“I’ll help you,” someone called.
Yadriel, Julian, and Maritza all jerked to turn toward the voice.
A boy in a large olive green sweater stood across the street, a skateboard tucked under his arm.
“Uh-oh,” Maritza murmured.
Yeah. This was a big “uh-oh.”
Julian’s shoulders slumped. “Luca, you idiot,” he said as the boy crossed the road and perched on the edge of the curb.
“Hey…” Yadriel trailed off awkwardly. How much had he heard?
“I’ll help you guys,” Luca repeated. He didn’t look freaked out, or even upset. He looked more curious than anything.
Maritza and Yadriel exchanged looks.
“What is he doing here?” Julian scowled, pacing back and forth in front of Luca. “He shouldn’t have come all this way on his own.”
“Look, whatever happened back there was kinda … weird,” Luca said, a nervous laugh bubbling past his lips.
“We really didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” Yadriel said, because it was true and he felt like he owed an explanation.
“I want to help,” Luca offered again, shifting his grip on his stateboard as his eyes kept dashing back to Donatello and Michelangelo.
Jules groaned and dragged his hand over his face.
Maritza gave Yadriel a surprised look.
“You … do?” Yadriel was going to keep his word to Julian, so he wasn’t going to offer up any information without knowing what exactly Luca meant, or how much he knew. Or guessed.
Luca bobbed his head yes, a ghost of a smile playing across his lips as he watched Donatello wiggle at the attention.
“See? This! This is your problem, Luca!” Julian barked, throwing his hands up.
“Is Jules dead?”
He asked it so suddenly, and so casually, it left Yadriel speechless and staring.
“I’m not sure I believe in ghosts,” Luca admitted.
“Christ,” Julian groaned.
“But the skateboard.” Luca scratched the back of his head. “Jules has kind of a quick temper.”
“No kidding,” Maritza grumbled under her breath.
Julian huffed and tugged his hood over his head.
Luca gave them an apologetic smile. “He doesn’t mean nothin’ by it.”
Julian glowered, heavy brow pulled down over his dark eyes, but Luca seemed to be thawing his anger.
“But when he gets mad, he’ll throw it like that, y’know? It was really freaky.” He lifted his bony shoulders in a shrug. “Plus, you guys were talking to like, nothing.” Luca gestured vaguely. “So either you’re both crazy, or Julian’s dead,” he guessed. “And you guys can see him?”
Maritza looked to Yadriel, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he looked to Julian. He wasn’t going to say anything without his permission.
Luca followed his gaze, searching the air and tilting his head, as if he just needed the right light to see Julian standing there.
Julian’s eyes were hidden under the hood of his jacket. Yadriel couldn’t read his expression, but he could see his jaw was clenched. After a moment, he gave a curt nod. “Okay,” he said. “Tell him.”
Yadriel swallowed, trying to find his voice through the tightness of his throat. “Yes,” he said.
He regretted it immediately.
Luca’s expression wavered between surprise and sadness. “I thought so,” he said, sniffing as his large eyes started to glisten in the waning twilight. Luca tried to smile, but his chin wobbled. “Julian wouldn’t have just left us without a reason, he wouldn’t—” He cut himself off, rubbing at his forehead.
Yadriel felt Luca’s grief, rolling off him and hitting him in the stomach.
Julian stood there, body rigid and expression still hidden.
Yadriel tried to come up with something to say that would offer the smaller boy comfort. What would his mom say if she were here?
“Luca—” he started gently, but Luca didn’t let him finish.
“Yeah, see, there’s no way Rio will see you on your own.” Luca rubbed his nose on his sleeve, drawing Yadriel’s attention back to the bruise. “He doesn’t like strangers, doesn’t trust people—kind of like Omar, but worse.”
Yadriel wasn’t sure that was possible.
“But if I’m with you, he’ll at least let you in the door,” Luca explained.
Julian crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “You little traitor…,” he said, but it lacked heat.
“I don’t know…” Yadriel trailed off, waiting for Julian’s guidance.
“I owe him.” Luca’s expression pinched, his delicate eyebrows bunching together. He tugged anxiously on the frayed hem of his sweater. “Julian, I mean. If he is dead, it’s because of me. He was trying to protect me, and then I ran off, and…” He swallowed hard.
Yadriel stole a glance at Julian.
He pushed his hood back, expression somber as he looked down at his friend. “Luca…”
“I want to find out what happened,” Luca went on. “We were too scared to go to Rio, but if he does know something…” When he spoke, his voice was firmer, more sure of himself. “I want to help, if I can.” He was staring down at the dogs again, as if they were part of the conversation. “I owe it to Jules, and Rio.”
Julian winced. “You don’t owe me shit,” he said in a quiet sigh. He tipped his head to the side, watching Luca as the smaller boy waited for an answer.
Yadriel didn’t say anything. This was Julian’s choice, not his, no matter how much he wanted Julian to agree to it.
Luca, meanwhile, was distracted. “Can I pet your dogs?” he asked Maritza with a hopeful lift of his eyebrows.
Maritza laughed. “Yeah, sure,” she said moving closer. “They’re friendly.”
Luca immediately put down his skateboard and dropped into a squat, small arms in long sleeves held out to his sides. Donatello and Michelangelo bowled Luca right over, knocking him off his feet. He was practically swallowed up by the large dogs as they nudged and licked at him happily.
As he laughed, hands giving them both a good scratch, Donatello’s lolling tongue gave him a particularly good swipe. It slicked back Luca’s mass of light brown hair, revealing a large scar running down the side of his face. It was a patch of marbled skin.
Yadriel’s heart made a hard thump in his chest. He’d seen scars like it on Maritza’s dad’s arm. Burns.
She noticed, too, the grin on her face slipping to a look of shock.
Julian didn’t say anything.
There was a lot about Julian and his friends that Yadriel still didn’t know.
When Julian remained silent, Yadriel said, “I don’t think he wants us to see Rio.”
Luca stared up at Yadriel with his large deep amber eyes while Michelangelo lapped at his ear. “So you can hear him? And see him?”
Yadriel nodded. “Yes.”
Luca looked around, twisting his fingers together. “Where is he?”
Both Yadriel and Maritza looked at Julian.
Julian stood there, motionless as he watched Luca. Even his silence was loud. His stillness was unsettling. Yadriel didn’t like it. He almost preferred Julian yelling to this.