Alive at Sunset (Rituals of the Night Series Book 2) (20 page)

“That’s not the worst part of it,” he said, looking away as if eye contact was suddenly too much effort. “The worst part of my life was even though I taught myself that people were disposable, I still learned I had feelings. Me, a monster, had feelings. Go ahead and laugh if you want, but I don’t think it’s funny.”

He took a pause before he continued to speak. “It’s an ironic twist to my ironic existence, isn’t it? A cold blooded killer having a multi-functional heart. The one time I decided to act on my feelings, I found out that the girl that changed me, hates my guts. That’s the true icing on the cake. Trust me when I say I know what it’s like to suffer. I’ve been doing it my whole damn life. And if you still think I deserve to be alone, well, you’re more cold-blooded than I ever gave you credit for.”

Luna stared at him, unable to respond. What could she possibly say? Her worst enemy had poured his pain on her in full, heavy, bucket loads. It should’ve been a moment of triumph for Luna, but instead, she felt cold and hollow. She felt almost guilty for a reason she didn’t understand.

Suddenly, Chance seemed to realize he was uncomfortable as well. He turned and left the room without another word. Luna shook her head as she worked to digest the information Chance had told her. She got up slowly, tossing her shoes to the floor before she made her way to the kitchen.

Amanda glanced at her, but Chance purposefully kept his gaze away from her. Luna ignored them both as she rummaged through the fridge. As she poured herself a glass of orange juice, Amanda approached her slowly.

“When are we going to go shopping, Luna?” Amanda asked.

“I don’t know, Mandy, I’m tired,” Luna said, taking a sip from her glass.

Amanda frowned. “You’re always tired or busy when I ask. Stop making excuses, and spend some time with me, please? If anything, this will take your mind off of Max’s funeral for a little while.”

Luna sighed as she looked at her. “Is this really the best time to do this? I’m still wearing my funeral clothes.”

Amanda pursed her lips. “I know you’re trying to avoid me. I just want to be your friend, Luna. I know that you need someone to lean on now more than ever. You’re never going to get better by pushing everyone out.”

Luna closed her eyes for a long moment and pinched the bridge of her nose, wishing she had stayed in her room. “Okay…okay, Mandy, we’ll go, but no Chance, please.”

At the mention of his name, Chance turned to look at her, but Luna ignored him. Amanda stuck out her hand, oblivious to their exchange. “Deal. Do you have time now or are you really tired?”

“I-uh…I guess have time now,” Luna said slowly. In her head, she was screaming. She wanted to avoid going at all costs, but she knew that Amanda wouldn’t let it pass until it was over and done with.

Amanda smiled widely and grabbed her keys off of the counter. She was nearly giddy as she led the way outside. Luna couldn’t understand why it made her so happy as she followed behind with that unsettling feeling of déjà vu once again in her heart.

“I’ll be back in an hour or two, sweetheart,” she said to Chance, pecking him on the cheek.

He reached up to hug her, “Okay, I’ll be here,” he said, the entire time staring at Luna over Amanda’s shoulder.

Luna walked out the door as she waited for Amanda to catch up. Amanda seemed too happy to speak as she drove them to the mall. The over-packed parking lot made Luna feel as if she were surrounded –trapped in a place that she didn’t want to be. Luna’s feeling of doom seemed to increase as they went into the first dress store they passed. Immediately, Amanda began to thrust dresses into her arms before she sent her to the dressing room.

Luna closed her eyes and sat on the small bench as she composed herself. In her head, she was in high school again, and Susan was dressing her for the Homecoming dance. She glanced at the array of gowns that Amanda had given her. She had to intentionally avoid looking at the yellow one.

She sighed and grabbed the nearest one. She threw the purple dress on, not even bothering to look at herself in the mirror as she went to find Amanda. The girl was holding up a blue gown. Luna felt sick as she looked at her; in her mind, all she could see was Susan.

The next hour was a blur of movement as Amanda tried on dresses and bought an armful for both of them. Luna kept her head down as she followed her friend outside to the car. She was glad for the peace she felt growing inside as they began to head back home. When the girls got back to the apartment, Luna smiled at Amanda to hide her discomfort.

“Hey, honey,” Chance called over his shoulder as he kept his eyes on the television.

“I missed you,” Amanda gushed.

Luna rolled her eyes as her Barbie doll-like friend handed her her dress. She took it from her without a word, swallowing down her hatred as she looked at it. She took the moment of Amanda’s distraction to head to her room. When she was alone, she crumpled it up in her fist and tossed it into the closet. There was no place in her life for pretty things –if there were, it was only for them to get destroyed.

                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luna wiped at her eyes as she set the book down that she had been reading. Even activities that she had once enjoyed weren’t enough to keep her mind off of Max. She could feel a gnawing in her stomach suddenly. The thought of eating made her feel sick, but her body seemed to feel otherwise. She sighed and stood to her feet. Her socked feet didn’t make a sound as she cracked open her bedroom door to look into the hallway. It was dark, but she could hear the television blaring from the living room. Luna took a deep breath as she made her way to the kitchen. She gathered a bowl of cereal on the table and turned to get the milk from the fridge.

“Wow, I barely ever see you eat,” Chance’s voice drifted suddenly from the darkness. “What’s the occasion?”

The sound of his voice made her hand quiver, spilling milk onto the table. “Damn it,” she said to herself. Then she glanced up at him. “Are you always here?”

Chance shrugged. “Amanda lets me crash here when I need to.”

“Great, I’ll be sure to lock my door.”

“It’s not like that,” Chance said.

“You don’t have a place to go anymore…do you?” she asked as she mopped up the milk on the table.

“I do, I just find it more comforting to stay here.”

“Yeah, okay,” Luna said, picking up her bowl of cereal to travel back to her room.

“Wait,” Chance said suddenly.

Luna felt herself freeze despite herself. “What?”

“What did Max tell the cops three years ago?”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Why does it matter?”

Chance set his hand on the table beside him and looked down at it. “You’ll probably love this, but uh, the cops have been asking me questions about that day. I don’t know what to tell them.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“He pretended not to know…didn’t he?”

Luna sighed. “Yeah. How’d you guess?”

“Max never told you, huh?”

“Told me what?”

“Me and him have a bit of a history,” he said.

Luna frowned at him. “We all have history. We’ve been caught up in each other’s lives since elementary school.”

Chance smirked as he looked at her.
Max never told her the truth.

“There’s just one thing I can’t understand. Why aren’t you in jail? Cops suspect you over and over, but they never arrest you…they just drop it. Sure they need evidence, and all that, but why give up on you so fast when you’re the missing link to so many unsolved cases?”

“DreamWorld is an amazing place,” he said. “I kill for it, and it keeps me from taking the fall in return. There’s a lot of work that I have to do myself, of course, but that suspicion of doubt in the cops’ minds are cleared quickly.”

“I don’t care what weird otherworldly deal you may have. All the cops had to do was match your gun to Max’s and Violet’s bullets. It was supposed to be over.”

Chance’s smirk dropped quickly. “Police never found it apparently.”

“It disappeared?”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“What? You think
I
took it?” she asked. “You have to be kidding me.”

“I wasn’t pointing fingers. I’m just saying someone did.”

“Maybe you have a friend after all,” Luna said, her voice clipped, “but it’s not me.” With that, she finally disappeared down the dark hallway.

L
una couldn’t help but let her depression bite at her as she worked. Every day, her life took different bizarre twists. Chance’s earlier meltdown had proved that. She had never seen him so emotional. If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve thought he actually had feelings. The image of Max lying in his coffin was enough for her to know differently.

She didn’t know why his words were weighing so heavily in her mind. Was it because he had caught her off guard? Whatever the reason, she had no way to distract her mind from it. Sarah had the day off so despite being surrounded by people, she felt alone. After the activity in the lobby died down, she decided to sweep around the counter a bit hoping the mindless labor would be enough of a distraction for a few minutes. She sighed and glanced around at the people that occupied the tables.

It was then that she noticed the boy by the window…the boy with shockingly blonde hair. Her heart thumped in her chest as she noticed how similar he looked to Chance. The only difference was his clothing. The boy wore a simple white tank top with heavy blue jeans instead of Chance’s usual all black attire.

He was sipping on a cup without the lid. She frowned, racking her brain as she tried to figure out if it was him or not. She couldn’t remember him coming to the register to order and knew someone else had waited on him. Had he come to look for her?

He glanced up suddenly as if he felt her eyes on him. When he noticed her looking at him, he dropped his drink to the floor with a smile on his face. She stared at the scene for a minute, trying to gather if it was happening. The cup hitting the floor seemed louder than it should as the contents of the full cup made a puddle across the floor. She knew she had to clean up the spill, but she didn’t want to go anywhere near the boy.

“Luna! What are you waiting for? Clean up that spill!” her boss yelled as he made his appearance suddenly.

She turned to look at him as he tossed a rag at her. She wished she had a mop to clean it up, but he had left her no other choice. She swallowed heavily as she tried to work up her nerve. Leaving the safety of the counter, she made her way across the store. Everything seemed to disappear from her vision except for the boy and the mess she had to clean up. She avoided eye contact with him as she got on her hands and knees to wipe at the spill.

“It’s so good to see you again, Luna,” the boy sneered as she began to wipe at the floor.

Luna’s heart quickened, and she turned to look at him in shock. Her eyes locked on his as she realized it
was
Chance. Images of the night Lucky died flashed through her mind. It didn’t occur to her that she was having a panic attack until she found it difficult to breathe. Her vision blurred as she pulled her gaze away to look at the sticky spot beneath her rag, and she wondered if she was on the verge of passing out.

“Aren’t you afraid Amanda will see you here?” she asked. “She’ll wonder why you’re spending so much time with me.”

He shook his head. “I honestly don’t care. I’m not trying to hide, but it seems like you are.”

She ignored him as she continued to wipe up the spill. His black boots clanked on the floor as he slipped from the chair to crouch beside her.

“Are you ignoring me?”

The sound of his voice gave Luna chills. She didn’t understand what he was trying to do. When he had talked to her in her room he was open, honest as if he thought he could gain her trust that way. His voice was soothing; it sounded the same as the last time he had whispered in her ear.

“Why are you bothering me today?” she asked him.

“I just want you to sympathize with me for a minute. Try and understand me,” he said.

“I have no interest in understanding you,” she replied.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered to her.

She composed herself before replying, “Yeah? Well, I didn’t miss you.”

Chance smiled. “Sure you did. No matter what you think of me, I’m part of your thoughts. Even if you hate me, I’ll live in your mind forever.”

“What do you want from me?” she hissed as she stood to her feet.

“I’ve done everything to try and gain your affection but none of it is good enough. Tell me what is!” he said, sounding dangerous as he stood to his full height. “I want to know why you don’t like me.”

“You’re trying to kill me!” she said in disbelief. “Just like you did to Max!”

“I had my personal problems to resolve with Max. Besides, maybe I want something else from you,” he said.

Luna could feel her disgust rising. She wished more than anything that she had called into work. She scoffed at him before she turned to walk away. Chance grabbed her elbow; his fingers dug tight into the skin.

“Don’t ignore me, Luna,” he said softly. “Look what happened the last time you did.”

There it was; he was jeering about Max’s death. She wondered how long it would take before he ripped at that wound. Tears welled in her eyes, and suddenly, she no longer felt his grip.

“How dare you make fun of what you did?” she asked quietly. “You
killed
my best friend. That’s not funny, that’s
sick
.”

“Yeah, you two had a real
special
bond, huh?”

“It’s none of your business what we were…you took him away from me.”

“Apparently, the only way I can get your attention is by doing the extreme,” he replied.

“You don’t want to do this here,” Luna said, “there are witnesses.”

Chance smirked. “Trust me, doll, I know.”

She glared at him as she pulled her arm free. “I’m gonna tell Amanda what you said,” she threatened.

He shrugged. “Go ahead. You know from experience she’ll believe me over you.”

Luna gritted her teeth; he was right.

“Just leave me alone.”

Chance shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

“Well, you’re gonna,” Luna said as she moved to storm away again.

He moved to stand in her path. She stopped in her tracks to glare up into his blue eyes as he set his hands gently on the tops of her arms.

“I can offer you a much more pleasant night if you’d let me,” he said softly as he brushed the back of his hand lightly over her cheek.

Luna stared at him wide-eyed as she registered his words. She felt her heart plummet down into her stomach. She realized what he meant; her “dream” had been real.

“What did you say?” she asked breathlessly, the anger gone in a heartbeat.

“Surely you remember our night together?”

“Y-you raped me,” she said mortified as she stared at him.

“That’s one way of saying it, I suppose, but you didn’t give me much of a choice,” he replied.

“And you didn’t give me one,” she said, biting her lip as she looked away.

She could feel hot tears threatening to drip from her eyes. She didn’t want Chance to see her cry. Not again anyways.

“You’ll get over it,” he said.

The nonchalant tone of his voice pushed her over the edge. She looked him in the eyes as she spoke. “I hate you,” she said with tears flooding her vision.

He looked at her, and his face softened slightly as he caught sight of her tears. “Please don’t,” he said.

“Why do you care?” Luna snapped as the first drop of water freed itself.

“You shouldn’t be sad.”

“I have every right to be,” she screeched, drawing attention from the people that were sitting two tables over.

Their sudden attention was enough to make Chance flinch away from her. With that second distraction, she hurried back to the safety of the counter. She was swallowed in tears as she hid her face with her hand from her co-workers. She wished her boss would send her home; the thought of being around people seemed suddenly too stressful. She felt so dirty and humiliated…so
used
. Her heart was thudding in her chest from the encounter. She knew Chance was staring at her, almost as if she could feel it.

She almost considered calling Amanda so she could catch Chance in the act. She stopped when Chance’s words flooded her mind. “She’ll believe me over you.” She knew that he would make up an excuse the moment that Amanda showed up. Calling would be a waste of time. It made her sad to think he was right, but it was the truth.

It didn’t matter what he did to her, he would always get away with it.

                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That morning had been far too rough for Luna to handle. Between Max’s funeral and Chance’s odd confession, she didn’t know how much more she could take. She needed to get away and be alone for a while. With Amanda hovering around her like a mosquito, it was impossible. She’d pry at her until Luna’s protective shield was broken. With the grief welling inside her, driving her crazy, it only made it worse that Amanda was part of the problem.

When Luna got off of work, she didn’t plan on going home. She was glad she was away from her inquisitive roommate for a little while. She would take the break as long as she could. She hopped into the purple Sedan and drove away from the restaurant as fast as she could.

She was busting at the seams with emotion as she tried to concentrate on the road around her. She was crying heavily again, the sobs made it hard for her to breathe evenly. Realization had hit her hard, and she knew from experience that it would be hard to cope. He had raped her, and there was nothing she could do. She wanted to disappear.

She moved her eyes off of the road and focused on the radio. She clicked through the stations but still couldn’t find a song that she knew. She hated that the radio wasn’t even reliable. If only she could find something to calm her down, she wouldn’t feel so awful inside. She sighed and lifted her puffy, red eyes back to the road.

Luna looked up in time to see a silver SUV slam into the passenger side of her car. She knew instantly that she had run a red light. The sound of the cars crashing was a metal crunching and screeching that hurt her ears. The force of the impact was felt in every bone in her body as she was forced sideways with the car. Sparks marred the cement in tiny orange-yellow flickers as the pile of cars scraped across the road. Her smaller car flipped away from the SUV and landed upside down a few feet away from the site of impact. Smoke filtered from the engine.

Luna’s head slammed into the steering wheel with enough force to make her see stars. Her seatbelt held her upside down in the seat; she could feel her blood rushing to her head. Broken glass from the shattered windshield embedded itself in her forehead, barely missing her eyes.

Blood was pouring in a thick stream from her nose, and her heart was pounding in terror and adrenaline. The steering wheel jabbed into the gap between her ribs making it hard to breathe. She gasped in pain and tried leaning forward to escape the stronghold of the seat, but the suddenly tight seatbelt was cutting into her skin. The pain from her neck was the most intense.

Her eyelids felt suddenly heavy as more blood escaped from her. She felt as weak as she had when Chance stabbed her, and she knew that the damage she had sustained was bad. In that moment, the pain became too much. She was on the verge of passing out. She struggled to unhook her seatbelt and get out of what was left of Amanda’s car before the engine caught on fire, but the buckle had broken; it was locked tight in place. Her feeble energy wasn’t enough to free herself from it. She felt her strength draining away to nothing and finally, she lost consciousness.