Page 94 of Love Sick

The concert is not far away and even though Luna will probably never talk to me again, I plan on playing it. I will honor my promise to Alanna. I will show her love, and by that, I mean getting her the help she needs.

It’s hard to hate someone who continues helping you.

I can’t tell Alanna this, of course. But I will use the concert as an opportunity to hopefully talk to someone who can help me. It’s a long shot, but Alanna needs help, and I can only hope that when she gets it, she might be able to live a normal life.

As for me, I doubt normal is on the cards for me ever again.

Once upon a time, music was the only thing that mattered to me, but life has changed so much. I needed to experience it to understand it and realize I was using music to hide behind.

The only thing that matters to me now is Luna waking up.

I run my thumb along the back of her knuckles, thankful she’s a little warmer.

The pain I feel is indescribable. I’ve never felt it before. Not even when I thought I could never play music again. I thought that was torturing, but this is far worse.

I just need her to open her eyes…

My head is bowed when I hear a soft moan.

I lift my chin and see that my prayers have been answered. “Luna?”

Her eyes flutter open but keep slipping shut.

“It’s okay, baby. You’re safe.” I lean forward in my chair, gripping her hand in mine. “Take your time.”

And when her eyes open and remain open, it’s as though my heart begins to beat once again.

She turns her cheek to look at me, and when I meet her eyes, she does something which kills me—she smiles.

She wets her lips, and I quickly reach for the glass of water. I carefully place the straw to her lips and encourage her to take a small sip. When she does, she coughs and makes a pained face.

“I know it hurts,” I say, placing the glass on the floor so I can retake her hand. “Do you remember what happened?”

She mulls over my comment before she weakly reaches up and feels over the bandage on her throat. She tries to speak, but nothing comes out.

“Don’t push yourself.”

But her eyes widen, hinting she wants to know what’s going on.

Here goes nothing…

“Alanna helped you,” I reveal, holding her hand tighter. “She shot Daddy because he was about to kill me. I asked that she helped you, and she did. You would have died if she didn’t.”

Luna yanks her hand from mine.

“Luna, I had no choice. What did you expect me to do? Let you die?”

She nods.

“No, and you would have done the same. I know you hate me, but that’s the price I’m willing to pay.”

Luna sighs and stubbornly opens her mouth because even though her vocal cords were almost severed, she won’t let that stop her.

“What?” she barely whispers.

I know what she’s asking—what did I promise in exchange for her life?

“To never leave her…and to love her.”

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