Starcrossed

Chapter 9

 Carson

 It had been a few days since he'd last visited Luna, and Carson still wasn't ready to do it. He knew she'd be expecting answers, and as much as he wanted to provide them, he didn't have any yet. How was he supposed to face her if he didn't have the information she was looking for? Still, he missed seeing her. Maybe he would go tomorrow.

 In the meantime, there wasn't much for him to do. There never was, really. Ever since his grandfather died, the old apartment they'd shared seemed quiet and empty- no longer a home. Carson sighed and sat down at the desk that was awkwardly placed next to the entrance of a  hallway.

There wasn't much of interest on the desk, just crumpled-up papers and a few notebooks. Clutter was scattered across the desk. The only place that wasn't cluttered was the back left corner of the desk, where a framed photograph sat of Carson and his grandfather on his favorite day of his entire life.

 That day had taken place where most of Carson's favorite memories had- the ice cream place, Get the Scoop. He was seven at the time the picture was taken, and his grandfather had decided to take him for ice cream to make up for the fact that he'd been so busy lately. So, after dinner, they drove over to Get the Scoop. When they walked up to the counter to order, the lady at the register had smiled widely at Carson. "You're a winner, young man!" she'd said warmly, and Carson had been confused. The lady quickly clarified, saying, "Today is Get the Scoop's ten-year anniversary, and you're our 100th customer! That means you're a winner!"

 They gave Carson free ice cream that night, and they also presented him with a small ice cream cone charm. Carson had been beaming with pride, and his grandfather had been so happy. The lady who'd presented Carson with his prize then came over with a camera and offered to take their picture. She took two- one that they put up in the store, and another that she printed out for them to keep. That was Carson's favorite memory with his grandfather, and ever since that day, he'd kept the ice cream charm with him at all times-even more so now that his grandfather was gone.

 Maybe it was stupid, but Carson couldn't bring himself to let go of the charm. It represented the best day of his life, and letting go of the charm felt like letting go of that memory. And that was something Carson wasn't sure he could live with doing.

 As Carson sat at the weathered old desk, he pulled a small notepad and a worn-down stub of a pencil from his pocket. That was something else he never left the house without- you never knew when you might need to write something down. Carson liked to use it to write down moments he didn't want to forget. The first memory in the notebook was the one from the ice cream place, and he'd been writing in the book ever since.

 Carson touched the tip of his pencil to the paper, only to realize that he didn't know what to write. That was the difference, he realized, between when he visited Luna and when he didn't. Whenever he saw her, he always ended up writing something down afterwards. Now, he hadn't written anything since the last day he'd visited her. Flipping back in the notebook, Carson realized that the entries had been few and far between before he'd met Luna. It was almost like Luna was giving him a purpose. He flipped to the page dated with the first day he'd met Luna and began reading.

 Today I met this really intriguing girl. I was visiting my grandfather's grave when I saw her in the window of one of the quarantine unit cells. She was looking over at me, and she tapped on the window to get my attention. It was startling- I didn't realize anyone was nearby to see me. And her appearance was so striking, too- her eyes were so bright, and her hair was so long and beautiful and....well, lilac. I'd never met a girl with lilac hair before.

 When I saw her, the only way I could think to describe her was that she looked like a mystery. And I didn't know who she was, but I wanted to solve her. There was just something about this girl that was pulling me in- I felt like I was getting lost in her stare. Those gorgeous emerald eyes...

 When I went up to the window, I wasn't sure what to do or say. I breathed on the glass and wrote my name on the frosted part. She smiled really wide, and that made me feel really happy, even though I was really sad about my grandfather. Then she breathed on the glass and wrote her name. Luna Lexis. And then I smiled too, because she had a really beautiful name and it reminded me of stars.

 I had to go then, but I'll definitely be going back. There's just something special about that girl.

 Carson closed the notebook and walked into his bedroom, setting it down on his bedside table. He realized then that he had missed Luna a lot in the few days he'd been away from her, and he made a promise to himself that he would definitely go see her tomorrow. As he thought this, he changed out of his normal clothes and into his pajamas. Then, he pulled his grandfather's jacket from his closet and slipped it on. It was a few sizes too big, but the weather was starting to get chilly at night, and when that happened, he liked to sleep in the jacket. He'd been doing that since he was eleven, and he wasn't prepared to stop now that his grandfather was gone.

 Carson then made his way into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. His gaze passed to the hook on the wall behind him where a gold chain necklace with a clock charm hung. It had been his mother's favorite necklace when she'd been alive. The back of it had an engraving that, quite ironically, said, "You never know how much time you have left." She usually wore it every day, but Carson's grandfather told him that the she'd forgotten to put it on the day she'd died in the car crash.

 Carson finished brushing and rinsed his mouth, then went back to his room and collapsed onto the bed.

 The sooner he could get to sleep, the sooner he could go see Luna again.