42. Luna
FORTY-TWO
LUNA
Luna stirred awake, sore and exhausted. Her body still hummed from last night.
Valerio’s arm held her down to the bed, pulling her impossibly close to his own. He looked so peaceful and serene with his little snores. It made him look so much younger than he was. She was honestly just glad that he was able to get some sleep, and from what she could tell, it was some good sleep.
She traced her finger along his cheekbones, his slightly crooked nose, over the long eyelashes that coated the most beautiful eyes in the world. His beauty had always called to her even when she had a crush on him all those years ago. It was a dangerous beauty, one that promised to sweep her off her feet. Obviously, it worked.
A small smile graced his lips. “Keep going. It feels good.”
“I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“I don’t mind,” he said. “How do you feel?”
“Sore,” she said. “How do you feel?”
“Like someone scratched the shit out of my back.” The grin on his face only seemed to grow.
Luna rolled her eyes, fighting her own. All she did these days was smile with him. “It was deserved.”
“Hey, I’m not complaining. Mark me up, baby.”
Luna shook her head, sitting up. “We should head out before it gets too late in the day.”
Valerio groaned, sitting up as well. “Yeah, I know. I wish we could just stay here, not face anything back at home.”
Luna was silent. Going home meant they had to face reality. Going home meant they had to begin their plans, whatever that was going to look like.
Luna grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “I love you,” she told him.
“I love you too, always.”
They changed into some comfortable clothes they had packed, not bothering with breakfast and not wanting to wait another moment longer.
When they finally took off, the sky was dark and gray—mean looking. The temperature had fallen to freezing, seeping into Luna’s soul. She held onto Valerio the entire time, selfishly trying to steal his warmth from him.
They pulled into the garage of the house in no time, sitting there for some time before they decided to finally get out of the car. “We have to clean up the house,” Luna said.
“It’ll be okay for a couple of days.”
“Maybe we can put everything into a box to save it,” she suggested. “And get the pictures printed so we can hang them up.”
“Anything you want to do,” he said. Valerio cupped her cheek, bringing her closer. “We’ll be okay.”
She knew he could see right through her. She wanted to appear strong and brave, having been the one to command everyone and tell them they needed to get rid of their fathers. Now, when the moment was fast approaching, Luna felt weak. She desperately searched for any ounce of strength she could muster up, but it seemed useless.
There was a fear that she couldn’t get rid of. One that kept reminding her of everything that could go wrong—of everything she had to lose.
Instead of voicing it, she gave him a kiss, memorizing the feel of it into her mind. If he promised they would be okay, then she had to believe that they would be. With that, she opened the car door and got out. Luna carried in the dress while Valerio carried their bag. “I’ll make us some breakfast,” he said.
She nodded. “I’m going to put my dress upstairs.”
Luna climbed up the stairs, taking in the silence of the house. It seemed like everyone was still sleeping, most likely hungover and oblivious to the ominous feeling that surrounded the air now.
She opened the door to the closet and grabbed the same hook that had held her dress yesterday. She would have to send the dress to get dry cleaned, but that could probably wait as could all the things she actually wanted to do. Her list of to-do items grew longer and longer, but she desperately tried not to overwhelm herself.
Her phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. Luna took it out of her pocket but didn’t recognize the number. She answered, wondering if it was any of the companies from yesterday contacting her about something.
“Hello?” Luna asked, answering the call.
“Luna?” the soft feminine voice asked, unsure if she had the right number.
It was her mother.
“Mom?” Luna asked. “Why are you calling me off a different number?”
“I didn’t know if you had me blocked or something. I’ve been trying to call you,” Eleanora said. Her voice was unusually kind. Similar to the voice she’d used when she would comfort Luna as a child. It was rare, but it did happen.
“I’ve been busy,” she said, lying.
“Oh. Well, how have you been feeling?”
Luna closed her eyes, suddenly feeling immensely guilty for carrying out the lie. “I haven’t been good.”
“Why is that? Have you seen a doctor?” Eleanora asked, her voice sounding like she was actually worried. Luna couldn’t remember a time her mother cared this much about anything.
“No, I haven’t needed to,” Luna told her. “There’s no baby.”
She chose to rip off the Band-Aid and tell the truth. Maybe it was risky to tell the truth, but lies would only do so much. Even if her mother decided to run back to Luna’s father and tell him everything, they would handle it. At least she wouldn’t be carrying the sick lie with her anymore.
It was silent on the other line, so much so that Luna thought her mother hung up until she heard a deep breath. “Did your father cause this? With what he said at the engagement party?”
Tears filled her eyes. She sat on the floor, bracing her back against the cabinets. “As long as he is around to hurt me or Valerio, there will be no baby. Did you know about what he did to me? How he hired someone to hurt me?”
“I knew he hired someone. I didn’t know it was to harm you. I would never want you harmed.”
Luna’s heart broke. She swallowed down the sob, unwilling to let her mother hear her breakdown. “I almost died. How could you let him do that to me? How could you be willing to let him sell me off to a horrible man? How could you try to push me to leave Valerio knowing the alternative? You’re my mother; you should be protecting me. I would never let anything like that happen to my daughter, ever.” Her voice was full of venom, full of the hurt she had been feeling since she was a child herself when her mother chose to leave her with random staff and nannies rather than support her children.
“I know I failed you. I know that. But I did what I had to do to survive,” Eleanora cried out, the biggest reaction Luna had ever heard from her.
She laughed sinisterly. “And where did that get you?”
“I never had a choice in anything either, Luna. I was younger than you, but I was completely alone. I had to adapt and learn everything on my own. If he knew that I loved my own children, he would have used you against me. Don’t you understand that? Everything is a game to him. I was playing it just like you were.” Luna heard the sob on the other end. “Please don’t blame me. Please, how can I fix it? Tell me, what can I do?”
She looked down at the rings on her finger: her engagement ring and her wedding band.
She took a sharp breath. “There’s nothing to be done. As long as he is alive and you continue standing by his side, you will never see me. Goodbye.”
Luna hung up without another word, finally allowing the tears to escape her eyes and the sobs to find their way out of her chest. She cried for the little girl who always needed her mother, and now for the twenty-three-year-old who wanted her mother, but would never have her.
When arms wrapped around her, she knew it was Valerio. He didn’t say a word. He just held her as if he could make up for the loss she had felt throughout her life.
“She’s been hurt herself,” Valerio said. “That doesn’t excuse what she has done, but it means she knows what it feels like to hurt, to feel hopeless.”
“She’ll never change,” she said, leaning on his chest for support. “None of them will.”
“Maybe she will,” he said. He ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her. “People have a way of surprising us.”
Only time would tell.