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)
“I’ve watched it like five times,” she says into a grin. “It always makes me smile.”
“How come?” I ask, since that memory wasn’t a pleasant one for Luna.
“You did it with me. I just like knowing my weird was reciprocated. And we weren’t even really together then.” She tilts her chin so she meets my eyes. “I can see how I would’ve fallen for you.”
I feel like I’m falling for her a thousand times in the span of a minute, and it chokes me up for a second. “You have good taste,” is all I manage to say.
She laughs, but the sound dies out when the video plays and zooms in on Luna rushing out of the dining hall. I chase after her.
Beside me, Luna murmurs, “That’s the sad part.”
“Can’t have a sad alien with the sad parts.”
She smiles and rests her cheek on my bicep. She’s about to close out the video, but the footage fixes on Eliot as he confronts Jeffra.
I’ve never seen what happened when I ran after Luna.
Heat in his eyes, he shouts, “She did nothing to you! Are you stuck in high school?! Reliving your golden years?! Why do you insist on being such a—?!”
“Such a what?” Jeffra jeers with a laugh. “A bitch?”
“Crawl back to the hell you came from,” Eliot sneers.
“Luna doesn’t own Penn. I’m a student, just like her. If she has a problem with me, then she can quit. She’s probably pulling Ds anyway. The grade and the male anatomy.”
Acid drips in the back of my throat, and I cup my hand over the screen.
“I’ve already seen it.” She peels my fingers off her phone.
“Yeah, I don’t really want to see it,” I admit to her, my chest tightening.
“Oh.” She realizes I was trying to protect myself, not just her. “Okay.” She pauses the video. “It’s just there’s this part at the end that doesn’t make sense to me. I kinda wanted you to hear it.”
Fuck.
“Can I describe it?” she asks. “You don’t have to watch the video.”
I scratch the back of my head, then glance at the TV, then her. “You can play it.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, go ahead.” I blink a few times. She hesitates, but I encourage her enough that she plays the video.
Eliot nails a glare into Jeffra as he sneers, “What’s it going to take for you to stop?”
“To stop what?” She crosses her arms.
“Bullying Luna.”
“Oh my God, I’m not bullying her. Is that what she told you?”
“Call it whatever you want, Satan. You know what you’re doing.”
“Satan?” Jeffra smirks. “Clever.”
“No, it’s unimaginative and cliché. I can’t even get inspired around you.”
She uncrosses her arms. “There is something you can do.” And then she curves her hands around his ears and whispers to him.
Beside me, Luna asks, “Can you hear her?” She increases the volume, and I take her phone, holding it close to my ear.
“It’s too muffled.” I’m not that concerned about what Jeffra said to Eliot. “She’s trying to get a reaction out of him. It’s what people like her do.”
Luna nods and shuts off the video. “Yeah, you’re right.” She curves her arms around my waist, hugging on to me. “Are we watching Solarbabies? I love that one.”
“Solarbabies, it is.” Right as I start the movie, her phone buzzes. “Food here?”
“No…” Luna sits up off of me. “It’s from my therapist. She’s asking if you’d want to go to a therapy session with me—you can say no.”
I think it over. Therapy hasn’t ever worked for me, but I’m not opposed to joining Luna. Probably ‘cause I’ve never done a joint session before, and what if it does help her? What if it could benefit me?
Then again, Dr. Raven isn’t my biggest fan, and there’s a chance I might unintentionally piss her off.
“Do you want me to go with you?” I ask Luna.
“Only if you want to,” she says. “But I think it might be good if Dr. Raven hears your opinions from you and not just through me. Maybe she’ll understand you better.”
I start nodding. “Let’s do it.”
“Really?” she smiles, and I know I’ve done the right thing by trying this out.
“Yeah, really.” I watch her type out a response. “Tell her to set out snacks, not tissues.”
Luna laughs, and I grin and tuck her closer, kissing her head, feeling like I can take on the Evil fucking Empire if I have to.
CHARLIE & LUNA’S TEXT THREAD
Jan 12th
8:12 a.m.
Luna: Do I call the Rochesters Sith Lords in my dournal?
Charlie: No.
Luna: Just Sith? Take out the Lord part.
Charlie: No.
9:08 a.m.
Charlie: You didn’t want to take the New Media class the first time around because of the professor.
Luna: Oh.
10:11 a.m.
Charlie: Drop the class.
Luna: No can do, memory guardian. I’m sticking this one out 🖖
DONNELLY’S DAILY PLANNER
TUESDAY, JAN 29TH
Today’s Focus: think happy thoughts. Soaring to the mf-ing moon.
To Do: