Forbidden Love

24

Luna

"How was school?" Dad smiles at us a week later. It's one of those rare days where he gets off work early and we're taking advantage by spending some quality time together. Nurse Chelsea is at home with Mom, so it's just us and Dad at Ty's. I've been missing him, so I'm glad he's around right now.

"Boring," JJ mutters from beside me. She's using her fork to play with the boneless wings she just ordered. "I hate school." I'm pretty sure JJ's only saying that because she saw Mason with another girl...and they weren't doing much talking. She's been in a mood ever since.

"It was alright." I shrug and take a bite out of my burger. That's a lie. School sucks.

In Chemistry, I got put next to this one girl for an in-class project and she refused to work with me. I ended up having to work alone and doing both sides of the project. Double the work and I don't even get double the grade, or any extra credit for that matter.

Whoever said teachers were accommodating have clearly never met mine.

"School's been good," Joseph says from his spot next to Dad. "How was work?"

"The usual, it's been busy." Dad says before taking a long look over at each of us. "I brought you here because we have to talk about some stuff."

I drop my burger. "What stuff?" I hate to sound rude, but I was really looking forward to letting my stress fall away at this dinner. I wanted to hang out with my dad.

"Is she okay?" Corey asks from the other side of JJ.

"She's fine for now." Dad assures him. "It's just...she hasn't been getting better."

"Yesterday she laughed though." I argue, but my argument falls flat.

"She...she wasn't doing good today, Lu Bug."

Lu Bug, my childhood nickname, he only calls me that when it's really important. I can see how much this hurts him. All the stories show how much they loved each other. How much he still loves her. I can see it in his eyes, this is killing him more than it's killing all of us. But it's hard to watch my one and only mom fade away right in front of my eyes.

"Listen, guys. Chelsea thinks it would be best to let her get the help she needs before..." He closes his eyes for a moment. "The time is coming...quickly. I need you to be prepared."

"Wait a minute. You want us to put her in a home?" JJ raises her eyebrows.

"A care facility," He corrects. "Where they can monitor her better. We can only do so much from our house."

"No." The word is ripped out of my throat from the deepest part of my being. No way am I giving my mom up to be put with strangers. They don't know what she likes. They won't take care of her like we will.

"Luna, sit down," Corey says. I didn't even realize I'm standing up, until I'm walking away from the table.

"I'm going to use the bathroom." Without waiting for a response, I head for the front door. A little break from everyone is all I need to wrap my head around things. Mom can't leave to some stupid home—oh, sorry, care facility. That's just not in the cards. Ever. She will be at our home with us. Am I not pitching in as much? Should I be doing more?

"Luna?"

Paxton walks into the Ty's with a bright smile. How can anyone smile at a time like this? Jaxon is behind him, his eyes scanning my face carefully.

"Hey! Fancy seeing you here," Paxton says, but I rush past him and walk out into the cool evening breeze. My mind starts to work again. I just needed some fresh air. My mom will be fine. She will be. I'll make sure of it.

A couple of deep breaths later, I hear Paxton's voice.

"Hey Lulu," He says softly. "You okay?"

I'm not feeling too golden at this particular moment, no. I wish I could tell them and talk to someone, anyone about what's going on. But nobody can know about Mom or her health.

"Who are you here with?" Jaxon questions and I'm brought back to last week when he was going through something in the classroom. He seems like a completely different person right now than he did then.

Is that how I look right now? Do I look crazy and on the verge of breaking down? If so, that's very embarrassing.

"I'm fine," I finally answer. "I'm with my family,"

"Ah, Corey. No wonder you're breaking down doors to escape." He shoots me a grin. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"What?" Paxton and I both ask. He doesn't seem too happy about not being able to eat like I'm sure they planned.

"We can study afterward, yeah?" Jaxon ignores Paxton, and I realize—a little foolishly—that today is Wednesday. I totally forgot that today's our tutor day. There's just been so much going on with the project—that I now have to do double on—and my personal issues. I've let the tutoring slip my mind.

My entire family is visible through the window. JJ is picking at her food, Joseph is talking to Dad—probably assuring him, and Corey just looks blank as if he's trying to wrap his head around everything Dad told us. They all look exhausted and sad. I can't deal with that, so I'll do what I'm best at.

Distracting myself.

"Let's go."

Fifteen minutes later, I get a text from my dad.

Where are you?

Sorry. I saw my friend outside who he gave me a ride to the library.
I'm gonna study for a bit before I head back home.

Okay. I'll see you there. Be safe.

"Out of everywhere you wanted to go, you chose a bookstore?" Jaxon glances at me sideways as we walk into the store. I slide my phone into my back pocket.

"Come on," Paxton nudges us out of the way so he's in the middle and throws an arm over both of us. "This is fun! I lovebookstores!"

"You don't read," Jaxon reminds him.

"I could,"

"But you don't."

"But I could."

Jaxon rolls his eyes. "You complain about reading."

"Books smell good," He shrugs. "And it's a known fact that girls love guys who read."

I nod. "Paxton has a really solid point."

"I'm gonna go roam around. I can't be caught here with Luna." Paxton pats my head. "Sorry, but if a girl sees me with you, she'll think we're dating."

"I'm one hundred percent sure they won't think that."

He gives me a sad look. "Poor, innocent Lulu."

"Fine." I shove him away. "Go find a girl to sink your claws into."

"I will." He winks before sauntering off in the direction of two women who look way too old to give him the time of day.

"Sometimes I question his sanity."

"Join the club." Jaxon rubs his head. "What are we here for?"

I look over to him with a smile. Little does he know that I didn't come to buy a book. Just to get lost in one.