Crossing The Line 

Emma

I wake up thirsty and quickly climb out of bed, desperate for some water. As I step out of my room, something catches my eye beneath the couch.

I bend down to pick it up, only to spot another one near the coffee table.

I stare at the first earring for a moment.

A tiny diamond dangling from a delicate silver chain. Definitely not mine.

Then I notice a tube of lipstick.

I slowly straighten, looking around the apartment.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

After everything that happened last night, I thought the whole thing had been some bizarre exception.

Apparently not.

This is a lifestyle.

I pick up the lipstick and turn it between my fingers.

“How many women have you brought through here, Luca?”

“You really want the number?” 

His voice makes me jump out of my skin and I quickly turn around. 

Luca is standing in the hallway, casually drinking from a bottle of water, looking far too amused by the situation.

“How long have you been standing there?” I snap.

“Long enough to hear you interrogating my furniture.”

His grin widens.

I hold up the lipstick. “You leave these everywhere?”

He shrugs. “Apparently.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“It’s an apartment, Emma. Not a crime scene.”

“Normal people don’t leave pieces of their love life scattered around the apartment.”

Luca glances at the lipstick in my hand, completely unfazed. “Normal people are boring.”

“You mean shameless.”

His eyebrow lifts. “You were the one digging under my couch.”

“Because I was looking for water, not evidence of your latest conquest.”

A lazy grin spreads across his face. “You sound jealous.”

I give him a flat look. “Trust me, Luca. I’d rather drink from the kitchen tap than be jealous of you.”

He laughs under his breath, shaking his head. “Good. Then we’re clear.”

“We’re definitely not clear.” I toss the lipstick onto the table. “You can’t keep bringing random women here.”

“Why not?” He folds his arms, watching me with an almost challenging expression.

“Because I live here too.”

His amusement fades slightly when he notices I’m genuinely irritated.

“And?”

“And I don’t want to wake up to another half-naked stranger running around the apartment.”

He shrugs. “Then don’t look.”

I stare at him, wondering how one person can be this infuriating. 

“Fine.” I fold my arms. “Then we’re making rules.”

He lets out another quiet laugh. “Rules?”

“Yes. Rules.”

His eyes gleam with amusement.

He shakes his head.

“This should be entertaining.” A brief pause follows before his expression turns smug. “Especially knowing you won’t be living here for long, yet you’ve already decided to own the place.”

My jaw tightens at his words, and before I can part my lips, the doorbell rings.

I glance toward the door, already assuming one of his many flings has decided to show up unannounced.

Luca, however, doesn’t look surprised. “I’ll get it.”

He walks toward the door, and I roll my eyes, already preparing myself for another half-dressed woman.

But the moment he opens it, my expression changes. A middle-aged man stands outside, holding a folder under his arm.

“Smith,” Luca mutters.

The landlord steps inside, giving both of us an apologetic look. “I assume you two have already discovered the problem.”

“You mean the part where you rented the same apartment to two people?” Luca asks, his voice turning cold.

Smith sighs. “It was a booking error. I sincerely apologize.”

I step forward. “So what happens now? One of us leaves?”

“I wish it were that simple. Unfortunately, the other units are occupied, and both of you have already signed the lease.”

I stare at him in disbelief. “So we’re supposed to live together?”

Smith gives an uncomfortable nod. “For now, yes. I’ll move one of you as soon as another unit becomes available.”

I stare at him, waiting for him to say he’s joking.

He doesn’t.

“How long?”

“I honestly can’t say.”

My shoulders drop in frustration. “Great.”

Smith apologises and leaves.

After a short moment of silence, I grab a notepad from the kitchen counter and place it on the table.

Luca watches me, confused. “What are you doing?”

“Making rules.” I pull out a chair and sit down. “If we’re going to be stuck living together, we’re going to need boundaries.”

He leans against the counter, clearly amused. “This should be good.”

I ignore him and write the first one.

No bringing strangers home.

Luca’s amused expression disappears. “Absolutely not.”

I look up. “Absolutely yes.”

“You don’t get to decide who I bring into my own apartment.” His jaw tightens, and he straightens from the counter as if my words have finally pushed a button.

“And you don’t get to turn our apartment into a hotel.” I hold his gaze, refusing to back down.

He stares at me for a moment before letting out a frustrated breath. “Fine. What’s the next rule?”

I turn the page toward him.

“No touching each other’s belongings. No stealing food. Keep the common areas clean.”

He looks at the list, then back at me.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“A little.” I casually shrug my shoulders. 

His eyes narrow. “You’re going to be a nightmare.”

He gives me a look that tells me he has absolutely no intention of making that easy.

The next morning, I leave the apartment early, hoping to put everything that happened over the past twenty-four hours behind me.

“You’re looking for Building C?”

I glance at the map in my hand. “Unless this thing is lying to me.”

The girl laughs. “It isn’t. You’re just standing in front of Building B.”

“First day?”

“That obvious?”

She laughs. “Only because you’re holding the campus map upside down.”

I look down at it and immediately flip it around.

“Okay. Maybe it is that obvious.”

Her laugh makes me smile despite myself.

“I’m Mia.” She gives me a full smile. 

“Emma.” Within minutes, we’re walking toward class together.

Exhaustion finally takes over as I collapse onto my bed, ready to call it a day.

In my dream, I’m trapped beneath the blankets, barely able to move. Something heavy presses against my face.

I try to breathe, but the air seems to disappear. My hands desperately push against the mattress as panic rushes through me.

And then I see Luca.  He’s standing over me, one hand pressing a pillow against my face.

His expression is completely calm. “You wanted rules, Emma?”

My eyes widen. I try to scream, but no sound comes out. The pressure suddenly increases.

I jolt awake with a gasp.

“Emma!”

My eyes fly open.

Luca is leaning over me, gripping my shoulders and shaking me.

I shove him away so hard that he stumbles back.

“What the fuck are you doing?” 

He stares at me, completely confused. “Trying to wake you up.”

My chest rises and falls rapidly as I look around the room.

There’s no pillow over my face. Just Luca—and the embarrassing realization that I’m covered in sweat.

Unfortunately, somehow, that’s almost worse.

“Your friend is here,” he says, his amusement disappearing. “She’s crying.”

Luca follows me into the hallway, and I immediately spot Mia sitting on the couch, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Mia!” I rush toward her, and she immediately pulls me into a hug.

“What happened? Is everything alright?” I ask, gently brushing the strands of hair away from her face.

She’s trembling so badly that it scares me. Whatever happened, it clearly wasn’t something she can simply brush off.

“Can you bring her some water?” I ask Luca.

He rolls his eyes but heads toward the kitchen without arguing.

“It’s… Carl…” Mia manages between shaky breaths. I pull back slightly. “What did he do?”

Luca returns with the glass, and Mia takes it with trembling hands.

“I’m pregnant with Carl’s child,” she whispers. “And he refuses to take responsibility.”

My heart sinks.

Luca and I exchange a brief look before Mia continues.

“He humiliated me in front of the whole class.”

Her voice cracks, and tears spill down her cheeks again.

Luca scratches the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable with the situation.“Sweetie, did you really expect Carl to suddenly become father-of-the-year?”

I shoot him an annoyed look.

He raises both hands defensively. “What? I’m just saying he doesn’t exactly seem like the fatherhood type.”

“Luca,” I warn.

He exhales and looks away, finally realizing his words aren’t helping.

Mia’s face crumples, and she starts crying again.

My anger toward him disappears as quickly as it came. I move closer to Mia, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

I have no idea what to say.

There are no perfect words for something like this. I can only imagine how betrayed and humiliated she must feel.

And God knows what lies Carl must have told her before leaving her to deal with everything alone.

I move closer and gently squeeze her hand. “You’re not going back alone.”

Mia looks up at me through her tears. “What?”

“Stay here tonight.”

She hesitates, glancing around the apartment.

“But Luca—”

“He’ll survive.” I glance toward him.

Luca raises an eyebrow but doesn’t argue.

I turn back to Mia and give her hand another reassuring squeeze.

“Get some rest. Tomorrow, we’ll figure out what to do about Carl.”

Her lips tremble as she nods. “You really think you can help me?”

I look at her for a moment, my anger quietly returning at the thought of Carl humiliating her in front of everyone.

“I don’t know what I can do yet.”

I gently wipe another tear from her cheek.

“But we’ll figure it out.”

Tomorrow, Carl is going to answer for what he did.