I Promise (Explicit Version)

~Chapter Twenty-Six~

"Brian, can we go home? She's falling asleep more by the second and I don't want to drag her," Robert said, not listing the real reason but a sense of implication. Brian nodded.

"Yeah. Mere and I will go talk to Darren and Company. Here. I'll get someone to lock up," Brian said, giving Robert the car keys. The two of us got into the car.

"I know he bugs you, but Brian is actually really good person," Robert noted.

"Yeah," I responded as Brian and Meredith got in. Robert returned the keys to Brian.

"Food, then sleep," Meredith announced, letting her hair out of the messy bun. It spilled down her shoulders, realizing me.

"Hey does anyone need earplugs? I'm a holiday grinch and I know we all need sleep for tomorrow," Brian said.

"Not yet," I mumbled, fighting to stay awake.

"You can skip the food step and just sleep," Meredith suggested to me.

DARREN'S POV

I felt like shit about earlier, so I avoided Luna. I was an idiot, forgetting her past for a while. Mom had clearly told me to not be my usual drama queen self with my sister who had been hurt in the past two months by the same person who abused her as a child. And that guy happened to be our dad. The whole time, Robert had been talking to Luna and hugging her. And I get why she would choose him over me. Reason number one: they've known each other for a long time. Reason number two: she's mad at me most likely. Reason number three: despite the fact that Chuck would help her immensely, Chuck would have to talk to her (breaking the one rule I set for him) and/or Luna would have to face me, which I knew she did not want to do. I saw her disappear with Robert. Brian and Meredith said a rushed hello and goodbye before leaving after making sure that Rachael and Jeff would lock up.

While we headed to the manor that night, I kept moping around and feeling sorry for myself. "Darren Everett Criss," Chuck said to me, dropping the full name. This meant we had actual serious adult matters to discuss.

"What?" I asked.

"The only thing you can do is apologize. Robert texted me about it," Chuck said.

"What's the gist?" I asked.

"Stop moping. The whole situation would be better if it wasn't tonight, but so be it. Luna has an abusive past and she just wants to be normal if I'm being honest. First, she was mad, but then she was filled with shame. You know when someone says, I'm not mad, I'm just... disappointed, you feel bad?" Chuck asked me.

"Every fucking time," I said, still wondering what the point in all of this was.

"That's exactly what she feels. Shame. And on tonight of all nights! What's today?"

"The fucking fourth of July. What does it fucking matter?" I said.

"Those fireworks will never spark joy in her. She has PTSD. She's been tested. Those sound like bullets being fired from guns. Her mom from Australia told me that when they first took Luna home, her medical record had mentions of bullet wounds and broken bones. The fireworks also sound like bones being snapped. That's even worse now and you know why. So, now she has to have those memories along with her night terrors which still spring up along with that shame," Chuck said.

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"I actually read the group chat," Chuck said, "All she needs is to know that you're not disappointed in you. Clark has helped her with all of this so much more than you can imagine. And in order to fulfill that stupid treaty, they feel the need to stay apart. You're a drama queen and will inevitably overreact, no matter what. When the other has had a bad day, they make sure to have a long hug and a kiss on the forehead. If they can't talk, they text and video chat."

I pulled a phone out of my pocket. Luna's. I found it at the theater after she left and took it with me. There were tons of notifications, especially from Clark.

iMessages™

From Clark <3: Hope you're doing okay. You didn't pick up.

FaceTime (10):

Ten missed FaceTime™ calls from Clark <3

iMessages:

From Clark <3: Where are you?

"You can't deny the evidence. And I'll take that," Chuck said as we pulled up. He put Luna's phone securely in his pocket.

"Goodnight, Chuck," I said, hugging him.

"Goodnight, DareBear. Come up with a decision," he said as an Uber™ came to pick him up.

LUNA'S POV

I patted my pockets. "Dammit, I forgot my phone," I said.

"Chuck has it. He's coming in like five minutes," Meredith said, giving me some cold pizza. I had decided to stay in for the food part of this. I was hungry and the noise scared me.

"For now, you're stuck with me, but you can call your Mum," Robert said. I hugged him.

"Thanks," I said after swallowing my bite. I called her.

"How are you doing?" Mum asked.

"Hi, Mum. I left my phone at the theater. I'm doing as okay as I can be," I said.

"Why's that?"

"Darren got disappointed in me. Along with that, it's American Independence Day and they celebrate with fireworks. They sound like gunshots," I said, pretending I was with her on the couch, Dad on my other side. We were watching Monsters Inc, but it was only background noise.

"Luna, you have to learn something that I've hidden from you for a very long time," Mum said.

Disclaimer: I only own Luna and the plot line. The people represented in here are fictional versions of themselves.

This was a very heavy chapter, so just have a great time until I see you next.

--Luna :D