Page 11 of Blood for Blood

“I don’t know, she only had one drink, I swear.” Luna stammers, “I’ve never seen her this drunk before.”

“She’s not drunk, Luna.” I glare into the car at her before kneeling down next to Enzo. “She was fucking drugged. Why would you drive this far away to begin with?”

“We were meeting Rae for brunch and going to go shopping.” Luna sobs.

“There are plenty of places to shop that are much closer to home!” I shout. “Maybe none of this would have happened if you just learned to do as I ask and stay close to me. Did you learn nothing from the last time-”

“STOP!” Enzo puts his hand on my chest, “We can talk about this shit later. Right now, you need to call an ambulance.”

Running back to the car to grab my phone, I hear a door slam shut and next thing I see is Luna speeding out of the parking lot.

“LUNA!” I scream after her, but she’s already gone. I grab my phone and place the call for an ambulance. Luckily, they’re in the area and it only takes two minutes before they arrive and load her onto the stretcher.

“She’s going to be ok, right?” Enzo asks one of the paramedics.

“She’s stable, but we won’t know anything until she’s at the hospital.”

“We’re following you.” I tell the EMT as he climbs into the back with Rory. The other guy closes the back doors and gets in the driver’s seat.

The ride to the hospital is eerily quiet. I notice Enzo glaring a hole through the side of my head, and finally snap at him. “WHAT?” I shout, “What the fuck is on your mind, Zo?”

“You’re a real bastard sometimes, Mateo.” He snarls, finally looking away from me.

“Why am I the problem?” I growl back. “I’m not the one that had to drive two hours away from home to eat and go fucking shopping.”

“You promised them that you wouldn’t control where they went or who they were friends with.” He squeezes his hand into a fist but releases it. “They aren’t dolls for you to dress up and play house with, they’re fucking PEOPLE! If they want to drive seventeen hours to meet up with a friend, that’s their business and you promised you wouldn’t stop them.”

“I’m not trying to stop them, I’m just-”

“Blaming them.” He cuts me off. “You blamed Luna for something that you know damn well was not her fault. Now what? You feel big and strong now, tough guy? You chased her away because you can’t control your fucking mouth.”

“I wasn’t blaming them, but I-”

“Enough.” He rubs his hands down his face. “I’m done with this conversation for right now. I already texted Greg to bring a car to the hospital for you. I’m going to find Luna.”

I pull into a parking space near the ambulance bay. “Look, I’m sorry about all of this.”

“Save your apology for the one that deserves it.” He grumbles. “You better hope and pray she comes back this time.” He gets out of the car and walks to my door, opening it. “Go check on Rory and call me as soon as you hear anything.”

Climbing out of the vehicle, I slide past him and walk into the hospital.

Chapter 8

Luna

I’m still in disbelief at the way Mateo just spoke to me. I also can’t believe that I just drove away from him like that. When I get back home, I quickly pack my backpack, grabbing four outfits and an extra pair of shoes. I’m not sure how they were able to find me like that, so I’m leaving my phone here and calling an Uber to pick me up and drop me off somewhere so I can buy a burner phone to check on Aurora.

When I get the notification that my Uber driver is close, I grab my bag and purse, double checking for my wallet. I’m almost to the end of the driveway when the car pulls up and rolls the passenger window down. “Uber for Luna?” The lady behind the wheel calls out.

“Yep, that’s me.” Smiling at her, I climb in the back seat and buckle up.

The twenty minute ride goes by peacefully. We pull up to Walmart and I hand the driver a twenty, thanking her for the ride. I’m looking at phones when an employee approaches me to ask if I need any help.

“I just need a phone.”

“If you’re looking at one of these prepaid phones, you’ll need to purchase a phone card as well.” He points to a little card above the phones. “This is the one I recommend for most people. It has unlimited everything.”

“Perfect!” Grabbing the card first, I show him which phone I want and he quickly unlocks the case.

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