This Is Us - Chapter 16: Chapter 16
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MATTY POV
"Matty, wake up. Something's wrong with Luca,"
I groaned to the soft patting on my shoulder and swatted Thomas away, smacking my lips before I heard the soft whimpering coming from in front of me. I propped myself up on my elbow and rubbed my eyes, before catching sight of Luca whimpering in his sleep, shaking violently as he did so.
"Fuck, Thomas turn on the light," I command, sitting up and looking down. I would have thought he was having a seizure, gripping his own biceps so tightly that I knew he was going to leave bruises.
"Luca...Luca!" I call out to him with no response as he continues shaking.
"What should we do?" Thomas asks and my heart speeds up with fear.
"I don't know, I think-" Suddenly the shaking stops and he loosens his grip on himself, leaving dark red marks where his fingers once were.
"Luca?" I try to shake him again and suddenly he sits straight up, his bright blue eyes wide open as he did so with sweat dripping down his face. He damn near scared the shit out of me when he did so and I jumped back for a second as Thomas and I freeze in place.
Although he looked like he was wide awake I could tell something wasn't right as he stared straight ahead for a few moments.
"Lu-" he suddenly darts up out of our bed and starts running.
"LUCA!" I scream his name as I jump after him, knowing something was desperately wrong with our sweetheart.
I jetted out into the hallway catching sight of Luca just as he hopped over the banister and fell one full story to the living room, landing on his feet like a fucking ninja and barrelling towards the front door with a loud crash.
"HOLY SHIT! LUCA NO!"
I couldn't help but call after him even if I knew he couldn't hear me. Houston was barking up a storm with the ruckus as I jogged down the stairs and ran towards the glass door to find it completely shattered. In the dim glow of the Christmas lights, I could see the tiny droplets of blood on the floor.
I slipped on Thomas' boots and ran outdoors to follow him, running as fast as I could in a straight beeline since Luca was probably in some kind of hallucination from his PTSD.
In the dark, I couldn't see shit so I was thankful to have my phone in my pocket and pulled out my flashlight. I stopped running, tracking my phone light down to the dirt to see if I could find any signs of blood since he just ran through a glass door.
The chill in the air didn't help much and I was worried that because he was covered in a cold sweat he might get sick from the freezing temperatures.
"LUCA!" I called his name in the dark, my flashlight only going so far as my boots crunched against the solid dirt road that led up to our house. The blood was hard to find in the dark and I had given up considering I wasn't a man hunter or wilderness expert so I jogged ahead, down the road before I just started running as fast as I could.
I knew this whole boyband thing would pay off one day as I knew I had one thing over Luca right now and that was endurance.
I stopped when I hear a small rustle and turned towards a field of tall grass, knowing that was where it was coming from when I saw the grass parting I knew Luca must have just run in.
I chased him down, running until I saw his back and once I got close enough, I gained just enough speed and momentum to pounce. Tackling him to the ground with a loud cracking sound which I knew couldn't have been good as we fell together. He softens my fall and I used all my strength to turn his body around so he was on his back, only to get a hard punch in the face.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit,"
My entire vision blurs in my right eye and I dropped the flashlight to hold my face in pain while Luca squirmed beneath me. I started seeing stars in my vision and my skin burned to the touch but I ignored the pain to reach out my arms. Finding his shoulders and pinning him down in the dirt.
"LUCA! IT'S ME! WAKE UP! PLEASE WAKE UP!" I yelled but he was gripping my arms with fear and I dodged his hands when he tried to touch my face.
"Luca it's me...Luca come back to me, please," I cried, feeling the tears run down my face as I gently dropped my face a little bit closer to his head and kissed some part of his face in the dark.
"Luca, it's okay, you're safe, come back," I whispered to him over and over again, continuing to cover what I hoped was his face in little kisses until his labored breathing slowed and he seemed to make a slow recovery.
"Luca? Baby are you back?" I asked when his breathing steadied but all I heard was a gentle weeping instead and I let go if his shoulders to grab his cheeks in my hands. He was crying so hard that he was choking and I pressed my forehead against his, gently rubbing his soaking wet cheeks in my hands.
"Shh shh shh shh, it's okay Luca...it's okay, you're okay sweetheart, you're okay," I cooed.
"I don't...want...to live anymore," He hiccuped and gasped out to me through his tears of pain and anguish. I felt a thick ball form in my throat as I kissed the tip of his nose, moving up to his forehead, holding him hostage with my body so he couldn't run.
"Don't say that baby, you're strong. You can do this, we believe in you," I whispered to him and he sighed.
"Let's get you back to the house so we can look at those wounds okay?" I coax him and I feel him nod in my hands as he sniffled. I gently nuzzled my head against his for a few moments holding him in place before a loud growl stiffens both of us.
"What was that?" Luca whispered and I shushed him. Hearing the growl again I reach out, grabbing my phone's flashlight from beside us and tilting it up to see what was making the noise.
A wild large gray wolf stood not even two feet away from us.
"Don't move," I whispered as low as I could to Luca who couldn't see the massive wolf which now beared it's teeth and started to growl. It suddenly charged towards us and I screamed dropping my head to Luca's chest, waiting for the wolf to eat me first when a loud snarled barking nearly popped my eardrums.
Hearing a mess of growling and destruction I raised my head along with the flashlight to find the wolf was now being attacked and destroyed by Houston. Our large rottweiler fighting for us like our lives depended on it before the wolf slipped away and Houston ran after it. I quickly whistled before he got too far, signalling for him to come back to us and he does, looking confused when he sees Luca on the ground and wimpers.
"LUCA! MATTY!" I could hear Thomas call out for us and I turned up my flashlight, shining it through the thick grass as Houston barked to announce our presense but stayed by our side.
"THOMAS!"
"Matty, wake up. Something's wrong with Luca,"
I groaned to the soft patting on my shoulder and swatted Thomas away, smacking my lips before I heard the soft whimpering coming from in front of me. I propped myself up on my elbow and rubbed my eyes, before catching sight of Luca whimpering in his sleep, shaking violently as he did so.
"Fuck, Thomas turn on the light," I command, sitting up and looking down. I would have thought he was having a seizure, gripping his own biceps so tightly that I knew he was going to leave bruises.
"Luca...Luca!" I call out to him with no response as he continues shaking.
"What should we do?" Thomas asks and my heart speeds up with fear.
"I don't know, I think-" Suddenly the shaking stops and he loosens his grip on himself, leaving dark red marks where his fingers once were.
"Luca?" I try to shake him again and suddenly he sits straight up, his bright blue eyes wide open as he did so with sweat dripping down his face. He damn near scared the shit out of me when he did so and I jumped back for a second as Thomas and I freeze in place.
Although he looked like he was wide awake I could tell something wasn't right as he stared straight ahead for a few moments.
"Lu-" he suddenly darts up out of our bed and starts running.
"LUCA!" I scream his name as I jump after him, knowing something was desperately wrong with our sweetheart.
I jetted out into the hallway catching sight of Luca just as he hopped over the banister and fell one full story to the living room, landing on his feet like a fucking ninja and barrelling towards the front door with a loud crash.
"HOLY SHIT! LUCA NO!"
I couldn't help but call after him even if I knew he couldn't hear me. Houston was barking up a storm with the ruckus as I jogged down the stairs and ran towards the glass door to find it completely shattered. In the dim glow of the Christmas lights, I could see the tiny droplets of blood on the floor.
I slipped on Thomas' boots and ran outdoors to follow him, running as fast as I could in a straight beeline since Luca was probably in some kind of hallucination from his PTSD.
In the dark, I couldn't see shit so I was thankful to have my phone in my pocket and pulled out my flashlight. I stopped running, tracking my phone light down to the dirt to see if I could find any signs of blood since he just ran through a glass door.
The chill in the air didn't help much and I was worried that because he was covered in a cold sweat he might get sick from the freezing temperatures.
"LUCA!" I called his name in the dark, my flashlight only going so far as my boots crunched against the solid dirt road that led up to our house. The blood was hard to find in the dark and I had given up considering I wasn't a man hunter or wilderness expert so I jogged ahead, down the road before I just started running as fast as I could.
I knew this whole boyband thing would pay off one day as I knew I had one thing over Luca right now and that was endurance.
I stopped when I hear a small rustle and turned towards a field of tall grass, knowing that was where it was coming from when I saw the grass parting I knew Luca must have just run in.
I chased him down, running until I saw his back and once I got close enough, I gained just enough speed and momentum to pounce. Tackling him to the ground with a loud cracking sound which I knew couldn't have been good as we fell together. He softens my fall and I used all my strength to turn his body around so he was on his back, only to get a hard punch in the face.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit,"
My entire vision blurs in my right eye and I dropped the flashlight to hold my face in pain while Luca squirmed beneath me. I started seeing stars in my vision and my skin burned to the touch but I ignored the pain to reach out my arms. Finding his shoulders and pinning him down in the dirt.
"LUCA! IT'S ME! WAKE UP! PLEASE WAKE UP!" I yelled but he was gripping my arms with fear and I dodged his hands when he tried to touch my face.
"Luca it's me...Luca come back to me, please," I cried, feeling the tears run down my face as I gently dropped my face a little bit closer to his head and kissed some part of his face in the dark.
"Luca, it's okay, you're safe, come back," I whispered to him over and over again, continuing to cover what I hoped was his face in little kisses until his labored breathing slowed and he seemed to make a slow recovery.
"Luca? Baby are you back?" I asked when his breathing steadied but all I heard was a gentle weeping instead and I let go if his shoulders to grab his cheeks in my hands. He was crying so hard that he was choking and I pressed my forehead against his, gently rubbing his soaking wet cheeks in my hands.
"Shh shh shh shh, it's okay Luca...it's okay, you're okay sweetheart, you're okay," I cooed.
"I don't...want...to live anymore," He hiccuped and gasped out to me through his tears of pain and anguish. I felt a thick ball form in my throat as I kissed the tip of his nose, moving up to his forehead, holding him hostage with my body so he couldn't run.
"Don't say that baby, you're strong. You can do this, we believe in you," I whispered to him and he sighed.
"Let's get you back to the house so we can look at those wounds okay?" I coax him and I feel him nod in my hands as he sniffled. I gently nuzzled my head against his for a few moments holding him in place before a loud growl stiffens both of us.
"What was that?" Luca whispered and I shushed him. Hearing the growl again I reach out, grabbing my phone's flashlight from beside us and tilting it up to see what was making the noise.
A wild large gray wolf stood not even two feet away from us.
"Don't move," I whispered as low as I could to Luca who couldn't see the massive wolf which now beared it's teeth and started to growl. It suddenly charged towards us and I screamed dropping my head to Luca's chest, waiting for the wolf to eat me first when a loud snarled barking nearly popped my eardrums.
Hearing a mess of growling and destruction I raised my head along with the flashlight to find the wolf was now being attacked and destroyed by Houston. Our large rottweiler fighting for us like our lives depended on it before the wolf slipped away and Houston ran after it. I quickly whistled before he got too far, signalling for him to come back to us and he does, looking confused when he sees Luca on the ground and wimpers.
"LUCA! MATTY!" I could hear Thomas call out for us and I turned up my flashlight, shining it through the thick grass as Houston barked to announce our presense but stayed by our side.
"THOMAS!"
End of This Is Us Chapter 16. Continue reading Chapter 17 or return to This Is Us book page.