The Sickened Luna's Last Chance novel Chapter 78

Chapter 78

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Chapter 78

Ella & Alexander

Ella

I sulked alone beneath the cherry tree, watching the pink petals turn brown on the gravel pathway. The slow death of my favorite season, spring, seemed awfully fitting for the way I felt inside after that mortifying interaction.

“There you are!”

I looked up to find Liam walking toward me with his hands tucked into his pockets. When he reached me, his smile faltered.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting beside me. “You look like someone just told you the Tooth Fairy isn’t real.”

“It’s nothing.”

Liam raised an eyebrow. “I’ve known you since you were five years old, Ella. I can tell when something’s bothering you, even if we spent a decade apart.”

“It’s just…” I sighed, picking at a loose thread on my sleeve. “Something embarrassing happened earlier. I’d rather not talk about it.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Worse.”

Liam tilted his head. “So are you planning on sitting here sulking all day because of it?”

I shrugged. “Maybe. Feels cathartic.”

“Come on.” He stood up suddenly and held out his hand. “Let’s go out. Dinner. My treat.”

The question made me smile despite myself. After spending the last few hours hiding in the garden, too mortified to face either Alexander or Gabriel, the thought of escaping the mansion sounded heavenly.

An hour later, Liam pulled his car up to a small restaurant I’d never seen before. It was tucked away on a side street in town, with a glowing neon sign in the window that simply read ” 24Hrs Diner” in bright blue and red.

Inside, the smell of french fries and milkshakes made my mouth water. The hostess led us to a small booth near the back where the bright red leather was faintly cracked and the enamel tabletop was slightly sticky.

“How did you find this place?” I asked, looking around at the other patrons–mainly manual laborers and truck drivers, from the looks of it, and none of them spared us so much as a

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Chapter 78

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glance. “I didn’t even know it existed.”

Liam shrugged. “I like exploring. Finding hidden gems.”

I bit my lip, thinking about how I’d spent so many years eating by myself in that big, lonely mansion that I hadn’t done much exploring myself in the very pack I was supposed to be running with my husband. This diner seemed like a staple amongst the pack members, and I had never patronized it.

A few minutes later, a server in a baby blue dress with a crisp white apron approached our table. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

I looked up, and before I could get the words out, my mouth dropped open. Standing there, notepad in hand, was a face I hadn’t seen in years

“Molly?”

The woman’s eyes widened. “Ella? Oh my Goddess!” She let out a squeal, causing some nearby patrons to look up. “It’s really you! I can’t believe it!”

Molly Henderson. Our one other childhood friend who had disappeared from Stormhollow just before Liam did, leaving without so much as a goodbye. Her blonde hair was now dyed blue and cropped close to her head, and her once-round face had matured into sharper angles. But those mischievous green eyes were exactly the same.

“What are you doing here?” I gasped, standing to hug her.

Molly laughed, returning my embrace without hesitation. She smelled like coffee and diner food. “I work here, obviously. The real question is what are you two doing here? Together?”

“Just catching up,” Liam said smoothly. “Old friends reunion.”

“Speaking of reunions,” I said as I pulled back from the hug, “you two don’t seem terribly surprised to see each other.” My heart ached faintly as I recalled days spent on the playground together, usually playing some adventurous game or another that Molly had made up. Liam missed her just as much as I did.

Molly and Liam exchanged a look.

“Camp,” Liam finally said. “We went to the same one for a few years. So it hasn’t been that long since we saw each other.”

“So that’s where you went,” I murmured. “You disappeared when we were nine.’

Molly’s eyes guttered. “Yeah, my parents shipped me off to that… place. But enough about that. Let me get you guys some drinks, and then taking my break early. We have so much to catch up on!”

As Molly hurried off to get our drinks, I turned to Liam with narrowed eyes. “You saw her at

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Chapter 78

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camp and didn’t tell me?”

“It was years ago.” Liam’s gaze dropped to his lap, the tips of his ears reddening faintly. “Ella, that place… Time passes differently there. It feels like I was there for thirty years. I saw so many faces and went through so much-”

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