Almost is Never Enough- IM5/Dalton Rapattoni Story (Wattys 2016)

She's Gone and Moving On

*Cassidy's POV*
After Luna ran out, Dalton ran out after her, but came back in a few seconds later, looking green.
"What's wrong?" Cole asked his bandmate.
Dalton took a deep breath before breaking down crying, dropping to the floor as we all ran over to him.
"Dalton," I whispered, hugging him tightly and helping him up off the ground. "Sweetie, its all going to be okay."
"No it's not, Cass," Gabe interrupted, glaring at Dalton with fire in his eyes. "Luna's gone."
Cole froze, turning paler than he already was. "Gone?"
Gabe nodded solemnly. "She ran away. It's all Dalton's fault."
"Don't start with that," Will said, coming to Dalton's defense. "What happened, Dalton?"
Dalton told us about the misunderstanding between the three of them. He told us the awful thing he said to Luna about her parents. I was so angry, I could have punched him, but I knew that wouldn't bring Luna back.
"How could you say that?" Cole yelled, getting angrier by the second. "You broke my cousin's heart! She's been through more in the last few weeks than you've ever had to go through, and you think you can use it against her?"
I expected Dalton to yell back, to tell Cole off. Instead, he hung his head in shame. "I agree with you and Gabe. It's all my fault. I just want her back." Dalton was crying again, but this time, everyone just glared at him. Everyone except me, Dana and Will, anyway. Alex was made because Gabe was mad, and Cole and Gabe were mad for obvious reasons.
"You're dang right it's your fault!" Gabe shot back. "Quit crying, nobody's believing your little act."
I slapped Gabe. "Shut up, you Neanderthal!" I yelled at him. "Dalton may have said something things, but he doesn't deserve this. When Luna left, you weren't the only one who lost her. We all did. And Dalton had as much of a right as anyone to cry."
"Cassidy," Cole cut in, "Dalton's the reason I may never see her again. He's the reason she's not here right now."
I glared at my boyfriend, making him step back in fear. "You're the reason he couldn't just ask her out! If you weren't so overprotective, they might have been dating, and he wouldn't get jealous and paranoid every time she was alone with another guy! This isn't just Dalton's fault, Cole. We all provided push factors for Luna to leave."
"But Dalton pushed her over the edge," Alex pointed out.
"Your boyfriend was the one sitting on the roof with her alone. How are you not suspicious about what happened before Dalton went up there?"
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Gabe announced.
"That's your story."
Alex stepped forward, towering over me. "Are calling my boyfriend a liar?"
"I'm not calling him a truther!"
Alex almost jumped on me, but Cole pulled me back. "Fighting won't get Luna back. We have to go get her-"
Cole was cut off by our phones ringing. It was a voice message from Luna:
"Guys," her weepy voice said quietly, "I'm sorry to have to say it, but I'm running away. I never wanted it to come to this, but I just need to be home. This isn't Dalton's fault, so don't blame him. He helped me to realize that I couldn't stay in California. I didn't say goodbye because... well, because I hate goodbyes. Especially since they last ones I had to say were when my parents... I'm sorry to do this to all if you. Hopefully, you can move on and forget me. I love you all, Cole, Will, Cassidy, Gabe, Dana, Alex... and you, Dalton. Don't feel guilty, I forgive you for what happened. Cole and Gabe, don't give him any trouble for this. I don't want any of you to fight. You all make a beautiful family... it just wasn't one I was born into. Please, just don't try to find me and bring me back. I'm doing what's best for all of us. I'll miss you, but it's the right thing to do. Goodbye."
   The voice memo ended with Luna sniffling as a loudspeaker announced that a flight would be taking off shortly.
   We were all in tears before the recording cut out. We lost our little sister, our best friend. Our Luna.
   "I need to go get her," Cole said, going outside with his phone and wallet in hand. I grabbed the car keys, following him out. Everyone else- with the exception of Dalton- followed us. We got into Mr. Pendery's twelve-passenger van and went to the airport. Cole was going twenty over the limit, but all anyone cared about was finding Luna.
   As we pulled up to the airport, we all ran in different directions to make finding her easier. Alex and I went to the ticket office, hoping to get tickets for all of us to get through security.
   "When does your flight to New York depart?" Alex asked the lady at the desk. Her name tag read Barbara.
   "Our last flight of the night left about half an hour ago," Barbara answered.
   "No, that can't be. You must have one that's taking off in a few minutes?" I said desperately.
   Barbara shook her head. "I'm sorry, sweetie. There's another flight tomorrow that leaves at nine AM?"  
   I walked away from her, taking out my phone and dialing Cole. "Get back here, bring the guys." I hung up after saying that, sitting on a bench next to Alex, holding back tears. The boys came running, expecting to see us with Luna. Their faces fell when they saw my probably disheartened expression.
   "Cass, please tell me you're faking us out," Cole breathed.
   I shook my head, hugging Cole as a tear fell from my eye. "She's gone."
  
*Luna's POV*
   "Miss, you're gonna have to turn that phone off," the flight attendant said gently.
   "Yes, ma'am." I shut off my phone, looking out my window at the clouds beside me. We had departed about half an hour ago, which was when I sent everyone the voice memo. I knew they were going to try to stop me, so I sent the recording after it was too late to do so. It broke my heart to do this to Cole and the guys, but it was something I had to do. Moving away from New York so soon was a terrible idea, especially after such an awful event. I couldn't stay in California on principle. It brought back too many bad memories. Being home at my parent's house was better than being in California.
   After a while, we were allowed to turn on our phones again. There was no reception in the sky, so I knew I wouldn't get anything from anyone. I played Superman again, listening to the lyrics and starting to cry again.
   "Are you alright?"
   I looked around to see a guy in the seat across the aisle from me, eyeing me with concern.  He had a slight British accent, and his black hair shone in the weird airplane light.
   "I'm-I'm fine, thanks," I muttered.
   "Are you flying alone?"
   "Yeah," I said. "Traveling for... for fun."
   The guy looked at me skeptically. "You don't seem to be having fun."
   "I'm just a little sad is all."
   "Well, I'm Andy. Andy Moran."
   I smiled lightly. "Luna Pearson. Are you moving to New York?"
   "I moved there a few weeks ago from Oxford. Bought a house that belonged to a family. The parents died the week before."
   I froze. "That's my house," I whispered.
   "Your house?" Andy asked. "So... your parents..."
   "Yeah," I answered. "I moved to California with my cousin, but I don't like California. I just want to go home."
   Andy looked as if he were pondering something. "You could come stay with me, if you'd like. I mean, it is technically your house."
   "You don't have to-"
   "I want to. I couldn't live with myself if you were staying in a hotel while I was comfortable in your home. Please, come stay with me. My sister Annabelle is there. She'd love to have a friend in the house. We annoy each other terribly."
   I smiled. "Thank you so much, Andy. I really appreciate it."
   Andy reciprocated my smile. "Anytime."