*1 week later*
LUNA
I exhale. "Okay...this outfit is nice, isn't it?" I ask myself.
I spin around in my room, staring in the body size mirror. My hair is tied back into two braids with some feathers attached, and a golden locket necklace hanging off my neck.
It's a modest outfit. Yes, I think it will do.
Still, I run downstairs to seek Mom and Dad's approval.
Dad lowers his newspaper, and Mom stops her knitting.
Her eyes widen softly when she sees me, but Dad smiles.
"You look nice, honey," Dad stands up, hugging me with one arm. "Whose the lucky man?"
"Dad," I laugh as I push him away gently. "Michael is just a friend."
Mom gets up as well, approaching me, her hands raised to be level with my jaw.
She stares at me with saddened eyes, and parted lips.
"Mom?" I ask.
She exhales softly. "My little girl," she runs a hand to smooth my hair down. "You're growing up so fast. You..." She croaks, swallowing, "you look so much like your sister."
My eyes widen.
It's the first time Mom has mentioned Star, since I've found my sister.
I feel a pinch in my heart, and I open my mouth.
"Mom-"
"Well, its getting late Luna," Dad nods towards the door, "you should head out. You don't want to be late for the dinner."
"Okay Dad," I hug Mom. "Love you."
"I love you too," she replies, sniffling to keep her tears in. "Have fun sweetheart."
I wave both of them goodbye and step outside, it's still light enough to walk. And to be honest, the walking will clear my head.
I nearly told Mom about Star.
I can't be that reckless though. But seeing Mom in such pain over her missing daughter, the one that I've been purposely been keeping secret, I wanted to break down and tell her everything.
But I can't.
I must never...
It'll only hurt my parents more. And, hurt Star.
I sigh a shuddering breath, entering the driveway that leads to the Emerson's house.
Its about a twenty minute walk on foot, but I've managed to make it on good time.
I step up to the wooden door, and knock three times.
Suddenly, an old man opens it.
His brow furrows when he sees me. "Who are you?"
I try to smile. "I'm Luna. Michael's friend?" I point out when the old man doesn't get any hints.
"He invited me over for dinner."
"Oh..." He smirks, opening the door wide enough for me to come inside.
"Well come on in," he closes the door behind me, "the boys should be around."
And just when he said that, some spontaneity happens.
"Think fast!"
A ball comes flying, and I catch it, screaming just a little from the sudden THINK FAST moment.
Sam comes running past me, Nanook hot on his heels.
"No running in the house!" A woman carrying a bowl of steaming spaghetti says as she enters the living room. She wears a bright blue dress with a white stained apron tied around her waist, her hair cut short.
That must be Michael's mom.
She sets the dinner down, before her eyes meet mine and a bright smile forms on her lips.
"Oh! You must be Luna," she comes and shakes my hand. "I'm Lucy. Sam and Michael's mother."
"Pleased to meet you," I reply, before Michael comes into view, his hand gently smacking me on my shoulder to let me know he's here. "Hey, you made it."
"I did," I grin, pushing aside some pieces of hair that's escaped it's braids.
Though I'm still kind of shy and embarrassed to be around Michael, after everything, I'm staring to get used to it.
By now, I'm beginning to see Michael as my friend, and my friend only.
He smiles at me softly, before Lucy waves us over.
"Well come and have some dinner before it gets cold," Lucy goes to the table, preparing the plates.
As a gentleman, Michael gets my chair for me.
"Thank you," I smile up as him, and he winks, taking his seat beside me.
The grandpa sits by Lucy, and Sam takes the chair on the end with Nanook out of breath by his side.
I fill my plate with spaghetti, a garlic bread, and a ton of Caesar salad.
The first bite I take, my taste buds explode.
"Wow, this is so good Mrs. Emerson," I compliment, and she blushes.
"Please, call me Lucy," she replies, and I smile.
I continue to eat in silence for several moments, until Lucy chimes in.
"So, Luna. How long have you lived in Santa Carla?"
"Going on two months," I swallow my bite of salad, "my parents moved out here because of career reasons."
"I see," she clasps her hands, "do you go to school?"
I shake my head. "I've been homeschooled most of my life. I'm hoping my parents will enroll me in a school here." I giggle softly, not thinking anything of it until Lucy points something out.
"That would be wonderful! You and Michael could spend more time together!"
With the way she said it, and with the way she looked at Michael, I caught on immediately.
She thinks that we're more then friends.
Michael looks down at his plate, slightly embarrassed, but I smile softly.
"Michael's a great friend," I glance at him, "I'm happy."
"Me too," he grins, in a total 'You're just my friend,' kind of way.
Sam glances between us, before he stands up. "Mom, can you drive me to the boardwalk tomorrow?"
"Sure honey," she smiles, going for seconds on dinner.
Sam smiles a little, and I stare at him for a moment.
I don't know much about him, but I would like to.
"Sam?"
He looks at me.
"How old are you?" I ask, I know Michael is 18, Sam can't be too much younger.
"Fourteen," Sam replies, and my eyes widen.
Four years apart.
Just like Star and I.
"I'll be 15 in a couple weeks though," Sam points out, staring at me a little funny.
"Yes yes, you keep going on about that Sammy," Michael laughs softly, finishing off his plate and standing up.
The grandpa follows him to the kitchen, in kind of a rush.
I glance at them, hearing a few words exchanged.
One being, 'No Grandpa, I am not going to steal anything from your second shelf.'
The second shelf opens, and I see its full to the brim with cookies, ice cream, and soda pops.
I giggle softly behind my hand.
Someone's protective over his treats.
"When's your birthday?" Sam asks, breaking my train of thought.
"Oh," I clean my hands, "it's next spring. May to be precise."
"That's coming up," Sam points out.
...not really.
It's only the beginning of July. But I get what he means.
I stand up, brushing my skirt off and taking my plate.
I almost head to the kitchen, but Sam stops me.
"Are you dating Michael?"
I look at him. "No."
"Weird."
"Why?" I ask, and he shrugs. "Because you seem to make Mike pretty happy. I don't know, don't ask me."
He walks past me, calling for Nanook and heading up the staircase before I notice
that the dishes need to get clean.
I go to the kitchen. "I can do the dishes," I offer, standing beside Michael and grabbing a towel to dry them off.
Lucy smiles, "thank you so much," she exhales an exhausted breath, "I think I'll head to bed." She kisses Michael's cheek, which he both hates and likes, "goodnight."
"Night Mom," he says, before it's my turn.
I tell Lucy goodnight, and she waves at us both before heading up the stairs.
The grandpa is gone too, but I have no idea where he went.
I think he went into that weird room that Michael warned me about.
Now it's just me and Michael.
We work in silence for a few minutes, but as we get towards the last few dishes, Michael glances at me. "My mom likes you."
"I like her too," I put away the last plate, "you have a wonderful Mom."
"Yeah," he smiles a little, "just wish my dad saw that."
I stare at him in silence for a moment, before he continues to speak.
"He cheated on my mom multiple times when we were little. She knew, too, but she didn't let him go. She just kept trusting him, thinking that it'll get better. Soon, it got to the point where he would verbally abuse her, calling her ugly, saying she's not good enough."
He sighs, crossing his arms and leaning his back against the sink.
"One day, he got a little drunk, and they had a bad argument, and he smacked her across the face."
His body tenses, and he exhales a breath. It's the rage taking over him, the memory is playing in his head.
"I tackled him, and attacked. I remember hearing Mom screaming, and Sam trying to get me off, but I just..." He shakes his head, "I kept hitting him, over and over, until his face began to bleed."
My eyes widen. "Michael..."
He glances at me. "Just a broken nose," he said, as if he read my mind. "But he did more damage to me." He lifts his sleeve to reveal a giant white slash across his arm.
"The bottle he was holding broke, and he managed to cut me."
I gasp softly, bringing a hand up to my mouth.
"Oh my gosh..." I whisper before I stare up at him.
"Mom divorced him immediately," he lowered his sleeve. "But the problem was, we didn't get anything out of the divorce. So, we packed up our bags and moved here to Grandpa's house. Now," his shoulders slouch forward, "we're saving up to buy a house."
"Michael..." I stare at him, in shock and pain.
How could that man do that? Cheat on Michael's mom? And then hurt his son that way?
I open my arms and pull him into a hug. "I'm sorry," I whisper.
"Don't be," he hugs me back, "I'm happy I'm here," he pulls away, smiling at me, "some good has come out of it all."
He brings a soapy hand up to my head, ruffling my hair and leaving behind wet streaks and soap.
I smile a little and wipe the soap away, before the darkness outside catch my eye.
It's completely pitch black out, and I still haven't gotten home yet.
Michael sees where I'm staring, and realization hits him.
"Did you walk here?"
"Yeah," I nod, clearing my throat and going towards the table to grab my purse. "I should probably get back home before it gets any later."
"Do you need a ride back?" He asks, and I shake my head.
"No, I'm okay," I smile, "thank you though."
"Luna," he gives me a stare, one that says that I really should take his offer, and not wander around in the dark.
In the, MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.
The sound of it does make me a little hesitant, but I don't want to bother Michael.
I smile widely. "I'll be fine," I open the door, "have a good night," and before he can
say anything, I shut it and head out into the dark.
I walk down the driveway, until I hit the dirt road and head for home.
I'm still a good twenty minutes away, but walking in the dark, it feels like I'm hours away.
It's awfully quiet right now, only the silently howl of the wind...
A shiver runs up my spine, and I throw my arms around myself, continuing to walk forward.
I try my best to ignore, and to tell myself that I'm okay, but when I hear the rustle of bushes ahead of me, I jump out of my skin and scream a little.
Everything goes silent.
"Wh-whose there?" I stutter.
No answer.
"I-I'm warning you!" I begin to say, "I know Martial Arts!"
A complete lie, but I'm hoping that whatever it is will leave.
Suddenly, a boy walks out, hands in his pocket as he leisurely strolls.
...Marko?!
I stand there in shock for a moment. How did he know I was here? WHY is he even here?
Where are the others? Where's Star?
...oh good lord.
Was he...hunting?
I gulp, feeling the shakes come on, but I try to control it.
"Hey Luna," he approaches me, "pretty late for you to be out here."
"S-same to you," I stutter. Literally...I'm a defenseless girl, next to a VAMPIRE for Christs Sake! One that I don't partially trust.
He laughs a little. "On the contrary, it's perfect time for me," he exhales, doing one slow spin, absorbing the darkness that surrounds us.
God he's giving me the creeps.
I try to walk past him, but immediately he jumps in front of me.
"What's the rush Luna?"
"Please, go away."
"Why?" He asks, leaning closer, "afraid I might bite you?" He flashes a fang, laughing when he sees my reaction.
I step around him again, speed walking forward.
Of course, he catches up with me.
"Alright I'm sorry," he raises his hands, "but seriously, you have nothing to worry about."
"Sorry, but I don't believe that," I snap, and he sighs.
"Look, can I just follow you?" He asks, even though he's already doing that.
"Why?" I glare at him, "you don't need to follow me!"
"I do. Because 1: your Star's little sister. If I leave right now and you end up getting hurt or missing, the blame would be put on me. And 2," he puts his hands behind his head. "I need the company."
I almost tell him to get lost, but I bite my tongue.
He's a vampire, I'm a human.
I can't really fight or say no to a freaking vampire.
I sigh, and just keep walking, my way of saying that he can follow.
What am I? A character in some Anne Rice book?
Because it certainly feels like that...
Marko walks beside me, staring ahead, minding his own business.
I glance at him a few times, but look away instantly.
I feel like I should try to make some conversation, at the same time though, what would we talk about?
Almost immediately, I reach my home without any head injuries or fangs in my neck.
I turn towards Marko. "Alright, go."
"Jeez not even a thank you?" He scoffs, "rude little shit."
"You know what?! Fuck- WHOA!" I step in a little hole in the ground and fall forward.
I think I'm about to face plant it, but instead, an arm wraps around my waist, and a hand grabs my arm.
I look up, in absolutely shock.
Marko managed to grab me before I fell.
And the way he grabbed me...it was like we were dancing, and he just dipped me.
My heart pounds.
He's much closer then he should be, staring into my eyes.
Even though it's dark, I can see how brilliantly blue his eyes are.
Slowly, his hand intertwines with mine.
I can't breathe.
I don't know what will happen next, but the intensity I feel right now...
It makes my throat tighten, and heart beat out of my chest.
And just like that...the moment is ruined.
Because he drops me.
"Ow!" I fall and hit the ground, looking up at the one who caught me because he didn't want me to fall, only to DROP ME.
"What the hell?!" I shout at him, "what's your problem?!"
He stares at me in shock, slowly backing up, before he starts running into the dark, without saying a single word.
"Jerk!" I shout at him, lowering my eyes down to my throbbing ankle.
What the heck even happened?!
He grabbed me, but then he wrapped his hand around mine.
And then he dropped me and ran away.
I get up and make my way up to my doorstep.
Whatever that was, was weird and totally rude.
Still, I can't deny this...
I felt something.
Something... different.
Like, something snapping in place.
I sigh, shaking my head and going into my room.