Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I'm not letting her go," Michael protested, shifting Luna comfortably onto his lap while she white-knuckled his collar, "And I'm certainty not leaving, so you can stop plotting an escape. Now, tell me, what the hell happened today!?" He demanded, the sudden forcefulness in his voice stirring the small girl in his arms. She jerked her head to look at Michael from underneath his chin, assumingely disturbed by the displaced sternness in his tone.
You and me both, kid.
It took everything in me not to reach forward and soothe the furrow between her eyebrows as she visibly shrunk into herself. It didn't help that I noticed the slight wide-eyed look of concern she shot my way as she watched Michael scold me. So slight, if I blinked I would have never noticed it.
It didn't last long though. Michael, still very much in the mood for an interrogation, rocked Luna on his lap, whispering something small into her ear that eased her into his chest once again.
I couldn't do this in front of her....
A small part of me was undoubtedly stubborn, completely distorting any reasonable thought in my brain. I didn't enjoy re-hashing the emotional damage made between Luna and I and I certainly don't need another person reminding me how much this is on me and how much deep shit I'm in. Tell me something I don't already fucking know.
It took everything in me to fight down this angry, red bubble of flames scorching through my skin. But the awareness of it made me even more angry with myself. Who was I kidding? What was I fighting? It was an endless cycle of destruction every time I found myself turning my back on an opportunity for peace and instead walking straight into a war zone. But, Jesus, am I a stubborn bastard...
With only one version of the story, I mustered the words to tell him exactly what I've been telling myself all night:
"I fucked up."
"Yeah, clearly. Elaborate."
Well, fuck.
"I was selfish, irresponsible, a huge dickhead and I was too fucked up to realize how bad it had gotten," I admitted, my voice strangely sincere considering it took multiple stanzas in my head to even compute the words out loud.
"What... I'm trying to say.. is.... I'm sorry..."
"I'm not your mother, Owen. You don't have to apologize to me." He remarked, the word once again making itself known in this very sensitive situation. Wow, this mother theme is really starting to become off-putting...
"Yeah, I know that... I just can't-" I paused, clearing the growing lump in my throat, "help but think you're disappointed in me..."
I mustered up the courage to actually look him in the face and I wanted to dig myself 6ft under after my strangled confession. And Michael's nonchalant attitude wasn't helping either.
