“Not a problem. I can think of a few ways to keep her busy,” he responds easily, and his words send excitement roaring through me. Even though I don’t think I’m up to anything too exciting right now.
“Tom, could you get me a drink, please?” I ask quietly, and he springs to his feet before heading to the door.
“I’ll be right back,” he says before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
“Fuck, Luna. I was terrified. This place is going to kill you, I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” Cole says as he drags his hand through his hair.
“How do you think I feel? I’m not going anywhere, though. I’m seeing this out ‘til the end.”
“I know, I just wish you didn’t have so many enemies in this place and I wouldn’t trust your allies as far as you could throw them. They’re Harkwrights through and through, which means you cannot trust them.”
His words don’t sit right with me. Sure, I’d say it’s true of some of them, but not all. I feel safe with Tom, Tucker, and Maddox. The only thing at risk is my emotions, but I can survive that… I think. Or at least, I’ll do my best to.
The door opens before I can reply, and Tom comes back in with a soda, and the smile I’m giving him is definitely genuine.
“I was meaning to say, Five. Your sister has shown some signs of improvement. She spoke a couple weeks back.”
My eyes shoot over to Cole, and I want to slap him for not telling me sooner, but that can wait right now. I’m just so overjoyed, it seems to make me forget all about the pain I’m still in.
“What did she say?”
“She said your name. It’s a great sign, and I had to tell you,” he says with a kind smile and all thoughts of Shane, the murder, and Emmet’s mind games slip away. Thoughts of Poppy replace them instead and hope that she will make a full recovery one day.
I don’t know what I expected Tom to have planned when we got back to my room, but this was not it. I’m lying on the loveseat with Tom and Aeron sitting on the floor looking through the Academy records. Just so they can prove to me we are, in fact, not related to one another.
It probably isn’t helping that I refuse to let Aeron anywhere near me, and I’m happily surprised because he’s respecting my refusal. He doesn’t have to, but he is so I don’t feel too uncomfortable. It’s nice to see that he isn’t a total asshole.
“Can’t you just take our word for it?” Aeron asks, rubbing his face and scowling at me, and I’m biting my bottom lip to keep my smile in.
“Nope, show me proof and then I’ll believe you.”
“I found it,” Tom says smugly as he passes me a photo, and an official-looking document.
“What’s this?” I ask, trying to get my eyes to focus on the writing.
“It’s the marriage proposal she received when she reached the end of the Academy. She turned it down, Moonbeam. She left the Academy as a free woman. I’m not sure who proposed. The name has been redacted, although that is unusual. If that isn’t enough for you, then we could always do a DNA test. But she didn’t stay with a Harkwright man, Moonbeam, I promise.” Tom sounds so certain, but I don’t understand how he can be.
“Hang on, do you know who my dad is?” I ask, sitting forward too fast, and making my head spin.
They share a look that screams guilt, but I can only push them so far. I know this, and it’s making frustration well up within me.
“We know the two guys it could be, records show it has to be one of them,” Tom replies as he drops the papers down on my coffee table, and sets his eyes onto me.
“Who?”
“Mario or Deacon Cannery. They were twin brothers who worked here during her stay. They left the same time she did, and there was a case where she almost got thrown out when she was accused of sleeping with one of them. No one could prove it, so she got let off. But one of those is your father, Little Zero. Apparently, the one who proposed had someone track her down, and she was found living with one of them. The PI couldn’t say which brother it was, because they were identical, but it was enough, and apparently, she was pregnant when he tracked her down. It had already been a year since she left, so it couldn’t have been a Harkwright,” Aeron says. His hand trails across my thigh, but I barely feel it.
Mario or Deacon, which one of you is my father, and are you still around?
8
Two Plus Two Equals Five
A week has passed since I found out what my father’s name could be, and for some reason, I’ve been summoned to the front office. I’m nervous as hell, considering people only seem to get called in there when it’s bad news. I can’t think of anything I’ve done, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been accused of anything. I seem to be public enemy number one at the moment. Considering there’s a killer around, it just proves to me how narrow minded these people really are. Everyone is just out for themselves, and I feel sorry for whoever gets stuck with them when they leave this place.
I take a seat on a chair outside of the office and wait for someone to call me in, I’m surprised when Tom comes to take a seat beside me. That being said, surprise turns to fear when I recall Millie being called in here. What if something has happened to Poppy or my mom?
“Relax, it’s good news,” he breathes as the door opens and Crystal calls me in, and Tom follows closely on my heels.
“Really, Mr. Harkwright? Your presence isn’t required,” she says, and he just stares at her until she fidgets, and takes her seat behind the desk.
“You are being offered a weekend pass to leave the Academy. If you accept, you will need to pack a bag and be ready to leave within the hour. Your sister is presenting moments of coherency, and you are being offered the chance to visit her.”
“If you say yes, you will have Darius with you and we will require you to stay in a hotel until it is time for you to come back. You can’t talk about your time here, Moonbeam, not even in passing with your family,” Tom adds on, and I take a moment to think it through, but what is there to think about? As if I would even dream of turning this down.
“I’ll go pack my things,” I reply, and I don’t wait to see if there’s anymore to be said as I race from the room, and straight up the stairs.
Poppy’s speaking, and I get to see her and my mom? Add that to the fact that Cole is off rotation here, which means I could even see him while I’m away. Could this day get any better?
I don’t waste any time throwing my clothes into a bag, and I love being able to select my comfiest ones. No more pencil skirts and booty shorts. I can finally be me again. It doesn’t stop me from putting on my navy, button down dress that Tucker got for me, but it’s one of the few items that I genuinely love, so it at least fits the comfy aspect.
I’m bouncing on my toes as I give D a hug goodbye, and she holds me for longer than necessary. It just makes me laugh.
“It’s only for the weekend, I’ll be back before you know it,” I say.
“I know, but I’m going to miss you,” she sniffles in reply and I squeeze her one last time before pulling back and smiling widely at her. She leans forward quickly and I’m not sure what to do. “We need to talk when you get back.”