” If his lunge wasn’t dodged, his hand would wrap around her throat, tight and unyielding, his eyes hot with fury. But it wasn’t dodged, because she wasn’t quite quick enough, and Sophie was suddenly terrified as all the breath was forced out of her and while she tried to break free, she couldn’t and she cursed herself for using up all her energy being angry. The glasses perched on the end of her nose and she looked down, averting her gaze. He couldn’t see her eyes, then she’d be showing just as much weakness as he had.
“I don’t care if I didn’t look like her, whoever she was.” She choked out, still staring at the floor. “I care because that’s who she was. You killed her because she was out at night, that girl could’ve been me a few years ago. You lost control and killed someone who was doing their fucking job. A guy in a bar I could understand....” She trailed off, biting down on her lip, suddenly feeling far more powerless than she had done in a long while. But she would still fight. He was breathing hard, the urge to simply squeeze and squeeze without thought crossing his mind, but this was Sophie, one of the few people that he had been able to be sincere with. “But because it was another hooker, you’re taking it personally.” Luca’s gaze narrowed slightly, lips parted with every breath he managed to grab.
Shaking his head, Luca released her abruptly, turning his attention from her to the remaining fabric that bound his other wrist. Pulling at the knot, he tried to explain. “There was a girl. One whom I was just starting to care about, stupid fucking Luca dared to care about someone. That was my first mistake.” He hissed in irritation, fingers fumbling at the knot, suddenly clumsy as the adrenaline started to cease and he simply sat back, wrist dangling where it was tied. He didn’t look at her again, not yet, for he knew what understanding had developed between them was gone now. He had done well at destroying that.
“She left. She left and I would have helped her had she let me. But no. She disappears in the middle of the bloody night and I’m pissed because I dared to think that maybe, just maybe, I could have some sort of relationship with someone who didn’t know me as a god damned killer.” “Yes and I’m damn well allowed to-” With that, he released her neck and she stepped backwards, coughing, still glaring at him. The glasses fell to the floor but she barely noticed that, eyes still on the ground. Whatever they had between them, he had broken in and she just wanted him out of her house, or at least gain the ability to beat some sense into him for what had occurred. The gun in the cabinet next to her bed was an all too comfortable solution for her and she tried hard not to think about it.
As he spoke, she listened, not speaking, but she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “You hit the jackpot in terms of weakness, didn’t you sweetie?” She rubbed her neck from where it had been released, leaning back against the wall to catch her breath. “I thought you’d realised that people like us don’t get normal relationships, I thought you of all people would realise that.” There was malice in her eyes and she meant it, wondering if she knew Luca at all. And that, above all that had happened, was what hurt her. “Stop calling me that,” Luca snapped out without looking back towards her, purposefully not looking anywhere towards her, refusing to meet her gaze now. “And I thought I knew that. Until I met someone who thought the only thing she was good for was being used by other men with enough money to pay for it.” His voice dripped with disgust, as though it was sour and bitter at the same time. “And what the hell is wrong with a lifestyle like that?!” She couldn’t help but step forward again, still almost choking as she spoke, tensed up at his words. “People have their reasons for doing this, don’t you dare judge them for that when you take human life so freely. And look at me when I’m talking to you!” Sophie was bold, and sometimes unthinking in her methods, and she caught hold of his jaw in some desperate attempt to make him look at her. ” There was a flinch when she grabbed his jaw for the second time in less than 12 hours, and his eyes narrowed dangerously at such a bold move from her. Nothing was said initially, gaze boring down onto her, and when he finally spoke, the words were slick and poisoned.
“How dare I judge someone who lets their entire self worth be based on how much someone’s willing to pay them for their body?” Luca let out a hoarse, bark of a laugh, a smile spreading out over his lips. “How dare I be disgusted by something like that? I’m sorry. I didn’t realise I wasn’t allowed to have a goddamned opinion!” “You can have your opinion once you get out of my house.” She leaned in very close, daring him to attack her again, ready for anything he was prepared to throw at her. The rage was back to her usual monotone, trying so very hard not to care about what he said. “Do you forget what I do for a living, or are you just stupid, Luca?”
She didn’t move her hand from his jaw, the touch somehow giving her power. Her body was always a weapon, her words had never had quite the same power behind them. The slightest touch always had meaning in it. “There is nothing wrong with what I or what she did, and you clearly had no problem with it when you came to me to calm down. And if that’s your opinion, maybe you’re just as narrow minded as everyone else in the world, you’re just a killer along with it.” “I have no problem with you because you don’t let the guys that pay to fuck you define who you are!” Luca snapped out at her, his chest heaving with his words, his gaze liquid darkness. “That’s what I have issue with.” Her hand against his jaw made him bristle, and he reached up to grab her wrist, his grip iron tight. Her words became a murmur, and not a pleasant one. “You think the world is so simple, don’t you?” She muttered through a clenched jaw. “The only reason I manage not to do that is because I don’t have an identity to give up for men. How do you know this is my real name? It’s on no papers. No records.” She shook her head, letting him grip her wrist as she stared him down again. “So what makes you think you weren’t trying to define her by taking her away from that life anyway?” For a brief moment, Luca’s eyes widened, something that happened so quickly that Sophie might very well miss it if she’s not paying close attention. He releases her wrist then, her words having had an undeniable effect on his perception of what he had done, of what he was trying to do.
“Get away from me, Sophie,” he growled out in husky tones, since it was not yet easy for him to move away given his still bound arm. He felt open, exposed, and wanted no one under that skin of his again. She smirked for a second, clearly registering what was in his eyes. It was in his aura, it was everywhere, and she could feel herself in control again. This was give and take, she gave him more information about herself, she took back the control she needed in the situation. It was what she craved. She leaned forward further, one hand on the bed to steady herself. She shouldn’t be baiting him, but she couldn’t help herself. Power was one of those things she had a habit for.
“Do you want to know what I think, Luca?” She snarled, breaching every inch of personal space he had. “I think you really need to rethink what exactly you were going to do with that poor girl. Because you just aren’t that nice a person, hmm?” There was a growl deep in his throat as she moved further in, hunter hunted, and he did not like that closeness one bit. “I don’t give a shit what you think right now,” he snarled at her. “And you had better back the fuck off before another hooker dies today. Hmm?” Low blow, he knew, but all bets were off with this girl. “Why? Because I told you something you didn’t want to hear?” She refused to move, standing her ground, that smirk still on her face. “You’re many things, Luca, but I didn’t think you were a coward.” Nevertheless, she stepped backwards, picking up a knife from the table. “Stay still.”
She cut the other tie from his wrist without a word and stood, back to the wall, waiting for him to leave. She was terrified. Utterly terrified, but she didn’t think he would kill her. She was more scared about what he would do to her instead, because she wasn’t entirely sure he would let that comment slide. She completely forgot about her composure for a second, and the hurt in her eyes was evident. They’d both showed sides to each other that they didn’t want to today. Not a muscle twitched as she cut the last time from his wrist, and when he rose, it was evident that he was being very careful to make sure that his personal space came no where near her own. Nothing more was said as he picked up his shirt from the floor and buttoned it up, leaving it half undone as he slipped into his shoes.
Casting one last look in her direction, Luca disappeared from the bedroom, the sound of the front door opening and closing soon sounding in his wake. She had hit a sore spot, one he didn’t even realise that he had, and he was quite aware that if he stayed any longer in her infuriating company, he was likely to do something that would not garner forgiveness from any person on this planet.
He had fucked up. And now he had to figure out how to fix the mess he had created.