Chapter 8
Late Night Luna
She didn't mean to do it, but upon opening her eyes, Luna realized her mistake real fast. She should've see her room from up high, along with some light pouring in from the dusty blinds she seriously had to clean soon. That's how it's been for sixteen years, and nothing should've been different.
So once she opened her eyes, staring at the robotic zord next to Lincoln's closet, she quickly shot up. She was covered in an orange blanket, a feeling of warmth sliding down her waist as she panted, looking about as if she was kidnapped. It was immediately apparent who's room she was in, obviously, but who bothered to cover her? Last thing she recalled was her own tears against his pillow. She must've passed out for a minute or two, right?
Well, one look to the ground below made that answer chillingly wrong. Luna's eyes shot open wide. Beside the door, her little brother Lincoln slept soundly against the rug, using a rather giant coat to keep himself warm through the night. It felt cruel thinking that last sentence, but a quick look at a nearby alarm clock gave the rocker the time she dreaded. Early morning, next day. In an hour or so, the sun will be leaking through his tiny window, and a new beginning shall dawn.
Luna slept in his room all night, and what did he do? Did he seriously cover her and sacrifice comfort all for her sake? She covered her mouth, closing her eyes in regret. That can't be right. Her little bro was of course a caring kid (for the most part), but to do this? Wouldn't he have just yelled at her to get out? Nobody was allowed to sleep in his room, especially cradling his dear stuffed animal, bun-bun. What's the deal? She's far from a heavy sleeper, so he could've just nudged her and told her to beat it.
That made her feel colder than letting the blanket leave her. "You... Did you let me sleep here, brah?" She asked, rubbing her arm out of guilt. Lincoln's been worried about her all day; seeing her look so devastated while randomly lying in his bed must've made him feel his own bout of sadness. He just wanted to help her, huh? She bit her lip, feeling her nerves shaking hard. Noticing him brought her eyes back to that robot, where she noticed something else lying beside it. It was a bowl of cereal it seemed, and though the lighting was dim, she could tell by the shape and color that it was his favorite. A brand that only he ate. Something he shared as reluctant as he was leaving the house for school.
Attached to it was a note. "Luna, please get well. Smile again, okay?" It read, with the name of its writer, or in this case two, underneath and bright. Lincoln and Luan, it read back to her, along with the face of a clown and his favorite band's logo. She looked at it tenderly, feeling her stomach nearly give out. Even with the bout of pain rummaging itself through her limbs, she still fought through it to pull out a smile. One that couldn't hide from dread and sadness, but still holding that genuine feeling her siblings sought.
How much were they worried about her? She felt so damn disgusted with herself. Placing the note down, she looked back at her brother, still in a heavy slumber, complete with some drool rolling down his chin. She felt flushed looking at his peaceful expression. Sacrificing a perfect night for her, and still finding a way to make the most of it. His white-hair rustled against his makeshift pillow, and he chuckled at whatever he dreamed about.
Another tear, huh? She really had to stop crying so much. She picked him up, fully expecting him to get startled and slap her silly, but surprisingly he remained firm in his slumber. No wonder he was so easy to prank; the whole family could be hovering over him with every type of throwable pie, and he would never know, even as they chuckle loudly. She shook her head. "Stop thinking like Luan... heh, gotta apologize to her, too. Stupid, Luna. Stupid..."
She gently rested the boy on the bed, carefully snugging him deep in the blanket he sacrificed for her. Fluffing up his pillow just a little, she couldn't help but smile wide. He looked so adorable sleeping. Even as he grew older, he still had that hint of innocence the family came to adore. She could never be angry at the boy because of it; now, how could she ever be mad?
Luna lowered herself and, in a rather bold move that would elicit laughter from the rest should they have witnessed it, kissed him on the forehead. Even that didn't make her feel any better, the guilt overtaking her like the coolness of the morning. "Thanks for looking out for me, dude. Damn, I really gotta make it up to you."
"You won't. We all know that."
There she was, right on cue. Luna didn't need to look up at the wall, for she knew who was staring at her. That disgusting smile brought forth a void deep into the rocker's heart, only exasperating the terrible emotions she was feeling, along with some pent-up anger she wished to show to the world. Both hands clenched hard, her tears drying away in pain.
"Don't... Get out of here! I'm getting sick of you..."
Her other form folded her arms, leaning against the wall as her devilish eyes fell on the boy. A lone finger lowered itself to a strand of his hair. Luna immediately brought her hand over, but the evil side of her simply laughed and retracted. "What? Getting sick of your only friend? How could you, babe? I thought what we had was special!" She suddenly disappeared, only to emerge right behind the real teen's ear, forcing her to lock up. "I mean, come on! Who else wants to talk to a pig like you?"
Her fingernails dug into her flesh. "You are not my friend, and I have so many people that care about me, and I care about them! You're... you're not real! Yeah! You're just a stupid nightmare that won't leave me alone!"
To anyone else, that would've been a chilling thing to say. A person wasn't real? Completely cruel. For the demonic creature, though, it was more than a compliment. "Aw, are you coming on to me? Great, so now we have a little ugly imp that's not only wasteful, but also a cheater! Hah! What else you hiding from me, girl?" She slapped Luna on the shoulder, nearly bringing Luna down to the bed. "Dang, I thought you were a little stronger than that. What, you can carry that piece of shit, but can't deal with your own hand? Wow, I... don't even have a taunt for that!"
Luna began to sweat, feeling her body growing weaker by the second. What was this thing? Did it seriously suck away at whatever energy she had left? She took in a deep breath, still seeing Lincoln sleeping soundly. The last thing she wanted was him getting bothered by her problems yet again. She still refused to look at the monster, but that didn't rid her of the rage. "I'm out of here...," she barely whispered, patting her little brother's foot.
Her other form looked on in confusion. "Hm? That's it? Yeah, I guess I can't blame you. Your brother was so scared of you that he just let his bed get taken over. Kinda sad, really. Guess it would be a favor making sure you aren't the first thing he sees!"
Don't spit, don't yell. Let Lincoln sleep. "You listen to me. Lincoln's way more than that. Much, much more. Even... Even if he hated me, he would still be a caring kid."
"Yeah, yeah, and how do you know that? What do you know of him, anyways? Been in the family for a long time, and yet, do you guys even hang out? Go to the movies? Enjoy a nice walk through the park? Do you even know of his friends, or his dilemmas?" She leaned closer. "Heck, what about the rest of your family? What do you know of Lola, or Lori, or even your damn roommate, Luan? Anything? You are part of this family, right, or should I get some glasses for that ugly, chipmunk face of yours!"
Don't cry, even if she was right. "You don't know a thing about me or them."
"Oh, I know lots! I know they can't stand your singing, they smile and nod whenever you talk, knowing full well you're stupider than that blondie with the sunglasses, and whenever you leave to play with that shitty band, they cheer, always praying you won't come back! Sucks when you come back in with that cheap thingy you call a guitar!"
Luna seethed.
The monster continued. "I mean, everyone's a looker in this family. Heck, your little sister Lily is adorable as sin, and Lisa could make any grandma want to give everyone extra chocolates. You? You're just the definition of the word pity. You aren't even good at singing or playing? Besides, let's face it. Mick's been on a downswing along with rock. Your music is obsolete, and all it is now is an ugly façade, just like your fat, overgrown belly!"
Luna felt every imperfection rubbing against her skin. She nearly threw up as she grabbed the bowl of cereal. She had no rebuttal. Every word stung her like deadly knives, all wedging themselves deep into her skin with no remorse. She looked at the door, at last ready to escape.
"Escape?" It taunted her, "Escape me, you mean? Hah, you really think that'll work? You go back to your bunk, I'll just lay with ya. You like the feel of a girl, right? Well, I prefer that too, but I guess I have to make sacrifices, hah! Face it, I'm with ya for life!"
Luna grabbed the knob, hoping it didn't detect her swollen face from all the water flushing down her cheeks. "Why? What did I do wrong?"
"Hey, I'm not the one who made her father cry because of how damn worthless they are!"
Luna threw the door open, hearing the creature laugh hard as she tried to run, hoping to reach her own room. She just wanted this day over already. Let her sleep it away, and wake up when her misery finally concluded. She couldn't keep this up. Her stomach growled, her mind raced, and now her body felt like a disgusting costume she couldn't rip herself out of.
"No!" She accidentally shouted. "That's what it wants! You're not ugly, girl! You're not worthless!"
Yeah, she wasn't. All she did was waste money, waste food, waste her family's time, waste her friend's time, waste their products on that ugly face of hers, waste the hallway all for herself, waste her brother's cereal, waste, waste, waste, waste...
She made it to the stairs, where she looked down the path. A simple flight she and the rest gotten used to over the years, though staring down to the front door below made her realize how imposing it looked. One wrong move from the top flight would make her tumble no doubt to her death, or at the very least a grievous injury. A scary thought indeed.
Beside the door, she saw herself laughing. "Weird random thought, right? I mean, I think it's totally normal imagining your own demise, but whatevs!"
Luna gulped, and backed away. "W-Why did I think that?" She questioned herself, accidentally hitting her back against the wall. She looked at her shaking hands covering the bowl, even sneaking a reflection of herself within the milk. A frightened fact that looked ready to break apart. "Why did you do that? Lunes, get it together! You'd never think something so dark!"
Her reflection quickly grew smug. "Well, think of it this way: it'll end your suffering!"
She screamed and threw the cereal, accidentally spilling it. She covered her mouth, and began running towards her room. She reached for her knob, praying to get the laughter of her evil side out of her head, but all she accomplished was feeling its presence on the other side.
"Go ahead!" It taunted again, "Ruin her time with your problems! You're just the worst family member in existence, ya know that? Complete crap!"
She bawled her eyes out. "I hate you! I hate you!" She repeated as she opened the bathroom door.
All it did was make the creature smile wide. "You hate me? Well, I won't ever leave, unless, you know... the stairs?"
Luna collapsed in the bathtub, holding herself tight, closing her eyes out of frustration. At least nobody heard her, right? The whole family continued to sleep through the early morning, awaiting for the sun to begin a beautiful day. Everyone looked forward to it.
All while the rocker shook within the tub, uncaring of the cold wind seeping over her body. The creature and her finally agreed: she deserved to shiver every-so-often, right? Made sense after stealing her brother's bed.
"And so much more, right?" It asked her.
How Luna wished it could all just end.
