Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 155

Chapter 155

Third-person POV

Theo had never imagined that staying away from someone could be this difficult. Ever since what had happened on the field yesterday, he had felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his chest and left him to deal with the damage by himself The sting on his check from where Luna had stopped him had disappeared hours ago, but strangely enough, he wished it had lasted longer because that pain was far easier to deal with than the look she had given him before she walked

away.

He wasn’t angry that she had slapped him. If anything, he still believed he deserved much worse after admitting that he had been the one who told Katie to lock her inside the girls’ locker room weeks ago. Looking back again, it was really one of the stupidest and most immature things he had ever done in his entire life. Now that he had thought about it over and over, he could not believe that he had convinced himself that it was nothing more than a harmless prank fireled by his wounded pride.

After seeing the tears in Luna’s eyes and hearing her shaky voice as she confronted him, he finally understood just how badly he had crossed the line. Ever since then, all he wanted to do was find her, apologize again and again until she finally believed that he genuinely regretted what he had done, and somehow convince her that he would spend however long it took making things right.

Unfortunately, wanting to do something and actually being able to do it were two completely different things. Jace had informed all of them that Luna’s first intercollegiate race was tomorrow, and the moment Theo heard that, every selfish thought about easing his own guilt disappeared. Luna had already been under enough pressure before discovering the truth about him, and if he approached her now, all he would accomplish was upsetting her again and making it even harder for her to focus on something she had worked so hard to achieve.

As much as it hurt him to admit it, staying away from her was probably the kindest thing he could do right now. If she races well tomorrow, then maybe after everything settles down, he could find another opportunity to apologize properly. If she performed badly, however, he already knew his face would be the very last thing she wanted to see. In fact, judging by the strength behind that slap yesterday, he was fairly certain she might actually beat him unconscious if he showed up at the wrong time.

As painful as the distance was, he decided he would endure it for now.

His bedroom had become his prison over the last several hours. Instead of attending to anything productive, Theo lay flat on his bed with one arm tucked under his head while lazily tossing his football into the air. The ball left his hand, spun several times toward the ceiling, dropped neatly back into his palm, and immediately went back up again.

The repetitive motion gave his restless hands something to do while his mind stubbornly refused to think about anything except Luna. Every few seconds another memory forced its way forward. The slightly embarrassed smile she had given him while eating the sandwiches he had brought her, the way she had laughed at his stupid teasing, and the determined expression on her face whenever she talked about running.

Then, almost cruelly, those memories were replaced by yesterday’s confrontation. Her trembling voice asking whether he had really been responsible. The disbelief in her eyes after he admitted the truth, the sound of the slap, and the tears she had fought so hard not to let him see. Theo squeezed the football slightly harder before throwing it again.

He had spent years believing he understood people, especially women. Making someone smile had always come naturally to him, but yet somehow, with Luna, he had managed to become the very reason she cried. That realization weighed on him far more heavily than he cared to admit..

The bedroom door suddenly swung open without so much as a knock, breaking both the silence and his train of thought. Theo didn’t even need to look toward the entrance to know who had barged inside so casually. Only one person among his friends treated closed doors as optional.

Letting out a long sigh without moving from the bed, he caught the football again before lazily turning his head toward the

Courway Sure enough. Ryder stood there with both hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, looking as though he owned the place.

Theo groaned dramatically before dropping the football beside him. “If you came all the way here to pick a fight, he muttered tiredly, “you’re wasting your time. I seriously don’t have the energy to deal with you today?

Considering how furious Ryder had looked after finding out what Theo had done to Luna yesterday, Theo honestly wouldn’t have blamed him if he had come looking for exactly that reason. He was almost too exhausted to defend himself anyway.

Ryder immediately rolled his eyes so hard that Theo was surprised they didn’t disappear into the back of his head. He looked completely unimpressed by the assumption. “Relax,” he replied dryly. “If I wanted to punch you, I wouldn’t waste time announcing it first.” He leaned casually against the doorframe before folding his arms across his chest. “Trn actually here to ask you something.”

Theo raised one eyebrow, clearly unconvinced that anything productive was about to come out of Ryder’s mouth. After a brief pause, Ryder finally got to the point. “Are you planning to go watch Luna’s race tomorrow?”

The unexpected question caught Theo completely off guard. For several seconds he simply stared back in surprise, wondering if he had somehow misheard him.

He slowly pushed himself upright until he was sitting properly on the edge of the bed. “Isn’t the race being held at another school?” he asked, genuinely confused.

He remembered Jace mentioning that Blackridge wasn’t hosting the meet, but he hadn’t paid much attention beyond that because he had already convinced himself that staying away from Luna completely was the right decision.

Ryder nodded once. “Yeah,” he answered. “It’s at Westhaven University.” He spoke the name casually, almost like the long drive involved wasn’t worth mentioning. “I still want to go, though.”

Theo remained silent, waiting for the rest of the explanation. Ryder shrugged his shoulders before continuing. “I figured I’d drive over tomorrow morning anyway. Since I’m already going, I wanted to know if you’d like to tag along.”

For a moment Theo genuinely wondered whether Ryder had hit his head on the way over because the invitation made absolutely no sense considering the tension between them over the last few weeks.

Theo stared at Ryder in complete disbelief. “You’re inviting me?” he asked slowly, making absolutely sure he had heard correctly. “After everything that happened yesterday?”

Ryder let out a quiet sigh before uncrossing his arms. “Don’t misunderstand,” he replied honestly. “I’m still pissed a you, and that hasn’t changed.”

Theo couldn’t exactly argue with that because he knew he deserved every bit of Ryder’s anger. Ryder continued before Theo could respond. “But no matter how angry I am, you’re still my friend, and I can literally feel you moping around the house like your life is ruined. I figured supporting her would cheer you up a little.”

He glanced briefly toward the window before looking back again. “Besides, if we’re careful, she probably won’t even know we’re there, so you don’t have to worry about her seeing you and getting upset.”

Theo frowned slightly, still trying to process the invitation, and Ryder could tell that he was skeptical.

He sighed before continuing. “There’ll be hundreds of athletes, coaches, parents, students, and spectators at Westhaven tomorrow. It’s not like she’ll spend the entire day scanning the crowd looking for us, so we can sit somewhere far enough away that she won’t notice us at all, and we won’t mess things up for her.”

The more Theo thought about it, the more sense it made. He desperately wanted to support Luna somehow, even if she never found out he had been there. Watching her race from a distance without interfering suddenly sounded like exactly what he needed.

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