The Siren Song - Book 2 of the Legends of Henge Series

Chapter 48

Luna Ulric

True to my personality, I left my packing until the very last minute. As in thirty minutes before Hero and I were taking a Silverport back home. He was currently tossing items at me across the room as we frantically stuffed my suitcase.

"Is this really yours?" Hero asked, holding up a dress that had been balled up on my floor. I squinted, trying to remember where that had come from.

"My mom must have gotten it for me." I shrugged, catching it with one hand. I didn't share a room with anyone, so it couldn't have been anyone else's. "Tessa and Cara never talk to me anyways, so why would they leave a dress in my room," I referenced the other two girls on the team besides the twins.

"Speaking of you mom," Hero called from behind my bed. "How's it going with her and Josh?"

I grimaced. "I actually don't know," I admitted. "I didn't see Josh much over Christmas break. I think he was still mad over the Jonah thing in October."

"That's dumb," Hero commented. "If he likes your mom, get over it."

"That's the thing, though," I sighed. "I think he really does and wanted to get over it but she didn't. She's a mama bear, through and through."

"So, she obviously didn't buy the crap that you were guilty." I nodded.

"I feel guilty about it."

"Why? It wasn't your choice for Jonah to be an ass," Hero scoffed.

"Yeah, but I feel like I can fix it," I admitted.

Hero frowned. "You feel like you can fix everything, Luna," Hero said quietly. "The Sirens and Mermaids, Cander's crush, Jack O' Lantern Jaunt... and your dad."

"Are you calling me a Mary Sue?" I joked, though my eyes were stinging. He wasn't wrong, I suppose. I did feel the need to fix things.

"I'm calling you out," Hero countered. "You need to focus on yourself and not concern yourself with the need to correct other people's mistakes."

"But if I can help, I will," I insisted. "You won't be able to convince me not to."

"I know." Hero shrugged and handed me a leather jacket. "Have you ever even worn this?"

I studied the jacket closely. It was old, pockmarked with holes. "It's not meant to be worn," I told him, grabbing it and folding it nicely before laying it on the tangled mess of the rest of my belongings.

"What's it for then?" Hero asked.

"My mom gave it to me. She got it the day she met my dad. I used to wear it a lot as a kid, like a dress. She made me stop when she saw how much I was ruining it," I laughed, touching one of the rips.

"Try it on."

I shook my head but Hero insisted and so I slipped it on. It wasn't too big anymore. I felt like I was my mother, seventeen in a store.

"You should wear it more," Hero said sadly.

The rips in it could easily be stitched up. I made a silent promise to do that this summer.

I slipped it off again and packed it away. "How much time have we got?" I asked.

Hero checked his watch. "Negative five minutes."

I groaned. "Mom's going to kill me."

"We'll book another one later."

Hero helped me lug all of our stuff to the Inner City. Aurum was waiting there. "You're our last two but you were scheduled earlier."

"Yeah, we forgot some things," I admitted.

"Well, at least we know you're not into trouble," Aurum sighed.

We hopped on a boat and went through the light and appeared in the valley we'd both grown up in together.

"I think I know what I'm going to get you for your birthday this year, Luna." Hero grinned at me.

"What?"

"A new jacket," he laughed. I shook my head and smiled as he started climbing the path up to his house.

I started walking toward my own when I ran into Jonah. "Hi."

He nodded towards me in greeting. "Your mom sent me to figure out if you were on your way yet," he told me. "She said she figured you be late."

"Right," I agreed. We walked in silence for a few minutes. "I just wanted to say thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"You showed up on the island. We really needed all the help we could get," I explained. "And I'm sorry that we got off on the wrong foot. If you want we could start over."

Jonah sighed. "I think I should apologize for the Jack 'O Lantern Jaunt. That was a shitty thing to do but I knew my dad would believe whatever I said about it. Ever since my mom left, he's been convinced I'm an angel and he doesn't stand by if he thinks anyone might be being unfair to me. I've used that to my advantage."

My chest tightened because I knew exactly what he meant. I had done the same thing as a young girl when my dad hadn't come home. After a moment, I whispered, "Do you miss her?"

His eyes reflected my own pain. "All the time."

"I miss him too," I admitted. "But it's our parents choice, you know that, right? Whether we like it or not, they choose if they stay together or not."

"I almost got them to break up over break, you know?" Jonah laughed. "They like each other too much though. You're right. It's not our choice and I'll stop trying to influence it."

"Good," I approved. "So, I guess we're on the same side now, right?" I held out my hand and he took it.

"Unless you're wrong." Jonah narrowed his eyes, still holding my hand.

"I'm never wrong," I told him, a challenge in my eyes. He scoffed.

"Sure."

We walked back the rest of the way to my house. I took off my shoes in garage and carried them inside, dropping them on top of my bag just inside the door. My mother came around the corner in a rush, and I swear her eyes started to water instantly.

I mean, I get it. We hadn't seen each other since Christmas. But the bone crushing hug was a little overkill. Leslie and Laila grinned from the living room. When my mother had let me go, I leaned down to their level.

"I heard that you two weren't very good this year," I teased. "So, I think I need to rough you up!"

I lunged towards the girls, laughing and chasing them through the small house. Later, we had some leftover cake from when Leslie turned ten a few weeks ago. Josh had arrived a few hours after me and we happily ignored each other pretty well.

Leslie and Laila started getting sleepy at the table and so I brought them to bed, thinking if Jonah and I got along, this summer wouldn't be so bad.

Update 2...

Question of the Chapter: What's your favorite cookie?

My Answer: Peanut Butter Kiss or the really good warm chocolate chip cookies in my school's cafeteria.