Luna's POV:
"Thanks, guys, for coming today. It means a lot and I know you guys have somewhat of a complex past with Danny. But I appreciate you all coming, it's been hard on Danny's family lately. Ever since the police gave up on the investigation of his whereabouts, the family has been very heartbroken..."
Eric explained as he grabbed Alexa's hand in heavy sorrow.
"No problem, I may have had my issues with the guy. But the least I could do is pay my respects to him..."
Ren responded as he continued to look at Danny's grave, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything other than to stay silent. There's not much can I say, I didn't know Danny at all, other than what he told me in the past and what he almost did to me. So I rather stay quiet as all I could hear was the cold winds starting to pick up. Staring up at the trees that were full of orange leaves, they were slowly falling off, one by one with the heavy breeze. I watched as the leaves began to twirl with the wind and saw how each leaf was dancing freely into the sky as it was being carried away by air.
My eyes kept following a certain leaf until it finally hit the ground, however, it landed next to someone's boot!? Looking to see who the person was, I noticed that he was facing the other direction so I couldn't get a clear image of his face. Though from this distance, I could tell that he was very tall. The whole outfit that he wore was black and I could faintly see a tattoo around the back of his neck. I've never seen a person like him around here, this is a small town and I would think I would be able to recognize him. But then again, maybe he's visiting family or friends here...I wonder what grave he's looking at?
"Hey Luna, are you ready to get going?"
Ren suddenly asked as he placed his hand over my shoulder, averting my eyes away from the guy in black. I looked up to see Ren giving me a calming smile...
"Oh, yeah...yeah. I'm ready to leave."
I quickly responded as he reached for my hand, gripping his hold we began walking back to our car. Though with every step I took, I couldn't get that image of that guy out of my head for some strange reason. Turning my head back out of curiosity, I was confused when I saw the cemetery empty! The man was no longer there! Where did he go, can someone walk away that fast in just a blink of an eye?!
"Ren, I'm sorry, but can you go on ahead...I actually wanna stay here for a little while longer."
I said while lightly pulling my hand back...
"Really? Are you sure?"
He asked with a concerned look...
"Yes, I'll be fine. It's not like a zombie is gonna come out and eat me. I'll meet you back in the car, okay."
I jokingly said while planting a kiss on his cheek, with Ren agreeing, I watched him walk back with the others. I waited until he was out of sight that I started to walk to where I saw the guy standing earlier. Coming to a halt, I saw a bright blue flower laying on a gravestone! It was such a beautiful color, I didn't know these flowers even existed in this world!? Ever since I started to work at the flower shop with Ren, I've come to learn all the different types of flowers. However, I have never seen one like this before, I couldn't help myself from picking it up and admiring its beauty of it...
It was so stunning, yet it had no scent. I was so distracted by the flower that I almost forgot why I came here, so I went ahead to place it back down on the stone plaque. I notice that a few leaves were covering some of the writing, naturally, I moved them to the side until I was able to see the writing...and that's when my heart came to a stop the moment I read whose gravestone this was!
"No, what...is this..."
I choked out my words as my voice trembled, and my hands began to shake uncontrollably as I placed my fingers on the letters that were engraved on Elijah's plaque! Why is it here?! I never saw his gravestone here before! Miss Reed would have told me or my mother about this! Out of desperation, I subconsciously began to scoot the leaves farther away from the grave until I could fully see the display and the writing that was on it!
'I will always love you, more than anything in this world.'
Those words that I once heard before, kept replaying in the back of my mind. His voice would always say these words over and over again to me-
"Wait! That guy from earlier!"
I voiced out as I quickly stood up and frantically began looking around for the man that was standing there! He must know Elijah! He has to know what happened to him! It's not a coincidence that I saw him here...wait...was that possibly Elijah himself?!
"No, there's no way...he looked nothing like him..."
I whispered to myself in absolute fright, but then I began to think...it's already been six years and people could change drastically in that amount of time. So what if that was him?! I was starting to feel light-headed, as I looked back down at Elijah's grave. My heart was starting to beat heavily once again, and I couldn't tell if it was because I was in shock by what I was seeing or because of my possible pregnancy. So I naturally placed my hand on my belly and tried to control my breathing...
"Luna?!"
Hearing Ren's voice, I panicked for a second as I quickly went back to cover the gravestone so he wouldn't see who it was! Once I finished, immediately went back to Ren...
"Hey, are you sure you're alright? You look a bit pale."
He said as I got closer to him...
"I'm...I'm fine," I said, unable to make eye contact with him once I stood by his side.
"Look at me, and tell me you're okay."
He said sounding strict out of concern, taking a deep breath in I calmed my nerves as I faced him...
"I promise you, I'm okay. I'm just a little tired-"
"Your hands are shaking," Ren responded as he tightly gripped both of my hands.
"Oh, well it is starting to get colder," I explained as I inched myself closer to his body.
Giving him a tight embrace, I snuggled up closer to him. I didn't want Ren to worry about anything, I also didn't want him to know about Elijah's gravestone being here. Feeling his light kiss being placed on my forehead, he held on to me for a bit longer until we headed back to where Alexa and Eric were. We all decided to go to a nearby cafe to catch up on things...
I've come to find out that Eric got a new job and that Alexa found out about her pregnancy a week ago. It's insane how much time has changed between all of us, Alexa is about to be a mom soon. Ren is about to gain the flower shop from his parents, and we're about to become parents probably! I still can't believe how much time has passed, it feels like only yesterday that I was just fourteen and entering high school. It is almost a bitter-sweet feeling as we grow up...
We were all so consumed by each other's conversations that we didn't notice the sun was starting to set. But in the middle of Ren's and Eric's conversation, I got this sudden chill that came over me once again! But it felt very different this time, the feeling of fright. Looking back, I went ahead to see my surroundings since it felt like someone was watching me...
"Hey, are you looking for someone?"
Alexa asked as she placed her hand on my shoulder...
"Huh? No...no, I just got goosebumps all of a sudden."
I said to her as I tried to brush away the paranoia, it wasn't until we finally ended the day and said our goodbyes to one another that I failed to realize how late it had gotten. It was already midnight, the sky was dark as it came over us. Getting in Ren's car, I wondered to myself if he was still under the same sky as I.
"Ready to call it a night?"
Ren asked as he parked the car near our house...
"Yeah, it's been a long day," I responded as we both stepped out of the vehicle.
"Oh! You still have to tell me what Eric told you earlier this morning!"
I shouted as I suddenly remembered about this morning's conversation between the both of them...
"Oh, that's right! Well, when we were both waiting for you two. Eric brought up asking Alexa to marry him, but he's still unsure since he thinks he's not ready for that just yet-"
"Are you serious!? That's so exciting! How can he not think he's ready for marriage when he's about to be a dad soon!"
I responded with excitement as we entered the house...
"I know, that's what I told him to. But that's up for him to decide, just make sure you don't mention this to Alexa! Eric asked me not to tell a soul, especially you. So make sure you don't say a word."
He said in such seriousness as he took off his jacket...
"Alright, I promise. I won't say a word."
I said in teasing laughter...
"You know what, maybe I should ask your parents for their blessings to let me marry you? Especially your dad, he's been a bit strict on me ever since we started living together."
He explained with a giggle as he made his way towards me, wrapping his hands around my waist he pulled me in close...
"You might need to tell him soon," I responded with a smirk.
Of course, I would love to marry Ren one day and have my father walk me down the aisle. I'm truly happy and blessed that my dad is still alive and healthy, that cancer scare brought my family closer. It taught me to never take my family or my loved ones for granted ever again. So I would like nothing more than to start a family...
"Why is that?"
Ren asked as he gently pulled me closer to his broad chest. I was unsure at this point if I should tell Ren about my possible pregnancy. But something inside me was telling me to wait until I was certain, but I believe with all my heart that I'm carrying his child. However, I still have to make an appointment just to make sure the baby is okay. I'm so nervous, yet excited at the same time. Ren and I are going to be parents soon! I can't wait to start a family with him but for now, I'll keep it a secret until the time is right. I just hope that Ren will be happy when I tell him the news...