Luna got up off the floor, walked toward the door and walked past her dad, looking depressed at his phone. He looked like a lost puppy, thanks to Raina. Luna wanted to just slap the life back into him because he was acting like a teenager waiting for his partner to call him back saying some sappy thing. Even thinking about that made Luna nauseous.
“Hey dad, you okay?” Acting as if she didn’t hear him saying how he misses the woman that hurt his daughter. Also hoping to find out what Paige could be saying.
“Hey daring, how long were you there?”
“The whole time, I was practicing songs in the office and I heard the conversation with Raina. Why do you miss her?”
“If only you understood. She was going to be the one in my world. I wanted to marry her, Luna. She was going to be your stepmom, but since she had a family problem, she had to choose between me and them.” Wow, give this man an Oscar. What a heartfelt moment. How much of it felt scripted? He knew the real reason, but he would not admit it in person because then Luna could remind him about how Raina was a horrible woman to him.
“I understand. Dad, I am not a little girl anymore. I understand a lot of things.” Sadly, Luna wasn’t lying. She knew more than an average fifth grader should know.
“Luna, you don’t know this feeling and I hope you don’t. It feels like my heart is ripped out of my chest and fed to the pigeons like breadcrumbs.” Does he know that… nah? Luna knew he didn’t know about Oliver and that he didn’t know that she knows what it’s like to be away from the one true love. That has been Luna for over a week. She felt like an addict going through recovery with the withdrawals because she knew Oliver was going to be her drug forever.
“Dad, it’s going to be okay. You will find another Raina that won’t hurt you, but I think calling her to remind her you miss her isn’t the best idea. Then again, what do I know? I am just a little kid.” Okay… even she knew he was being a pest. She didn’t have to say it like that, but he would only listen to her like that. By degrading herself to prove a point to him that Luna knows what she is doing.
“I doubt that, honey, but it’s going to be okay. Go have fun with Laurissa and the boys.” She gave her dad a hug to remind him it was okay to cry, and he knew that since he immediately started crying in her arms. She felt bad for her dad, but she couldn’t feel fully sorry for him because she knows what’s going to happen next. She knows he is going to get back with her and it’s going to blow up in his face because she knows he is vulnerable by that last call. Raina would take the last bit of hope he had left. Luna didn’t know what to tell him anymore because her dad still sees her as a five-year-old when she has already clarified that she is more mature for her age.
“Okay dad. If there is anything you need me to do, call my name.” As she walked away from her dad, she could feel his vulnerability in that last line. She knew it would be best to let him know she was still by his side, even after the argument. She went over to Laurissa and Sammy; she fell into Sammy’s arms, ready for the biggest dad hug she needed.
“Hey kiddo, you okay? You look like you saw a ghost.” Luna didn’t think about how she looked currently because she was just drained out emotionally and mentally. That’s usually the case with Luna being her dad’s therapist at 11 years old.
“Yeah, I am fine. I am just tired of life.”
“How are you tired of life? You’re too young to feel this tired about life. What could you possibly be tired of?”
“Idiots.” Wow, Luna. That’s extreme. She practically called her dad an idiot for falling in love with a witch. As she thought about it longer, she realized it wasn’t extreme at all. She knew her dad was making poor decisions, and he didn’t think about his daughter’s feelings about the whole thing.
“Wow! Want to explain, or are we just going to move on from that line?”
“I would rather not talk about it now. We can talk about it later, when I know no one is around.” Luna knew she made it sound a bit more dramatic than it should have been, but she knew she needed to talk to someone about this situation. After they looked back at each other and back at Luna, they could understand why she wanted to make sure no one was around. They both had questions about how her dad treats her, but waited until her dad wasn’t around. Whenever he was around, they could see how Luna transforms herself into a new person to make him happy.
“Okay, we can talk about it later. What do you want to do today?” Luna didn’t know what she wanted to do. All she knew was that she needed to stay away from her dad. She didn’t want to deal with more of his drama in her last few days with everyone.
“Let’s go somewhere fun.”
“Let’s go to Adventure Island. We always have the best time there. What do you say?” Luna loved going to Adventure Island with Laurissa, Sammy and the boys, because they made it more fun. Whenever she went with her dad, they would end up staying in the lazy river the entire time. She liked the lazy river, but after several hours on end, she didn’t.
“Sure, I like that idea so much. I’ll go get ready. I think I packed my bathing suit.”
“If you didn’t, we can stop by a store to get you one. Go check first.” Laurissa was always the best at problem solving. Luna went over to her bag to see if she had brought her bathing suit. She noticed she didn’t bring it, which was unlike her; then she thought about it again. Her bathing suit was probably still on her bed.
“So, I don’t have my suit. I think I forgot it when I was packing since I was picked up earlier than I was used to. I’m sorry.” Luna felt bad about not having all the important things, especially with being around her dad. Usually, Luna is good at putting everything together and double checking before leaving. As she thought more about it, she realized she forgot several things; she just thought that she misplaced it, but no, she forgot it.
“It’s fine. We can go pick you out of something real quick. Are you missing anything else?”
“Yes, a toothbrush…” Luna muttered, because she felt more gross than she clearly was. She just wanted to jump off a cliff, and clearly it showed.
“That’s fine. We won’t tell Blake what you’re missing. Let’s go real quick while he’s busy. We can say I had to get you lady stuff.” As always, Laurissa came to the rescue. Laurissa and Luna rushed out the door, and she could tell that she needed much girl time.
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