In Plain Sight

Chapter Nine

Luna was quiet as they walked, unsure of what to say. The woman she had known her entire life had decided to turn her away when she needed her most. Worst, she had left her with a mountain of new information and only an address to go off of. She clutched the bag Agnes had given her, afraid to lose it and its contents.

Her head was spinning. The way Luna saw it, she had only two choices; her first choice is to go back home and watch the store, surely being discovered again by a demon. Or, her second option, listen to Agnes and hunt down the jewelry maker her mother had met with so long ago.

She sighed for the millionth time, feeling her tears attempt to well in her eyes. She wiped her eyes, catching the attention of Emmett. He looked away quickly, attempting to act as if he had been admiring the architecture of the buildings they were passing. Luna smiled, taking in a deep breath as she composed herself.

"I'm hungry,"

"Luna, seriously?" Harlow asked, looking over her shoulder to see Luna.

"You do realize I used an entire day's worth of magic in an hour, right?" Luna replied, "It's cold out anyway, do you want me to get sick?"

Harlow rolled her eyes, as she began to pat down her pockets.

"Sorry, Luna dear, I didn't think to grab my wallet while we were running for our lives," Harlow said, shoving her hands in her empty pockets as they continued to walk down the street, "I was too busy grabbing your things."

Harlow tossed Luna her backpack that she had brought into the store earlier that morning. Harlow had managed to cram all of her supplies into her bag, including her potion box.

"That's alright, we can head back to my place and I can cook something up," Nathan spoke, turning around, walking backward as he continued, "I'm a chef, I promise it'll be good."

"Of course you're a chef," Harlow teased, causing Nathan to turn his attention to her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he exclaimed as Harlow began to giggle. Nathan stumbled, crashing down into the pavement causing Harlow to laugh even harder.

"It would be smart to change our location, and get out of this cold," Emmet admitted, turning up the collar of his shirt to shield him against the wind.

Harlow helped Nathan up off of the pavement before asking him to lead the way to his loft. Thankfully, Nathan lived close enough, making their walk an easy one. Before admiring Nathan's home, Luna focused on thawing herself out once inside.

"Emmett, you and Luna can go wait in the dining area," Nathan said, pointing west of his house, "Harlow, you're with me. I need a little help with the refreshments."

"Typical," Harlow mumbled, following Nathan into the next room,"I never get a day off."

Luna followed Nathan, Emmet joining from behind her. The dining area was nestled next to the kitchen, divided by a rustic, wooden bar. Luna took a seat in one of the four white chairs surrounding a matching, circle table. Emmet took a place next to her, watching as she gazed out of the wall-sized window illuminating the room.

"You're not so bad you know," Luna spoke, her eyes never leaving the window, "You become tolerable when you aren't pretending to a member of The Valor."

Emmett frowned, unsure if he was to take that as a compliment or not. He sat back in his chair, watching the snow melt against the glass of the window.

"Not everyone is so bad," Emmett responded.

"Says who?" Luna mumbled, crossing her arms on the table as she rested her head on her forearms, "All the humans do is destroy and take. They take pleasure in looking down on their own people, treating our planet like a floating trash can. And Witches? We are no better. We sit back in the shadows like cowards, allowing tragedy and sickness to spread."

Emmet listened as she spoke, unaware of how cynical Luna seemed to be. She was almost the polar opposite of Harlow, who, despite her tired demeanor, also appeared bubbly. Luna, on the other hand, waited around as if she expected the sky to come crashing down on her at any given moment.

"You speak badly of the world, yet you still choose to help," Emmett said.

"My mom, she loved to help," Luna started, a small smile forming on her lips, "That's how we met Harlow."

"Harlow, in need of help? That seems unlikely," Emmett smiled, watching as Luna's eyes began to light up.

"Shut up," she mused, "We met her on my way home from school. Mom had come to pick me like she always had, and on our walk home, we stumbled on Harlow. She had fallen and scraped her knee, mom, of course, had to take her home which ended up being in a few apartments down from ours. Her mother wasn't home, so we took her to our place. Mom cleaned up her knee and sent us to go do our homework together until Harlow's mother got home."

Luna smiled, she hadn't had the opportunity to tell anyone how she and Harlow had become such good friends. Luna didn't have any other friends. She was shy in school, and once she was old enough she began spending her free time to help her mother in the coffee shop. It wasn't until now she realized how lonely her life seemed.

"Your mother sounds like a kind person," Emmett commented softly, placing his hand on Luna's wrist to give her a small squeeze. Before releasing her, Emmet noticed the tears beginning to fall from Luna's eyes.

"Yeah, she was," Luna sniffled, her voice small, "I miss her."

Luna began to cry, covering her face with her hands. Everything her mother had built was gone. The coffee shop was no longer safe and Luna had broken the only thing her mother had given her. And now, she and Harlow were alone, facing the danger of a trio of murderers attempting to kill them. What could she do?

"Luna," Emmett mumbled, watching as her body shook.

It seemed to finally click for the thick-headed man. Luna had lost her mother, and somehow, The Council or The Valor was responsible. Why else had she been so resentful towards him when they had first spoken. Here this girl was, attempting to fight through everything being thrown at her, and losing. Worse, she knew she was losing, and now she was forced to come up with a plan to simply stay alive. Again, Emmett found himself and his people failing their fellow people.

Emmett sighed, sliding to the edge of his chair so he could wrap Luna into a hug. Awkwardly, he placed his arms around her, allowing Luna to bury her face into his chest as she cried. Emmet held her, uncomfortable as he did so, but refusing to move her. If this was what she needed, it was the least anyone could do for her.

Thank you for your support & remember this story has been entered in the 2019 Watty Awards!!!