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And now it doesn't.
I stare until a sound interrupts me.
A door opening. Footsteps.
Allison greeting Oliver.
I guess this is it. Time to see if my shield really can protect me.
Chapter Ten
Oliver
I'll say this for Mrs. Locke: the woman has impeccable taste.
The wine fridge in the corner of the room is filled with good shit. Expensive bottles that make collectors ooh and ahh.
I never developed a taste for wine. I'll drink it, but I don't have the palate. It's all the same to me.
I guess it doesn't matter now.
This is one time, I don't have to find an explanation for why I'm not drinking.
Or maybe I do?
I'm twenty-one. Mrs. Locke is polite. It's not out of the question.
I hold up my mug. "I fixed coffee. Would you like some?" There. That should stop any offer.
Her gaze flits to the stairs. Luna's room. "If there's extra." She looks to me. Smooths her blazer.
She's in a deep red suit. It's dramatic, with long lines and all sorts of presence. It matches her slick straight hair and her intense eyes.
She has the same grey eyes as Luna, but her hair is almost black and her features are chiseled.
Luna has that sharpness, but she has a softness too. A perfect mix, really.
"You take it black?" I ask as I pour a cup.
"Like Luna." She nods as she takes it. "Thank you, Oliver." She holds my gaze, even as she brings her cup to her lips and takes a sip. "Excellent."
"Thanks."
"She's staying with you for a while?"
"Yeah. Dad said he called."
She nods he did. "I suppose she told you what happened?"
"It's none of my business."
Her lip corners turn down. "She did."
"Shit happens."
She just barely nods. "You two are friends?"
"Yeah."
"Only friends?"
"Only friends." My voice lacks conviction.
I try to find it in my coffee. Fail. I guess that doesn't matter.
Luna is my friend. And I know how it feels to want to avoid your parents because they're tearing your life apart.
Sure, as far as I know Allison is a pretty good mom. But it sounds like she's the one leaving.
She might have a good reason. But I doubt that matters to Luna at the moment.
"We promised to make dinner, actually." If I can spare her from this pain, I will. "So I should probably make sure she's ready. Head out."
Allison nods. "Luna's cooking?" Her lips curl into a wistful smile. "Divya always loved teaching her."
"Yeah. She takes instruction pretty well." My thoughts jump to completely inappropriate places. "In the kitchen." That doesn't help. Only fills my head with images of her bent over the counter, her jeans at her knees, binding her legs so she's powerless to do anything but take me.
"Sometimes." Her laugh is sad. "She's a headstrong young woman. The same as I was at her age."
"Not anymore?"
"I guess it's the same now. But age brings experience. And experience brings certain wisdoms. Sometimes, it's easier to give up one thing to gain something greater."
Uh-huh.
"Sorry. I shouldn't go on." She looks to the stairs. "Luna, please, will you come down here? Say goodbye. I'll get out of your way after that."
Fuck, she looks like Luna did last night. Like she's about to burst into tears. It's different on Allison. She's so restrained. Seeing her on the verge of falling apart—
Maybe I shouldn't give my dad so much shit. He's trying his best. It's just his best is a lot like mine—not good enough.
Allison sips her coffee as she waits. She's quiet. Still. A rock in a river.
But Luna is just as willful. She stays in her room without a peep.
"Let me ask," I say.
I'm not sure why I'm volunteering to help with the family reunion. Some wisdom that came with experience, I guess. If I can help Luna handle her parents' divorce better than I handled mine—well, that's something.
Allison nods thank you.
I finish my last sip. Set the mug in the perfectly clean sink. Move up the stairs. "Luna."
"What?"
I knock. "I'm coming in."
Luna mumbles some kind of okay.
I step inside. Leave the door half-open. "There's still coffee."
"I'm okay," she says.
"Your mom wants to talk to you."
She shakes her head I can't. "Not right now. Please."
"Just goodbye. If that's it?"
"She's the one fucking someone else. Did I tell you that?" Luna's grey eyes fill with hurt. "Why should I absolve her?"
"Don't absolve her. Just let her know you're okay."
"I'm not okay."
"That you're alive," I say.
"What would you do? If it was your parents?"
"You know what I'd do."
"So why are you suggesting this?" she asks.
"Does what I do work out?"
A laugh falls from her lips. "I guess that's true."
"You really want to be like me?"
She shakes her head. "Just goodbye. That's it. Then I'm out the door."
I nod. Offer my hand.
She takes it. Lets me help her up. Slides a tote bag on her shoulder. A backpack (another KanKen, this one teal) on the other.
