by Deanna Chase
“Listen, Levi,” she started as she grabbed a glass from her cabinet and filled it with filtered water from the fridge. As she pressed it into his hand, she continued, “First, I want to make it very clear that you are welcome to stay here for as long as you need a place to call home. I mean that. Okay?”
He gripped the glass so tightly his knuckles were starting to turn white.
“Nod if you understand me,” she said gently.
He gave her one short nod.
“Good. Now as to why I’d offer help, well, as I told you yesterday, I was in foster care once. And to this day, I’m certain that the only reason I survived it is because someone looked after me and was there for me when I needed him. I’m only paying that favor forward.”
His face hardened as he carefully put the glass on her counter. “So, this is all just some sort of karma payback for you. Do you think by helping a queer kid, you’ll get your wings or something?”
She wanted to laugh but managed to keep her humor in check. “Wings? Now that’s not something I’d considered. They seem pretty useless to be honest. I’d settle for something a little more mundane like a comfortable chair in my living room. Or maybe some upholstered bar stools for this counter.”
He just blinked at her.
This time she did laugh. “Okay, I get it. Bad joke. Listen, I’m not looking for anything. All I want to do is help. I know what it’s like to feel alone and scared. If I can change that for you, then that’s enough for me. Okay?”
“And what about Chad? Why did he put his number in that fast food bag? What’s his motive?” There was an edge to his questioning about Chad that hadn’t been there before.
Luna frowned. “You know, Levi, I can’t speak for him or why he wants to help you. I can only say that he’s the person I was talking about who was there for me when I needed someone most. I trust him. And with my background, that doesn’t come easy. No one expects it to come easy for you either. But I hope you’ll try.”
Skepticism was written all over his face. Who could blame him? This kid didn’t know her or Chad. She couldn’t comprehend the feelings he must’ve been processing. She just hoped that safe was one of them.
“Are you hungry?” she asked. “I don’t have much, but there’s some leftover pizza from last night in the fridge if you want it.”
His eyes lit up, and she could see the longing in his expression.
“I’ll heat it up for you,” she said, moving past him to the fridge.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said. “I can do it.”
“But I want to. Now go wash up. This will be ready in a couple of minutes.” Once he disappeared into the downstairs half-bath, she set the timer on the stove and slid the remaining combination pizza onto a cookie sheet before popping it into the oven. With the pizza heating, she climbed the stairs and quickly changed the sheets on her bed and grabbed a spare sheet and couple of blankets for the couch. Then she jogged down the stairs and dumped her haul onto the couch.
“Is that for me?” Levi asked, coming over to help her make up the couch.
“Nope. Me. You’re taking the bed. I’ve got the couch tonight.”
“No way! I can’t do that,” he insisted. But the outburst made him wince, and he pressed his hand to the side of his head just below his stitched wound.
“You can, and you will,” Luna said with a gentle smile. “I’ll be fine down here. Besides, you’d be doing me a favor if you let me mother you a little bit.”
His expression softened as some of the defensiveness disappeared from his wary eyes. “Okay,” he said softly. “I think I can handle that.”
“Good. Now let’s get some of that pizza in you.” She ushered him into the kitchen, retrieved the pizza from the oven, and gave him three of the four slices, keeping one for herself.
Since she still didn’t have any bar stools or a table, they stood at the counter eating. Levi wolfed down two slices, and when he got to the third, he hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want this one?”
“I’m positive. In fact, you can have the rest of this one if you want. I’m full.” She pushed the half-eaten slice over to him.
He shook his head. “No way. I’m not stealing your dinner. You can’t be full off just half a slice.”
“Trust me, I am,” she said, patting her belly. “Chad and I had burgers before we got your call. If I eat anymore, I’ll be uncomfortably stuffed.”
Levi took a bite of his third slice, studying her. “I’m sorry I interrupted your date. I imagine this isn’t how the evening was supposed to end.”
“It wasn’t a date,” she said automatically, though as she heard herself say the words, she knew they were a lie. Why had she been so quick to deny the truth?
His eyebrows rose. “Really? Sure seems like you two are into each other.”
Well, she was certainly into Chad, but she had no idea how he saw her. “I guess technically it was a date,” she admitted. “I asked him out as a thank you for helping me move yesterday. As for being into each other, we’re just friends.”
An amused smile claimed his lips as he chuckled and shook his head slightly. His entire face lit up, and the heaviness that he carried with him seemed to melt away. He was beautiful, his brown eyes glinting, making her want to do anything to put that look on his face again. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you’re not just friends. There are way too many sparks for that.”
“There aren’t any sparks,” she lied, not wanting him to get the wrong idea… or let him encourage something that seemed unlikely.
He chuckled. “Yes, there are. Remember when we talked about me getting premonitions?”
“Yeah.” Her heart did a major flip flop in her chest. What had he seen about them? And did she even want to know?
“I also see other things. Like actual sparks when two people who are into each other have any sort of physical contact. And when Chad touches you, there are fireworks.”
They were probably just on her end, she decided. Because she had enough pent-up feelings for him to light up the sky. She just shrugged and then turned the focus away from her jumbled heart. “If you see that sort of thing, then it’s official. You’re definitely a spirit witch. What other abilities do you have besides the sparks and premonitions?”
His amusement vanished as his expression turned neutral, and it was his turn to shrug.
She laughed. “Okay, don’t tell me. But I’m going to make it my mission to pry it out of you. Fair warning.”
A faint smile reclaimed his lips. “You can try.”
She chuckled. “Fair enough.”
The conversation stilled as Levi finished the rest of the pizza. When he was done, he looked up at Luna, weariness etched around his eyes as he seemed to sway on his feet.
“Okay, visiting time is over. Time to get you to bed.” She ushered him up the stairs and into her bedroom. “I’ve changed the sheets and laid out an old T-shirt and some sweatpants for you to sleep in. It’s a good thing you’re skinny or else I wouldn’t have anything to loan you.” She winked at him. “Don’t worry, it’s not anything too girly.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he mumbled already sitting down on the bed.
She kneeled down and helped him out of his grungy shoes. The poor kid was in need of just about everything. “I don’t have a spare toothbrush, but I left toothpaste and a fresh bar of soap in the bathroom. Use anything else you can find. We’ll restock tomorrow. Gerry said you need to wait at least twenty-four hours before you can get your stitches wet, so be careful there. Okay?”
He nodded. “I can manage.”
“I’m sure you can.” She stood and walked to the door. “I’ll be in after a few hours to wake you up. Healer’s orders.”
“All right.” His voice was a rasp as he pushed himself off the bed and shuffled into the bathroom.
Luna wanted to wait and make sure he made it back to bed okay before she retreated downstairs, but she didn’t want to make him feel li
ke an invalid, so she grabbed a pair of pajamas from a box on the floor and forced herself back down to the living room. After a trip to the half bath to get ready for bed, she slipped beneath the covers of her makeshift bed on the couch and set the alarm on her phone. Exhaustion settled in her bones as she lay there wishing for sleep. But it never came. And when the alarm went off, she was still wide awake.
Without hesitation, Luna climbed the stairs and found the bedroom door slightly cracked open just the way she’d left it. She gave a short knock and heard a raspy, “Yeah?”
She pushed the door open and poked her head in. “Levi? You feeling all right?”
“Sure.” He was curled on his side, the blanket pulled up to his neck, cocooned in the covers. Safe where she’d left him.
“Have you slept at all?” she asked as she made her way into the room. She sat on the edge of the bed next to him to get a look at his eyes. They were sleepy, but he didn’t have a confused, dazed look. That was good.
“Some. I heard you coming up the stairs.”
“You did?” She snorted. “And here I thought I was being quiet.”
He closed his eyes, and a tiny shudder seemed to shake him. “I guess you could say I’m a light sleeper.”
Dread curled in her belly. That shudder didn’t have anything to do with his natural sleep patterns. This was a kid used to sleeping with one eye open. Her heart shattered all over again. She swallowed thickly. “I’ll remember that. Any nausea? Dizziness?”
“No,” he said sleepily. “Just a dull ache where the wound is.”
“Okay. That’s not so bad. It doesn’t sound like you’re suffering from a concussion, but I’ll come and check on you in a few more hours anyway. Go back to sleep.”
He mumbled something she didn’t understand and stirred slightly before letting out a contented sigh.
Gah. That sound hit her straight in the heart. And this time when she curled under her blankets on the couch, she fell right to sleep.
Chapter Fourteen
“Morning, sunshine,” Luna said as Levi shuffled into her kitchen the next morning wearing his jeans from the day before and the vintage Rolling Stones T-shirt she’d left out for him the night before.
He glanced down at himself, plucking at the T-shirt. “I hope it’s okay to borrow this. My shirt had blood on it.”
“Of course,” she said, sipping on a cup of coffee. “Keep it if you want. I have more where that came from.”
“You do?” he stared at her cup, a look of longing on his face.
“Help yourself. There’s more in the pot over there,” she said, waving to the coffee maker on her counter. “I have a thing for second-hand stores and concert T-shirts. It’s sort of my only weakness when it comes to spending money.”
“That’s cool.” He found a mug and filled it with the dark roast.
“There’s sugar in that container next to the pot and milk in the fridge if you want it,” she added.
He doctored his coffee and leaned against the counter, studying his mug.
“Are you hungry? I don’t have much, but there’s bagels in the cupboard and cream cheese in the fridge. Or you can wait until we go to the café on the way to the spa. I always pick up something on the way to work.”
“You work at a spa?” His gaze snapped up to meet hers.
“Yep. I’m a massage therapist.”
“Oh.”
There was an awkward silence, and not sure what else to do, Luna doctored a bagel for him whether he wanted it or not. “Here.” She handed it to him. “You can still get something at the café later.”
“Thanks.” He took the bagel, but instead of devouring it like a normal teenager, he just held it as he bit down on his bottom lip.
“What is it, Levi? Do you need the pain reliever potion? You should probably eat before—”
“It’s not that.” He shook his head, and the tiny wince betrayed him. He might not be in agony, but he clearly wasn’t one hundred percent. Not that she’d expected him to be. “I’m just wondering… um, what happens now?”
Luna glanced at the clock. “Well, in about ten minutes we’ll leave for the café and then Chad will meet us at the spa. I’m going to do a little work on his hand, and then you two are going to go shopping to get you some basic necessities. After that…” She shrugged. “I guess we’ll just play it by ear.”
“You guys don’t have to babysit me,” he said, his voice rough. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”
There was so much truth, so much pain, in his voice that Luna’s eyes stung with unshed tears. She blinked them back and moved to stand right next to him, also leaning against the counter. “I’m sure that’s true. But wouldn’t it be nice if you had someone else to help you?”
He let out a bark of laughter. His next words were bitter and full of resentment. “That’s for other people. People with normal families.”
Luna reached over and grabbed his hand, holding on as tightly as she could. “I understand everything you’re thinking and feeling right now. But remember when I told you you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need?”
“Yeah,” he said so quietly she barely heard him.
“That was absolutely the truth, but it also means as long as you want to as well. People like us, we don’t have the luxury of depending on blood families, so we need to make our own.”
“Is Chad your chosen family?” he asked.
The question took her aback at first. He’d just walked back into her life, and to consider him a close enough friend that she’d call him family seemed rushed or presumptuous. But the truth was he knew her better than anyone on the planet, and she knew without a doubt that if she needed him, he’d be there for her. And wasn’t that what it meant to be family? She nodded. “Yes, I guess he is.”
“You’re lucky to have someone,” he said and buried his face in the coffee mug.
“You’re right about that. There’s room for you in our circle, too, you know.”
He tensed, and she decided not to push him further. She wanted so badly to put him at ease, to help heal what his family had broken inside of him, but that wasn’t going to happen overnight. He needed time.
“Come on. Let’s go find some pastries.” She pushed off the counter. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a big dose of sugar right about now.”
Levi downed the rest of his coffee, and with the bagel still in his hand, he followed her out of the room.
“I’ll be right back,” Luna said. “I need to grab some socks.” She left Levi in her living room and jogged up the stairs. Her bed had been made, and Levi’s bloody T-shirt and the sweats she’d loaned him were folded and stacked in the corner. Damn, the kid was so careful to be respectful, just like she’d been anytime someone showed her any kindness at that age. Her heart simultaneously broke and melted at the same time. That was the moment she knew that as long as he wanted to, she was going to do everything in her power to make sure the state allowed him to stay with her.
After grabbing a fresh pair of socks, she stepped into her closet to look for a long sweater. It was often chilly in the morning in Keating Hollow, even in late spring. As she fished her sweater out of one of the boxes, she accidentally kicked over the one with her dirty clothes. Garments went everywhere, and she hastily shoved them back in their place.
When she was done, she spotted the envelope that had come for her a few days before at the spa. Oops. She’d shoved it in her jeans pocket and had promptly forgotten about it. She had no earthly clue who had written her or how’d they’d found her, but now she was intensely curious.
She ripped the envelope open and found a card with a big red heart on the front. That was strange. Flipping the card open, she read the first few lines:
Dear Luna,
My name is Gia McCormick, and I am your biological mother.
Luna sucked in a gasp and scanned the rest of the letter, her heart thundering against her ribcage. The letter was from a woman who w
as in recovery from a potions addiction and claimed to want to make amends for giving Luna up for adoption. There was a phone number at the bottom of the note, and it was signed, Love, Mom.
Emotion flooded Luna’s system, and she was torn between screaming and crying. How dare this woman sign the note Love, Mom. Who the hell did she think she was? At the same time, Luna was overwhelmed with the possibility that her birth mother had reached out to her.
After Luna had turned eighteen and was released from juvy, she’d signed up on one of those registration sites that was designed to match adoptees with their birth parents. She hadn’t found a match but had left her information in case either parent started looking for her. It wouldn’t have been that hard for this woman to find her if she really was her birth mom.
But she hadn’t counted on meeting a recovering addict. With Luna’s history with her foster mother and the illegal potions the woman had made, Luna wasn’t interested in being around anyone involved in that lifestyle. Though she had said she was in recovery. Still, there was a pit in Luna’s stomach, and the idea of meeting this woman made her want to vomit.
But the note hadn’t included any sort of information on why she’d given Luna up or why she wanted to meet her. All it said was she wanted to apologize because it was part of her program, not because she was sorry she gave her daughter up or because she wanted to get to know her. And that thought made Luna crumple the card in her hand. If Gia McCormick didn’t actually care to know her daughter, then Luna wasn’t going to make it easy for her. She shoved the crumpled card into her pocket and went downstairs to meet Levi.
Chapter Fifteen
There was something not quite right with Luna. Chad had noticed the moment he’d stepped into the spa reception area and spotted her frowning with her brows pinched together. And when she turned to him, her face was pale, and she looked almost haunted.
“Bad morning?” he asked.
“No,” she said quickly as she glanced past him at someone else. “Why would you say that?”