Leira [Completed]

Chapter Fourteen

"DNA doesn't make a family. Love does."

—

JUSTICE'S POV

It couldn't be true.

I was aware that I barely knew Leira at all, but our constant and unexpected encounters made us at least friends. I wanted to doubt what her father had let out, but I had not learned enough to prove that his statement was false.

If Leira had really committed such a serious crime, was there a reason? Did she kill the person intentionally or was she unwilling?  I had mixed feelings but I was not in the place to demand an explanation.

I grabbed the snacks and greeted Mr Blake in the kitchen, then headed back to Luna. She took it with a grateful smile and we shared them while waiting for Leira to return. Only after an hour did Leira grace us with her presence.

"What took so long?" Luna questioned.

"I needed to give an explanation and so does my dad. We had our own twisted version of a heart-to-heart talk. Sometimes I hate it when he's overprotective of me," her answer was vague. As my eyes settled on hers, I had the heaviest urge to discover the reason for the information I eavesdropped. I did not want to judge what I heard without knowing the truth.

Luna raised an eyebrow at the given reply but said nothing. She then prompted Leira to sit beside her.

"Before I tell you about the time Kai completely annihilated Trey in our training," Luna exaggerated, "I have news to share."

"So after the huge football match that Justice and Trey are participating in on Wednesday, it'll be the holidays. My father had allowed me to invite some friends to this cabin that belonged to my mom. She's out in another state doing...business, so she granted us access. I'm deciding on bringing four people with me to that impressively enormous cabin," she announced with enthusiasm. "I've told Trey and Kai and they've accepted."

I spotted the slight difference in Leira's mood after the news was delivered.

"Me?" Leira asked for confirmation.

"No, the air," Luna replied sarcastically. "Of course, you. Will you come?"

"I...how many days?" Leira said hesitantly.

"Just three. The cabin is far north and it's quite isolated, which is quite a good thing."

"I don't know...I'll have to ask my father and make sure that it doesn't clash with the period in which I have to help him with—" she paused abruptly and glanced at me before continuing, "—work."

"On top of that, there are rules." I found all the words Leira uttered suspicious. She mentioned about rules countless times and even voiced out one that her father told, which I found remarkably unnatural. "Will there be guards defending the area?"

Incredulity invaded my face as I heard Leira's ridiculous question. I did consider the town to be somewhat dangerous at times, but not to that extent.

"Yes, definitely," was the equally absurd answer from Luna. "You need a getaway urgently. I think these rules have been controlling your life a little too much."

A frown reached Leira's lips while thoughts seem to raid her mind. "I'll ask for permission."

"Great," Luna commented. "You'll have to be in the stadium for the tournament so we can travel instantly."

"Will you be there, Justice?" she directed her attention to me.

"Sure, I'm certain Hope would allow me to."