Meant To Be Luna

Chapter 9

Grayson

A frightened squeal that sounded a lot like Kristin had me jumping to my feet, rounding my desk, and nearly running out of my office. However, when my hand met the doorknob, the loud laughter that filled my ears had me frozen. It wasn't Kristin's laugh alone, it mixed between two others that I knew were Gabi's and Addison's, but it was hers that stuck out the most. It was loud and unapologetic and beautiful and I craved to hear it again, without it being muffled by walls.

Slowly, I opened the door, careful to keep my steps light as I made my way down the hall. The voices grew louder, Addison and Gabi's overpowering Kristin's as they talked over one another.

I noticed the lights off as the kitchen came into view, and when I reached the end of the hall, I peaked around the corner to spot the three huddled together on the sofa, tucked under a single blanket with a discarded bowl on the floor and popcorn covering their laps.

Kristin sat between them, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter, her smile bright as she leaned into Gabi who laughed uncontrollably beside her. Addison sat beside them, looking at the mess in their laps with a pout, but with one look at the other two, her own laughter came out in muffles.

My heart swelled as I watched Kristin try to catch her breath. This was the first time I had seen her truly look comfortable here, curled on my sofa with my sister and her best friend, and while it may not have been me making her laugh like that, I couldn't find it in me to be jealous. I wanted her to make a life here, to find her place here, and I could only hope that this was the beginning of many more noisy movie nights between the three of them.

It had been almost four days since Kristin had met my parents, and that day in my office. After my parents had left, I had gone to find her locked in her room with Gabi waiting outside the door looking like a lost puppy. I had knocked twiced, both of which went unanswered, and while Gabi had left, I had sat quietly on the floor all night.

I counted the amount of times I heard her wake with a gasp or soft cry - six nightmares that I wasn't there to comfort her through. Instead, I sat until I could see the rays of the morning sky filtering underneath my office door, and when I finally heard her moving, I rose, knuckles tapping gently on the door frame.

There was a pause before she whispered softly, "I'm gonna take a shower, if that's okay?"

It was then that I knew we had taken more steps back than we ever had forward. Despite my desperation to see her, to hold her after what I know was a night full of haunting memories, I walked away. Acel had fought against me more than I think he ever had before, but I had meant what I said to my parents the night before.

I would be whatever she needed me to be, regardless of her future decisions. Her power had been stripped from her for years, and I'd be damned if it continued to happen. If that made me a submissive bitch, so be it. She'd be the only one I'd ever bow to.

Since then Kristin had become a shell of herself, only leaving her room when I would knock to tell her to come eat. Each night before bed I've walked past her door and knocked only for her to never open it. If I thought I knew sleepless nights before, it was nothing compared to the last week and a half. But seeing her now, I wondered how I was ever strong enough to be away from her.

I had been so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed I was no longer trying to hide behind the wall. Looking up, I watched as Addison's eyes caught mine and she screamed, rethrowing the popcorn that they had been picking up. Gabi and Kristin jumped, whirling around and letting out screams of their own. When I reached behind me, flipping the switch to turn on the lights, they let out a collective sigh of relief.