I press on my tiptoes, reaching up and touching my lips to his. His fingers press into my cheeks, a possessiveness overtaking him as he takes control. My lips open, and I slide my lips against his, needing his comfort when I'm feeling so out of sorts.
Knock, knock, knock.
Roman pulls back, looking down at me with a smile. My eyes are wide, and I bite my lips, excitement and nerves hitting me again.
I shouldn't be nervous at all. The excitement over seeing my parents is going to tear me in two, but I haven't seen them, or Roman's parents, in so long. I can't help the flicker of nerves mixing in as well.
"Do you want to…?" he turns toward the door.
I press my hand against my stomach, taking a deep breath. "You get it."
He nods, walking toward the door. I hear as he unhooks the chains and opens the door, and then their voices float through the room, my mom’s in particular. My breath catches in my chest. I stay in the living room, not sure I'd even be able to take a step without crumbling to the ground. I inhale a shaky breath, hearing my mom’s voice again, "Where's Luna?"
Suddenly, she's there, walking around Roman and straight toward me. I let out a choked sob, my arms reaching out for her. She rushes toward me, wrapping me in her warmth and the smell that I can't explain as anything besides my mom—warmth, a hint of incense, and a little marijuana. I bury my head in her chest, crying into her shirt and drenching it with my tears.
"My Luna. I've missed you so much, baby," she murmurs against my hair. I feel a pair of arms wrap around my back, warm and strong, and I cry harder, sensing my dad before I even see him.
"Luna, Luna, Luna, you've grown so much." His voice is a rasp against my back. I separate from my mom, curling into his arms. He hugs me tight, his arms slightly shaky as he holds me.
"I missed you," I cry into his chest. "I'm so sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Luna. All that matters is we're here now. All of us." My mom runs her hand down my hair, and it's so comforting I want to curl into her arms and never leave.
"Hey, sis," I hear from behind me. I turn around, seeing Harper, so grown, in nice jeans and a sweater. Her long hair lays in a straight sheet down her back. Her makeup is flawless. She's a woman now, and for a moment, I almost don’t recognize her.
"Harper," I cry. It's been so long. So, so, fucking long.
I hear another voice clearly behind me, and I wipe my face, turning out of my parents’ arms and see Nora standing there, so old, so fucking beautiful. Her curly hair is to her shoulders, a pair of tight jeans covering her legs with a band tee on top. "Look at you," she says to me, shaking her head. "How in the hell did you get even more pretty?"
I cry-laugh, rushing into her arms and pulling her against me. Her thin arms hold me tight, and we rock back and forth. She's a little peanut in my arms, but then again she always has been.
I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder and look, seeing Goldie with a watery smile on her face. "Luna, how are you doing?"
I pull her into a hug, and Cypress comes up behind us, his smoky scent and tall figure wrapping us all into a group hug.
After a while, we all separate, and I look at my family. They're all so much the same, but so much different. Each of the parents have crow’s feet around their eyes, aged over time but still perfect. My parents still dress like hippies, my mom in a flowing dress and my dad's hair a little too long. Roman's dad has on a black leather jacket matched with a pair of jeans, and Goldie is wearing her own leather jacket.
Our family, back together again.
We sit for hours, talking, remembering. We were planning to go out to eat, but we lose track of time and miss our reservations. We end up ordering in, Chinese food from my favorite spot down the street. We all sit on the floor, laughing and crying. We talk about plans for our upcoming wedding.
There's only one place where we feel we should get married.
At home, on our beach, between our houses with the glistening water lapping in front of us. There's nothing that sounds more perfect, and it makes me grow excited. I can't wait to go home, to see the cornfield across the street. To visit the park we used to go to everyday. To see how much has changed in our little town and see what's stayed the same after all this time.
Our night is perfect. We stay up until well after nightfall. It makes me sad, wishing I wouldn't have stayed away from my family for so long, the people who mean the most in the world to me. I missed so much time, so many memories lost. But we're all together again, and I promise to make up every moment.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ROMAN
Isit in the station, my heavy, black boot tapping against the floor as I watch the clock. Luna has her audition today. She'll be waiting for me, watching for me. She's taken so much time and energy to prepare for this. I can't wait for the moment she gets on that stage. When she finally has the opportunity to show off her fucking amazing talent. She's going to blow everyone away. She doesn't even know how good she is, always downplaying her moves and acting like she isn't the best there's ever been.
She is. She's the fucking best. I've spent hours upon hours throughout our lives watching videos of professional ballet dancers, and I know without a doubt that she's better than every single one of them. Hands down.
I glance at the clock again, groaning under my breath as I wait for my shift to be over. I took an overnight shift so that I could take the morning off and be at her audition. I haven't seen her all night, and I'm sure she's a damn wreck. I doubt she slept a wink, too nervous about making the wrong move, about stumbling, about not being perfect. She needs to know that she could never do no wrong. That she's perfect in every move she makes. Nothing else matters when she's on the stage.
Nothing.