Amity P.O.V.
I had been sitting on the couch for a while impatiently waiting for Luz. She still hasn't texted me back, but Ghost hasn't shown up to warn me about anything yet so everything should be fine. "Her phone probably died. She does have a habit of not charging it enough..." I sighed as I got up walking over to the window Ghost had jumped out of. It was practically pitch black outside. If it wasn't for the moonlight you wouldn't even be able to see your hand in front of your face. I was about to go sit back down but I saw Ghost race for the front door. I quickly opened it only for Ghost to run away. I looked towards where he went but I couldn't tell what he was trying to show me it's too dark. I grabbed the phone Luz gave me and figured out where the flashlight option was so I could see. Once it turned on I started following Ghost and it wasn't long before I saw Zander on top of Luz. I tightened my hands into fists trying to restrain myself from using magic.
"Why don't you just shut up already? Didn't your wife ever teach you to be quiet? Or your dad for that matter?" Luz couldn't stop from moaning slightly at his touch only infuriating me. Whatever part of him was 'nice' I'll never fucking know.
"Get your hands off her!" Zander stopped once he heard me completely in shock.
"H-hey there's no need to be-" I smacked him before he could even finish talking forcing him to let go of Luz. I pulled him off her as quickly as I could. Once Luz could move she immediately backed away from Zander and covered herself. I twisted Zander's arm making him whine in agony. "Miss please this is just a simple misunderstandi-Ack!" I twisted his arm further effectively shutting him up.
"Listen, as much as I would love ripping you up into pieces and using you as cat food, I'd rather not make a scene."
"What are you gonna do? You and I both know Luz wouldn't ever let you even consider killing me. We both know she still loves me." I bent his arm and wrapped him in a head lock tired of listening to his bullshit.
"Unless you want me to break your arm I'd pipe down asshole." He nodded in a panic as I cast a sleeping spell on him. Once he lost consciousness I dropped him and looked over at Luz. "You okay?" Luz nodded taking a deep breath. I walked closer to Luz looking her over Zander only had time to undo a couple buttons on her shirt, but he did leave a hickey on Luz. Her body's trembling terribly.
"Fuck that went so badly...." Luz buried her face into her hands. "He didn't even try anything until then..." Luz put her hand up to her neck likely tracing where Zander had kissed her. "Joder, esto apenas valió la pena. Podría haber encontrado a papá por mi cuenta..." Luz started speaking Spanish it sounded like she was regretting everything. I crouched next to her and pulled Luz into a hug feeling her tightly cling to me.
"Stop you're beating yourself up again. He tricked you into trusting him. He was just playing with you till he found an opportunity." Luz finally started crying as she buried her head into my shoulder.
"I know...I can't tell if anything he said today was genuine or not... I should've been able to tell but he seemed so kind a-and he just...fuck I don't know."
"Zander was out of line acting on impulse. Luz this isn't your fault." Luz pulled away from me trying to wipe the tears out of her eyes.
"I know...I know! I really do but...I don't feel it. I mean I've been there for him since we were what seven? How come I couldn't tell his intentions? A-and then there's everything that happened with dad and i-if I never felt this way..." Luz shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. "Never mind I don't want to think on it anymore, l-let's just call the cops and go to bed." I nodded grabbing my phone and finding the app. Suddenly Ghost hissed gaining our attention I turned around to watch him start clawing at Zander's face.
"Pfft- Ghost!" I picked Ghost up and put him on my shoulders chuckling a little. I returned my attention to my phone dialing the number Luz told me to.
-
The cops quickly took Zander and only stayed to ask us questions about what happened. Luz didn't tell them anything about her father and simply that Zander had reached out to her once she was in town. They asked Luz and I to come by the police station tomorrow so we could get some sleep and then tell them everything with a clear mind. Luz was able to convince them not to take the gift Zander had given her, since she said it had no use and wasn't evidence.
"Thank you Mrs. Noceda. Glad to see you in town again." The cop smiled at Luz and walked to their car. She waved them off and turned to walk inside. I followed after her worried. This is definitely not what she wanted to be doing tonight. Luz set the gift down on the kitchen counter and looked for a spoon to put in the freezer. Likely to help get rid of the hickey.
"Hey Luz-"
"Don't worry the cop's just an old acquaintance from school, his name is Kyle and he's gay so he won't be any trouble." Luz put the spoon in the freezer before turning to look at me.
"Actually I was gonna ask how you're doing with all this." Luz looked away from me and at her shirt. She fiddled with the buttons for a moment taking her shirt off.
"I'm fine for now. Anyways...I-I'm gonna change out of this..." I nodded and watched Luz go into our room. After a few minutes she came back in an oversized shirt and comfy shorts. She went towards the counter immediately opening the gift. Inside was an envelope and a box. Luz set aside the box and opened the envelope reading the letter inside. "Wednesday 10:30 am at the old cafe? Is he trying to get caught?" Luz sighed and set the letter down opening the box. Within the box was the same baby onesie in multiple different sizes. It was a light purple with rainbow lettering on the front that said 'They're Both My REAL Mommies!'. Luz softly smiled at it.
"It'd be cute if it wasn't from him." Luz shrugged setting the clothing back in the box.
"I only needed the letter to figure out where to meet up with dad. Besides the clothing doesn't fit her anyway." Luz tossed the box in the trash and went to the fridge. She opened the freezer and took out the spoon. "Gah! Thats cold!" I laughed as Luz practically played hot potato with the spoon.
"Thank you Captain Obvious." Luz rolled her eyes as she pulled the collar of her shirt down to reach the hickey. Luz winced at how cold it was as it touched her skin.
"How long do am I even supposed to keep the spoon on here for?"
"I think it's something like 10 minutes." Luz groaned annoyed making me want to laugh. "How bad did he get you anyway?"
"Eh not as bad as you have before, but it'll probably be there for a couple days." Luz frowned getting lost in thought. "Do you think it's all just a trick? T-that dad wants nothing more than to continue treating me like shit?" Luz locked eyes with me genuinely in fear.
"I...I don't know. I've only talked to Eric one time, and that sure as hell wasn't enough for me to get to know him." I felt myself look away. I didn't want to say that I had felt like this whole thing was a hoax from the start. She needs some hope to get her through this.
"Part of me just wants to go home. Forget about this and move on. I've tried to move on for years but...it's like I can't do anything but forgive him. I keep coming up with excuses knowing damn well none of them are true." Luz sighed looking out the window. She moved the spoon away from her skin and tossed it into the sink seemingly giving up on it. "Fuck that's cold." Luz felt the area around the hickey attempting to warm it up with her hand. I walked closer to Luz giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Don't worry about it. I almost memorized a healing spell, and even if it doesn't work correctly I can always try an illusion." Luz sighed clearly frustrated as she leaned onto the counter and buried her face into her arms.
"Hey um could you leave me alone for a bit? I-I'd like to think."
"Yeah whatever you need." Doing as she asked I turned around and went to our room, Ghost following. Before I had the chance he had hopped onto the bed meowing angrily. Being that he was my Palismen I could understand him, more or less. "What would you rather I upset Luz by killing Zander?" Ghost smiled nodding approvingly. "Ghost come on! You know I can't do that." He growled at me annoyed. "You're my Palismen can't you be on my side? Please?" He hissed and laid in the center of the bed taking up as much room as he could. "Seriously?" I sighed and changed into something more comfortable and laid in bed, or rather on the edge of it. "I'm not killing him...yet." Ghost finally perked his head up as I rolled over to see his reaction. He had already started to purr as he slid under the covers to snuggle up to me. I pet his head gently smiling at the touch of his wooden exterior. If it weren't for how he felt you wouldn't know he wasn't a real cat. Once Ghost had calmed down I had passed out, but Luz wasn't in bed by the time I was asleep.
-
"¡Eres un pedazo de mierda inútil!" I awoke to the sound of someone yelling and glass breaking. It scared Ghost when he woke up and he immediately hissed. I looked over to the clock on the night stand and saw it was only 2:45 am. Who would be up this early? It was Camila's day off and Edalyn slept till at least noon. I looked to the other side of the bed seeing that it was still empty.
Fuck she never went to bed did she?
I got up and opened the door. There was an opened cooler with a sticker on it saying 'Property of Edalyn Clawthorne! Open at your own risk!' it was on the floor next to the kitchen counter, which was covered in empty bottles of apple blood. Looking around more it seemed someone got drunk, made a mess, threw a bottle at the wall, and left. The front door was left open worrying me. I walked outside closing the door behind me only to hear crying, Luz crying. I followed her voice and turned the corner of the house to find Luz curled into a ball. "Hey you okay?" Luz jumped at my voice not realizing I was there at first. Luz shook her head burying it back into her knees as I sat down behind her.
"I'm such joke a-and even more so of a bad mom...putting my priorities over everything just hoping for the slim chance that my dad is different."
"What? Luz you know that isn't true."
"Yes it is! All I've done is make Rain worry! I'm not even good enough to realize I was being manipulated....again." Luz looked up from her lap to stare at me still tearing up. "You both deserve so much better than me and my bullshit...Fuck if Rain saw me like this..." I raised my hand to Luz's face cupping her cheek.
"She would tell you to get those ridiculous ideas out of your head. Her and I both know you are the absolute best girl in the world. We're both lucky to be loved by you Luz." Luz leaned into my touch softly smiling at what I said.
"Y-you remember that blonde officer from earlier? Kyle?" I nodded as I watched Luz bite her lip, struggling to hold eye contact. "He called me and said s-someone bailed Zander out."
"What? Who?"
"I don't know! He said it was confidential...." Luz caved and started sobbing again as she buried her face into my shoulder. "God Amity what if he tries something? H-he knows where we are. A-and even if we weren't here he could still try to do something to mom..." I wrapped my arms around her holding Luz against me tightly.
"We won't give him the chance. Eda can stay here to look after Camilia once we leave, until then I promise to protect you and Rain from him." I stroked Luz's hair gently trying to help calm her down.
"C-can we go inside? I regret coming out here...it's getting cold." Luz giggled softly getting off of me. I nodded letting Luz pull me to my feet. Once we got back inside Luz pouted at the sight of the empty bottles scattered across the kitchen counter. "Aww man...I didn't mean to drink that much..."
"Heh I was a little surprised. You barely drink even when you're offered something light."
"I just wanted to try to forget everything for a little while...it wasn't my best plan but it helped a little, but thanks to my dad's genetics I can handle this. Despite it being decently strong." Luz sighed and quickly shoved all the bottles into the trash as if to get rid of evidence. "I hope Eda doesn't get after me for getting into her stuff."
"It's her fault for leaving it out." Luz chuckled at my comment as she turned away from the trash and towards the bedroom door. As Luz opened the door I noticed Ghost was no longer in there. "I'll be right back, I wanna make sure Ghost isn't up to something." Luz chuckled smiling as she looked at me.
"It's was your choice to make a cat as your Palismen, you know they're mischievous." I rolled my eyes grinning myself as I went to go find Ghost. I looked around debating where he would have gone. I wandered around for a while eventually making my way to Rain's room, which was originally Luz's as a child. I peaked into her room to watch Ghost skip across her floor to hop onto her bed. Rain sleeps a lot like Luz, if she isn't having a good dream you know immediately. Unfortunately she was likely having a nightmare, for she held a frown seemingly upset. However, Ghost laid down next to her wrapping his tail around her. He let himself softly purr and just like that Rain's face formed a smile. I conjured my scroll and took a picture before sneaking back downstairs.
"Luz you should go see Rain." Luz raised an eyebrow at me until I lifted my scroll up to show her. Luz held in an excited gasp and hurried herself upstairs. Giggling I followed after her. Once I got back upstairs I found Luz standing in the doorframe of Rain's room. Even though she was in a bad mood Rain's cuteness was enough to cheer her up. Ghost eyed us protectively. If we did anything that could wake Rain up he'd find a way to get back at us eventually. Before that could happen I dragged Luz back downstairs to our room.
"Aww come on! She was being so cute!" I laughed as Luz flopped onto the bed with a pout on her face.
"You and I both know very well what Ghost would do if we so much as made her flinch while sleeping." I looked over at Luz raising my arm as I pulled my sleeve down enough for her to see the scarring bite mark Ghost gave me a few weeks ago. Luz opened her mouth to say something but looked away from me unable to argue. While she did that I got into bed myself.
"Okay yeah but—" I lifted my hand to Luz's cheek and pulled her closer to kiss her, which forbid her from finishing her sentence.
"Ah, nope. You know I'm right so don't even push it." Luz sighed and turned away from me.
"You're right too often. It's suspicious." Luz turned her head to look at me unable to hide her grin.
"Mhm, so is your smirk sweetie."
"To be fair all smirks are suspicious." I laughed at Luz's remark feeling glad that the tension was light. Otherwise it'd bother me if Luz wasn't able to lighten up and not feel so bad.
"Yeah that's true...unless."
"Unless what?"
"All smirks are suspicious, unless it's for a flirtatious purpose, more or less." Luz nodded as she scooted herself closer to me.
"And little miss perfect is right again." I chuckled at Luz's comment while she snuggled into me.
"Why'd you use my nickname from high school?" Luz rested her head onto my shoulder, she wrapped her arms around me continuing to make herself comfy.
"What would you rather me call you—" Luz lifted her head whispering in my ear. "—Mamita?" Surprised by Luz's change of tone and especially by the nickname I was immediately flustered. I would've flinched but Luz conveniently was holding me in a way that restricted my movement.
"L-Luz!" Luz kissed my cheek before leaning away from me to see my expression, which immediately made her laugh.
"Oh that'll never get old! You're face gets redder every time I swear!" Luz let go of me giving me the chance to move again.
"Gah you're such a pain! Why do you always tease me!" Luz laughed as I reached for a pillow to smack her with, before I got the chance Luz reached over and grabbed my wrist.
"And you say I'm childish, yet you were gonna start a pillow fight weren't you?" I looked away unable to think of a counter argument. "Besides teasing you gives me the cutest reactions you have to offer." I laughed a little as I looked back towards Luz, catching glimpse of the time.
"It's nearly five already?" Scatterbrained herself, Luz looked at the clock to confirm what I said. "We should probably sleep." Luz sighed and regained her pout as she settled down to cuddle me.
"Fuck time." I chuckled again as I wrapped myself around Luz. It didn't take long for me to fall back asleep, thankfully Luz was able to sleep as well.