Chapter 32:

*LUNA'S POV:

I actually slept peacefully for once. Eddie's phone call gave me a true sense of security and reassurance. It hasn't been easy this past week. I thought that the two people I cared about most─Eddie and Zoie─hated me. They weren't answering any of my calls or texts. I felt alone. So when he called last night, a wave of relief washed over me.

I was startled when Apollo jumped on the bed, stomping over the mass of sheets and blankets. He made his way over to my side, collapsing on top of me. "Apollo!" I squealed, shocked by his weight. He howled. "Alright, I'm up! I'm up!" I laughed. I slid out from underneath him and sat on the edge of the mattress. My room was a disaster. Clothes and trash scattered, dishes covered my bed side table, and I don't even want to mention the smell. I went downstairs to grab a garbage bag from under the kitchen sink. I started throwing snack bags and tissues into the bag, along with throwing clothes into the hamper and stacking the dishes. It only took about ten minutes. It wasn't a hard clean up. I took the garbage bag and stack of plates down to the kitchen, loading the dishwasher and taking all the trash out for garbage day.

"Someone decided to get out of bed today?" MeMe chuckled from the kitchen. "Feeling any better, baby?"

"A lot, actually. He called last night. He wants to come over and talk with us. He'll be here in about an hour." I answered, scratching my head.

"Oh, good. I was starting to get worried about you. I've never seen you so. . .broken."

"I'll get better. I've learned to fend for myself this past summer. It hasn't been easy."

"Well you're taking this like a champ. I didn't think you would, in all honesty. Thank you for proving me wrong." she nodded.

I smiled and went to take a shower. When I said I didn't want to mention the smell earlier, it was because the smell was me. It wasn't pleasant and I'm disgusted with myself. I felt much cleaner when I got out of the shower, like I was a new woman. I obviously wasn't, since my problems didn't magically turn into something different either. Dammit.

Eddie texted that he was on his way as I was drying my hair. I finished up getting ready and went downstairs to sit in the living room.

"Is he on his way?" MeMe asked.

"Yeah, he'll be here shortly." I answered, playing around on social media. I saw that Zoie had posted a picture on Instagram. I went to like it, but I thought that I'd aggravate her even more if I did. I scrolled past it, wondering if I should text her instead. I was about to, but someone knocked at the door.

I stood up and opened it. Eddie was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking down. He looked up at me and smiled, walking in and giving me a kiss. "You don't look as much like Godzilla as I thought you would."

"I'll take that as a compliment." I said, holding my head high and walking to the kitchen. "Want anything?"

"What do ya have?" he asked. As I rummaged through the fridge, he put his hands on my hips and his head on my shoulder, looking for something also. I loved it. I was expecting awkward tension or short conversations, but everything was normal.

"Find anything? The fridge has been open for a while now." I giggled.

"Do you have any popcorn?" he asked, going over to the cabinet.

"I think so. If we do, it's with the chips." I answered, grabbing some juice.

He opened the upper cabinet, looking around the various bags of (probably) stale potato chips. "Yup, here it is." He grabbed a bag and popped it in the microwave as he searched for a bowl.

I grabbed my juice and went into the living room, taking a seat on the couch. MeMe came in and sat in the recliner diagonal to the couch. "He seem fine today?" she whispered, glaring into the kitchen.

"It's him." I smiled, "I just know it."

"Good, the last thing we need is Noken interfering." she replied, relaxing against the recliner.

Eddie came in moments later with the bowl of popcorn. He sat next to me, putting the snack in between the two of us. There was an awkward silence until he coughed, "So. . .now what?"

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" MeMe asked, playing with her thumbs.

"Any, ya know, solutions? I don't want to sound pushy or anything, but I kind of want at least some questions answered so I know what to think." he answered.

"Even though I've been searching and searching since this, this predicament came along, I haven't found anything. But that doesn't mean I won't find another way." she replied. "What are some questions you have? I might be able to answer them."

"Um, well when I was here last and we were discussing everything, I was too stunned to get into detail. I know when you talk about finding a solution, you're talking about finding a way that lets both Luna and me survive. Obviously, she would die if Noken gets to her before we can stop him, but how exactly would I have to die?"

I tried to cut in, "We don't need to talk about this-"

"No, Luna, let him ask. He deserves an answer to a question like that." MeMe said. "Now Eddie, do you remember the story that Luna  told you? About how the Noken was first defeated?"

"It was with a gun, right? Your ancestors shot. . .oh," he paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "I guess that makes sense."

"Unfortunately, that's correct." was all MeMe said.

"Aren't you going to an old friend's house to talk about it, MeMe? You said she might have some answers." I said, trying to lighten the spirit.

"Oh, yes I am. I am heading over there tomorrow. She has some resources that I could use. She said she's dealt with something similar and found a loophole to help her. I'm hoping she has the magic touch to help us out."

"Ha, um yeah. That would be great." Eddie awkwardly chuckled, grabbing for some more popcorn.

"May I ask something, Eddie?" MeMe asked.

"Yeah?"

"When you left the other day after finding everything out, did he say anything? Do anything? I'm sure he wouldn't let you off without an explanation of his own."

"Yeah, that was one hell of a night. He told me the entire story from his perspective. It wasn't much different. All he did was make it sound like some fun, heroic autobiography."

"That asshole." I mumbled, crossing my arms and sitting back.

"Tell me about it. You're not the one that has to put with his bullshit every second." he chuckled.

"Maybe not every second, but I do have to put up with it." I sighed.

"Oh, come on now, Luna. You love me."

His use of that pronoun caused me to freeze. It couldn't be. . . "Um, yeah Eddie. I love you."

He scoffed, "I think we both know it's not really Eddie, sweetie. In fact, it never was. I'm getting pretty good with my acting skills, aren't I? My, you even stared right past the eyes, believing that it truly was that fool. Even you, Annabelle─the one with experienece─fell for my impression! Such a shame, the both of you."

I slowly slid away from him on the couch, trying to get closer to my gramma. It couldn't have been Noken in the kitchen. It was Eddie. It had to be him. He had the same sparkle that he's always had.

"What's the matter, my dear? Afraid?" he questioned, throwing everything off of the coffee table. The magazines cluttered the floor and the glass candy jar shattered into pieces.

"Get out." MeMe demanded, standing from the recliner.

"Get out? And let you two finish scheming up a plan to get rid of me? Oh, I don't think so." he smiled, throwing the bowl of popcorn against the wall and also breaking that into pieces.

"Stop," I said, standing my ground.

"How cute, my Luna standing up for herself? Where did we suddenly get all this confidence?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. He slowly walked towards me, but MeMe stood in front of my body, pushing him away.

He stumbled back, laughing slightly. He regained his balance, walking back over and grabbing MeMe by her arms. He shoved her to the side, causing her to fall onto the coffee table. The top layer of glass broke under her weight and she fell through the wood frame, stuck amongst the glass shards.

"MeMe!" I screamed, reaching to help her. Noken grabbed my shirt and pulled me towards Eddie's body, smirking down at me. I scoffed and forced him away, running to help my injured grandmother.

"See what happens when things don't go my way?" he asked, yanking my hair and tossing me into the mixture of popcorn and bowl pieces. I cried out when my hand landed right on a large shard. He towered over me, crouching down to look me face-to-face. "Hurt?"

"Fuck you," I spat, holding my bleeding hand to my chest.

"Let me see," he said, holding out his hand. I kicked at his jaw, not even caring if I bruised Eddie's body. He fell over, stunned at my sudden action. He rubbed his jaw as if he was hurt, but started snickering as he shook his head at me. "You can't hurt me. I am pain. Although, I'm pretty sure lover boy is going to feel that in the morning."

"Get out." I seethed, feeling the blood running down my arm.

"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart." he said, grabbing my injured hand and crushing it with his. I screamed as he dragged me to stand against him. "I'm not going anywhere until I have every bit of you, which will be soon, by the way. Don't think that you're going to win this fight."

"You'll never have me. I'm not some possession." I glared.

"Not a possession? Oh, my dear, why that's the only thing you are─some pathetic possession. You belong to Eddie, don't you? He watches over you like you're some lost puppy. And yet, he's no where to be found to save you now. Prince Charming is trapped in his own goddamn mind to help his little girlfriend, isn't he?"

"First of all," I growled, pushing him away. "I belong to no one. Second, I don't need anyone to save me. I can do whatever the hell I want myself and no one can tell me otherwise. Don't you dare come into my life thinking that you fucking own me."

He seemed shocked by my sudden act of courage, backing off. "A little defensive, aren't we?"

"Get the hell out of my house!" I screamed, pointing to the door.

"Or what?" he spat, charging at me. I quickly backed into the kitchen, my lower back jamming into the sharp edge of the kitchen island. "It's all a show, isn't it? You can't really save yourself. You still need him, don't you? You're weak, you pathetic whore."

"I don't need Eddie." I said, holding back a sob. "I don't need anyone."

"What's that? You don't need Eddie?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"No," I answered, trying to stand my ground.

"Oh? So I could take this kitchen knife," he said, holding it up and admiring it, "and just. . .pierce him in the stomach? Maybe even the heart?"

"No, no! That's not what I meant and you fucking know that!" I screamed.

"Do I? You must be specific with me, Luna. Things could've gotten very messy if you wouldn't have begged for his life. You do need him. What about you saying that you don't need anyone? Do you need your mother? Father? How about your grandmother over there? I could easily finish her off."

"I hate you."

"No surprise there! Oh, but you'll love it in hell next to me! I think scorched skin would look lovely on you. Why. . ." he trailed off, putting a finger under my chin, "I could take you right now. . ." He brought Eddie's lips down to mine, kissing me with such a force that the counter was digging into my back even more.

"Get off of me," I yelled, pushing him away for the hundredth time. I took the back of my hand and wiped my lips, making a disgusted face.

"You might want to take care of that hand, my sweet. It looks like it's getting a little rough." he said, shaking his head. I only clutched it to my chest. "And don't forget about Annabelle. The clock is ticking"

He leaned against the wall, sliding his hands into his pockets. I secretly grabbed the kitchen knife and hid it behind my back for any emergency. I walked towards him, but froze when I heard vicious growling coming from the living room. Noken turned around and I saw right past him. Apollo was walking towards him. his head low as he showed every inch of his sharp canine teeth. His eyes were dark as he ferociously barked at Noken.

"Whoa, down boy." he said, putting his hands up. "Alright, I'll leave. See you soon, my dear." he waved, quickly making his way out the door as Apollo followed him.

As soon as I saw that he was gone, I darted to the living room to help MeMe. She had managed to get out of the table frame and was now trying to slide up onto the couch. I ran over, ignoring the tiny pieces slicing into the soles of my feet.

"Get out of the damn glass!" she screeched, gripping my arm.

"Let me help you get on the couch first!" I yelled, helping her sit up. She wasn't too busted up, just a little cuts covering her arms and hands. "I'll get the first-aid kit." I said, climbing over the couch to avoid the glass. I winced as I jotted up the stairs, running down the hall and grabbing the kit from the bathroom. When I headed back down the stairs, I noticed the speckled blood trail that I left on the way up. I clean that up later.

I climbed over the couch again and set the kit between us. MeMe opened it and grabbed the essential things she needed to clean her wounds. I wasn't sure what the hell to do until she grabbed my wrist and started fixing my hand up. "You don't need stitches. It'll heal soon." was all she said.

"Are you okay?" I asked, noticing how cold she was being. She closed up the kit after cleaning the bottoms of my feet. She stood up, stepping around the the glass and heading into the nearby closet to grab a broom. "MeMe? Please talk to me." I begged.

"How could I have been so blinded?" she hissed, vigorously sweeping the glass into a pile.

"It's not your fault. I should be the one to blame. He tricked me." I said, "I did what you told me. I looked into his eyes, MeMe. They were still the mesmerizing brown they usually are."

"He's getting too powerful." she said, leaning against the counter. "He's completely mastered who and what Eddie is. We never know if it's really him or not anymore. We don't have much time left."

"There's still enough time to find another way, right? There's still enough time for you to talk things over with your friend and find a solution that doesn't involve anyone dying except that bastard?"

"Luna, I don't know. In all my years dealing with him, I've never seen him put on such a good act. Looking into your grandfather's eyes was the only source of protection I had, and you just said that he can copy Eddie's. I- I don't know. I don't know what he's capable of. This is out of my experience."

"I'm sure you can still figure this out. You have to. We have to." I whispered, my hands curling into fists.

"We might be able to, we might not. What I do know is the life of my granddaughter comes before the life of her boyfriend. If we don't have another way by the time you're almost dead, I'll take matters into my own hands, whether you approve or not." she scolded, throwing the glass into the trash bin and going upstairs. She slammed her bedroom door shut, startling me.

I sat on the couch by myself, staring at the damaged coffee table in front of me. I told myself that I wouldn't cry over this anymore, but I couldn't help it. I finally thought I had Eddie back onboard, that he was finally here with me today. But he never was. Was that even Eddie on the phone last night? Or was that another scam? Is he ever going to be here again, or has Noken completely taken over?

I started sobbing, holding my injured hand against my chest. Apollo must've heard me, climbing up next to me and setting his head on the thigh. "Thanks for saving us earlier, Apollo. I've never seen you so vicious." I smiled, petting his head. I still couldn't believe that he became so terrifying to protect me. I would get the hell out of this house if that dog was the first thing I saw. But he was only watching out for MeMe and me.

A loud crack of thunder signaled that a storm was approaching. I held Apollo in my arms, hoping that somehow the downpour of rain would calm me down. It eventually did as it rained harder, the loud thumps of raindrops smacking against the roof. I was almost completely calm, until someone started banging on the front door.....................................................A/N: This is where the story starts to get a little rocky. If you think it's been rough recently, then buckle your seatbelts because I'm probably over-exaggerating like I always do and it's probably not THAT rocky.

Vote & Comment!You guys are such a lovely bunch.

xoxo