Forbidden Love

Chapter 4

     ^The Trail.

     "Oh, honey! I'm so sorry to hear that all of that happened to you. Honestly, you could have told us. We would have helped you, dear." My mother says, trying her best to comfort Luna. 

    I didn't really know how to feel at the moment, so I dismissed myself from the dinner table to go outside. I needed to cope with everything that Luna had just told me and my mother.

     I thought I knew everything about her... We're best friends, right? Why didn't she tell me all this abuse was happening in her house? It made me angry... Could she not trust me or something?

     I began walking the trail that connected my house to the forest. 

     It'd been two days since we'd heard anything from the hospital. Mrs. Miller had woken up and was doing great considering what happened to her. But, she hadn't been allowed to leave the hospital. For what reason? I didn't know. 

     Even though her mother was ok, Luna still seemed upset. She hardly talked; never smiled. I'd never seen her like this before. She looked worse than she did when we were in the hospital. 

     Her spark was gone, and she wouldn't tell me why...

     "Hey, why'd you leave?" I hear Luna call as she jogged to catch up to me. 

     I looked to my left as she appeared at my right before saying, "Just wanted to clear my head."

     "Oh... I guess it's good that I came with you..." she trails off, touching the edge of a snow covered tree branch.  The beautiful white that was the snow of Big Bear, was enough to make me forget that she was walking next to me. It was enough to make me forget about everything.

     "Liam... I never got to thank you... for what you did for me and my mother." Luna murmurs, her eyes on the ground and her hands behind her back sheepishly.  

     I sighed, asking myself how I could be mad at her in her moment of suffering and said, "You don't have to thank me, I'm your best friend. I'm supposed to help you."

     Her brown eyes lit up as she glanced at me and then back down at her pink ugg boots.

     "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I know we're supposed to tell each other everything, but... I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone. I didn't want to look weak," she explains. 

     I laughed at her reason.

     "You're one of the strongest girls I know. Why would telling me something like that make you weak? If anything," I began, stopping to put my hand in her hair, "It'd make you strong."

      She smiled brightly at me, closing her eyes as she did.

     "Thanks, Liam. I'll tell you about all of my problems from now on!"

     "Woah, Woah, Woah. Calm down Lu, I only want to know when something is seriously wrong. Don't start telling me about girl problems." I laugh. She laughs with me and gives me a quick hug. I pat her on the back and turn back towards the house when she lets me go.

     "Come on, let's start heading back before mom starts worrying about us," I motion as I walked away from her.

     "No, you go ahead. I'm gonna chill out here for a bit," she says turning to continue down the trail. I shrug, not really caring, and jogged back to the house. 

     Even before I got into the house I could smell that my mother was cooking something.

     "What's cooking good lookin'?" I say to my mother as I sat on the counter next to her. She smiled and squinted her eyes at me momentarily after.  

     "Lasagna. I'd like it if you got your ass off my counter. I do cook food there," she answers with a small laugh. I stayed put and watched as she cooked dinner. 

     She wasn't saying anything, but I could tell the situation with Luna was bothering her. She had this look on her face that told me she was thinking about something. I sighed and looked out the back door. I could see Luna still walking the trail, getting farther as it got darker. I probably should have been worried... but I knew she needed time to be with herself.

     Maybe I'd take her to see her mother before dinner...

     "Hey, mom."

     "Yes, Liam?"

     "I'm gonna take Luna to see her mother before dinner. We'll be back in a few, okay?" I say. My mom nods as she puts the lasagna in the oven. 

     I hopped off the counter and walked over to the sliding door to open it.

     "Lu! Lu! Luna! Come on, we're going to go to the hospital before it gets too late."

***

     I sat up as we pulled into the hospital parking lot. There weren't many people here but I assumed it was just because it was getting late. I had a lot of things I wanted to talk to my mother about, so I was excited to see her. 

     Prom was coming up...  I knew it would be hard getting me a dress because of our current situation, but it'd be nice to talk to her about something else other than my father. 

     "Do you have a date for prom, Luna?" Liam asks me as we begin walking towards the entrance. 

     I rolled my eyes. Who in the hell did he think I was? I didn't date and he knew that. I wonder why he even asked.

     "No. I don't want one. What about you? You probably have plenty of girls to chose from..." I say while avoiding his gaze.

     "Yup... The bitches love me," he laughs while putting both hands behind his head.

     "I'm gonna act like I didn't hear that," I say while narrowing my eyes and pushing the elevator button. 

     As we waited for the elevator to come down, a sickening chill ran down my spine. It caused me to tap my foot impatiently on the ground. Liam noticed, as he always did. But, he said nothing, because he felt it too.

     I stepped into the elevator and leaned against the wall as my chest began to constrict. When the elevator door opened again, I bolted out and towards my mother's room. I had to confirm that what I was feeling was only me being paranoid.

     But... it wasn't.