Separation

[19]

*AUTHORS NOTE*

*edited 5/18: i somehow forgot about jordan, i do that sometimes with side characters. sue me.

*edited 5/22: i came back and added that scene y'all were robbed of.

Hi friends!! I'm back!! With a new chapter!!

It's a long one, so enjoy (:

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I walked in to chaos, but not the chaos that I was expecting.

There was no large crowd waiting to greet me at the front door like I had feared, which eased some of my anxiety about the situation. I don't know why I was so concerned at that possibility. Leanna knows me and would never try to do something like that.

But the chaos that I did walk into was kids, just running everywhere. There was loud music and talking coming from the kitchen. I could see through the kitchen into the backyard where there were grills set up with smoke billowing from them, and tons of people were everywhere outside.

I gripped both of their hands as I tried to steady my breathing. I can do this. Only fifteen minutes, right? Just meet a few people, show my face to everyone and let them know I exist, and then we can go home. This is just a practice round for tomorrow, I don't need to endure everything today, that is tomorrow's problem.

I should have taken more of my anxiety medicine because my heart is hammering in my chest, and I'm sure Grey and Ryker can hear it.

"Are you ready?" Grey whispered, bringing our hands up to his lips to press a kiss to the back of my hand. Ryker was taking deep breaths and I tried to mimic his breathing to calm my racing heart.

I can do this. I can do this.

Once I felt like I had it under control, I nodded my head.

Time slowed down as we made our way into the kitchen. All eyes turned to us, and everyone had a smile on their face. They all said some form of greeting before going back to what they were doing. Some kids were running by us, yelling out a "hi" as they zoomed by, but that was it.

I wasn't bombarded with people. I wasn't overwhelmed by a long line of people waiting to talk to me. This was the complete opposite of what I was expecting, yet it's so perfect for me that I'm on the verge of tears.

I was finally able to take a deep breath, and my cheeks hurt from smiling. The tight grip on my chest disappeared, my lungs able to take the deep breaths I've been craving. I flexed my hands that were still clasped in Grey and Ryker's grip, and gave them each a blinding smile.

I nodded my head, indicating that I'm ready to meet some of them one on one. Grey gave me a blinding smile back as he immediately brought me over to one of the kitchen counters. I glanced around to everyone that was cutting up various vegetables, and my eyes landed on Leanna.

I dropped Grey and Ryker's hand to move towards Leanna, and threw my arms around her.

"It's so good to see you here! Everyone is so excited that you're here," she said excitedly as she hugged me back. I breathed in her calming scent of vanilla and cedar wood, relaxing even more than before.

"Let me introduce you to a few people. Is that alright?" She asked, pulling back from the hug to stare into my eyes.

"Yes, I'm ready," I nodded. She gave me another smile before introducing me to the people at the counter.

I'm normally not that great with names, so I had to stare really hard at them and say their name a few times in my head to make sure that it sticks. I really need to remember their names if I'm going to be their Luna someday. And by someday I mean a few years from now, so I definitely have time, but I should start at some point. And today is as good a day as any, right?