The phone call had been short between speaker and recipient, a very brief pleasantry exchanged before the main context was hurriedly shared. Luca's voice was calm and low as he told Mallow he would be waiting.
After Mallow cut the call, Luca walked stiffly to the bathroom in his room and approached the sink. He twisted the tap on and repeatedly cupped water in his palms to splash on his face. Of course, he felt the water make large contacts with the scars, appearing like water on an oily surface, but he didn't mind, nor did he feel anything.
To Luca, it seemed he had stopped feeling actual external physical pains, or maybe his tolerance to them now was implausibly high.
He brushed his teeth mechanically, no smile on his face because he couldn't recognize his reflection in the mirror. There was literally nothing to smile about as long as his mother and Sophia were not in the room.
