toxic | j. baker¹

eight

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Luna gulped down the last of her apple juice before cutting into the pancakes that were placed in front of her. Eating breakfast with her mother was sort of a rare occasion, Peter being there wasn't that surprising considering he was always home. Sometimes Luna wondered if he even had a job. But she knew there was something up due to the sympathetic glances they were giving her.

"Did papi die?" Luna blurted out, thinking of the first thing that came to mind. "Or something along those lines?"

"¡Dios mío!" Maria exclaimed, dropping the fork in her hand against the porcelain plate. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, what am I supposed to think?" she shrugged. "You two are giving me the same look that you gave me in the second grade when fluffy the cat died. May he rest in peace."

"No, he didn't die," Peter scoffed. "But, wait until I get my hands on him."

"You're not allowed to kill my dad," Luna frowned. "So, who died? It was abuelita, huh?"

"No one died!" Maria stressed. "But...this is about your father."

Luna bit down on her bottom lip, mentally preparing herself for whatever the hell her mother had to say. Because when it came to her father nothing was surprising.

"He's in Mexico," she continued. "He said he flew down there last week for a vacation and now...he's saying he doesn't know when he's coming back."

"What the hell?" she spat. "That bastard texted me last night saying he was gonna come see me."

"Language," Maria warned her. "But...I don't know why he'd say that when he's not in the country."

Luna glanced up at her mom with curious eyes. "You think he'll come back?"

"Nobody ever knows when it comes to him," Maria frowned. "And if I'm being honest, I think the reason behind his frequent trips to "Mexico," has to do with him having another family. I'm sorry, mija."

"I don't feel good. I think I have a fever," Luna lied, placing her hand against her forehead. "Can I stay home today? I'll have Liv bring my assignments by later."

"I know you're lying," Maria deadpanned. "But, sure, go on up to your room. Peter will be here."

"I'm sure he will," she muttered under her breath. "Does he have a job?"

Luna practically dragged her feet up the stairs, once she got into her room she texted Liv asking if she could bring by her assignments later, not really explaining why she was staying home. Before shutting her phone off and falling right back to sleep.

♡♡♡

Peter had eventually made his way up to the teen's room, taking note of the extremely quiet room. He peeked his head into the room and noticed her passed out on her bed, walking over and waking her out of her slumber. Informing her that he was running out of the house to grab some food for the both of them, while also telling her that she should probably wake up since she'd been sleeping for practically the entire day.

Luna had eventually decided to get out of her little funk and walk down the steps, grabbing the food that Peter had left out on the kitchen island and heading straight for the backyard. Deciding that it was a nice night to eat outside plus she was still waiting for Liv to stop by with her work.

"Hey." Jordan's voice carried through the backyard.

"You're not Liv," she answered, spotting the folder in his hand. "Why do you have my stuff?"

"Because I made her give it to me," he shrugged, settling beside her at the table. "You weren't at school today and it worried me. Plus, I wanted to see you."

"My mom let me stay home," she briefly responded, tending back to her food.

"Can I ask why?" Jordan wondered.

"My dad's a bastard," she fake smiled. "He's got this whole other life somewhere in Mexico or somewhere else. Who the hell knows?"

"Your dad's always been a bastard," Jordan chuckled. "Sorry. But it's true. Plus, you've got Peter and he's a whole lot better."

"So, I've heard," she sighed. "Was Liv busy? Why are you here?"

"I wanted to apologize," he started off. "It was my fault, the whole ghosting you thing and the Ripley situation. I should've never gotten upset with you when I saw you with Delgado but I couldn't help it, because I...I like you. I just got distracted by Ripley."

"How couldn't you be distracted by her?" Luna scoffed. "She's the whole package, right?"

"She's not you and I mean that," Jordan sighed. "She did help me get through to my dad. But, she's also a whole lot of trouble. I messed up, Luna."

"You didn't get her pregnant, did you?" she joked.

"That's not even funny," Jordan groaned. "We smoked weed and I'm pretty sure she's the reason why we were forced to take a drug test today. And now I'm scared that I won't pass it."

"I probably should've warned you about her," she winced. "When I met Ripley she was doing coke in the bathroom and then proceeded to smoke weed outside. But you shouldn't worry about your test results until they come back, okay? I'm sure everything will be fine."

He let out a sigh, leaning his head against her shoulder. "Thank you."

"No problem Jordan," she mumbled, placing her head on top of his. "What are friends for?"

"Friends?" he questioned. "After all of that?"

"What else would we be?" she scoffed.

"Look, I'm done with Ripley," Jordan assured. "And I meant it when I said I liked you. So, I'm hoping we could be more than friends."

"You're gonna have to do better than that if you want to be with me," she quirked her eyebrow.

He pecked her cheek before standing to his feet. "That can be arranged."

"Good," Luna grinned.

"I have to head home," Jordan said. "But, don't worry I will set everything up. See you."

Luna sent him one last wave before glancing down at the table in shock. It's not like Luna didn't like Jordan she just wasn't one for being for commitment or relationships and with the way, he acted before she wasn't sure if he was even boyfriend material. But...she was willing to try if Jordan was.

01x09