remember

four

K A I L I 

I hate lying to Luna.

I hate lying in general, but I particularly hate lying to my best friend. I've been hopelessly lying to her since the accident, and I've been hopelessly feeling miserable. I thought that Ariel would tell her the truth, eventually, and let her daughter decide for herself if she blames Jace or not for what had happened, but she doesn't seem eager to take her out to a cup of tea and confess. So, I've decided to break my alliance with Ariel, without her knowledge, of course, and give Jace a chance to explain himself. He looked so lifeless at the park, and I found it hard to yell at him like I did. But I had to. At least, I thought I had to, until I got Ariel's call that night.

"Kaili, I need a minute," she had said.

I had just pulled out of Luna's driveway when she'd called, sounding annoyed.

"I can talk," I'd lied, and pulled over. I am horrible at concentrating at two things at once, therefore I couldn't pay attention to her while driving.

"I would like to know what the hell went on in your mind when you let my daughter talk to Jace," she'd stated.

"I.. didn't recognize him at first. But after I did, I swear I got rid of him."

"How could you not recognize him, you stupid little girl?! He hasn't aged a day!"

"I know, and I'm sorry, but what could I have done? I can't tape her to the ground or forbid her to talk to people, you've got that handled!" I'd yelled back at her.

Ariel sighed. "Look, I only want what's best for my daughter, and I thought you did too. Jace is poison, he's been poisoning my daughter ever since they've met, with lies and more lies."

"Jace loved her, and he still does, and he actually blames himself for what happened that night. He's never lied to her once, he's been nothing but faithful to Luna. He's been a cure, a cure to the poison you've been feeding her all of her life!" I'd screamed and hung up.

The same night, I went through my contacts list and searched for Jace's name. After finding it, I pressed call and hoped he hadn't changed his number. He answered after a few beeps.

"If you want to yell at me for talking to her, save it, I'm not going to apologize for being in love," he'd immediately said.

"I'm sorry," I'd breathed. "All these years I've taken Ariel's side and not even once chose to listen to you. You're hurt and damaged and in love, and I've been against you all this time. I want to listen to you, God, I want to help you make her happy again."

He was silent for a while. "Can we meet?"

"Yeah," I'd answered.

And now here I am, lying to my best friend once again, as I close the little cafe's door. I'm supposed to meet Jace at the park in just a few minutes. I struggle to lock the door properly and I half run towards the park.

Jace isn't there when I arrive, so I seat myself on a bench and wait for him to come. A few minutes later, I see his tall figure running towards me.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologizes. "I bumped into... someone."

"Who did you bump into?" I challenge him.

"No one important," he replies.

"You're a terrible liar."

"Luna, ok? I bumped into Luna. And she smelled like green apple and her hands were soft and her smile was warm and her eyes were really green and it took all the strength I had in me to push her away," he says, breathless.

"It's ok," I try to calm him down. "What did she want?"

"She wanted to know what happened at the park. I didn't tell her anything though, I promise."

"I don't know what we're going to do," I say, sadness clear in my tone. "We can't go after Ariel, or she'll ruin us. But I can't stand seeing you so in love with her and remembering that you'd literally set the whole world on fire just to watch her come out of the flames."

He stops for a moment, to think I suppose. "It makes me feel so helpless, you know?" he finally says. "Watching her slip away through my fingers."

"I know," I reply.

L U N A 

"Where are you going, Luna?" Brooklyn tried to stop me.

"Look, I know someone who might know the answers to what's going on," I rush the words out. "My mom probably knows them to, but I can't just ask her. If you're right, she's been lying to me ever since the accident, so what's going to stop her from doing it now?"

He looks at me, eyes wide. "So who are you going to go to, then?"

"My aunt, Piper," I smile. "She's my mom's little sister and they've been close ever since I can remember. She'd tell her anything, so I doubt she wouldn't know if my mom's been hiding my past from me all these years," I sigh. "The point is, I need to go now, I want my answers as soon as possible," I struggle out of his grip.

"But, Luna, it's midnight," Brooklyn laughs, a bit bemused. "Do you think she's still awake?"

I look out the window, and sure enough, stars have dotted the sky, their bright lights shining on the vast horizon. I look at Brooklyn and start laughing myself, partly because of what I was about to do and partly because of what had just happened. Me telling Brooklyn everything, and then being enlightened about my past. Realizing that the one person I actually trusted has turned their back on me and betrayed my trust more times than I can count. I laughed, because I realized how much I've lost. I laughed, because it hurt. 

a/n: So, there's that. I know it took me literally FOREVER to upload, but I've been so busy I haven't even been able to breathe. Hope you guys are ready for some answers, because in the next parts I'll be revealing a bit of Luna's past! :)