“Mommy don’t like toys in there.” She frowns and it hurts my heart.
“You let me worry about mommy. Go on, baby girl.”
She skips inside as I wander around the house. She definitely isn’t downstairs. I check her room, Isabelle’s, and mine. I half expect to find her lying naked in my bed, but luckily for her, she isn’t.
I pause outside the bathroom, not wanting to walk in on her in the bath. I do not want to have to wash my eyes with acid after seeing her naked ass.
I blow out a frustrated breath before pushing open the door.
Fuck, shit, motherfucker.
Luna
Christmas is in the air, even though it’s not really celebrated here, people still get excited over it. It’s crazy really, seeing as we don’t get to see our family. That being said, I’m not even speaking to mine.
I miss my mom, and I will go and see her once I leave here, but I can’t handle anything else. She kept an aunt hidden from me, even when I asked her about my father. It makes me think that she does know his name after all, or at least my uncle’s, and not just some silly nickname I had for him when I was four.
I walk through the halls, seeing the decorations being placed. We break up in less than a week, and most of the girls have already checked out. I guess the unclaimed do have something to celebrate, there won’t be any guys here to make demands of them.
“Luna, hey.”
“Hey, Elena, how are you?” I wave awkwardly as she walks towards me, not really sure how to act around this girl.
“I heard that Nicole gave you a hard time, I’m sorry about that. She’s not a bad girl, just a little abrasive at times.”
“It’s fine, you don’t need to explain. She made her feelings clear, and I understand it. Is she one of your friends who has had it bad?” I ask, lowering my voice.
“In a way, she fell in love with one of them, even though we told her not to. This just isn’t the place for emotions, ya know. I mean, of course, you do. Look at the way you’ve been passed between the guys. That sounded better in my head.” She grimaces, and I stare at the floor. “I’m surprised you hadn’t heard of her before. Her family owns a line of clothing, jewellery, they even have a range of perfume out. They’re the Pierre family, she’s Nicole Pierre the Third, a pretty big deal in the real world.”
“Why did she come here?” We start walking down the hallway, heading to our next classes.
“I think she wanted to see what all the fuss was about, that’s my guess at least. She never really talks about it, we all have our reasons, and we don’t all like to share them. Look, I just wanted to say sorry, I know it’s not my place but you don’t need any more shit thrown at you. Especially from us, we should be sticking together, not tearing one another apart.” She grasps my arm, and I give her a warm smile, before we go our separate ways.
Maddox is in his seat when I claim mine, and it’s the first time I’ve seen him properly since we left for Thanksgiving. Almost as though he’s been hiding himself away, but I didn’t think he would have to do that anymore, now that Shane is no longer on the scene.
“Hey, stranger, you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Class is starting,” he doesn’t even look at me as he says it, and it doesn’t take a genius to know he’s giving me the brush off. What the hell?
Maddox is the first one out of his seat when the class ends, and I’m right behind him. If he’s being bullied again, then I don’t want him to go through this alone. He doesn’t deserve it, he should be allowed to be happy and love whoever he damn well pleases.
“Maddie, wait up,” I grab his arm, and he just… stops.
“What do you want, Luna?”
“I’m worried about you? Did I do something wrong?” He finally looks at me, and it looks as though he hasn’t slept in a week.
“Didn’t D tell you?”
“No, she hasn’t told me anything. She wouldn’t, not if it’s personal. What happened?”
He takes my hand in his and leads me outside. The weather is unforgiving, and there’s no way I can last out here for long. Then again, no one else could either, I guess that’s why he’s chosen it.
“Mikey broke up with me, said he couldn’t do this anymore.” His face crumbles, before he buries his head in his hands. I wind my arms around his waist, and hold him, until he pulls back.
“I’m so sorry, Maddox. I can't believe he did that.” I have no words. He was so happy.
“I can. I mean, how can I blame him? We can’t go out in public, and he can’t even tell anyone about me, in case it gets back to my father. It wasn’t fair to him, I just didn’t expect it. Even though I should have.” He laughs bitterly and I pull him down to me so I can plant a kiss on his cheek.
“You listen to me, Maddox. You deserve to be happy. If Mikey can’t be patient for the day that you can give him everything you have, then he doesn’t deserve you. One day, you will find that guy, and when you do, he is going to be incredible, just like you are.”
“I love you, Luna. I thank my lucky stars every day that someone didn’t read that dossier. If they had, you never would have saved me and I wouldn’t have had a reason to speak to you. By the way, you can call me Maddie, I like it.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders and I lean into him.
“I really am sorry, Maddie.”
“Me too, Luna, me too. Maybe one day I will find the guy you described though. I look forward to it happening.” He drops a kiss on the top of my head before leading me back into the warmth.
We split off and I head off to the library. I don’t like to admit it to anyone, but I’m really struggling this year. The workload is getting on top of me, and I’m worried that I’m not going to be able to make it. My teacher has arranged for someone to help me to catch up, and I’ve got to meet them in the library.
“Star.”
I stop moving, my hand hovering over the door, ready for me to push inside.
“I can’t talk to you, Em.” I mean I shouldn’t even say that, but it’s hard.
“Thallon has agreed to let you go. As soon as my father gets back after the Christmas break, you’ll be free.” His voice is soft and full of warmth. I can feel him close behind me, and it takes all my strength not to lean back into him.
“Are you sure?” I can’t keep the hopefulness out of my voice, it will mean I can finally be with my guys again. Although, Aeron is the only one who made the effort to explain himself.
“Yes, he told me this morning. You’ll soon be free to be mine, it’s the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.” His hands skim down my leather clad arms, before he walks away and I push into the library with shaking hands.
There’s only one other person in here, so I walk over and stand awkwardly, looking at her. It’s Four.
“Hey, you must be Two. Are you ready to get started?” She gives me a wide smile, before pushing a chair out with her foot.
“Yes, sorry.” I shake myself off and drop into the seat.
“I take it you weren't expecting a number to be helping you. Don’t worry, I’m just here to help and it’s good practice for me too.”