Chapter 3

I breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed like every time I met Adrian, he could ease my predicament.

Last time was during summer break after exams, when I waited anxiously in the Williams family living room for William.

Adrian appeared first.

I immediately stood up.

He smiled warmly,

"Don't be nervous, I'm William's grandson—Adrian."

I knew that. He was famous at school.

I grabbed the corner of my shirt uncomfortably,

"I'm Luna."

He poured me tea,

"You're here so early. Grandpa played video games all night, he probably won't wake up that quickly."

I mumbled, "I can wait."

He said, "Want to play chess with me?"

I froze.

Adrian, national chess champion.

He brought out the board,

"Let's play checkers. I heard you were really good at it in middle school."

That day we played checkers all morning.

His presence let me relax when I was at a loss.

Now too.

I asked him, "Can we submit the form at the last minute?"

Not filling it out yet, not telling others, not letting Derek know.

I had a feeling that if he found out, he'd go crazy.

Adrian agreed.

After a while, he said:

"If you need help, you can come to me."

On the last day to submit team forms, I got fired from the coffee shop.

The manager subtly reminded me I'd offended someone.

I stood hesitantly in front of the shop.

Not knowing where to go for a moment.

Heavy rain fell silently.

My heart was in turmoil.

I went to the hospital to see Mom. She lay quietly on the bed.

Aging so fast, barely recognizable from before.

The Sterling family said Mrs. Sterling was going out to play poker that day.

Why did she have to bring Mom along?

Derek sent me a message.

"Come to Skyline. I'll give you ten thousand."

I replied, "Transfer it first."

Skyline was a bar near school.

The pungent smell of alcohol mixed with music.

Derek waved his hand, "Come here."

I sat down next to him.

The seat was still warm. I wanted to stand up, but he pressed down on my shoulder.

"Why didn't you come to me first?"

He leaned close to my ear.

"If you don't come back, does someone else want to team up with you?"

"Will Professor Wilson let you work alone?"

I said nothing.

He viciously bit my earlobe,

"Luna, what gives you the right not to talk?"

"What gives you the right to act so calm?"

"What gives you the right to act like nothing happened?"

"Michael is dead!"

"Sarah is a vegetable now!"

I pressed my lips tightly together, my teeth biting through my cheek to mask the pain.

Iris came back from the bathroom to find someone in her seat.

She ran over angrily and dumped a glass of alcohol all over me.

"Get up! Don't sit in my seat."

I was almost grateful to her.

"Okay."

I only said one word, and the taste of blood spread through my mouth.

Just as I stood up, someone tapped Derek's shoulder.

Looking at me strangely.

"She already teamed up with Adrian."