It All Started With The Kidnapping

chapter 6 - Standing my Ground

Luna pov

After getting our food, I sat down at our table, and Sara immediately bombarded me with questions. I sighed, put my hand over her mouth, and said, "Calm down, one question a time"

She just rolled her eyes and ignored what I said. "Why were you with Theo? Did you kiss? Are you dating?" she asked. She was totally over-exaggerating. The one time I smile and laugh with a guy, she jumps to thinking I'm going to marry him. I can't believe her.

"Nothing happened. We just talked and got to know each other, so you can stop planning a wedding. I'm not looking for a guy. What's the point? I can't get out of this alive, and James would just kill him."

She gave me a weak smile. "I'm sorry. I'll stop. I just worry about you because you deserve the world, but you're stuck with monsters. Just tell me what happened this past week, and I might be able to help."

I looked down. I didn't want to think about it; I'd start bawling, and I didn't want to do that.

"I can't. He would hurt you, and I can't let that happen. Plus, I'd be a mess. I just want to be free," I said, trying to hold back the tears threatening to escape. But I won't cry because of him. I have to be stronger than this.

"I don't care about him. He's a coward for hurting you, and I'd do anything to protect you, even if it means going to jail for murder. You're my best friend, and it hurts me to see you like this."

I gave her a smile, but it quickly faded as I thought about what could happen. "Thank you, but you would be a mess if you went to jail. You're more than a friend—you're like a sister. You've helped me in more ways than you know, but I can't run and leave you behind."

She raised her fist and said, "Fine, then we'll fight him and his goons off. He doesn't scare me." I looked at her, wanting to laugh, but I didn't want to encourage her.

So I said, "We can't. He's much stronger than both of us combined. Plus, his goons are always guarding the house, so we wouldn't stand a chance. You already know how long it took for me to convince him to let me go to school for a bit of normalcy."

She put her hand on her heart and acted offended. "Fine. If it helps you sleep at night, I won't do it. Sadly. And yeah, yeah, I know. I'm glad you did because I wouldn't have met my best friend." Thank God she's such a drama queen.

I knew she would fight to protect me no matter what. "Thank you," I said sincerely. I had never had a friend like Sara—she's always there for me when I need a hug or a shoulder to lean on.

She smiled and said, "Yeah, whatever. You know I would do anything for you." She waved me off, and we went back to eating lunch and discussing the morning gossip.

I saw Britney walking towards us, and I recognized that look in her eyes—things were about to go down. Since last week, something had changed in me. I decided I was done taking people's crap at this school.

The entire cafeteria fell silent, eager to hear what the queen bitch had to say to me. Britney stopped in front of me and sneered, "Hey, ugly bitch." Was that supposed to offend me? She must have been talking about herself because I know she isn't referring to me. Sure, I'm not a beauty queen with all I've been through, but come on.

Sara, always my protector, snapped back, "How about you shut up? No one likes listening to you anyway. It would be great if you could just go walk off a cliff."

Britney rolled her eyes at Sara before turning back to me, laughing. "Aw, you had your friend stand up for you. How cute. That's pathetic." She did not just say that.

She had no right to come up to me and start trouble; I hadn't done anything to her. I tried to sound confident, but it didn't quite work. "Can you just leave me alone?" I asked. She laughed and sat down next to me with a fake smile.