alexander- a.t

81. monday, december 2016

Luna stood in the doorway of her childhood home, watching her niece unwrap every present given to her. Her heart was hurting and she didn't know what to do.

Her mum had noticed the pain in her eyes as soon as she had stepped into the house and sure enough as soon as she asked her how she was, Luna broke down into tears.

She had lied over the phone, explaining that her and Alex were going to separate houses for Christmas even though they had originally planned to do half and half or even together if the families were willing. Of course, it's hard to do that when you're not together anymore. It didn't seem real to Luna though, she could never imagine a life without him and yet here she was.

It had been a few weeks since the show, Luna flew back to London and waited for Alex to get back. She probably shouldn't have done that, there was so much they needed to talk about. He knew they were meant to be going to Sheffield on the 22nd for Christmas and she assumed he would come back.

She assumed he would come back to London though or at least Sheffield. He had texted her saying I'm sorry for how things went down, I'm staying in LA for a while but we can talk when I get back. He didn't show however. Luna had everything packed and ready to go before he got back but ended up waiting on the 22nd and 23rd for him.

It broke Luna. She didn't know what to do. He wasn't coming back. What was she supposed to do? Fly back and beg him? She wasn't going to do that, her dignity was worth too much to her. It rendered her helpless, he had the power and she hated it.

Harry was sat on the sofa, watching with bright eyes. Everyone looked so happy. He glanced back at his twin and noticed her sad demeanour, making a note to ask later.

Luna couldn't watch the small child anymore. She wiped a stray tear and walked into the kitchen, trying to steady her breathing so she didn't break into a hyperventilating mess. An arm behind her made her jump.

"It's okay, baby." Her mums soothing voice appeared next to her. Luna felt like an idiot, crying over a boy at her age. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked. Luna shook her head. The only person she truly wanted to talk about it with was Alex.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk" she told her. Julia nodded, kissing her cheek and rubbing her arm.

Harry watched Luna put on her coat and hat and raised his eyebrows as Julia walked back into the room.

"Trouble in paradise." She played it off as if it were nothing but Harry knew if there was a problem with Alex, it was a big problem. He got out his phone and sent a quick message to someone he thought might be able to get to the bottom of it.

Luna started walking down the slightly too familiar streets. She passed Alex's parents road and stopped for a second. Did they know? Had Alex told them yet? What would he even tell them? If someone asked her, she wouldn't know what to say, that they had a massive argument and she ran to another continent instead of staying to sort it out. Not that he followed her to try and sort it out either but still.

She kept walking and eventually reached the corner shop that used to serve her whatever she wanted at sixteen. Now she was stood at 30 years old, heartache still in tact as it was back then just over a different boy now.

"Luna Temple? Is that you?" The man asked as she stepped into the shop. She broke into a smile at the sight of her old friend.

"In the flesh, Stu." She held up her arms. Even though she lived here for so long, this shop had too many memories for her.

"What can I get you?" He asked, knowing she'd want something from behind the counter. She licked her lips and stared at the confectionary.

"Pack of Marlboro please." She was kicking herself for smoking but she needed familiarity as she had just lost all of hers.