EPILOGUE
Luna
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“Stop being so crabby, it’s almost time,” I say to Daddy as he shifts on the bleacher next to me.
“Watch the way you talk to me, girl. It’s not too late for you,” he snaps as he rests his hand against his side.
I look up at him, feeling sad all over again. It’s the pain that’s got him talking this way, but he refuses to see a doctor and insists he’ll be just fine.
And someone as stubborn as Luke Greene always gets what they want and on their terms.
No one else’s.
An eruption of applause sounds off all around us and I startle slightly. I’ve been so preoccupied with keeping him put, that I haven’t been paying much attention to the ceremony.
I rest my head against Daddy’s shoulder to tell him that I’m sorry for talking to him the way I just did, slipping my hand into his and smiling when he interlaces his fingers with mine.
But it’s not about love with him, it never is. Not since that Darby bitch fucked him over.
No, gestures like this are nothing more than compliance and a willingness to cooperate for the time being.
And when he’s feeling better, everything will go back to his way or into the oubliette.
He had me start digging one out behind the cabin once I hit puberty. He told me that if I worked hard enough, made it as deep as he told me to, and complied with him making me his wife, then I would never have to go in it.
A constant reminder of the forever darkness that lives inside of a man who has never known the light.
The principal standing at the podium on the roughly built stage finally begins to read names off a list, handing out diplomas and shaking the hands of students as they accept them.
“Look,” I say, squeezing Daddy’s hand. “I think Dalton should be in the next round of kids.”
He grunts as he pulls his hand out of mine, then leans forward slightly, taking a deep, pained breath.
I begin to rub his back cautiously.
Daddy is a strong man so I know this is just one of those spells he goes through, and he’ll be fine once we get home and he has had a chance to rest.
“Don’t worry, Daddy,” I tell him, getting to my feet. “I’ll do the cheering for the both of us.”
With a sigh, he attempts to sit back up, and when he finally does, I glance down at him and give him a toothy grin. But Luke Greene has always been a very serious man, with little to no reason to smile, so I know he won’t start now.
He shakes his head as I turn my attention back to the graduation ceremony, and when I see my little brother get to his feet, I cup my hands over my mouth and scream his name proudly.
It's a shame that Kalen couldn’t be here too, but he was disobedient. He broke the rules and Dalton dealt with him accordingly, proving once and for all that he was a real Greene.
As he solemnly accepts the diploma from the principal and starts to make his way across the stage, I quickly jog down the bleachers mumbling excuse me as I go.
I reach the gate separating the crowd from the students, and hold a hand out toward Dalton. He shakes his head with a small smile, smacks the palm of my hand on his way by, then goes to take his seat again.
Another hour full of droning and monotonous bullshit goes on, until it’s finally over.
Parents and family members all around us scatter, but I take my time helping Daddy down the bleachers, firmly holding him up as best as I can.
By the time we reach the bottom, we find Dalton waiting for us nervously.
He looks down at his shoes for a moment before raising his eyes to Daddy’s again.