DISCONTINUED

Chapter 34

*** A/N: Chapter / scene song from playlist - REASONS (Matt Van) ***

Luna shivered as she pulled her hat down over her ears and adjusted her scarf - her Mom's scarf - around her neck. She sat quietly on the front steps of her Aunt and Uncle's house waiting for Bo to arrive.

She'd come here to live with her Aunt Judy and Uncle Dave after her Dad had left. That was the arrangement they'd made as she couldn't stay in their house alone. At least not until she was out of school and could support herself.

She and Bo were going to visit her Dad again today. It had been six months already since he'd been forced to leave during which she'd been able to see him four times. Considering that when he'd first left, she hadn't been entirely sure that she was ever going to see him again, she felt pretty lucky really. She shook her head and scowled. Oh yea, she was SO lucky. Her Mom had been murdered, her Dad was forced to leave her, and they'd all been given death sentences. Yea. Awesome. She closed her eyes and sighed, reminding herself to focus on the positive and be thankful for what little good there was that remained. Seeing her Dad again certainly fit into that category.

When her Dad had left, he'd gone to stay with a small group of others that lived inside the fence but "off the grid". Luna couldn't go to him for fear of her nanobots losing contact with their controller and thus starting their auto discontinuance countdown, so he more or less had to come to her. They sort of met "halfway". They knew that the nanobots weren't tracked. There was no need of that, as requiring them to remain connected ensured that everyone pretty much stayed put. And while there was no great effort on behalf of the government to seek out and apprehend "deserters" like her Dad, they still needed to exercise caution and always be careful. Each time they'd met it had been at a different location, and to be honest, on some level it was a bit of fun sneaking around like they did. She'd gotten quite familiar with "Walter" and the others at the laundromat as they had continued to act as the go between for her and her Dad, passing messages and meeting locations and times back and forth.

Bo always came with her when she went to see her Dad. He - Bo - refused to let her go alone and he'd made her promise to always take him with her. Although she'd never admit it to him, she was thankful for this demand of his. Olivia never came, and this just added to the number of "fun" things that she complained about missing out on. Sure, Luna felt a bit guilty about excluding her, but it was difficult for her to not see Olivia as a symbol of the very reason she had to sneak around just to see her Dad once every few weeks. Plus, Luna trusted Olivia, but still... well, it just seemed better this way. Yea, this way. Just her and Bo together... alone... for hours...

"Luna. Lu. Lu?"

And there he was. Right. There. So close she could smell him. Or was that just a warm breeze blowing through the pine trees?

She quickly glanced down at her watch and feigned annoyance. "You're late" she said as she jumped up and brushed past him and started walking towards the bus stop, hoping her cheeks weren't as flushed as they felt. She tugged at her scarf to loosen it. Did it just get a whole lot warmer out while she was sitting there waiting or what??

Bo had to half jog a few steps to catch up to her. "Sorry Lu. I was talking to Olivia and I lost track of time."

Olivia. Right. Bo's girlfriend and her friend. The one that wasn't condemned to die like the rest of them. Right, that Olivia.

"OK. Well, come on or we'll be late for the bus!"

They arrived at the bus stop in plenty of time and sat down on the bench to wait.

"Did you bring that thing my Dad asked for?"

Bo reached down to unzip his pack and pull out the portable charger. "Yea, I got it. Had to 'borrow' it from my auto mechanics class. Your Dad knows he can't keep it, right?"