Chapter 8
I buried my face in my hands as sobs racked my body. “Luna, I’ll clean up then we’ll go into the living room okay?” She asked softly. The ‘L’ word only made me cry harder. When I nodded, I heard the clattering of the dishes as Jen rushed to get everything in order before she grasped my shoulders and led me into the living room. She helped me settle onto the couch and went to get me a glass of water.
I hated to cry because it made me appear weak. I rarely did it; even in front of my brother, but the pain was way too great for me to keep bottled up. She handed me one of the cushions and let me lean my head on her shoulder as I cried my eyes out. She didn’t even seem to be bothered by all the tears wetting her shoulder; she just continued to stroke my head; once again not asking any questions about my sudden outburst.
Even through my grief, I appreciated the few small things she had done for me in the past couple of hours. This girl next to me who I had first thought was a pain in the ass was quickly growing on me. After what felt like an eternity of nothing but blurred vision and shallow breaths; I finally calmed down enough to take a sip of water.
She looked into my eyes as she spoke. “Do you want to talk about it, Luna?”
I almost started crying again, but my eyes were dry; as if I had run out of tears. “Please stop calling me that, Jen. It hurts.” I said as the words that seemed to have burned themselves into my mind began to play in my head.
I clutched my chest as it tightened with grief. I seriously did not know how much more I could take before this would kill me. She looked at me with a confused expression. It was weird but I felt like I could trust her, even though we’d only bonded for a few hours.
I explained everything to her. From the attack with Ethan to how Logan had snapped at me later on and then finally to how I had gotten the bruises; quoting every word he had said to me with precision. It was surprising; the pain lessened slightly with every word I shared with her.
After I was done; the pain was a little more bearable and now my wolf had begun to respond to me more often. “And that is why for now; you should probably just call me Chelsea. Despite the excellent display of waterworks earlier, I don’t want to be a walking fountain for the rest of the week.” I said finally; truly feeling better from talking to her.
She nodded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was hurting you. But why not just leave? That would be so much easier than staying around and letting him torture you. And like you said; he hasn’t marked you, so there’s really nothing binding you to him.”
“I can’t just let him go, Jen. He’s my mate; and I’m going to stick around; whether he wants me to or not; at least for a while.” I said; crossing my arms.
“He’s just lucky you’re patient. If I had a crappy mate, I’d just drop him.” She said; flashing me a devilish grin; probably trying to get me to cheer up. I grabbed a cushion and flung it at her. That was becoming a hobby of mine; throwing things at people.
“Yeah, right. When you find your mate; and I’m sure you will, you won’t leave his side. I’m sure of it. Just look at how devoted you are to your bother!” I said; before I began to giggle as she fake gagged.
“My brother needs my help; he’s a dummy. My mate will be way more competent.” She said confidently.
“Think of it this way, at least if he isn’t, you’ll have experience.” I said; my tone, taunting.
The next thing I know, a whole army of cushions are flying at me. “You are officially not invited to my wedding.” She muttered as she crossed her arms; pouting. I feigned surprise as I held a hand to my chest.
“Do not joke about weddings Jen. You should know that I am a wedding enthusiast. I’m not only invited; I’m going to plan the whole thing!” I announced.
She cringed. “No pink!”
I pretended to take out a pen and jot down a note. “Got it, lots and lots of pink. Pink cake, dress, flowers, and chapel; side note, bride wants only bright pink, no exceptions!”
She laughed as I continued to pretend write. “Glad you’re feeling better.” She said cautiously; as if she was afraid the tears would burst from me at any moment.
“I really am actually; so you have to let me plan your wedding or I’m not going to be able to stop crying until next week.”
“Well I can’t have my Luna doing that.” She said as she looked up; pretending to be deep in thought. When what she’d said registered; her eyes widened and she slapped her forehead so hard the sound made me flinch. “I am so sorry, Chelsea. I said the ‘L’ word.” She grumbled.
I still felt a little ache in my chest but it was now easy to ignore. I waved my hand at her; signalling her to calm down. “It’s no problem Jen. Like I was saying earlier, I feel way better. So, am I planning the wedding or not?!” I demanded, eager to change the mood back to the playful one we’d had earlier.
She made a show of sighing. “Fine, you can plan it!” She said; throwing her arms up in the air.
I giggled at her exasperated expression. I racked my brain for something else to talk about. “You know, I don’t even know your full name?”
“Oh, it’s Collins, Jennifer Collins.” She said; in a horrible impression of James Bond’s voice.
I held my hand out to her. “Mine is Delaney, Chelsea Delaney.” I said in the same manner. “Mine was way better.” I said as I flashed a smug grin.
She gasped. “It was not!” She yelled.
“It was too!”
***
We continued to behave like little children for a while before we finally realised how funny the whole situation was and stopped. “This is the most fun I’ve had all year.” Jen muttered as she lay on the couch beside me. I nodded.
“Just wait until your birthday. That will definitely be way more fun.” I said enthusiastically. We were now both looking up at the ceiling of the living room. Seeing as the couch was L-shaped; Jen was laying on one end of it while I was on the other; our head positioned at the intersection so that it was easy to talk.
“I don’t think so. I don’t really celebrate my birthday.” She said; shrugging. “Oh, by the way, I’m sorry for breaking your bedroom door and attacking you on yours.”
I chuckled at the extremely odd apology. “No problem. I’ll come steal your cake; then we’ll be even.” She laughed with me before she abruptly stopped.
“You’re not serious right?” I only laughed in response to her terror filled expression; which was probably a result of Jen thinking of losing her birthday cake. Her eyes suddenly glazed over as she took in a message. The moment the whole thing came through, she sighed.
I cocked a brow. “What’s up?” She stood up and slipped into her jacket.
“The Alpha is done for the day. It’s time for me to go.” She said; moving to the door. “Thank you for everything, Luna. I had an amazing time spending the day with you.” She said, smiling.
I returned her smile. “It’s just Chelsea, Jen. And you’re welcome.” She bowed at me.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to stick with Luna.” She muttered before slipping out the door.
I quickly rearranged the cushions that had landed everywhere during our cushion war; making sure to listen out for any sound at the front door while I did. Just as I picked up the last cushion; my mate’s scent hit me full on. I whirled around so fast I almost fell as the world wobbled around me. Logan wrapped an arm around my waist as he steadied me.
He grabbed the cushion that had fallen out of my hand from the floor and held it out to me as he cocked a brow. “Jen and I had a cushion fight.” I muttered; forcing my words out as quickly as I could. I ripped the cushion from his hand; tossing it onto the couch as I whispered a cold “thanks.”
After a few tense minutes of just staring at each other, he finally spoke. “I’m leaving,” he said; his words cutting into my heart. My wolf and I were both in agony at the thought of him leaving us but I forced a deadpan expression onto my face and blocked off my emotions to hide my pain from him. Anger flared in me at my weakness. I couldn’t believe that just two of his words could hurt me as much as it did. He was shoving me; his mate, away and for some reason I didn’t no; couldn't, hate him.
At that moment, I wondered whether I was the one with the emotional problems instead of him. “I have some pack business to take care of. I should be back in a week.” He continued. My wolf howled with joy as we realised he wasn’t leaving to get away from us. Even if he was; I didn’t care because he would still be coming back. Seriously, talk about emotional problems right?
I had somehow managed to keep the neutral mask on my face this whole time and worked on keeping it there long enough to escape to my room. “You didn’t have to tell me, it's not like I matter to you!”I snapped; not let my relief show as I shoved my way out of his embrace and left.
The moment I shut the door; I slid down its surface until I was resting on the floor. Even if we haven't marked each other; the bond was still strong. That empty feeling I'd experienced earlier was incredibly uncomfortable and Logan had only been gone for a day. I was definitely not looking forward to feeling that way for a week. I sighed. This is going to be a very long week. My wolf muttered. I just silently agreed with her as I stood up to get ready for bed.