by Kayla Krantz
“But you still did it, didn’t you? And I thought—”
“You thought what?”
“That maybe you weren’t completely heartless because you killed yourself too.”
Chance scoffed. “You think it was for a noble cause? Something I did? Really? No, girl. You want to know why I did that? I messed up. They figured it out…that it was me who killed your dad and Sarah. And because of you, I ran out of options.” Luna closed her eyes to avoid looking at him, and Chance continued. “It was cowardice. Plain and simple. I didn’t want to go to jail and all the spells in DreamWorld couldn’t erase the evidence they had. I made a new plan.”
Luna opened her eyes but still refused to look at him. “Why is it that every time I think you’re redeeming yourself, you show your true colors?”
“You wanted the truth. That’s it. You’re not supposed to like it, just swallow it—that’s why I kept it from you.”
Luna could only stare. And I defended him to Max.
LUNA DIDN’T KNOW what to think after their conversation, but Chance seemed to know his feelings pretty well. He left the room, storming down the hallway, and a moment later, Luna heard the clatter of a door. She had a feeling he had slipped away to the room he had forbidden her from—the one place he felt at home and the place Luna never wished to enter again.
Luna was almost glad. If he was determined to ignore her then she would take advantage of the silence. Luna gave another glance to the ring on her finger and started to cry. Before she knew it, she dozed into a light, fitful sleep. At first, the tiny hissing sound outside startled Luna, and as her eyes opened, she stared at the ceiling, senses on full alert, until she realized it was rain. She sat up, wiping the hair from her eyes as she listened to the tiny, almost normal, sound.
She hadn’t known it could rain here.
Swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress, she stood to her feet and crossed the room, looking around for any sign of Chance. She kept her watchful eye all the way out to the living room, but he was nowhere in sight.
Luna pulled the door open, drawing in the scent of the fresh rain and the sight of the gray sky. Rushing to put on her shoes, she crossed the threshold, and the door clanged behind her causing her to wince. She sat down just beyond the entrance, letting the rain soak into her hair and run down her face in cool trickling torrents. Then, she let just a few tears leak free because no one would be able to distinguish them from the rain anyway.
Like a frightened animal, she watched the surrounding woods, but when Chance didn’t appear, she relaxed and stood to her feet. She didn’t have any sort of plan in mind but went on her way regardless. Chance could do whatever he wanted to do, but she would find her place in this world, with or without him.
Usually, the feeling of rain on Luna’s skin made her uncomfortable. Today wasn’t just another day though and as she walked, she found the cool drops refreshing. Folding her arms across her chest, she moved deeper into the woods, shutting everything out except for the sight of the path before her. It would do her no good to think, to plan, to wonder what she was doing.
All she wanted was to get away. She could figure out the rest later.
Luna tripped over a log, her foot scuffing the forest floor loudly as she struggled to regain herself, and after she was balanced, she winced at the noise she had made. If Chance was right about people looking for her, they would’ve heard that. Panic sharpened to fear, and she made the noise again out of spite, suddenly wishing someone would come out of the woods to try and attack her just so she’d have a definitive target to lash out all her anger on.
After the noises of her anger faded out, no one appeared. Rain trickled down her face, and she wiped it away with a shiver, once again feeling that deep uneasy loneliness penetrate right through to her soul. She forced it away and kept going, convinced that if she just kept walking, she would end up somewhere.
And she did—just not where she expected to be.
Luna’s feet crossed into a clearing and once again, she stared at the remains of Amanda’s old house.
I didn’t realize I’ve come this far, she thought and tilted her head back to look up at the sky.
She was torturing herself—she knew that—but she also didn’t know how to stop it, so instead of turning back to go into the trees, she took a step forward and another. Then she was in the room she had seen on her first visit—the one with the baby bottles and frilly outfits. Luna ran her fingers along everything, contenting herself with the thought that at least Asher had been here.
At least he was okay.
A creak sounded from farther in the structure, and Luna tensed, hand gripping tight around the bottle she had picked up.
“Hello?” she called, taking the smallest step forward.
In the woods, she had been so ready for a fight, but not now. Not when she needed it more than ever before.
She received no response, and for some reason, that made her feel even worse. With shaking fingers, she set the bottle down, and took another step closer to leaving the room, just enough that she could peer out into the dilapidated hallway.
She didn’t see anything but kept looking, waiting for she didn’t know what. Then the creak sounded again, and she ducked her head back into the room before working up the nerve to peer back out. There was nothing and no one there.
So why did she feel as if she were being watched? Luna turned, eyes on the window at the end of the room, but there was no one there either. Just the trees and the rain beyond.
I’m going crazy, she thought, hugging herself again.
When the creak sounded a third time, she was besides herself with fear, anger, and annoyance.
“Hello?” she roared.
Again, no response.
Aggravated beyond her limits, she screamed out like a toddler in a tantrum and grabbed two handfuls of her hair, pulling as hard as she could before collapsing into a sobbing mess on the floor. If there was anyone hiding there, it would be impossible for them to not know she was here.
Luna stayed there until the rain stopped, the tears on her face drying into an uncomfortable crust when she finally forced herself back up onto her feet. Slowly, mechanically, she put one foot in front of the other and made it out of the cabin. For the Hell of it, she walked three laps around the outside the structure, looking for fresh footsteps, but all she saw were her own.
Her circular path went straight again before taking a fourth lap, and she found herself in the woods, Amanda’s old house behind her. She was glad. If she never saw the place again, it would be too soon.
Once again, that feeling of not having a place, of being an outsider washed over her. She had nowhere to go, and even if she didn’t want to admit it, she had to. She walked and walked, wondering what would happen if she decided to keep walking forever, but when she looked up, the cabin was in view, and she screamed again before collapsing to her knees in defeat.
There is no escape from your demons when you’re already dead.
Chapter Thirty
CHANCE SEETHED AS he stormed through the cabin after his return. His first move was to go to the bedroom, to check on Luna, and when he saw she was gone, his anger only intensified though he didn’t know if it was more at her or at himself.
It was easy to let his emotions get the best of him, his anger especially, but that didn’t mean it was the best choice. Leaving, giving her the opportunity to leave, might’ve been the worst choice he could make. There was no telling if she would ever come back. If he was her, he wouldn’t.
Where could she be? he growled to himself, reaching up to grab his head in both of his hands, but he already knew.
She was out there somewhere, looking for Asher again just to spite him. Whatever guilt he might’ve felt about the tracker was gone now. With relief, he lifted his arm, studying the shiny silver watch that had been hidden under his sleeve. He stared at the screen, watching the green dot blinking on the screen. In his mind, he analyzed the data, comparing it to t
he woods, and knew without knowing, that she had gone back to the place where Amanda had been.
“Of course,” he said out loud and snapped the device shut. People in general have a tendency to return to things they know, things that bring them comfort. It would make sense for her to go back to the place Asher had last been. If there was one thing he could say about Luna, it was that she didn’t know when to quit.
Neither do I, he mused and moved through the main room, peering at the skull on the ledge on the way out the door.
The unchanging grin fueled him on. He kept his footsteps silent as he moved through the woods, sure that at any minute he would bump into Luna, and he didn’t want her to see him before he could see her. Whatever she was doing, he wanted to take a moment to reflect on it before interrupting her with his presence. The more he walked without finding her, the more unnerved he became, that feeling more so when he made it to the home without a glimpse of her.
“Hello? Luna?” he asked.
The sound of running steps came from just inside the doorframe, and Chance began to ease. She was here after all.
“Luna?” he called again, taking a step forward.
Instead of the girl with bronze skin and black hair, a dog with mottled black and white fur emerged instead, lunging at him with a series of vicious snarls. When it reached him, Chance grabbed the dog by the collar, holding it just short of biting him.
“Well, hello there, Lucky,” he said, lips curving into a vicious smile.
Chapter Thirty-One
LUNA WAS SO used to Chance being gone when she woke in the morning that it unnerved her to see him still there. Especially since this was her first time seeing him again after their fight the day before. He was seated on a chair beside the bed, head slumped on his arm. For a small moment, she just stared at him, transfixed by the tiny sign of his humanity. One of the biggest traits that made Chance himself was how he strived for perfection in everything he did—especially appearance.
For him to fall asleep must’ve meant he was waiting for a while, and that made Luna shiver, wondering what he could’ve been waiting for. Luna blinked, breaking herself of the trance, and slowly pulled her body to a sitting position, taking extra care to not jostle him as she did so. She breathed in and reached out, setting two fingers to the side of his throat. His pulse was steady under his warm skin.
At the contact, he snorted and lifted his head to wipe away a strand of drool from his chin. “Morning, Luna,” he said calmly as if he had been awake the entire time.
“You’re still here,” she stated, angry that her words hadn’t come out as the question she had meant them to be.
He nodded, looking amused as he sat up straight in the chair, trying discreetly to wipe his chin with his hand again. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’re usually gone in the morning, and I..I still don’t know why.” Only when she folded her arms across her chest did she realize how petulant she sounded. Hadn’t she just told herself it didn’t matter where he went so long as he was gone?
“Well, don’t you usually disappear on me for a majority of the day?” he countered, and she dropped her gaze.
“Sorry,” she muttered, picking at her blanket with the tips of her fingers.
“Don’t do that. I’m just glad you aren’t hurt.”
Now Luna was definitely suspicious. “Really though? I wouldn’t have guessed that from our last conversation.”
Chance gave her the stink-eye. “You really outta know me better than that by now.”
“Yeah, well, every time I think I do, the snake sheds his skin and starts all over again,” she said, eyes boring into his as she said it.
Chance smiled as if she had told a great joke rather than taken a shot at him. “I got a surprise for you,” he said.
Luna perked up, looking into his sapphire eyes for clues. His gifts were never something she wanted in the past, each of them always gruesome or heartbreaking in their own way. What could he possibly have to offer her now…besides Asher?
“What is it?” she asked, hoping to keep the strongest of emotions from her voice, but failing to do so.
Chance smirked and grasped her hand before standing from the chair. She realized then that he was shirtless and couldn’t help but wonder why he had brought the chair into the room in the first place. She didn’t ask any of her questions, following Chance cloaked in the shorts and his old shirt which had somehow become her bedclothes. When he opened the front door, she hesitated.
Is this it? she wondered. Has he finally grown so tired of me he’s going to throw me out himself?
“Where are we going?”
Chance smiled wider and grabbed her other hand, smiling into her face before he turned away to keep walking. Luna was unnerved and annoyed and did the only thing she could—trail him once again. He took her around the cabin to the pen where he kept his hunting dogs, and Luna’s heels dug into the ground.
Even in death, her fear of dogs was strong. She had never cared for them much, but after seeing the damage they could do to a person when they attacked Max, she found that Chance’s dogs made her loathing list. She had never believed it possible for animals to be evil, but Chance’s dogs? They were the epitome.
“I know you’re proud of them, but they’re not much of a surprise, Chance,” she said, pulling away again as she tacked on. “I’ve seen them before.”
Chance didn’t seem annoyed by her words like she thought he’d be. He dropped her hands and pushed her ahead of himself, resting his hand on her shoulder. His breath swirled the hair around her ear when he said, “Relax. Just look.”
His tone was familiar to her—one she never argued with. Her wide green eyes swept the line of brown canines milling about beyond the fence when a flash of black and white attracted her attention.
She gasped, narrowing her eyes with the sudden thought that they were betraying her, and turned to Chance. “Is that Lucky?”
Chance smiled again. “Yeah, it is. I went back to that place—where you said you found Amanda—and I found your dog.”
“Why would she be there?” Luna asked, eyes welling with tears as she stared at the dog. Suddenly, the creaks in the house made sense, and Luna wanted to cry with the blossom of emotions in her.
Chance shrugged. “Looking for Amanda?”
Why would Amanda leave her behind? was the question Luna really wanted to ask but held her tongue. “Thank you for bringing her to me,” Luna said instead, swiping the hair from her face before pulling Chance into a forceful hug.
Compared to him, she was tiny, so her clasp on him was loose at best, and she wondered about her decision the second she did it. He chuckled as the air left his lungs, and when she pulled away, he caught her eye. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. You know I’d do anything for you.”
Luna smiled. He had said that many times over, but she had never known it could have effects that weren’t negative. Imagine that.
“I know,” she managed and rushed over to the gate. “Lucky!”
The Border Collie’s ears perked up before the dog pushed its way through the other dogs and bounded over to Luna, excitedly licking her hands through the fence.
“At least you could never hate me,” she whispered, so glad to see life in the dog’s eyes again.
“I took this too,” Chance said.
When Luna turned, he pulled a strip of fabric from his pocket. It was a pink strap, frayed and ratty, and Luna guessed he had ripped it off of something—a dress most likely.
When she raised an eyebrow in question he said, “Now we have a way to find Amanda.”
***
LUNA HAD FACED her demons and gone into the gate of dogs, sitting with her precious pup for the better part of an hour. Chance left her alone, and for that, she was grateful. It was nice to pet Lucky’s fur, to hold her precious puppy again, and for just that time imagine that everything was okay. If she had her way, she would’ve lived in that moment for a lot longer than she knew was possible. Eve
ntually, she rose to her feet, because as tempting as it was, she couldn’t stay here forever. The other dogs eyed her as she stood, making her feel uneasy.
Lucky whined, her teeth grasping the bottom of Luna’s shirt in an attempt to stay. That caused warmth in her chest—at least someone had missed her as much as she missed them.
“I’ll be back later,” she promised and smiled to the dog, easing her shirt from the canine’s teeth.
Lucky whined, obeyed, and looked at the ground as Luna made her way out of the gate. When it clicked shut, she stared at her fingers, knowing what needed to come next. She needed to talk to Chance though she wished she could do anything else. He might’ve wanted to distract her from their fight, but she couldn’t pretend things were normal so easily.
Running through possible opening sentences in her head, she made her way around the cabin to the front and slowly made her way inside. Chance sat at the table, book in his hands. Luna said nothing, walking across the room to sit in the chair beside him. As soon as she turned to look at him, he set the book down and looked at her, drumming his long fingers on the table.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Where did you say you found her again?” Luna asked, finding it easier to talk about Lucky rather than to say anything that needed to be said. She set her hand on the table, and her ring glinted in the light—the matching one shining on Chance’s finger.
“The place you found Amanda. I’m surprised you didn’t find her, to be honest.”
Luna pulled her lips to the side and now, the question prompted by that was impossible to ignore. “Why were you there?”
Chance was silent, fingers moving slowly across the table toward her hand. It was as if he had anticipated her question and didn’t want to answer it. “I was looking for you.”
“Were you really? Or were you still looking for Amanda? I…understand it if you were. We came so close to Asher.”
Chance frowned. “Yes, but I know enough to have figured out that it doesn’t matter what the place means, she won’t be back.”