To the moon and back

The story so far

SOTD: STRONG ENOUGH BY STACIE ORRICO

//HARPER//

"What is she talking about?"

My eyes blinked profusely at the anger in Jude's voice and I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off.

"I was born as Cameron Ellise Richards" Leslie whispered, visibly shaking, "and when I was eighteen, I was wanted by the FBI on two counts of identity theft and the kidnapping of a minor"

"You kidnapped a child?!" Jude gasped, standing upright as confusion laced his features.

"I was that child" Dana breathed, not looking at anyone.

Jude looked from Dana to Leslie before his stark blue eyes met mine in upmost incredulity, "What?"

"It's complicated" I whispered before Jude's incredulity morphed into exasperation.

"Isn't it always?" He snapped.

Dana blew out a breath, "Jude, we aren't perfect~"

"I am not doing this...with any of you" he grunted immediately giving Dana a death glare from where she stood at the counter.

Dana's already red face, crumpled and she looked to me with pleading eyes. What was I supposed to do? Did she expect me to change his mind about how frustrated and angry he was? Because that wasn't something I was going to do.

I mutely shook my head at Dana and watched Jude run a rough hand through his dark hair, "I'm going to give you guys ample time to come up with a lie to save yourselves"

Leslie looked taken aback by Jude's words, "Jude, I would never~"

"But you already have" he snapped turning to push past the line of boys in his way, before stopping in his tracks, "and you always do"

"Wait" Leslie croaked, voice wavering more than I had ever expected it to, "Just...wait. Please"

Despite the anger in his body language, Jude seized any and all movement as Dana opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again.

"Can we...Can we all just sit and calm down?"

Jude let out an incredulous laugh before shaking his head, "I apologize for not being the picture of serenity, right now Dana"

Andrew's clear eyes met mine in an instant and I searched my brain for something, anything, to say but there was absolutely nothing that wouldn't make me sound like I was edging Jude over the edge or consorting with Leslie and Dana.

"My sister and I were raised by a low life prostitute and a drunk in Brownsville...the smog of Brooklyn"

Leslie's voice made my heart go cold and I blinked, as if I were standing in a room with a stranger. Her voice had taken on a completely different tone; one I would never classify as 'Leslie'. Normally, while professional, she had this sarcastic quip about her that made her more than bearable to be around and there were many times I found myself snorting with laughter at one of the many things she said with a straight face.

But this, the way she sounded now, was not that. What I heard come from her was clipped and emotionless...detached.

"When our mother wasn't waking us up by extinguishing her cigarette butts on the back of our ankles, she was telling us how much she regretted our existence" Leslie whispered, jaw tightening, "She would try to pin us against each other, going as far as resorting to middle school tactics and spreading rumours between the two of us...But we never gave her the time of day because~"

"Because we knew that the moment we let her" Dana murmured, hands shaking, "The moment we let her come between us would be the moment we lost everything"