Chapter 51
The days that followed brought a change in Luca that worried Sol more than the physical injuries ever had.
At first, Sol told himself it was simply exhaustion, the natural aftermath of trauma and surgery and the slow, painful process of healing. Luca slept often, ate little, and spoke even less, his responses to Sol's gentle questions growing shorter and more distant with each visit.
"How are you feeling today?" Sol would ask, settling into the same chair he'd claimed as his own beside the hospital bed.
"Fine," Luca would answer, staring at some fixed point on the ceiling, never quite meeting Sol's eyes.
It became the only word Luca seemed willing to offer anymore. Fine. Regardless of the actual question, regardless of how Sol tried to phrase things differently, coaxing for
