King of Locusts | ✔

Chapter 9

"Lunan, come downstairs!"

It had been two weeks since Michael's injury, and Lunan stuck to his word. He stopped talking to other students and even to the teachers unless necessary. When at home, he spent nearly all of his time in his bedroom and only came out for meals. He was so absorbed in his self-loathing that he sometimes forgot to eat.

Gabriel was sick of it. He understood letting Lunan wallow and mope over whatever juvenile issues he had, but this was getting excessive. Lunan already pushed him away; now it seemed he was rejecting the rest of society, too.

Lunan blinked his eyes open blearily. It was a Saturday afternoon and he had yet to wake up for the day. He had taken to napping a lot recently, as video games could only keep him entertained for so long.

"Lunan!" Gabriel repeated.

He tossed the covers over with a sigh before putting on a pair of slippers and going downstairs.

"Yes?"

Gabriel glared at Lunan when he appeared from the bedroom, his hair unkempt and wearing the same sweatpants from yesterday.

"Good morning, or should I say afternoon? I see you're dressed and ready for the day." Gabriel dripped with sarcasm.

His eyes flashed when Lunan didn't respond.

"Brunch is at the table. Come and eat."

"I'm not hungry," Lunan said.

"And my name is Gary. You barely touched your food yesterday. I didn't adopt you just to see you starve. It's fine to keep things to yourself, but you need to eat, regardless of how you're feeling."

"I'd rather not."

Gabriel breathed slowly through his nose. "If not for your own sake, then do it for your parents'. I can only imagine how upset they would be seeing you like this."

Lunan looked up from his slippers with a yell building in his throat. He was prepared to snap at him for bringing up his parents like that, but stopped when he saw the frustration in Gabriel's eyes. A wave of shame passed over Lunan when he realized that no matter how upset he felt, that Gabriel was really trying his best to help.

"Okay," he said quietly, then walked past Gabriel and went to the dining room.

They ate in relative silence. Gabriel was happy enough with him eating, and Lunan was too preoccupied with feeding himself to attempt conversation. Now that his head was a bit clearer, Lunan was able to thoroughly appreciate the plate of eggs and hash browns before him.

Gabriel put his utensils down and mulled over his cup of tea. "Do you have any homework this weekend?" he asked.

Lunan shook his head. He did it Friday night.

"Then I want you to go outside for a few hours."

Lunan frowned. "I'd rather stay inside."

Gabriel matched his expression. "You know I wouldn't bother you about it if you were transparent with your issues. But you've been terribly asocial as of late."

"But—"

"No," he interjected. "After you've eaten and showered, I don't want you back here for at least a few hours. You have your phone in case of emergency."

Lunan scowled at his guardian, but didn't protest.

A short while later, Lunan was walking through his neighborhood. He meandered and walked down the side streets he usually ignored. He noted the large, green yards of his neighbors and their immaculate houses that still paled compared to Gabriel's. Although he was used to his home by now, the difference between Gabriel's mansion and his parents' house was jarring, having gone from a humble suburban household to an upscale residential area.

Lunan walked a few streets down, drawn to the sound of commotion to discover a rental truck as the source of the noise. The truck was parked in front of a brick and ivory raised ranch house. A small army of movers carted items from the truck to the house, while a tall Black man spoke with one of the movers.

What looked to be his wife and daughter emerged from the house. The girl looked about Lunan's age and chatted animatedly with her mother, who nodded and smiled kindly at her. Her dark, inquisitive eyes swept around her, and locked onto Lunan's. He looked away quickly and tried to walk away unnoticed, when a voice called out to him.

"Hello! Do you have a moment, young man?"

Lunan paused, watching as the mother and daughter approached him.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered automatically.

She beamed down at him with a radiant smile.

"My name is Maria Diaz and this is my daughter Elena."

"I'm Lunan Frost. Welcome to Delcastle."

"Thank you. I'm sorry for bothering you on your walk, but I was wondering if it wouldn't trouble you to show my daughter around the neighborhood. She starts school next Monday, and I would like her to know someone before then."

"Of course," Lunan said with a polite smile.

Internally, he sighed. The last thing he wanted was to spend time with another person, especially one his age. Despite this woman being a stranger, he felt obligated to oblige her request.

"Thank you." She turned to her daughter. "Be good, Elena. Don't drive this poor boy crazy."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Yes, mamá."

She left her mother's side and went to Lunan's, her braided hair bouncing with the movement. She stuck out her hand.

"Nice to meet you! Thanks for helping me out," Elena said.

When Lunan shook it, her eyes widened and she smiled knowingly.

"No problem." He eyed her warily before leading the way.

They walked through the neighborhood with Lunan acting as Elena's guide. He told her about the neighborhood, things to do in town, and about the best and worst teachers at their school. It turned out they were in the same grade, which delighted Elena. Lunan was conflicted because while he wanted to enjoy her company, his mind prevented that from happening by flooding him with images of Michael and the horrified stares of his classmates.

"You seem distracted," she noted, drawing Lunan from his thoughts. They had left the residential area and were in a park.

"You should probably head back home," he told her.

She frowned. "Why?"

He observed the hydrangea bushes for a moment before turning to her.

"Because people who get involved with me get hurt one way or another," he admitted.

"How come?"

Lunan sighed. He met Elena's searching gaze.

"Because I'm not normal."

Elena regarded him coolly before countering, "You don't have to worry about that kind of thing with me."

Lunan looked over Elena. Large, bouncy braids framed her golden brown face. She was dressed for the season, with a vest over a long sleeved shirt, jeans, and sneakers. A necklace with five colored rocks hung around her neck. Her house was normal, and she had two parents. As far as he was concerned, she screamed normalcy.

"You sure about that? You seem pretty average to me," he said.

Elena laughed as if that was the funniest thing she heard, throwing her head back with the effort. When she regained composure, she turned to Lunan, who didn't share her mirth.

"Well, I'm a witch, for starters. So no, not normal."

***

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