27. Chapter 27 #3
“Oh, I’m being rude, sorry!” Diamond exclaims, genuinely apologetic, as she didn’t have a spiteful bone in her body. She was young, but very respectful despite her past; it was one of the reasons I used to be drawn to her.
“Hi, I’m Diamond, a friend of Oliver’s,” she offered with a sweet smile, extending her hand to Luna, who could only gawk at the young, perky woman.
“Diamond, this is Luna.” Introducing them, stepped close to Luna, resting my hand on her waist. I can feel her doing her best to resist my touch; it throws me off balance and makes me want to punch a wall, but I refuse to let her out of my grip.
As for Diamond, she smiles at Luna, then glances up at me.
Doing that thing she does where she’s trying to get a read on me, then focuses back on Luna, who’s now shaking her hand.
“It’s lovely to meet you. I’m-” Luna pauses and panics at the same time, as she has no idea how to introduce herself, saying she’s Theo’s nanny after being caught in a compromising position didn’t feel right, whilst I have her hitched against my hip doesn’t paint her in the best light.
“Luna is someone very dear to me,” are the only words I can think of in the moment as they both turn to me, then Diamond steps forward to yank Luna into a hug.
“Anyone special to this lump of a grump is a friend to me,” she declares, patting Luna’s back and looking at me, who gives her a stern glare in response.
“See, grump!” she laughs, pulling away and pointing to my face, which only softens once Luna looks at me with a small smile. If there’s anyone better at breaking the tension, it would be Diamond.
“I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything; I swear I didn’t mean to! I was just on my way to class when I saw you a-” Diamond rambles, when the memory of when I last saw her comes to mind.
“You went back to school?” I ask, offering her a tiny smile.
“Yup! I’m still doing the reception job on the side to save a little money, and thank you, by the way. Nigel has been in touch, and I’m grateful for everything you’ve both done for me.” She nods, allowing me to see a glimpse of the heavy heart she carries in her chest.
“You’re welcome,” I respond as Luna stands there trying to figure out what we’re talking about when a bus pulls up to the stop.
“Ooo, that’s my bus. I have to get to class, but I’ll see you around, Luna. I’d love to see you again,” she beams, pulling her into another tight hug, then opting to give me a quick one too. Then she jogs past us and boards the bus.
Luna and I watch her move towards the back of the bus and take a seat by the window so she can wave goodbye to us as the bus drives off. But my eyes never leave Luna. Her shoulders have relaxed now that Diamond is leaving, but I hate seeing her feel so insecure.
Once Diamond’s bus drove off, Luna headed back to sit at the bus stop. I take a seat next to her, but she shuffles along to put some distance between us.
That bliss we had earlier is now gone.
“You’re not going to tell me what she meant by thank you for everything or who she was, are you?” she mumbles, bringing her arms up to hug herself as she stares down at the gravel.
I sigh, knowing we’re reaching territory I’d rather not enter, and I answer honestly.
“No,” I state, attempting to sit closer to her, but again, she shuffles away.
“She’s a close friend, the type who’s seen you naked?” she states, although it seems she knows the answer.
“Yes,” I say, still giving her an answer.
“Are y-” she starts, but clears her throat before continuing.
“Are you still seeing her?” she asks, with a lump lodged in her throat when I stand to face her directly and look her in the eye as I answer.
“No.” I then feel glad to see that my tone is enough to convince her.
“Okay,” she nods, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
When she opens them again, she smiles, but I can’t tell whether she’s lying or not. I could see that she wanted me to say yes to her first question, to find out more about Diamond and my past, but it’s not my right to share it without Diamond’s permission.
Luna and I agreed that if I didn’t want to talk about something, she’d let it go. While I stare down at her, trying to figure out what’s going on in her mind, Luna pushes herself off the bus bench and onto her tiptoes to kiss me.
“My bus is here; I’ll see you at home,” she murmurs with another smile, as I look up to see the bus pull up. She turns to get on, but I grab her hand.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” I ask, putting a foot up to stop the bus from leaving.
“I’m all good. The terms were to let it go if you said no, right? Give me time to let it go,” she recites, giving my hand a small squeeze as she leans to kiss me on the cheek.
“Let me know when you get home,” I add, tilting my head.
She nods as I put my foot down and she walks onto the bus, offering me a small wave as it drives off, then makes her way to sit on the upper deck. I watch the bus make its way down the road, with something churning in my stomach, but I don’t know what.
Luna was holding up her end of our deal, so why did what just happened make me feel sick to my stomach?
What had I done wrong?