Under a Silent Moon

20

Chapter Twenty: The Moon is Always Silent

ZACK

I've been to Lana's house before, and I feel like, as the close friends that we now apparently are, it's only right that she visits mine as well. Either that or the fact that she's the only one I want to hang out with despite being away from my friends for six months. All they did today was tread lightly around me anyway, afraid to say anything that might piss me off.

Grayson is acting the strangest of the lot. He kept asking me questions like, "If you were at the beach, why are you still so pale?" and "If you needed to get away, I could've gone with you." His frustration was tangible when he asked why I couldn't have shot anyone a message before vanishing. He's the only one that doesn't seem to buy my story, even though he has no viable reason not to.

There are three main differences in Lana's visit to my house than mine to hers. The first being that she doesn't require verbal consent to enter my home. The second, she doesn't need to scale the building and enter through my bedroom window. And finally, she won't be hiding beneath furniture to avoid contact with my family. I'm not entirely sure if these reasons make me more or less nervous.

I type in the family passcode and the front door unbolts.

Dad greets me from his study with a "You've been gone a long time," but slightly changes his tone when he notices Lana's timid presence behind me. "Hello," he says with a tight smile, flicking off his glasses and setting them atop his disheveled hair. He must have been working on a new business proposal in his office. His hair is always greasier and forehead shinier when he's been concentrating on something pertinent for an extended period of time.

"I'm Lana, nice to meet you." She approaches my dad and extends a hand.

My dad shakes hers and then shifts his eyes to me.

"I take it your first day back to school went well?" he asks, but it isn't a question, and I'm not sure what he's implying. He doesn't give me any time to respond anyway, simply tells us there's dinner in the fridge if we're hungry, and that he'll be spending his night locked away with his laptop. Before retreating to his study, he warns us not to be "too loud."

Lana raises an eyebrow at me as we ascend the stairs and whispers, "I thought we were going to start a heavy metal rock band tonight. Plans foiled."

Julia must hear me because she darts from her bedroom as we arrive at the landing. I scoop her up in a hug and introduce her to Lana, who politely shakes her little hand.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Julia whispers to me with her eyes glued to Lana.

"She's my friend friend," I whisper back, eliciting a small giggle from my sister, who immediately wants to show us her artwork from school. When we enter her room, pages upon pages of drawings plaster the walls and crayons are scattered upon the plush purple rug beside her bed. It's evident that she's been hard at work.

"These are great, Julia," Lana tells her sincerely, admiring the art-coated walls. "My brother likes to draw a lot too."

"Is he good like me?" she asks, plopping down onto the rug.

"I don't know, this is some stellar work you've got here."

"What does 'stellar' mean?"

"It means amazing."

Julia's almond eyes light up.

As we're leaving her room, Julia quietly asks me, "Is Lizzy coming over too?"

I tell her no, she isn't, and look for a reaction from Lana but she either didn't hear the question or is unphased by it.

When we enter my room, I realize how long it's been since I truly spent time here. I slept here last couple of nights, of course, but my thoughts have been so distracted that I really haven't gotten to enjoy the comfort of my own bedroom. Aside from clothes scattered about the hamper in one corner, I keep my place pretty tidy. My dark gray sheets are hanging off the bed, but that's because I booked it out of my room this morning when the sun rose and filtered through the curtains that weren't completely drawn. I didn't burst into flames, thankfully, but it felt like someone slapping fresh sunburn.