Chapter 14 The Precinct
Luna was about to nod.
Mila lifted her chin, ponytail swinging, her posture almost haughty. "We don't need you. We want him to tell us."
Luna's eyes went wide. She turned to stare at Mila, wondering what had gotten into her.
Mila caught her look and raised an eyebrow, as if to say: I know how this goes.
"." Luna said nothing.
She'd almost forgotten. Back when she was awful, she used to love showing up at Jax's part-time jobs to give him a hard time.
The past was too embarrassing to think about.
Luna tugged Mila's arm, signaling her to shut up. She glanced at Jax, whose expression hadn't changed, and said to the manager, "My friend got the wrong idea. We don't need an introduction. Just two of your signature boba."
The manager gave Luna a strange look, clearly baffled by the sudden change in her demeanor.
But this worked out fine.
The manager let out a breath of relief and cheerfully made two cups of boba.
"I'll bag them," Jax said quietly.
The manager hesitated, then nodded and stepped aside.
Luna watched Jax.
He packed them with practiced ease. His fingers were like polished jade as he pulled a logo-printed bag from the stack, slid the cups in, and tucked in the straws.
Watching his index finger hook the bag, Luna was hit with an absurd flash of that chaotic night.
She'd been in agony, cursing through her tears.
Jax had used this same hand to wipe the tears from her eyes.
.
"Boba." Jax held the two bagged cups out to Luna.
Luna snapped back to reality.
Meeting those dark eyes, heat rushed to her earlobes. "O-Okay."
She stammered, grabbed the two cups, dragged a bewildered Mila along, and bolted.
After they left, the manager said, "Did the heiress turn over a new leaf today?"
Jax tucked away the curiosity in his eyes and said flatly, "No idea."
The two of them worked for another hour before taking a break.
Jax changed out of his work uniform, slung on his backpack, and headed out.
The manager called after him, "You're really quitting next month?"
"Yeah." Jax nodded.
He'd signed a one-month contract. He couldn't exactly back out.
At seventeen, Jax needed this boba shop job. At twenty-three, he'd have plenty of ways to make money.
Jax returned to his dorm room.
Kingsley Prep had single rooms across the board. Some were deluxe, others standard.
Students on full tuition waivers all got the standard room. Just a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a tiny en-suite bathroom.
But even the standard room was bigger than Jax's bedroom at home.
He unzipped his backpack. It was empty except for one neatly packaged cupcake.
He unwrapped it and looked at it for a long time.
Then he ate it. Bite by bite. Until it was gone.
-
That afternoon: one period of physics, one of math.
Luna was in pure torture. She couldn't follow a single word, but not paying attention made her panic.
The moment the bell rang, she grabbed her backpack, loaded with homework, and bolted.
Dean was already waiting outside.
"Heading home, Miss, or.?"
In the past, Luna would have insisted on tagging along with Hayes. Wherever he went, she went.
Luna slumped into the backseat and let out an exhausted sigh, still reeling from physics and math. "Home. Definitely home."
"You got it," Dean said.
Luna sounded bored, asking offhand, "Dean, how old is your daughter now?"
Dean was in his thirties. He wasn't highly educated, but he was honest and drove steady.
The Harringtons had two drivers: Ray and Dean. Ray handled Charles and Stella's transportation.
Dean handled the school runs for Luna and Leo.
Dean and his wife had just the one daughter. He smiled. "She's in sixth grade. Starting middle school soon."
Luna nodded. "That's nice."
She turned to look out the window, as if the question had been nothing more than casual small talk.
Dean glanced at her a few more times in the rearview mirror and let out a quiet breath of relief.
-
Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to Villa 11 in Crescent Bay.
Seeing the familiar house, Luna breezed through the door with her backpack. And came face to face with Stella.
Stella sat on the sofa, her expression languid, a steaming cup of black tea in front of her.
"Mom." Luna greeted her first.
Stella seemed mildly surprised. She gave Luna a cool glance and looked away. "Why are you back so early?"
"Classes ended, so I came home."
The thought of a backpack full of homework made Luna despondent.
Stella nodded and said nothing more.
Luna was heading to her room to do homework when Stella's phone suddenly rang.
"Yes."
"I'm Leo's mother."
At those words, Luna stopped. She stood on the stairs, one hand on the banister, and looked back.
About half a minute later, Stella hung up.
Helen came out of the kitchen with a fruit platter. "What's wrong with the young master?" she asked with concern.
Stella's expression didn't change. "Got into a brawl and ended up at the precinct. Go bail him out."
"Oh my, fighting again? That's so dangerous." Helen looked worried. She set the fruit platter on the coffee table. "You two eat. I'll go check on the young master."
"Wait." Luna called after Helen.
Helen looked over, confused. "What is it, Miss?"
Luna said, "I'll go."
Stella was spearing a piece of watermelon with a fork. She looked up.
Helen instinctively glanced at Stella.
Stella nodded. "If she wants to go, let her."
"Alright."
Helen nodded.
Luna called a cab on her phone, dumped her backpack on the desk, changed out of her school uniform, and threw on a T-shirt and shorts.
The rideshare app was efficient. By the time Luna had changed, the car was already waiting downstairs.
As Luna came downstairs, Helen asked curiously, "Miss, why not call Dean?"
Luna's expression didn't waver. "It's dinner time. I don't want to bother Dean."
After Luna left, Helen said, "Does the Miss seem. nicer lately?"
Stella chewed her watermelon slowly and said nothing.
Helen retreated to the kitchen, slightly deflated.
-
In the cab.
The driver confirmed the last digits of her phone number, then pulled away, heading for Brickton.
Brickton wasn't far from Crescent Bay. It was a rundown neighborhood. Because it was tucked away, they'd been talking about redevelopment for years, but it never happened.
In her past life, Luna had never set foot here.
Once she turned onto Brickton's main street, everything grew rough. The shops on either side were cramped and cluttered, their signs reading things like Lucky Mart and Bargain Depot. Telephone poles were plastered with flyers. The ground was grimy.
During the years Luna had hit rock bottom, she'd lived in places just like this.
The cab finally stopped at the precinct.
The driver seemed surprised. He glanced back at Luna. "We're here."