Never Trust The Moon

Chapter 2

Professor Archer brought Freya into the teachers' lounge and made her a nice cup of coffee, she's not going to lectures today. He's letting her talk in her own time, if she's not ready to talk then he's not going to rush her, but he knows somethings happened. He's always had suspicions that she was abused at home but he didn't know for sure, he'll come back when he's on a break. Lucas sent Freya down to the nurses' office to sleep. She needed it. Freya woke up to the smell of coffee, just what she needed. She was ready to talk. She explained everything to Lucas while he sat there and listened which was what she needed; someone to listen to her. She started to cry and he went and got her a tissue, "Oh Freya, I'm so sorry you had to find out that way, no one deserves that, especially you. So where are you planning on staying?" He questioned with worry in his voice. "Oh... Well I haven't really thought about that, I just left in a hurry with no real destination," her voice was croaky and dry. "Well Freya, you are always welcome to stay at our house until you get back on your feet, I know for a fact Mrs Archer would love to see you. You can have Nix's room, we've left it as it is but I think it's time to let her go" he grieved. "I wouldn't want to intrude, that's Phoenix's room" "Honestly Freya I think it will be good for us to have you there, you're Nix's best friend, she'd want us to help you." Freya thought for a moment, "Okay, only if you're sure" She smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. She was going to be okay.

They made their way up to Professor Archers grand front door and entered. Freya looked around, everything looks the same from her last visit when Phoenix was still alive, they used to play hide and seek as they live in a small mansion. Two little cairn terriers come running up to Freya and jump on her, "Benny, Avalon hello babies it's so good to see you" she beamed. Benny and Avalon were the best dogs, they are cuddly and cute and wagging their tails furiously. "Hello Dear, it's lovely to see you after all this time, Lucas says you'll be staying with us until you're back on your feet" Mrs Archer grins. "Yes its lovely to see you too Mrs Archer" "Oh please, you know it's Tallulah, you don't have to be formal with us darling" "Yes of course, sorry" Freya felt comfortable, she'd known Tallulah and Lucas since she met Pheonix so they were the ones to bring her up and feed her most of the time. "Here, let me take those and I'll let you get set up in Nix's room." They headed upstairs, then again to the attic, to Phoenix's' room.

She opens the door and just stands there, it's exactly how she remembers it, "Take your time, it must be hard to see all of her belongings. I know how much you loved her... More than friends" he remarked. Freya spun around and stared at him. "Was it really that obvious?" Lucas laughed "Only to me, and if I'm being honest, I know she loved you back, check the top drawer" he said pointing to Nix's bedside table. Freya didn't know how to react, was that true? Did she really like her back? Well it was too late now, no use thinking about it. Lucas went downstairs to start the cooking leaving Freya to look around. She began to examine everything feeling sad that the bright 17-year-old didn't have a future anymore. It's exactly the same from the day she died. Skateboards on the wall, posters of surfers, skaters, the beach and her favorite movies, her shelves are still full with the useless things she owned, who needs fake fruit in your bedroom? She moves over to the bed, the same bed she's slept in 100s of times during sleepovers, but this is different; this time she won't be sleeping next to Phoenix. She looked up to the wall behind her bed and saw a bundle of photos of them together, this wasn't here last time she visited, she must have put that up the day she died; Freya started to cry. She opened the top draw of the bedside table to find the tissues and saw a book titled 'diary'. She shouldn't. It wouldn't be right. She slowly lifts it out and starts to read:

'August 10th 2016: Today I met with Freya, we're on summer holidays now so we went to the skate park and she watched me skate and then I tried to teach her, it was so cute watching her fail. It's horrible that she comes from a family who doesn't love her, she deserves the world and one day, hopefully, if she were to ever feel the same way about me, I could give her the world. I want to tell her that I like her but what if she doesn't feel the same way, or what if she's totally against being gay then I'd lose her forever and I don't want that. She's my person, my wave, and I can't lose her.' Freya looked up, all this time they've been in love with each other and were both too blind to see it. She carried on, 'I spoke to the moon again tonight I said something like: 'Oh moon why must it be so difficult to confess your feelings, we're soulmates, be that friends or lovers. I just know that I'll be with her till the day I die. I can grow old with her and we can have children, named cool names like Echo or Nova, and when we are old and grey, we can go to the local shops to buy the daily newspaper and sit on the bench by the sea and read it together and reminisce on all of those fantastic times we had when we were younger.' I really do hope it can be like that one day. I want to remember us swimming in the sea watching the sunset go down for the rest of my dying days. I love you Mischief''

"I love you too Rascal' Freya whimpered. She couldn't believe this she couldn't believe Pheonix was taken away before any of this could come true. It wasn't fair, she wanted to have children called Echo and Nova, she wanted to go the beach, sit on the bench and relive everything. She just wanted one more day with Phoenix, was that too much to ask? She couldn't look at this anymore, she couldn't take it. She put it down and began to potter across the room, back and forth, but something willed her to carry on, to look at the last entry. July 18th 2017. The day she died. Freya couldn't believe it. 'July 18th 2017: I saw something strange yesterday, but I can't tell if it was because I'm so sleep deprived from those nightmares or if I'm just straight up losing my mind, whatever it is, it's extremely strange, a mirror was just floating on top of the sea. Straight up just floating and as I went towards it, it just shattered. I asked Freya if she saw what I did and she said I'm going crazy, maybe I am. But anyway, I've just set up my wall of picture of me and Freya and I'm going to invite her round tomorrow and tell her everything, I know that she will accept me. However, she may not feel the same way and I'll just have to accept that. Right, I'm going now to take the dogs out for a walk through the wood see you tomorrow.'

Freya couldn't believe what she had just read, "Pheonix had seen it too and I just called her crazy. She was going to tell me that she liked me the next day, and I could've confessed too, she had no idea that I liked her back, we would be together right now, swimming in the sea looking up at the stars," she mumbled. Pheonix's' body was found in the woods on that night, on that dog walk. Freya got up and galloped down the stairs. "Woah, slow down kiddo, what's up?" Lucas inquired. "Please can I take Benny and Avalon on a walk, I think it will do me some good to get some fresh air," she lied. "Yes, that's completely fine, just be back by 7 for tea, Lucas made your favorite, at least it was your favorite three years ago." Tallulah noted. "Olive pizza?" Freya smiled, "olive pizza," Tallulah smiled back. Freya rushed for the door and began to make her journey to the woods, "there has to be a connection," she pondered, "somehow Pheonix seeing the mirror and then her dying has to be connected, I know what she saw now and I know her death was suspicious." Freya made her way to the entrance of the woods and took a step forward, she hasn't been in here since they found the body, but she has to find out what really happened.