Series: Like Us Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
“Not now.” She rests against the pillows. “I kinda just want you to hold me.”
I’m about to push away from the dresser when my phone lights up.
It’s Xander.
I read the text with cinched brows, so I’m not surprised she’s asking, “Who is that?”
“Your brother. He accepted an offer from a college.” He’s been in between a few universities, and wherever he goes, I need to go. And I tell Luna, “I know where I’ll be living.”
And it’s not in Philly.
MAY
“Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter.”
— Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
FANATICON FORUM
WE ARE CALLOWAY
Posted by @wampa4president
Underrated couple of the fams = Luna x Donnelly
I will not accept any haters who keep saying they’re *not* together. It’s been FIVE months. They’re a couple. Dirty duo is an awful name. The one Lily suggested is 10x better. Now can we please have more posts discussing how freaking cute they are?
@CharliesBebe: None of the pics at the Fizz Gala show them doing their normal PDA thing tho. Sry but they might’ve broken up.
@cinnaroll33: Donnelly is a bodyguard. He was at the gala to protect Xander. It’s not that weird he’d be doing his job and not humping Luna.
@HolyHalesSpiderman: THANK YOU FOR THE LUNA DONNELLY LOVE! Finally!! I’m so sick of the posts that keep speculating their legitimacy. As I’ve said from the very beginning, they’re a real couple.
@XanderOnlyXander: I agree that there is too much evidence now to suggest this is a hoax or a short-term fling. Especially since Lily replied to someone’s IG comment what their ship name is. (#Lunnelly) That should be enough proof.
@WWRCD_1989: Lily has been known to throw off the public via social media. It’s been posted like five billion times in here already. Remember when she kept tweeting pics of Tahiti as the fam vacation? They ended up going to Greece.
@WAC77Lover: Ugh, we can’t have this derailing a million ways, guys. Either Lily is a verified source or she’s not.
@wampa4president: This post was supposed to spark love for Luna x Donnelly. Not more speculations, please. #Lunnelly
@HotDoggie_21: Does anyone look at Donnelly and think, god he must smell like an ashtray?
@StaleBread89: Bet he smells like almonds and joy.
@SFOorBust: I think they’re cute. Have you seen their TikTok video together? Where they’re dancing to a viral song? It’s clear they love each other. Anyone who says differently just doesn’t want to see Luna end up with him.
73
LUNA HALE
I never considered Donnelly could be ejected from our spaceship, just for him to board another one going in the opposite direction. I thought flying debris would explode our vessel first.
But he’s not coming back to the penthouse.
He’s moving. Without me. Just when we bonded over the possibilities of our future—instead of being torn apart by them—this tailspin happens.
He’s still here. Xander hasn’t graduated high school yet. Donnelly currently splays printed pages of our love story on the mattress of my childhood bedroom. I’m sitting on the surface of my wooden desk. It’s covered in Marvel stickers, reflecting my mildly obsessive childhood love of Star-Lord and Gamora. I’m trying to concentrate while jotting notes on flashcards, but all I can think about is Xander.
College.
Donnelly.
Moving.
Contractors are putting new flooring in back at the penthouse. Plus, a fresh coat of paint. The reno is nearly finished, but I’m about as excited to go home as a kid receiving coal on Christmas morning.
It won’t be the same without my boyfriend one bathroom away.
“This distracting you?” he asks me, motioning to the colorful, ethereal pages on the bed, some spilling onto the floor in organized chaos. We’ve pored hours into the story, messing with the chronology to better reflect my amnesia, and Donnelly played with contrast and vibrant pigments in the art to illustrate his feelings from childhood to present.
It’s beautiful. Stunning, even.
It normally would be a distraction from prepping for the Fizzle final presentation. Which is in two weeks. But it’s not what’s derailing me.
Long distance relationship.
LDR.
It’s hard to believe that’s going to be our label soon. “No,” I mutter. “I don’t think I’m going to go to the Fight Night in Vegas.” It’s a quiet thought spoken under my breath, but he hears. For once, I’m wishing his ears weren’t bionic.
Donnelly backs away from the comic pages. “No?” He senses something is very wrong and comes over to me. I’m trying not to mope. I have him. His love is all I really want. And I know, no matter how physically far away, we have technology to keep us close, always.
My legs dangle off my desk, and I love how he edges up to me, his hand sliding up my thigh as he stands between my knees. He won’t be able to do that soon.
He sees the blank notecard in my hand. Yes, I’ve written nothing. “Luna—”
“Finals are next week, right before the Fight Night,” I explain, my neck hot. “The last exam for New Media is supposed to be impossible, and I’m gonna cram for it.” I set aside the notecards and pop the tab of a Lightning Bolt! can. As I feel his gaze roam over me, nervousness flutters inside my stomach. “It kinda sounds exhausting to go on a long flight to Vegas afterwards. And I know we planned it as a date thing since Xander isn’t going, but you should still go. I know you want to support your friends.”