Long Way From Home

Chapter 1

"What year is it?" David asks me, I furrow my brow and shake my head.
"That's a stupid question," I start but the look that passes over his face scares me. "It's 2019." I answer quickly, throat closing up.
"Luna, tell us the truth."
"I am," His hand tightens, and I grip his arm, flinching at the pain in my jaw. "You're hurting me,"
"Good."

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The radio played an old Bruno Mars song as I drove down the highway. 

The sun was shining, and I fixed my sunglasses before turning the radio up. I tapped my fingers to the beat, completely bored with this drive and honestly trying not to bring my mood down. You see, I never wanted to make this drive, all the way to Santa Cruz California, from my hometown in Indiana. No, I am freaking hated this so much! My cousin, my precious baby cousin, Poppy, is having her birthday party and she's turning 18. Yes, congratulations to her, no one really cares. At least, I don't. I was mostly pissed because I was forced to come. My mom, bless her, is very sick and isn't doing very well and I didn't want to leave her alone. My mom's friend, Brenda, had offered to check in and help my mom while I was away. Suddenly, I didn't have an excuse to not come. My grandparents paid me money to make the trip, after I tried to tell them I didn't have a lot of money to just throw around. Yeah, it seemed I wasn't getting out of this one.

I take a turn, my gps telling me to, and get off at the next exit. It was a quiet road, and I was thankful that I could kick it up a notch with the speed. I frown when I hear the stereo go out, static making my head throb as I tried to switch it to a different station.

"Now here is Tiffany's new song, I Think We're Alone Now!" The song began playing and I hummed, bobbing my head to the beat. Yeah, let's take it back to the 80s.

'Trying to get our way!' I begin to sing, swaying my shoulders and chest sensually as I could while keeping myself straight on the road. I rolled down my window, letting the wind take my hair and mess it up. Yeah, this was a good song. I slow down when I see a town come into view, and the sign reads 'Santa Carla'. Huh . I wondered if that was just there for show, because I knew Santa Cruz was the filming place for The Lost Boys . Maybe they kept it up because of tourist? That seems like something super cool. I pull over, grabbing my phone and getting out, snapping a few pics to send to my mom. She knew how much I loved that movie, as she was the one that showed it to me when I was a kid. I have to say, I think I'm the only one I know that doesn't have a problem with the vampires costumes? Like, the hair is fucking great, and the clothes- hot damn . I even started to collect my own patches on my beloved jean jacket. I love my jean jacket, it's even getting a few holes because it's so freaking old. I got it in middle school, the size much too large for my little frame, and I've still not grown into it all the way.

I pull into the town, people looking at me oddly and I wasn't sure why, because they were the ones dressed weird. Was everyone having a throwback to the 80s? Maybe there's a festival? Huh, I don't know. I need gas, so I park, getting out and begin to fill up. After paying, I notice that I am rather hungry. Santa Cruz had their famous boardwalk, and it was beginning to get dark. So, I better eat now if I wanted to enjoy it. I didn't want the nightlife to make every place super busy and rambunctious. Parking my car outside the boardwalk, I grab my shoulder bag and slip my jean jacket on over it. I take my phone and headphones, just in case. I make sure it's charged, and I nod when I see I had enough charge just for a few hours. So I was fine if an emergency happened. I walk around the boardwalk, taking in everything. Yeah, definitely an 80s festival or something. I felt a little out of place. I was dressed more for the 90s grunge feel. I had on a pair of high waisted skinny jeans, a tight, long sleeved black crop top that had a very high neck. Over that, I had on an oversized dark green flannel, my jean jacket completing that 90s feel. I wore white converse, shoes my grandparents got for me for my birthday earlier this year. My hair was wind blown, but I had messily braided it back into a single french, tied with a bright pink scrunchy. I noticed an ice cream stand and opted for that, knowing that I had a few dollars on me.