(AN: you may want to go reread the last chapter. because my "Previously" is very vague)
Previously: Luna and Travis are confronted by the soldiers at Tony Grawls' institute. One soldier in particular, Ein, is suspicious of their being there, and he makes it his mission to find out what exactly Luna and Travis are up to. Within the mist of almost getting attacked by all the soldiers, Tony Grawl stops it and demands everyone treat them as guest. He then invited them to take a walk with him.
Chapter 18
We are led out of the gym, and down yet another hallway. Tony Grawl had his hands in his front pockets of his pants, and walked with a sturdy stance. His head is down, as though he's watching his feet as he's walking. I look over at Travis, only to find him walking almost identical to his father. He looks deep in thought, not noticing the world around him, only trusting his feet not to run him into something.
We arrive at French doors that accompanied two body guards on wither side. When we were close enough, the guards opened the door, allowing only the three of us entrance. Tony Grawl walks to the rectangle table and takes his seat at the head. There are about twenty other chairs to choose from, but Travis deems it reasonable to sit only a few seats down from the man in charge.
I, however, decide to take the seat across from Tony; which is obviously at the other end of the table. Travis sends me a curious look, but I just shrug my shoulders in response.
"I have a proposition for you," Tony speaks. He, like earlier, has his hands holding the other and lying on top of the table. I sigh and look around the room. It's decorated to represent a small dining area. The only difference between this one and one at a normal house is instead of pictures hanging on the walls, there are guns.
Guns of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
No doubt Tony knows which particular guns are loaded and which are just for show.
"I thought you said you would leave us be. We already agreed to stay for tonight only," Travis questions with suspicion. I say nothing, instead, I begin to take my guesses at which guns are loaded. I automatically scratch off the bigger ones. If there's an emergency, a heavy gun would not be the easiest to grab.
"I know, Travis. But hear me out one last time," Tony almost begs his son. Travis stays silent and looks to me for an answer. I, again, shrug my shoulder. My eyes bypass the machine guns that lay evenly along the length of the wall, and suddenly, I see one. The one. It's not as vibrant of a color. It's just a dark maroon, but it stands out like its fire red. It's to the left of Tony. So all he would have to do is get up, take a few steps to the wall, grab it, aim, and shoot. Easy access.
"I'm listening," Travis announces, still observing me.
"First off, Luna, I know you won't tell me anything about your father..."
"Correct," I say instantly. I don't need anyone else getting to him before me. I know my father like the back of my hand. I how he moves, I know how he thinks. I know which soldiers he sends on which missions. I know which soldiers he favors the one. I know everything, so it's no surprise that Tony wants me to tell him all of that. But like I said, I'm doing this on my own. No, I'm not planning on killing my father. What I intend on doing to him will be so much worst in comparison.
"But maybe you can give me insight on what exactly he knows about me," Tony continues. What he wants isn't asking too much, it's actually a very good question to ask.
"Like what, exactly?" I ask, wanting him to be more specific. Travis gets up from his seat and walks towards me. He takes the chair on my left and leans into me.
"You're really going to tell him?" he ask in a low tone, but not yet a whisper. I nod my head, but continue to look at his father. Tony, is quietly watching his son and I. His eyes give away his slight suspicion as to what exactly is going on between us. I almost roll my eyes at his insinuation. Calm down, Tony, there's absolutely nothing going on between us two.
"How long have you two...known each other?" he ask out of the blue.
"A while, why does that matter?" Travis sends his own question back.
"I'm just curious of the irony of this...situation. Luna goes rogue, and she just so happens to run into you, her father's enemies' son," Tony states, eyeing me like he believes I will suddenly do something endangering. Hmm, so you choose this moment to think I'm not being honest about my circumstances.
"What are you trying to say?" Travis ask, his voice dangerously low. His face shows his anger slowly starting to boil as he catches on to what his father might be suggesting.
"I just think it's quite peculiar that she runs into you, son," he answers his son before looking to me. "Did you know he was my son before it was announced? Have you known this entire time?"
"Are you suggesting I've been using him to get to you?" I ask with an eyebrow raised, daring him to come out and say it already.
"It has crossed my mind," he admits without shame. His face gave little away of his emotions.
"Wait, hold on. Luna's not like that," Travis defends me. My heart does something strange when he says that. I hate to admit this, but it's sort of nice to know that he's not just going to believe anything anyone says about me.
"How can you be so sure? For all we know, she can still be working for her father. This whole rogue thing could all be for show; a distraction," Tony goes on, trying to get his son to understand. I eye the man accusing me. I carefully watch his demeanor. His hands are still holding the other, his eyes are vacant of emotion. But something about him is a little off. Is he trying to get a reaction out of me? A reaction out of Travis?
"She's not like that. You don't know shit about her," Travis repeats, not hiding his anger anymore. I can visibly see his hands begin to shake as he balls them into fists. But why? Why is he getting so worked up about this? Shouldn't it be me getting angry? I mean, it is me being accused.
"And you do?" Tony waist no second to throw that simple question out in the air. And it stays there, lingering...waiting to me answered. Travis shakes his head and looks my way. Our eyes meet, and I'm greeted by a look of desperation. He's desperate for me to prove him right. Don't worry Travis, your father is far from the truth.
"Let me make this perfectly clear," I say and lean towards the table. I make sure I'm looking Tony dead in his eyes as I speak these words as clear as day. "I never have to explain myself to you. But, seeing that Travis and I are somewhat associates—"
"Friends."
"Associates," I say with an eye roll when Travis tries to correct me. "I figure I should reassure him. No, I'm not still working for my father. No, I didn't get close to him because you're his father. The last time I checked, both his parents died a long time ago. So, no, this isn't some distraction or plan of some sort to take you down. I'm here by default, because for some strange reason, Travis talked me into staying for the night," I finish, making sure not to break eye contact.
Travis and Tony both stay absolutely quiet for a few seconds. They both seem to be taking in what I just said. Tony breaks eye contact first by looking to Travis. I look to him too, just to see him already looking at me.
"Is it that bad to call me your friend?" he ask, not upset at all, just very wondrous.
"Really, out of everything I just said, that's what grabbed your attention the most?" I shake my head at him. Travis smiles a little at my slight disappointment.
"Well, it's not every day that I come across someone like you, so I can only hope that we are, indeed, friends," he explains, the little smile not once letting up. I can't help the small smile trying to form on my lips as well. I fight it though, which doesn't go unnoticed by him. "You can smile, I won't tell anyone," he teases me.
"I don't want to smile," I counter and give him a straight look. He raises both his eyebrows and smiles at me.
"No? Then what was that move your lips were doing just then? Were they itching or something? Oh, look, their doing it again," he teases me some more when he sees my smile beginning to form when he says something bizarre.
"Stop looking at my lips," I demand, when I see his eyes trained on my lips once more.
"I can't help it," he mumbles, almost to himself.
Tony clears his throat, choosing the polite way to interrupt our little conversation. The two of us turn to give him our attention. He stands from his chair, and Travis and I do the same. We meet each other on one side of the table. So now, we're standing only a few feet apart.
"Luna, I knew your true intentions from the start. I just wanted to see how well my son trust you. It seems he does tremendously, which is perfect for my second proposition," Tony explains. What, so he already knew I wasn't truly working for my father still? This was all some sort of test to test Travis?
Just then, Travis places his hand on the lower part of my back. He does it so softly, that I barely feel it there.
"I noticed you training Travis in there. Have you trained him before?" Tony ask. Travis and I both nod our heads in reply. "Well, I want to ask you to teach him everything you know. So when you leave, Luna, maybe Travis can stay. Stay here, with me, and be one of my soldiers," Tony tells us this with a serious face. He doesn't even blink when he talks. I, on the other hand, let out a chuckle.
"Travis? A Soldier? Don't make me laugh," I say within my chuckles. Travis, on the other hand, does not find it a laughing matter.
"I'm not staying here without Luna," he says in frustration.
"Travis, let's be realistic here. You won't stand a chance against Fredrick's army. Especially not from just a few days of training. It takes the best soldiers months to get as good as they are," Tony tries to reason with his son. Travis takes a step closer to me and almost unconsciously grabs my hand in his, as if I'm about to leave this very second.
"I don't care. She's not going to walk into her own death. That's something I just can't let happen," Travis finalizes with a stern voice. His face shows his determination on the subject.
"Son—"
"It's Travis. And I don't care what you say. I'm not staying here with you after tonight. Not now, not ever. Just because you show up in my life, literally back from the dead, does not mean I'm going to accept you. Stay here with you? Have you lost your mind? What about Grandma? I bet you didn't even think about her, did you? Do you honestly think I'll leave her all alone?" Travis argued, his hand tightening around mine, interlocking his fingers within my own.
Tony looks to Travis is dismay. In a way, he looks as if he knew Travis would behave like this. He doesn't look surprised at all, just upset that Travis is willing to get himself killed for someone like me. Not a moment later, Travis lets go of my hand and storms out, mumbling something about needing to get some air. I stand there as he shuts the door behind him, leaving Tony and I alone.
I don't bother look at him, I just head for the door as well.
"Luna," he speaks as I reach for the door handle. I look to him and wait for him to say whatever it is he wants to say to me. "Please talk to him. You know he won't stand a chance against your father's army. Don't let him make this stupid decision. Don't allow him risk his life for someone who doesn't even consider him a friend," Tony tells me, his voice a little on edge.
I take in what he said. Don't allow him to risk his life for someone who doesn't even consider him a friend. But I do. As much as it pains me to think of anyone being my friend, I'd say Travis is close enough to it. He's helped me more than once since I've met him. He helped me get my motorcycle back, and he helped me when he lied to those men about being at his house.
In a way, he sort of wormed his way into my life over these past few weeks. He's made me feel certain ways that I've never felt before. Like, earlier when we were training, and his hands gently caressed my skin. It made my stomach do weird tumbling motions. The same thing happened when we were in that tree trunk.
I don't know what's going on with me. I've never had these sorts of feelings coursing through my body before. It makes me a little uneasy to know that Travis is the cause of it. Is this usually how friends make each other feel?
I now stare at Travis' dad. The man whom let Travis to believe that he was dead. The man that changed his name to protect his son. He wants me to train Travis to be as good as me, so he can be the best soldier for his army. I shake my head at Tony Grawl.
"I've tried to get rid of him, trust me I have. But when his mind is set on something, he sticks to it. I'll continue to train him, and I'll also protect him. Because I think that's what friends do for one another," I say, finally admitting out loud that he's my friend. I exit the room and begin my mission to find Travis.
[AN: thank you guys for being so patient with me. I promise I will start uploading more often. I've just been dealing with a lot of real life situations that take up all my thoughts. PLease don't lose interest in this book. It's actually one of my favorites to right. I know it's slowed down a lot, but it will definitely pick up again.
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