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.⋆｡⋆🩸˚｡⋆｡˚🌗˚｡⋆. ◟ ✦ You don't know how tight I'm bound. ❞
LUNA JOLTED AWAKE, her breaths sharp and ragged as if she were gasping for air after a deep dive into icy water. Her head throbbed, the remnants of unconsciousness retreating as her eyes struggled to focus on her surroundings. The room was alien—a boy's room, she realized, rustic and wooden, its earthy tones echoing the camouflage patterns of a cabin. Panic gripped her heart; she wasn't in her room or Bella's. Her panic turned to defense as she scrambled to the corner, her hand clutching the first object she could find: a baseball. Her breaths were uneven, and her vision wavered as she braced for an intruder.
The door creaked open, and Luna hurled the baseball with desperation. The ball smacked against the person's chest, followed by a cascade of thrown objects.
"Damn it, calm down! It's just me!" Jake's voice cracked through the chaos. He ducked, wincing with each object that grazed him. Clutching a glass of water and a sandwich, he winced in pain. "I'm not here to hurt you, jeez."
Luna's heart slowed, her fierce gaze shifting from the defensive to the bewildered. "Where am I?" she demanded, her voice trembling slightly as she took the water and sandwich from him. "Thanks, my head hurts like a bitch."
Jake settled on the edge of the bed, rubbing his bruised arm. "This is my room, by the way." he said, his voice laced with concern. "You hit your head pretty hard."
Luna surveyed him, noticing his new tattoos and the stark change in his appearance. The room felt like a relic from another life, and the pain of their fractured friendship echoed in her words. "I'm still mad at you, you know."
Jake's eyes dropped to the floor, his face contorted with regret. "I know. I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Luna's voice was sharp. "Because right now, I'm two seconds away from leaving."
Jake's hands flew up in a defensive gesture. "Please, I wish I could explain. But I literally can't." His apology was weighed down by a visible frustration.
"But you can," Luna shot back. "You just chose to leave me out in the cold after I told you—" Her voice faltered, the anger transforming into a raw vulnerability. Her hands clenched tightly, a futile attempt to stem the flow of her emotions. "I can't go through this again with you. I just can't."
Jake sighed deeply, his frustration morphing into a visible strain. He began pacing, his thoughts clearly tumultuous. "Have you ever had a secret you couldn't share? One that wasn't yours to tell? That's what it's like for me. But worse."
