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“Farrow, he’s bleeding,” Luna calls up to my friend.
He spins around, eyes cast on me. “Your head?”
“Barely hurts.”
Farrow slows and checks the back of my head without touching. “Shit.”
Luna goes pale. “Is he okay?”
“Dr. Hale, am I dying?” I joke with a grin.
She’s not laughing. I’ve never had a girl care that much about my well-being, honestly. And this isn’t the first time I’ve been hit with a beer bottle.
“He needs stitches,” Farrow determines. “I’ll clean it back at the house.” We’re both watching the entrance to The Green Room as more people leave the club. We all parked close, and we’re trying to run away from a bigger brawl, not take one to the streets.
“We gotta go,” I say.
“No shit.” He calls his husband over. “Wolf scout! Can you get the med kit in the back?”
“Yeah.” He eyes Luna.
“It’s Donnelly. I just want to stop the bleeding while we’re in the car.”
“Luna!” Tom calls, holding out her motorcycle helmet.
Is she leaving with him? My pulse pounds heavier. The night is on fast-forward when I wish I could press pause.
Moffy asks Tom how much he’s had to drink.
I hear Tom reply back, “Only had the one Grasshopper hours ago. I’ve been chugging water. We’re good.”
“Highland-Oliveiras and baby Oliveira are gone.” Oscar pats my shoulder, then Farrow’s, leaving for his car.
“Baby who?” Jo chases after her older brother, Jack following in tow.
“Eliot left,” Frog informs us. “Tom wants to ride his motorcycle to the penthouse to drop off Luna, then the Wreath brothers are going to drive Eliot and Tom to the Hell’s Kitchen apartment.” Ian and Vance Wreath. SFE bodyguards.
“I’ll go with Tom,” Luna says. “See you.” She stands on her tiptoes and peels a sticker off my cheek. “It looked wet.” She blushes and waves, then darts towards the motorcycle, arms swinging widely.
My pulse hasn’t slowed, not even as I watch Luna zip away with Tom. I crave to call her back and restart the best parts of tonight. Like there might not be another.
“Girl has my heart,” I tell Farrow. “Or it’s the blood loss.”
“You haven’t lost that much blood.”
Didn’t think so.
FANATICON
DIRECT MESSAGES
Saturday, Sept 22nd
11:03 p.m.
StaleBread89: you ready for the episode on Monday?
Illyana_Dallas222: yesssss! I have my popcorn ready??. Can’t wait to see what happens!
StaleBread89: yeah still reeling over that. TPTB got us hooked ??
Illyana_Dallas222: ratings look solid. Should have a second season. But I’m worried about how they’re going to end this one. It’s going to be a major cliffy, I fear.
StaleBread89: yep. Gonna leave us wanting more
Sunday, Sept 23rd
12:12 a.m.
Illyana_Dallas222: Some people are sending hate to the actress that plays Callie ??
StaleBread89: Not cool ??
Illyana_Dallas222: Totally. I feel so bad for her. I just wanna hug her. I made sure to leave a comment under her Instagram post. #WeLoveCallie
StaleBread89: Gonna do the same thing. Spreading that love like peanut butter ??
Illyana_Dallas222: ????
9:20 a.m.
Illyana_Dallas222: You see Fanaticon announced the location of their con this December. You going?
StaleBread89: San Francisco. Nah. Too far for me.
Illyana_Dallas222: me too. Have you ever been to one?
StaleBread89: nope. Never have the time. U?
Illyana_Dallas222: No, but I want to.
StaleBread89: me 2
18
LUNA HALE
Sprawled on my stomach like a starfish, I’m on the plush living room couch. The penthouse is fairly quiet. Just Jane’s cats zipping in and out, their tails swishing as Walrus and Carpenter chase one another, and Orion has been enamored with a bird that keeps flying into the window. Arkham hides beneath the coffee table. Scared of the same bird.
Phone cupped in hand, I’ve been rereading my Fanaticon DMs from this morning. SB doesn’t live near L.A. For as often as we chat, it’s the first clue I’ve had about his identity in forever.
The actress who portrays Callie is pretty active on Instagram, but I searched multiple recent photos just to see if he left a #WeLoveCallie comment on one, but it was impossible to find him. After I commented on her pics, a dedicated cluster of Callie stans caught on and flooded her comments with the hashtag. I didn’t even post under my public Luna Hale account. Just some random throwaway Battlestar Galactica username I have.
But yay for starting a loving trend!
Boo for not being able to find StaleBread in the masses.
I skim our messages about the Fanaticon convention. What would happen if I just asked if he’d want to go with me? Would that be weird? Creepy?
After the triple date at The Green Room, I can’t deny the pangs inside me when I just think of Donnelly. Seeing him walk into the club with Joana Oliveira eviscerated pieces of me that I never knew existed. Tender, vulnerable pieces that I should’ve protected better. Maybe then my tears wouldn’t have surfaced at the table, all over a guy who’s not even mine.
It wasn’t real. Donnelly and Jo.
It wasn’t real.
The brutal, heart-wrenching pain of thinking they were together, of almost seeing Jo kiss him, begins to recede.
