The Luna Cure

TWENTY-NINE

The next few days were busy, but Dante-less. Sapphire came, pretending my breakdown had never happened, the twins inhabited my time, and a few times, Finn made an appearance. But again, no Dante.

The King and Queen were around, but never long enough to spend time with me, which wasn't a bad thing. They were intimidating as can be, and I didn't need the added stress of the entire royal family trying to chat with me. That would be far too much to handle.

It must've been three or four days before Dante showed up again. He had sent no texts, and his siblings wouldn't give me any information. Not that I asked, because then I'd seen worried, and then they'd think something was going on. Which would lead to them thinking stuff like what had happened in the records room had actually occurred, and I was desperately trying to pretend it didn't. But every time it came back into my mind, my traitorous lips tingled.

Sapphire had told me Dante was working somewhere, and that's why he was gone, but I had a small suspicion he was avoiding me. I had totally rejected his kiss, well not entirely but I'd like to pretend I did, and I continued to tell him I wanted nothing to do with being with him or here. So maybe he was a little upset with me or something. I wasn't entirely sure. The small, dark part of me that resided in my chest felt bad, but the bigger, more trustworthy part in my head told me I was only helping the both of us.

The quicker he rejected me, the better things would be for the both of us.

Right?

I didn't dwell too much on that question. There was no way I wasn't right.

But finally, Dante showed up again. I was reading in one of the sitting rooms facing the snowy backyard, the light from the windows casting a beautiful glow over the room, when he burst in, a bright smile on his face.

"Get up, we're going somewhere." He greeted, walking over to the big armchair I was curled up in.

I glanced up, my eyebrows raised high. "What?" After four days, I get this? This was odd. Very odd.

Dante rolled his eyes, shaking his head. He leaned in close, to where our faces were only inches apart. My breath caught. He wouldn't try this again, would he?

"We're going somewhere. You can't say no. You're gonna have fun. Again, can't say no." His warm, peppermint smelling breath fanned my face, and my jaw dropped a little.

"I—what—why can't I say no?" I finally settled on a response. He pulled away from my face, standing at his full height.

"Because you're rotting away here, and I can just pick you up and put you in the car. So, you technically can say no, but not coming with is not an option." He held out a hand to me.

I stared at him. This was an odd response. Dante was usually calm natured, understanding, and not pushy.

"So I can't say no." I repeated, eyeing his hand.

He shook his head. "Nope!"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I've been able to turn these things down before."

"Yes, and that didn't seem to be very beneficial. Let's go."

With a sigh, I set my book down on the table next to me, and stood up. "Where do you think you're taking me?" I questioned.

"It's a surprise."

"What if I'm not dressed properly?" I asked, glancing down at my attire. I was wearing some weird jeans that didn't feel like jeans that Sapphire had called 'jeggings,' as well as a soft orange tee-shirt. It wasn't very dressy.