by Tia KENZIE
I stand still for a bit, in shock, then look towards the Glory table. Her 2 friends have scrabbled onto the floor, trying to help her. Toby quickly high fives me, Dolby grins and Dante, well Dante looks away, in disgust I imagine. Now that really fucking hurts! I don’t know what I expected but this isn’t it. “Nice girlfriend you’ve got yourself, Dante.” I say, then I start walking away.
Then I stop, I’m not sure why, but I step back to Serena, lean down and lift her head by the hair and whisper a little message in her ear. “Come near me again bitch, and I will rip your fucking throat out!” I drop her head and walk back to my booth.
I sit down, my hands shaking and heart pumping like crazy. All is quiet to start with. Talia is just staring at me and Blaze is messing with his phone.
“Fuck bitch, you totally owned that! You need to teach me to how slap like that, damn!” Talia whisper shouts at me. “I’ve recorded it so you can see how badass you are. God, I gotta myself a biker boy too, plus, I’d look so good in leather.”
Blaze looks up, his eyes widening, “what’s that supposed to mean?” searching both our faces.
She waves her hand. “Oh nothing, just ignore me.”
Blaze slaps the table. “I’m taking you back, Luna. I owe you a ride anyway.” He says, like he totally gets to boss me around. He also seems pissed off.
I shake my head. “Not today, I’ve got a lift anyway.” Gesturing to my crazy friend.
“Not negotiable.” He claims, before standing up, lifting me by my waist and throwing me over his shoulder.
I squeal, really loudly. “Put me down Blaze, like right now!”
He pockets my phone off the table and slaps my ass in reply, “no chance, Baby Girl. You’ll do as you are told for once.” He carries on towards the door.
I can hear Talia shouting “woo, woo’, all aboard the Luna train,” as she runs after us.
Lifting my head, I see Serena is still laid on the floor, crying like a God damn drama queen – her friends consoling her – and the three Glory’s sat watching us, mouths open, in shock.
Once outside Blaze puts me on my feet. I make no move to run off because, well, I kinda want to ride off on his bike now. It would be the perfect ending to the incident that I shall forever refer to as…. Kill Bitch Day! Or Luna 2 Day! Or whatever, you get it, it’s just a really good day.
Talia runs to her car, fist pumping the air. I get seated on the bike, arms wrapped around Blaze’s middle, hugging him tight. I can feel the Glory’s eyes on us so yeah, I put on a bit of a show. I run my hands across his chest a couple of times and in return Blaze strokes my leg, real slow, then flips off the diner and speeds away. God, I’ve missed this. I hold on tight and just enjoy the ride.
Chapter 9.
A short time later we pull off the road, parking up at a deserted stretch of beach. Blaze gets off the bike and heads onto the sand. I follow and when I catch up, he’s laid on his back, smoking a joint. I lay down beside him, not quite sure why we’re here.
Wordlessly, I hold my hand out for the joint, which he passes me. I don’t miss his enquiring look, but I just shrug and take a couple of hits, before passing it back.
We lay there for a while, not speaking, just watching the clouds in the sky. It’s comfortable, being with Blaze, like this.
“Baby Girl, do you know how fucking turned on I was? Back at the diner?” I remain quiet. He turns his head, looking at me. “Who taught you to throat punch? That was a surprise and so fucking hot.”
I turn my face to him. “Max, he was a friend at my old school. He taught me some self-defense.”
“Was he your boyfriend?”
“No,” I shake my head, “he just looked out for me.”
He takes hold of my hand that’s nearest to him and threads our fingers together. We lay there a while, content just to be.
“I like you Luna. I mean, I really like you.” He squeezes my hand, breaking the silence.
“I like you too, Blaze.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I kinda met someone though.”
“Anyone I know?” He sighs, deflated.
“No, I don’t think so. He’s someone I knew when I lived here before.” My phone pings. Blaze pulls it out of his pocket and passes it to me.
Colt: Where are you Luna?
Me: With a friend.
Colt: Which friend and where?
Me: Blaze, at the beach.
Blaze’s phone rings then, he takes off further up the beach to answer it. I wait awhile but Colt doesn’t text again. Blaze ends his call and comes back, sitting down next to me with another lit joint.
◆◆◆
He looks lost in thought, his lovely blue eyes all scrunched up. Damn, he really is a looker, all dark and mysterious.
“You okay there?” I place my hand on his shoulder as I ask. He just nods.
“Okaaaay.” I lay back on the sand, wondering what the hell happened to him. I think he might be pissed about me telling him I’ve met someone.
My phone pings again.
Colt: Will you ask your friend to drop you off at Silver Creek? Then I’ll meet you there x
Me: I can ask, but I don’t know him all that well. I’ll let you know x.
Turning to Blaze, I find he’s already watching me. “Could you take me to Silver Creek? That was my friend, he wants to meet me there.” I give him a small smile, feeling really bad for asking.
He looks sad, like disappointed sad. “Sure, anything for you, Baby Girl.” He smiles but it’s forced, more like a grimace. I shoot off a quick text to Colt, telling him I’m on my way.
I get up onto my knees and shuffle over to Blaze. Putting my arms around his neck, resting my head on his shoulder I hold him tight, whispering in his ear. “I’m sorry, I think I’ve upset you. I don’t know what I’ve done but I’m sorry anyway.” I keep holding onto him, as if my touch could make him feel better.
Classic Luna move when I’ve smoked a joint – I get all emotional and want to hug everyone. I can’t stand the thought of upsetting him, for being the reason for his current demeanor. It seems so out of character for him. I mean yeah, he always seems to be chilled and deep in thought, but this feels different.
He turns his head to kiss my cheek, quickly. “I just don’t want you getting hurt.” His voice sounds broken.
“Don’t be daft, he would never hurt me. He makes me so happy.” I kiss the side of his ear, “come on big guy, we need to get going.” I stand up, holding my hand out for him.
Silver Creek is basically just a stream with a large, open grassy bank. The place is deserted when we arrive, so we hang around talking for a bit. His mood is still down and it’s killing me. A silver truck makes its way off the highway, onto the dirt road leading to us.
Blaze turns to me, grabs my face and plants a kiss on my lips. My heart lurches, wow.
“He’s here, I’ll see you later Baby Girl.” He climbs on his bike and sets off, never looking back.
The truck pulls up and I see Colt, looking at me through the window. He gets out, closes the door, and slowly approaches.
Suddenly I feel unsure, he doesn’t look all that happy to see me. When he gets near, he stops, opening his arms wide. I set off and jump up him, wrapping my legs around his waist.
“Fuck, I missed you Lune.” He closes his lips on mine and kisses me deeply.
“Missed you too.”
“Lune, I need to talk to you. But before I do just know that I love you, you must know that, right? You must feel it in how I kiss you, how I look at you, right?”
I’m nodding but fuck, I’ve got a really bad feeling he’s gonna break my heart. Right here, right now. We sit in Colt’s truck, but before he can say anything, his phone rings. Taking it out of his pocket, he glances at the screen, then jumps out of the truck.
“I’ll just be a minute.” He throws over his shoulder. He walks quite a distance away. He seems to be arguing with someone, but I can’t hear what is being said. When he returns,
he informs me something came up, and he needs to leave. He drops me off, back at school, with a kiss and promise to call me later.
◆◆◆
Chapter 10. DANTE
Blaze, god damn Blaze has just whisked Luna away like a fucking hero! My Luna! I’m betting Colt may know something, seen as Blaze is in deep with the MC, he has been for years.
After making my excuses at The Reef, I left with Toby and Dolby, heading back to the apartment. Serena wasn’t happy, at all. But I couldn’t give a fuck about that bitch.
Damn, Luna really clocked her. It was a beautiful thing to see, but I had to look away, I couldn’t chance the bitch seeing me smile. No doubt she’ll be making threats to out me to Luna, but I will have to deal with that later.
I called Colt, for the first time in years, to ask if he knew anything about her being back. My brother, the bastard, confirmed yeah, he did. Said we needed to meet up, discuss it in person. He refused to tell me anything on the phone, even after I fucking begged him!
Colt’s already waiting for me at Silver Creek when I get there. He’s stood near the stream, puffing on a cigarette. It’s been years, I know, but he looks a lot older, almost haggard. He’s wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, and his arms are covered in ink.
Guilt immediately consumes me; it was me who cut all contact between us, never giving him a reason why. He turns away from me when he sees me exit Toby’s Jeep.
He must hear my approach, but he doesn’t turn to face me. “Colt, good to see you.” I say to his back.
“Yeah? Is that right? Tell me D, why did you abandon me and Mom? Can you tell me that?”
Fuck! “Yeah, I will, but I need to know about Luna first, please, tell me what you know.”
He starts laughing, turning to face me then.
“Just like that. I don’t see you for years, then suddenly she comes back and what? It’s all okay between us? You blamed me D, you blamed me and Mom for her leaving.”
He’s not angry, he just sounds sad. I hang my head, not sure where to start.
“D, tell me what happened to make you abandon us like that, then I’ll tell you what I know about Lune. Okay?”
I look up at him then, give him a quick nod. “Okay.” It hurts to hear him call her Lune, just like he always did.
So, I tell him what he wants to know. About the reason my life went to shit, how I was tricked into something that had a direct impact on ruining Luna’s life.
I can feel the tears falling, at first, I wipe them away, then I just let them be, there’s no stopping them. He listens, doesn’t interrupt me, he’s always been good at that. He makes rational decisions, unlike me who jumps straight into things without asking questions first.
When I’ve finished, Colt surprises me. He grabs me and hugs me to him.
“I’m sorry D, I just wish you would have told me. I would have tried to help you, or just been there for you.”
“There wasn’t anything that anyone could do, I stitched her up Colt, my best fucking friend. She’ll never forgive me; I can’t even forgive myself. I just don’t know what to do, she’s back and I can’t even go to her. I saw her on the beach, for a few seconds, then the bitch ruined it. It’s all I’ve wanted since the day she left, just to see her again.”
He holds me tight while I sob on his shoulder. Think I’m a pussy? I don’t give a fuck, and neither does Colt.
◆◆◆
“Tell me about her being back. I guessed you knew she was here, with Blaze sniffing around her. They’re not together are they?” Please no!
No way would Luna look at Blaze. Then again, no way would the Luna I knew have throat punched someone either, so, what do I know anymore? Then I remember she was sat with him at the party. Fuck!
“No, they’re not together. I’m using Blaze to keep my eye on her. She doesn’t know I’ve had any involvement at all in her return. I found out her location, by accident, a couple of weeks ago. I also found out who her ‘guardian’ was. That was a massive fucking shock, by the way.
I had to call in a favor for the guardianship to be altered, meaning I could arrange her transfer back home.”
“So, who is the new guardian?”
He sighs. “I can’t tell you D. Just know he’s not a good man, which was exactly what I needed, to be able to go up against her previous guardian. You know him, so you know it wasn’t as simple as just asking him. He owed me a favor, but he asked for even more in return. I’ve had to agree to things I never would have considered before, but it was the only way. Now she’s back I need to work on a way to get out of what I agreed. D, I needed to get her out of that place, immediately.”
“Why? Was it so bad?” My heart is shredding, fuck!
He lights another cigarette, starts pacing on the spot.
“D, she nearly died. The school said it was a suicide attempt, Luna denied it. She claimed someone did it to her. She was found one morning with slashed wrists. They managed to get her to hospital in time to save her, and then the school didn’t want her there anymore. Which is how I came to find out where she was.
We need to keep everything to ourselves, for now. She can’t find out about what you did, or even what I did to help her. If it was a suicide attempt, learning everything now may do her more harm than good. But she’s tougher than she was, I think she’ll be fine, we just need to watch her.”
I’m still in shock from what he’s just told me. She nearly died! I nearly lost her for good and it was all my fault she was still there.
Wait a minute! “Have you seen her? How do you know what she’s like now?”
His eyes dim, his jaw twitches. He’s nervous, it’s his tell that always gave him away.
“You’ve seen her, haven’t you? Just tell me, please.”
“Yes, I’ve seen her.”
“Where? When? Did she mention me?”
He walks off a short way, taking a seat at a picnic table. I take the other side.
“I’m tracking her phone because I need to know where she is. That she’s safe. I tracked her to her Nan’s place yesterday.
I watched her for hours, worried what she may do, but she was okay. She sat on the beach awhile, dipped her toes in the ocean, you know? Then, she fell asleep on her Nan’s old swing seat. She saw I was watching her when she woke up.”
He looks away, that god damn twitch again! “What then? There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“We talked a while; she didn’t tell me what happened at the school. But she was upset, about you D, and Serena.”
I rub my hands across my face, I don’t know why, it’s not like it achieves anything. It’s just something I do, a lot lately. “Go on, what else?”
“Nothing much. She’s changed, you know. She’s….more confident than she was.”
My stomach hits the floor. There’s more, I just know it. I signal him to continue with my hand, not trusting myself to speak. He nods, then takes a deep breath.
“She kissed me, I’m sorry but she did. I think it was because she was so upset about you. I don’t know. I should have stopped her, but I couldn’t. I was just so happy to see her, I didn’t want to upset her in any way.”
He fucking kissed her! My brother kissed my Luna!
“Was it just a kiss? Colt, tell me it was just a kiss.” I can’t believe it.
“I swear D, it was just a kiss. I’m sorry, I really am. But to be honest, all I knew was you were with Serena, have been for years. I assumed you were happy. So, it didn’t really feel like I was betraying you. Obviously, now I know the truth, I feel like shit.”
I don’t speak right away. Everything is flying around my mind. She must hate me, coming back to find I’m with the one person who treated her so badly. Christ, I don’t know if she will ever forgive me.
“Have you spoken with her since?”
He’s nodding his head, flicking his lighter. “Yeah, we've texted. I was with her when you called, I was going to come clean with her. It's probably a good job that you co
ntacted me when you did, as telling her would have been a massive mistake. I know it's hurting you but I can’t just ignore her D, that would be cruel. She was just so damn happy to see someone from her past.”