CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LUNA
It had been a few days since the night Casper and I went out together. Although we’d been texting here and there, I hadn’t seen him around campus all that much. Maybe our paths just hadn’t crossed. Maybe he was busy with Kings business.
I left my first class, hopeful that I would see him at some point. As I ambled down the hallway, I pulled my phone out of my bag to find several missed calls. They were all from the number Jace had called from.
While I stared at the screen, the phone rang again. Jace. He wasn’t going to give up.
Fueled by a surge of irritation, I answered the call. “What do you want, Jace?”
His voice in my ear brought back so many terrible memories. “For starters, I’d like you to start answering the fucking phone. Are you avoiding my calls, Luna? Why would you do that?”
“I don’t have anything to say to you. You need to stop calling me.” My voice was firm as I clearly stated my boundaries.
Jace’s slimy laugh gave me chills. “Why would I do that? You’re my girl. Once I get out of here, we’ll be together again. I know it’s been a while. I’m not giving up on us.”
“There is no us,” I insisted. “You went away, and I moved on. Things have changed. I am not your girl.”
“That’s what you think. I’m coming for you, baby. Nothing is going to stop me from taking back what’s mine.” There was something deeply disturbed in his voice. It made my skin prickle.
Instead of replying, I simply ended the call. There wasn’t a lot I could do, so I blocked the number, hoping that would be enough. Knowing Jace, it would only make him that much more determined.
Learning that he was getting out of prison soon had made it increasingly hard to sleep. It took longer than usual to drift off. Often my dreams were tormented by memories of my time with him. What had started out as a flirtatious, fun fling had quickly spiraled into something vile and inescapable.
Although Jace had never hit me, he was always quick to drag me around by my hair or shove me down on the ground. More than once, he’d forced himself on me, making it seem like no big deal. He thought of me as his property that he could do with as he pleased.
Once he’d been locked up, I went through a phase of dating heavily.
Hooking up with guys even if I didn’t like them.
I think it was my way of taking back control.
Feeling like these things were my choice again.
For a while, I’d seen a therapist who helped me work through the worst of it.
The last two years had been great. I never thought about him anymore.
Even though I knew that he wouldn’t be locked up forever, I’d hoped that it would be long enough for him to forget about me. I’d worked hard to forget about him.
Lost in thought, staring absently at my phone screen, I bumped into one of the football players and almost went down on my ass. “Sorry,” I mumbled, darting around him.
The sun had peeked out today, making it warm enough to take a break outside. I found Ripley and Codie sitting at one of the picnic tables. Sliding onto the bench across from them, I took a few deep breaths, trying to relax the stiff muscles in my shoulders.
“How’s it going, ladies?” I asked. “I’m glad it’s nice out today.”
“Yeah, we need to enjoy the warmth while it lasts. My next class starts in ten minutes, but I really needed some sunshine.” Ripley turned her face up toward the sun. Her blue eyes closed as she drank it in.
“Have you seen Casper yet today?” Codie raised a perfectly plucked brow. “I’m not sure what him and Rebel got up to yesterday but his arm is bandaged. I didn’t want to ask. Probably King business that I’m better off not knowing about.”
“Casper got hurt?” My stomach turned uneasily at the thought. “He’s okay though, right?”
“Yeah, he seems totally fine. I’m sure it’s nothing.” When I didn’t immediately reply, Codie continued. “So what’s this about an ex-boyfriend? Casper mentioned something about it. I didn’t know you had dated anyone seriously.”
He’d asked Codie about it? I dated Jace before getting to know most of my WU friends. He’d never been worth mentioning.
“A guy I dated in high school. Nobody important. He was kind of a maniac. He killed a gas station employee and went to prison. He’s been calling me lately. Trust me, I don’t miss him.” I tried to laugh it off, keeping the mood light.
“That’s intense. He’s been calling you? What’s that all about?” Codie did her best to seem innocent, but I knew better than that. She wanted the dirty details.
“Apparently, he thinks he’s getting out of prison soon,” I explained, making a face. “Unfortunately, his dad is a lawyer. A pretty good one. He’s got it in his head that he’s going to come see me once he gets out. I really don’t want that.”
Codie let out a low whistle. “I can only imagine what Casper would think of that.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t want anything to do with Jace. Our time together wasn’t exactly good.” I didn’t volunteer any more information. Reliving the past was not of interest to me.
Not wanting to discuss it further, I changed the subject to everyone’s upcoming weekend plans. A much safer subject. Ripley complained about having to work. Codie suggested having Casper and me hang out with her and Stray. Possibly Rebel and Storm as well.
“It would be fun,” she insisted. “Like a triple date.”
Ripley rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. I knew she thought we were crazy. Eventually, she would find the guy that pulled the rug out from under her. Then she would understand.
The three of us had just parted ways when I ran into Casper. He rounded the corner of the building as I headed toward the entrance closest to my next class. When I saw how large the bandage on his forearm was, my jaw dropped.
“What happened?” I blurted. “Are you all right?”
Casper’s face lit up at the sight of me. He pulled me into a hug, holding me in his warm embrace. I hated seeing that he’d been hurt. I knew it had something to do with King business. How often did he put himself in danger? The thought of something happening to him made me sick inside.
I remembered when Dominik and Stray had been run off the road by the Venom guys. Codie had been a mess. Was I strong enough to be with a man who lived that kind of life?
Casper was nothing like Jace who’d been a delinquent pretending to be a tough guy.
He wasn’t gunning down people at the gas station.
However, he was part of a black market organization that dealt in everything from drugs to weapons to human organs.
Heavy duty stuff. I’d watched him kill a man, and I’d still been willing to give him a chance.
Maybe I wasn’t the person I thought I was.
I breathed in his spicy scent, loving the way it felt to be in his arms. When he pulled back and reached for his phone, I said, “Sign it for me first. I probably won’t understand but I won’t learn any other way. As helpful as YouTube is, it’s not the same as proper exposure.”
Casper froze like I’d caught him by surprise. A slow smile spread across his face. He pressed a soft kiss to my lips before his hands began to move.
I did my best to pay attention, managing to pull out the odd word here and there. It still wasn’t enough to put the entire thing together. I offered him an apologetic shrug.
He pulled out his phone then, typing up what he’d just tried to communicate.
Can I just say how fucking amazing you are for trying to learn for me?
You have no idea what it means. Anyway, nothing to worry about.
Just a little confrontation with a guy who owed us money.
He pulled a knife on me. It’s only a scratch. I’m fine.
My forehead creased into a tight frown as I read the words on the screen. “That doesn’t look like a scratch, Casper. That bandage is huge. And what do you mean owed? As in past tense?”
I knew exactly what that meant. I got the feeling that one did not rip the Graveyard Kings off for long without soon regretting it.
Casper signed again, his hands moving slower so as not to overwhelm me. “No worries. It’s all good.”
Even though I didn’t love what he’d been up to, a rush of excitement filled me. “I understood that time. Simple statements but it’s a start.”
The way his eyes lit up said more than enough.
Seeing that it meant so much to Casper that I simply tried made me more determined than ever to get better at understanding sign language.
We managed to get by with him typing his thoughts out, yet I didn’t want either of us to have to rely on that long-term.
I caught myself thinking ahead. Planning for a future I didn’t know if Casper and I even had. Everything was still so new. We barely knew each other. Maybe I was getting carried away.
He signed again before translating on the phone screen. You’re doing great. You’ll be fluent in no time.
“Are you sure that you’re okay?” I asked, his nod making me skeptical. “Are you sure you cleaned the wound properly? I wouldn’t want you to get an infection. Maybe I should take a look at it.”
He waved off my concerns, holding his phone up for me to see. Don’t worry about me so much. Don’t you have a class to get to?
My heart picked up the pace, pitter pattering as he took my hand.
Together we entered the building, following the halls to my next class.
Something as small as holding hands shouldn’t have been so thrilling.
It felt like my first crush all over again.
Those first feelings that were so brand new and exciting.
Perhaps I needed to live in the moment. Without worrying so much about the details.
The possessive way Casper firmly gripped my hand left me feeling giddy and ridiculous.
I got so caught up sneaking glances at him, eyeing up the sleeve of tattoos that engulfed his left arm in a collage of images, I almost tripped over my own feet.
When we reached my classroom, I was reluctant to part ways with him. He must have seen it on my face.
I’ll be here when your class lets out. See you soon, beautiful flower.
Casper tucked his phone into his pocket before pulling me in for a dizzying kiss. His mouth was hot on mine. His tongue slipping between my lips. I never wanted it to end.
When we finally pulled apart, I entered the classroom to find my professor, Tony, eyeing me with a look I’d come to know was anything but professional.