Chapter 5 - ONE INCH
The neurologist warned Luca not to treat rehabilitation like war.
Luca ignored him.
That lasted three days.
On the fourth day, he collapsed beside the parallel bars.
His shoulder hit the mat.
The therapist cursed.
Elena rushed forward.
Luca slammed one hand against the floor.
“Again.”
“No.”
He looked at the therapist.
“I said again.”
“And I said no.”
Luca stared at him.
Dr. Aaron Pierce stared back.
“Your legs haven’t carried your weight in twelve years.”
“Then they’ve had enough rest.”
“This isn’t motivation.”
“It’s biology.”
Luca hated him immediately.
That was probably why Marco had hired him.
Maya sat in the corner doing homework.
She looked up.
“You’re being stupid.”
Luca turned his head.
“Excuse me?”
“You fell.”
“I noticed.”
“And now you’re mad at the floor.”
“I’m not mad at the floor.”
“You hit it.”
Luca looked at his hand.
Maya had a point.
Elena crossed her arms.
“Maybe listen to the eight-year-old.”
“Everyone in this room is becoming very comfortable.”
Maya grinned.
The next morning, Luca tried again.
His hands gripped the bars.
His legs shook violently.
Sweat ran down his forehead.
Dr. Pierce stood behind him.
“Don’t force the knee.”
“I’m not.”
“You absolutely are.”
Luca breathed through his teeth.
His right foot shifted.
One inch.
That was all.
One inch forward.
His entire body froze.
Maya dropped her pencil.
“You moved.”
No one spoke.
Luca stared at his shoe.
Maya jumped up.
“You moved!”
Dr. Pierce grabbed Luca before his knees buckled.
“Sit.”
“I can do it again.”
“Not today.”
“I can.”
“Luca.”
It was Elena.
He looked at her.
Her eyes were wet.
She smiled anyway.
“You moved.”
That evening, Maya made a certificate using construction paper.
She wrote:
OFFICIAL FIRST STEP.
Technically it had not been a step.
Luca did not correct her.
He put it on the wall of his study.
Right beside the toxicology report.
Later that night, Marco arrived with news.
Moretti had been found.
Alive.
He had not run because someone had taken him.
He had run because he saw a car outside his house and panicked.
Marco’s men found him at a roadside motel outside Madison.
“He agreed to talk,” Marco said.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
Luca nodded.
Marco remained standing.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Someone broke into Elena’s apartment.”
Luca’s head snapped up.
“Was anyone there?”
“No.”
“What did they take?”
“Nothing.”
Luca went cold.
People did not break into a home and take nothing.
Not unless stealing had never been the purpose.
Marco placed a photograph on the desk.
It had been found on Elena’s kitchen table.
A picture of Maya at school.
Taken that morning.
May you like
Someone had written four words across the back.
STOP DIGGING INTO THE PAST.
