Loveless Ages

Chapter Six

 “I want to bring Josh with me,” I tell her.

“Fine. But that’s it. And you can’t tell anyone that I’m alive or that you saw me. Not Josh. Not even my parents. Do you understand?” she says sharply.

“I know,” I say, “I wont tell anyone.” There is a long silence.

“So Xander is the father,” she says quietly.

“Yes,” I say, “He is.”

“And what do you plan on doing when you go there?” she asks, “What if he isn’t willing to take responsibility?”

“I don’t know what I’m planning on doing. I just think he deserves to know. I don’t know what will happen from there. But he loves me…” I say. She smiles a bit.

“I wish I knew what it felt like to be loved,” my mother says.

“When do I get to go?” I ask, rudely ignoring what she just said.

“I can arrange for you to go tomorrow… you’ll have to be escorted by some of my Enforcers though,” she says.

“Escorted?” I ask, “Is that necessary?”

“Just across the border,” she says, “That’s all. And then you’ll meet them there at the end of your trip. How much time do you need?”

“Two weeks maybe,” I say.

“What if he asks you to stay?” she asks me. It seems as though she doesn’t want to know the answer.

“I’d probably stay,” I say, “If he asked me to stay…I would.”

“That’s a big decision,” my mother says.

“It would be what’s best for Luna,” I tell her, “And I think a good mother always finds a way to do what’s best for her child.” I look down at the ground as I say it. It was a cruel thing to say, but I couldn’t help it. She’s been gone for my entire life. She bites down on her lip and tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I think she’s prettier than I remember her.

“You should get going,” her voice is almost a whisper, “Come back here with Josh early tomorrow. Six in the morning.”

“Okay,” I respond. I hold her gaze for a moment before turning to leave.

“Grandma and Grandpa miss you,” I say quietly, “They don’t say it… but she calls me by your name every once in a while.” My mother doesn’t respond and so I walk out without any other words.

 When I walk into my house the first thing I hear is the cry of an unhappy child. The second thing I hear is angry footsteps.

“Where did you go?” Josh’s voice echoes through the entire house and summons my grandparents downstairs.

“I… I was…” I remember that I’m not supposed to tell them where I was and who I was with, “I can’t say.”

“You can’t say?” Josh says incredulously, “You can’t fucking say!”

“Where is she? Where’s Luna?” I ask.

“Oh so you care?” Josh asks. I feel something snap inside of me and my body goes rigid.

“Don’t you dare,” I say with venom dripping off of each word. I walk further into the house.

“Malinda, dear, where were you?” my grandfather asks.

“I can’t say,” I repeat. I follow the sound of crying up the stairs and into the nursery. Luna is in her crib squirming around desperate for attention. Her little face is as red as a tomato. I lift her into my arms and bounce up and down.