Into the Dark (Completed)

Chapter 18

That afternoon I left school and walked out to where Marie usually parks. The spot was empty.
"Are you serious?" I muttered. What is her problem?

I slumped down and sat on the curb. I guess this means that she didn't just forget me this morning.

Have I been so absorbed in my own issues that I've neglected my best friend?

I shook my head. If Marie was feeling left out, she should have just come to me and talked about it. Passive-aggressiveness doesn't help anything.

"Hey, Luna." Josh walked over and sat next to me. "How are you feeling after everything a couple days ago?"

It took me a second to even figure out what he was talking about. "Oh, you mean finding my dad. To be honest, I didn't put much thought into it. If he wanted to be home, then he would be there. It kind of sucks that he's sneaking around town and hasn't bothered to see me, but there's nothing I can do about that."

Josh moved closer to me and lowered his voice. "I meant that he is involved in a gang, and it looks like he is in some kind of position of power."

Wait, what?

I thought back to the night at the warehouse.

Oh.

I mentally face palmed. How did I not realize that before? I was so focused on not thinking about my father that I completely missed the bigger picture. My dad is involved in a gang. Not just any gang, but a rival of Tate, Josh, Jackson, and Connor's gang.

"I feel really stupid." I am an idiot.

"It's fine, Luna. Sometimes we ignore the things that we don't want to see." He rubbed my back awkwardly. "But we need to know where your loyalties lie. We all talked and it would probably be best if you didn't contact your father."

To be honest, I didn't plan on contacting him, but someone telling me that I can't makes me want to. "Why?"

He sighed. "You know I can't tell you much. Our superiors don't know about you. If you contacted your father, you could blow our cover. The whole point of sending teenagers to Jenson, Ohio is to remain inconspicuous. Not to mention if our superiors found out about you. That would be so bad, Luna."

Josh was making sense, but I still don't like being told what to do. "What am I supposed to do if he approaches me?"

Josh seemed to relax a bit knowing that I wasn't going to run to his rival gang. "You'll just have to stall and find a way to get away from him, so that you can call us. We'll cross that bridge if we get there. If I'm being honest, I don't think your father will contact you. He hasn't talked to you for years. I don't think he cares about anything but business."

I flinched. I know that my father doesn't care about me, but hearing it said aloud still sucks. "Okay, whatever. I'm going to start walking home now. I'll see you tomorrow, Josh." I stood up from the curb and started walking down the road.

I miss the days where I could just go to school and come home without any drama. I always thought it was boring, but now I could use a heavy dose of it. All of this crap about gangs and guys is just getting to be too much.

I started to get the feeling that someone was watching me. Lately, I have been ignoring that sinking feeling in my stomach because it was usually just Tate, Jackson, Josh, or Connor following me, but they've backed off since the warehouse.

I looked around me. There were some younger kids jumping rope in a driveway, but they paid no attention to me. Other than the occasional car that drove past, there was no one else around. Maybe, I'm just being paranoid.