''I get it,'' he said, ''the sun so loved the moon...''
His voice trailed off. We both knew the story. We knew it all too well. He was looking at me thoughtfully. I, however, turned away.
''What if,'' I began, ''the sun didn't want to die for the m...
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Tucker narrowed his eyebrows at his little brother. Lucas swallowed audibly, realizing that he was about to have the wrath of God befall him. Instead, the oldest Joy sighed, mentally deciding not to pick that battle.
"Did you win?" He asked Noah.
Everyone filed into the house except me. I lingered by the doorway, knowing full well that it was best for me to return home now.
Noah shrugged. "I don't know. They don't keep score."
Tucker looked at Elias.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "They won."
The oldest Joy ruffled the littlest boy's hair who proceeded to swat away the large hands. Tucker's brown eyes found mine, unable to look away from him. Noah turned to look at me too.
"Are you coming, Lou? The pizza is going to be cold!"
Before I could answer, Tucker cut me off.
"No, buddy," he said squeezing the little boy's shoulder, "I'm going to walk Lou home now. Say goodbye."
Noah told me a sad goodbye and waved. Ben shot his brother a disgusted look that he didn't see and frowned apologetically at me. As I turned from the Joy house, I felt my previous happiness diminish once again. Tucker, to my surprise, actually followed me out the door.
"Don't bother," I called behind me, "I can walk myself home."
He didn't respond. He just closed the door quietly behind him. I could sense his presence slightly behind me, his feet crunching in the gravel. All I wanted was to break into a dead sprint to escape him, but I couldn't. Sure, I could break into a dead sprint, but I'd never be able to escape him.
He reached me easily and grabbed my arm so I had to face him. He dropped his hand quickly, feeling the same electric shock that I did as our auras collided against one another.
"What do you want?" I bit sharply.
Tucker's eyebrows narrowed dangerously. "What do I want?"
The question seemed to hang off the end of his tongue. I wasn't sure that he even knew the answer, but I waited for it all the same. His answer is what caused my blood to boil.
"I want you to stay away from my family."
His words cut through the air sharply. He created wounds last night in the alley adding to the ones that had been created in the last two weeks of radio silence. Now, he seemed to be pouring salt into the wounds that he'd already created, watching them fester and blister until I would be utterly destroyed. Did he know?
Instead of being destroyed, I was angry.
"Excuse me?"
His stoic demeanor seemed to falter as he noticed the hardness in my eyes. I was powerful and he knew it. Whether or not the look in his eyes was fear or respect, I didn't know and I didn't care.
