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She nodded, wiggling her feet as she nestled against the couch pillows.
“And Stella doesn’t have the same last name as you.”
“Nope. She never has. We’re half sisters and her mom’s last name was Winslow. Our dad used to say it was the only thing she ever gave Stella, so my sister’s kept it her whole life.”
“What about your other sister?”
“Solaria, but we call her Ria. She and I are half sisters, too, so she and Stella aren’t related at all. Ria has her dad’s last name.”
I sorted through the little family tree in my head. “So you and Stella share a dad, and you and Ria share a mom?”
“Yep. We’re messy.”
“Nothing wrong with that. I like that you all have space names.”
Luna twirled a curl around her finger, staring at the ceiling. “That’s because of Stella. Mom let her name me, and then when Ria came around Mom didn’t want her to feel left out, so we’re the sun, moon, and stars, and Stella continued the tradition with her kids. My nieces are Nova and Aurora.”
I took in the names one by one. “Does this mean you trust me more than you used to?”
“Hmm?” Luna sat up, resting on her elbows.
“When you first told me about your sisters, you never told me their names.”
“I suppose so. I know you better now, and you’ve been so sweet to Stella. It seemed kinda ridiculous to hide them.”
I curled my fingers over her ankles, tapping softly as I considered. “Why do you hide them to begin with?”
“It’s something I’ve always done. You know how some people compartmentalize things in their mind?”
I nodded.
“I do that with my life. Family doesn’t mix with friends, friend groups don’t mix, jobs absolutely do not mix. I don’t know if I have a very good reason for all of it. The jobs, those remain separate for safety?—”
“Safety? How so? Finance and yoga are dangerous?”
She froze, eyes wide and panicky.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Luna tucked her legs up under her, drawing away from me. “I have to get up early. You should probably go.”
“Luna, what’s wrong? What did I say?”
“It’s fine. It’s nothing.”
I turned toward her. “It’s obviously not fine or nothing. You don’t have to give me any details. I’m not trying to be nosy.”
She looked past me, eyes somehow widening even more. “Shit.”
My gaze followed her as she dashed off the couch to where water was spilling out from under her kitchen sink. Luna wrenched open the door to the dishwasher, stopping the cycle, then opened the doors to the underside of the sink, but the water kept coming.
“Fuck, what do I do?!”
Her entire kitchen floor was soaked and water was quickly making its way into the living room.
“I’ve got it. Scoot over.” I nudged her hip and got on my knees, pulling open the cupboards under her sink, and turned the water intake valve to stop the flow. “It looks like there’s a crack in the hose. You’ll have to replace it before you can use the dishwasher again.”
Luna was nowhere to be seen when I climbed to my feet, but a mountain of fabric tumbling to the ground from overhead gave me a pretty good clue as to her whereabouts. She sprinted down her stairs a moment later, tripping herself on the towels and blankets.
