Forever yours

Chapter 9 - Luna

"4 AM, people. That's the time of night everyone is supposed to be asleep. Why do people not get that?" Luna grunted in a whisper to herself while she was hiding in the shadows of Mr. Yorker's workshop.

Even though the sky was pitch black, the streets of Home were lit with candles and flashlights. A large crowd had gathered on the town's square in front of the local bar, Julio's. Luna tried not to get too close, it was already dangerous enough that she ran around here, and Mykyala would never let her in on anything if she brought another person to their hideaway. Mykayla needed her presence, or she'd go mad from loneliness.

People started shouting in the crowd, and for a second she thought she had been seen. Fortunately, they were too busy with their crazy night ritual. Luna had lived in that town long enough to learn that sometimes it's better to simply accept the weirdness of their town than to fight against it. Then again, she was going to fight the devil, but that was different. He took something that was hers.

There was no time to walk all the way back to the river and along its shores, so she had to cross Main Street to get to Vanessa's house.

Rustling in the field behind her made Luna duck behind some of Jacobi Yorker's old material. A white dog with brown spots appeared from under the metal garbage. That right there was a token of good luck. Lucky, the Hamilton's Jack Russell, shook off the remaining dirt before he looked at Luna. His head turned to the side, his tongue hanging out. Before Lucky could bark, Luna called him to her and started petting him.

"Aren't you always my lucky charm?" Luna rubbed his belly and his nose. "Would you like to help me out, little one?"

Lucky was Perry's dog, and just like his owner, he loved to get attention from anyone willing to give it. It just happened to be that Luna loved animals, and so their friendship had started during the days that she preferred to sneak out of school and hide in the barn. The barn where another of Luna's relationships had started - and possibly ended. Her heart squeezed, she had to put Lucky down and focus. Vanessa didn't have much time left.

All she needed to do was get some easy-to-move-in clothes that weren't summer shorts or her marine blue blazer. Her clothes weren't made for the woods, they were expensive and fragile. Only to be worn with care. And by now, in pieces and shreds.

Vanessa's house was right there, in front of her, across Main Street, and on the other side of that crowd. That's where she would find the necessary clothes for an operation like this.

The house was at least three times smaller than her own, but that didn't matter to her. She had always preferred coziness over monumental and grand. It had a warmth that her gigantic villa didn't have. It felt lived, while hers felt like you couldn't live because everything was too expensive to touch. You always had to be on your guard in that house; she never felt free at home. Maybe her parents played a big role in that as well, but still.

Luna made sure that nobody was looking when she crossed the street. She kept herself low to the ground, out of the street lantern's lights and tried to be as quiet as possible. With Lucky next to her, it went smoother than she expected. Once she had crossed, she threw Lucky a twig in the opposite direction of the town's square. Lucky jumped over the cobblestones, his breathing loud enough for onlookers to know the passing shadow had been a dog, but quiet enough not to pull too much attention.

Luna's finger trailed on the underside of the windowsill. She immediately found what she was looking for, the spare key to the back door. Vanessa always left it there, both for Luna and herself. The blonde was forgetful like that.

Very quietly Luna opened the back door. Before going any further she listened to her surroundings, like her sister taught her to, making sure no one was unexpectedly going for a midnight drink.