Chapter 25
jeremy
I was hyperventilating on the inside because the secret I’d kept for fucking years, the majority of my damned life, was just spilled so clearly in front of me.
I walked past her, straight up to Dirks. “You fucking happy, man? One look at your face and I can tell. You got everything. You got her to move back here. Her heart. You win. It was never about the three of us together, was it? It was always you wanting—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Dirks growled.
“She wasn’t supposed to tell you. That was ours. That was sacred.”
Luna stepped between us. “Jeremy—”
“You told him about us? About the foster home?”
She flinched.
“We promised,” I hissed. “You and me. We promised to protect that part of us. We said we’d never say it aloud.”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen like this,” she said quietly. “But yes. I told him.”
“Why?” I asked, broken. “Why now? After everything?”
“Because he’s in my life, Jer. For real. And you’re not.”
That stung more than I wanted to admit. I stared at her like she was a stranger. “You left. You went to London. You broke up with both of us. You said you couldn’t do it unless it was all three, and then you ran.”
“I ran because you were sick,” she said, tears pooling in her eyes. “I was falling apart trying to keep us all together. So I left.”
“And now what? Now you’re back, and he gets to know everything, and I’m just some ghost from your past?”
“You disappeared, Jeremy. You went to rehab. You went no-contact. You blocked me.”
“You told me to.”
“I told you I couldn’t do it anymore if you were going to keep drinking yourself to death!”
Silence.
I looked between them. The two people I loved most in the world. “So that’s it? You told him everything.”
“Not everything,” she said. “But enough.”
I turned to Dirks. “And you? You okay with this? With what she is? With what we were?”
He didn’t flinch. “I’ve known pain. I’ve known secrets. And I love her anyway.”
It hit like a fucking gut punch.
“I don’t care that you two are sleeping together.”
Both of them froze, wide-eyed at how casually I’d said it.
“You think I didn’t know? I followed him after the game, Luna. Watched him walk right up to your guesthouse. You think that’s what I’m mad about?”
Her expression softened like she wanted to reach out, but she didn’t.
“What pisses me off is that you told him that.” I shook my head.
“That we’re foster siblings. That we had that history.
That we—fuck.” I dragged my hand down my face.
“That we shared something that was never supposed to leave us. That was ours. And just because you two are playing house again, you thought you could give him our story like it was yours to give?”
Dirks’s voice broke the silence. “She didn’t just give it to me. She told me because she trusts me. Because it mattered. And if it means anything—I know it wasn’t easy for her. She’s still struggling with it.”
Luna turned to me, guilt all over her face.
“Jeremy, I didn’t want to hide it from you, but it’s been years.
You disappeared. I didn’t know if you were ever coming back.
I had to keep going. Nova needed me. And I-I couldn’t keep dragging that promise around if it meant burying every other part of my life. ”
I looked at her then—really looked at the girl who used to press her forehead to mine in the dark, who made me promise we’d never speak aloud about the things we shared. The girl who didn’t ask for any of this and still tried to carry it all with some kind of grace.
Luna narrowed her eyes, arms folded tightly across her chest. “So, what now? You showed up in the middle of the damn night just to lurk outside like some sad little voyeur? Hoping to hear us fuck?”
“Why not? Wouldn’t be the first time I got off listening to you scream his name.”
Dirks blinked. “I’m sorry—what?”
Luna’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
I shrugged. “A few weeks ago, in the Ravens tunnel. I was also in the corner, with my dick in my hand and a bucket of popcorn I didn’t need.”
Luna smacked Dirks in the chest. “OH MY GOD. I knew someone was there!”
“I thought it was the wind,” Dirks hissed.
I bit back a laugh. “That wind was rock hard.”
Luna buried her face in her hands, half laughing, half groaning. “This is hilarious.”
“You two fucked loud. What was I supposed to do? Leave and miss the finale?”
“Get therapy!” Luna and Dirks shouted at the same time.
I grinned. “I have therapy. Thursdays at noon. She says I’m doing great.”
Luna, with a wicked little grin, cocked her head. “Well . . . did you like it?”
I burst into laughter. “Luna.”
Even Dirks chuckled, shaking his head. “God. Only you, Luna.”
I grinned too, because yeah. That’s exactly what I’d been thinking.
Only our Luna.
Dirks let out a breath, ran his hand through his hair, and glanced toward the stairs. “Think I’m gonna head back up.” He flicked his eyes to Luna. “That cool with you?”
She gave a quiet nod, and he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
He pulled away and took a step in my direction, placing a firm hand on my shoulder with a steady squeeze. “Glad you’re here, man. Hope you’re stayin’. We need you.”
He smiled and turned and took the stairs two at a time.
It was then I finally got a good look at her . . . my Luna girl. Blonde hair tousled, a bright pink satin robe slipping off one shoulder, curves still as dangerous as I remembered, tits practically spilling out.
“Hi, honey,” I murmured, the words catching somewhere between awe and ache.
“You’re sober.”
It wasn’t a question, simply a soft truth spoken aloud, but I nodded anyway.
“I followed you because . . . I had to see you,” I said quietly, the fight long gone from my voice. “I didn’t know what I was walking into with Dirks, and yeah, hearing that you told him our biggest secret stings, but I didn’t come here for a reunion.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but I kept going.
“I’m not mad you told him. I . . . I guess I always thought that secret would stay between us. That it was ours to protect.”
Her shoulders dropped. The tension in the room shifted.
“I told him because I trust him,” she said. “Because I needed someone to carry it with me.”
“I get it. You needed support. You’ve always carried more than your share. I . . . I wish—-” I shook my head, not letting her hear the truth. “I don’t know what I wish.”
“Why are you here?”
I moved farther into her home and reached into my jacket. Sitting down at a small dining table, I pulled out an envelope and set it on the surface in front of me. “I’m here because of Arthur.”
Luna followed and sat across from me. “Jeremy, no. I don’t want to—”
“He died, Luna.”
“That’s not my issue,” she snapped, shoving back in her chair and standing.
“It is,” I said, staying seated, hands clenched in my lap.
“It’s not,” she barked as she paced around the room.
“Luna, it’s in your name.”
She froze mid-step, spinning on her heel. “What is?”
“The fucking house,” I said. “Arthur left it to you and me somehow. The only way I can legally close out the estate is if you come down there and sign the damn paperwork.”
“Be at his house?” She barked out a laugh. “Get the fuck outta here, Jer. Not happening.”
“I’m serious, Luna.”
“Just take the L on this one, Jeremy. I’m not setting foot in that shithole.”
“I can’t!” I stood up, the chair groaning with the sudden movement. “I can’t simply take the L, Luna.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You can. You just don’t want to.”
“No. You have no fucking idea what I’ve been through these past almost five goddamn years.”
“Oh, here we go—”
“I’m broke,” I shouted, louder than I meant to.
“I have no money. I spent everything I had trying to keep that bastard alive. On his chemo, on his pills, on the hospital beds and wheelchairs. I gave everything to a man who never gave a shit about me, and then he goes and dumps the one thing he had left to both of us.”
Luna blinked at me, mouth parting, but nothing came out.
“I need that house sold. I need the money. Not for drugs, not for a bottle, not to disappear again,” I added quickly. “I need it to live. To fucking survive. So yeah, this is your problem.”
“Jeremy . . . ”
“No, you don’t get to ‘Jeremy’ me,” I snapped, dragging a hand through my hair. “I came here with paperwork, not a goddamn proposal. I’m not trying to win you back. I need your signature and your time.”
She crossed her arms, robe slipping off her shoulder. “My time?” She scoffed. “You think I want to walk back into that house?”
“I’m asking for one fucking favor. One. Come down there. Walk back into that house and help me close it out. That’s all.”
She shook her head, jaw clenched, like she was ready to throw something at me. “Don’t do that. Don’t twist this like I haven’t already given you everything.”
“You ripped my heart out, Luna.”
“No. I fucking helped you. I helped you see you were at your lowest and needed help. You’re sober now.”
. . . Okay. That one hit and hard because she had a valid point.
I blinked and took a step back, scrubbing my face with both hands. “Fine. Fair. I’ll give you that. But I need one more thing from you. One thing, and then I’ll be out of your life forever.”
She stilled. “What?”
I met her eyes, let the silence stretch until it hurt. “You and Dirks. I’ll leave and never come back.”
She sucked in a breath. “B-but . . . what if I don’t want you out of my life?”
I shook my head, pressing my back against what looked like the back door. “I can’t do this again. I need this. Don’t change the subject.”
She threw her hands up, exasperated, and her robe slipped even farther off her shoulder. Fuck me. This was getting harder by the second.
“I’m not going there,” she snapped. “I’m sorry Arthur died, I am, but I won’t step foot in that house. It’s nonnegotiable.”
“It’s my fucking life. I’m begging you. I need that money to pay off the rehab debt. Please.”
I fucking hated begging. It wasn’t in me. I liked being the one in control. I liked her on her knees for me—not the other way around. I was humiliated, and she knew it. She saw it with every damn crack in my voice.
“I . . . I can’t,” she whispered, arms crossed tightly over her chest.
I stepped toward her slowly, carefully, and reached up to tuck a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She didn’t pull away.
“I’ve got a bit of time before I have to close the estate,” I said quietly. “Just . . . tell me you’ll think about it.”
“What exactly do you need from me?”
I exhaled. “The lawyer said there’s a clause in the lease—Arthur revised it last year, probably when he knew the clock was running out.”
Her brow furrowed. “Clause?”
“Yeah. If the property doesn’t transfer ownership within the year of his death, an ag company that leases the crops pulls their offer. The lease voids. You and I are stuck with it. Taxes, insurance, repairs . . . every-fucking-thing.”
She blinked at me.
“Can’t I just sign something? Transfer it to you?”
I shook my head. “No. The terms of the will require both beneficiaries—you and me—to be physically present to list it. The ag company wants the land cleaned up and cleared before next planting season. They’re not playing games.”
She pressed her lips together. “Of course Arthur would leave a mess like this.”
I gave a bitter laugh. “One last power play from the grave.”
Luna finally looked at me then, something flickering in her eyes. “And if I say no?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I guess the deal dies. I’m stuck with everything, and you’re still legally tied to a property you want nothing to do with.”
I dropped my hand, staring into her deep blue eyes. “I’m asking for this. I’m not asking for us back. I’m not asking for more than a few days of your time.”
Luna stared at me for a long moment, something softening in her posture. “I’ll think about it.”
I nodded and grabbed the paperwork from the table before I stepped toward the door.
“Thanks,” I muttered, trying not to sound as hollow as I felt.
I had my hand on the doorknob when her voice stopped me.
“You know, we’ve got what—nine months now? To close the estate?”
I turned slightly, meeting her gaze over my shoulder.
“Maybe we use it,” she offered with a small shrug. “To reconnect. Be friends again. You help me face that place, and I help you . . . with whatever this next version of your life is.” She laughed, shaking her head. “God, that’s such a bad idea.”
I cracked a smile. “Probably the worst.”
She leaned her hip against the table and crossed her arms, her pink robe still barely hanging on. “Maybe after Christmas at Austin’s, we can get over the worst of it.”
I turned fully now. “Wait—Austin Hart is around?”
Luna snorted. “Oh, yeah. That’s a whole circus.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“He’s sober now. Been doing really well, actually. Married, too. Nova ran into him after we moved back . . . surprise, surprise—she had a secret baby when we were in London.”
I blinked.
“She’s engaged now,” Luna added casually, like we weren’t talking about the most insane plot twist of all time. “So yeah, the whole thing’s a little . . . wild, but she wants us all together for Christmas. Like one big, messy, happy, sober family. Emphasis on messy.”
“Jesus,” I muttered.
“Exactly.”
She took a breath as I hesitated, hand still clutching the doorknob.
“I know I broke a promise. I know I hurt you by telling Dirks, but I need you to hear this—really hear me.”
“Alright.”
“I need you in my life. I need my friend back. The one who held my hand when the world was falling apart. The one who knew what I was thinking before I said a word. The one who saw me, every broken piece of me, and never looked away.” She took a deep breath.
“I don’t want to do this life without you .
. . sober you. It’s only . . . nine months.
Nine months to settle the estate, to figure it out.
To be something again. Maybe not what we were, but something. Please.”
She laughed once, weakly, brushing away a tear.
“I don’t care if we just fight and cry and remember old songs and eat cereal on the floor like we used to, because no one else gets the darkest parts of me like you do.
” She swallowed hard and whispered, “Be my friend again, Jer. That’s all I’m asking.
Don’t make me beg more than I already am. ”
Her words, her tears, her plea, lodged deep in my chest and refused to move. As I stepped out into the cold again, I already knew.
I’d see her again.