The Moon Is Beautiful

Chapter 42

One week.

Seven days.

168 hours.

Thats how long it has been since I have seen Kaden. I have spent all that time drowning myself in schoolwork to prevent myself from missing him too much. Stupidly, I didn't ask for his number before leaving, and so I have no way of contacting him during this time.

If I wasn't working, I was out somewhere, hanging out with Eliza or merely lounging in my apartment, watching dramas that Flynn had so kindly shared with me. Its not something I usually do, but it proved to be an effective way to pass the time.

"Get up, Rose. We're going somewhere." Eliza’s words pull me out of my thoughts and I groan, rolling onto my side so that my back faces her.

"I don't want to go anywhere." I grumble into my pillow. She has spent the last half hour trying to convince me to go with her somewhere, and I've spent the entire time refusing her, alternating between different lying positions on my bed everytime she changes her position in my apartment.

"Well, too bad, because I'm not going to leave you here." she firmly says, pulling the duvet off me. Sighing, I sit up with a grumble.

"Where are we going?" I ask in defeat, glaring at her.

"You'll see. Now get ready." she says, clapping her hands in haste at me. I can only imagine how I look like right now. I don't have any classes today and so I took it as a chance to sleep in and stay in my pajamas all day. I haven't even bothered with brushing my teeth.

Grumbling under my breath, I get to my feet and head to the bathroom to take a quick shower. By the time I'm done, I exit the bathroom and choose a simple denim dress from my closet along with a pair of white converse sneakers. I drag a brush through my hair, struggling through the stubborn knots before pulling my hair up into a high ponytail.

We leave my apartment promptly and we take a taxi to wherever Eliza wants to go. The taxi drives us to a local park and when we get out, the first thing I notice is Raine and Flynn already standing at the entrance, probably waiting for us.

The sight of Raine has me wanting to turn around and return to my home, but Eliza’s tight grip on my arm doesn't allow me to, as if she can read my mind.

I haven't seen or spoken to Raine since that day when I rejected him. I'm not sure if he's been avoiding me, or if I have just been to busy with my work to notice anything else. Somehow, I feel like it's the latter, because Raine doesn't come across as someone who gets affected by everything and would sulk for days because of a rejection. He looks like someone who deals with and gets over things quickly, thus proving to me that there is no reason why he should avoid me.

He's not like me who avoided him like the plague at the beginning.

"Hey guys." Flynn greets when we reach them and Raine just offers us a nod, barely acknowledging us.

"What are we doing here?" I whisper to Eliza as we walk through the park's entrance gates.

"To bond," she simply says. "Things have been quite tense since you rejected Raine, and since he is now a part of our little group, you two are going to have to put your differences aside and accept things for what they are."

I sigh in reply.

She sends the boys to go and buy us some corn dogs while we take a seat at an empty cemented table in the park underneath a tree. The weather here is the conplete opposite to the town we returned from. I remember that when we left that place, it was raining there, and the moment we arrived here, the sun was beating our skin, turning our skin red and brown.

I won't lie and say that I don't miss the town, but I missed being here too. The town was my home, but the city is my home now, and I like it here. I don't think I'll ever be able to move back to the town. It just doesn't feel right.

They arrive with our corn dogs, and so in complete silence, we eat. Eliza kicks my leg with her foot, gesturing to Raine. Releasing a breath through my nose, I decide to bite the bullet. "How have you been?"

Surprise flashes in Raine's eyes and he pauses his eating, his dark eyes meeting mine. I can't help but shiver at the intensity of his gaze. Even though I have rejected him, he still affects me in some ways, ways I wish to quickly grow out of.

"Great." he says, his voice clipped. Pursing my lips, I refrain from yelling at him. How am I supposed to keep this conversation going if that's all he's giving me? I share a glance with Eliza, and she merely gestures me to speak.

"What have you been doing these days?" I decide to ask, hoping that he won't just list those activities off and then not say a thing after that.

"Sex," he bluntly says, causing me to choke on my food. He leans forward to me, resting his chin on his palm. "You see, I got rejected by the girl who took my virginity, and so, to get back at her, I've been having sex with random girls I meet at clubs."

I stare at him with wide eyes. Why is he telling me this? What is he trying to prove? That I don't and never did matter to me? That he's perfectly fine with my rejection? That if I don't want him, there are many others who do?

All of them sound plausible, but why do I feel like the last one is the right one?

"You should be careful. You don't want to contract a sexually transmitted disease or something." is the only thing I can think of saying in response to his sudden confession.

He merely smiles in reply, his smile wicked and challenging.

"Actually, I think I know who you are talking about. There's this girl who just rejected this guy who didn't care about her, and she met someone better. She's really starting to like this new guy. The new guy is much more handsome too." I spitefully say, unable to stop the words from spilling from my lips. He challenged me, and I took the bait.

I'm not lying though, especially about their looks. There is a distinct difference between the way Raine looks and the way Kaden looks. Raine has a rugged look about him, whilst Kaden is more polished and put together. In my opinion, Kaden is the better looking one, especially paired with his unexpected innocence and also the tempting part of him.

He's better than Raine in every way, and I see that now.

Something unknown flashes in Raine's eyes and he leans back in his seat, his eyes darkening. He doesn't look impressed by my words at all, but I don't care. It's not like I was lying to get back at him anyway, and so seeing this expression on his face satisfies me.

Admittedly, I still notice the way his eyes darken, the way his muscles tense underneath his shirt at every movement he makes, but it's hardly a factor in my life anymore. I have better things, and a better person to focus on.

If I think about it now, I don't know how I didn't actually see Kaden for who he really is from the beginning. It's strange, but I have a feeling that this is how things were supposed to go. Ms. Anderson would have told me that, and so I'll believe it.

"Umm...can someone please explain to me what's going on?" Flynn's clueless request pulls me out of my thoughts and my staring competition with Raine. Looking at Flynn, I feel kind of guilty for keeping him in the dark, because all of us here knows what's going on, all except him.

Although, it's quite a complicated story, and can be confusing if you weren't there from the beginning. Is it really best to tell him now, after all that has already happened?

"Rose and Raine slept together two years ago." Eliza blurts out, and Flynn coughs, his eyes widening in shock. The way she says it, like its nothing. Will I ever be able to talk about this in that way?

"What?" Flynn splutters out.

And then Eliza proceeds to explain the entire situation to him, the story being so long that I zone out at some point. And there is only one thing, or should I say, person on my mind as I sit there, my head in the clouds.

Kaden.