Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33

XENOIS

The sound of my phone buzzing against the kitchen counter pulled me from my thoughts as I watched Ollie pick at his breakfast.

He didn’t

seem happy at all. Even when he had been given a day off to rest from school.

He’d been quieter than usual since yesterday’s incident at the hospital, and the bandage wrapped around his small hand served as a

constant reminder that I had failed to protect him.

I took a look at the caller ID and felt my chest tighten with something that I couldn’t explain.

It was Sophia.

“Hello?” I answered, stepping away from the dining table so that Ollie wouldn’t overhear the conversation.

“Xenois, hi. I hope I’m not calling too early.” Her voice was low, and hesitant, a lot different from the confident woman I’d known

years ago.

“It’s fine. Is everything okay? How’s Riley?” I asked, worried about him. Has he gotten better since yesterday’s incident.

There was a pause before she responded slowly. “That’s actually why I’m calling. Riley’s been asking about Ollie since yesterday. He keeps talking about meeting your son. And I was wondering if it’s okay.”

I found myself smiling despite everything that had happened. “Really?”

“Yes. And I was thinking… maybe it would be good for them to spend some time together? Riley doesn’t have many friends, and from what I could see yesterday, Ollie seems like a sweet boy.”

The suggestion made perfect sense. Riley needed to have more friends especially since he was in a new pack adjusting to the rules here, and honestly, so did Ollie.

My son has been increasingly isolated lately, even before this incident, preferring to stay home and play with his dinosaur or read a book rather than play with other children.

Maybe having a friend his age would help him open up, help him process whatever was going on in his head and see that there was

still a need for socializing.

More importantly, it would give me a chance to keep them both away from Lumina’s erratic behavior that seemed to be becoming worse day by day.

“I think that’s a great idea,” I said, glancing back at Ollie who was now just pushing his eggs around his plate.

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Chapter 33

“When were you thinking?”

“Maybe this afternoon? I could bring Riley over to your place, or we could meet at a park somewhere neutral, and public so that the

kids would trrl comfortable.”

“Let me talk to Ollie first, see how he’s feeling with his hand and everything. But I’m sure he’d love to have a friend over.”

“Perfect. Just text me when you know for sure.”

After hanging up, I walked back to the kitchen table where Ollie was still sitting, looking small and lost in his oversized pajamas.

“Hey, buddy,” I said, settling down in the chair next to him, gaining his attention.

“How’s your hand feeling this morning?”

He flexed his fingers slightly, wincing from the movement before he replied.

“It still hurts a little, but not as bad as yesterday.”

“Good. That means it’s healing properly.” I reached over and gently ruffled his dark hair.

“I just got a call from a friend of mine. She has a son about your age, and he was wondering if you’d like to have a playdate today.”

Ollie’s fork fell against his plate as he looked up at me with wide, frightened eyes.

“What friend?”

“Her name is Sophia. You haven’t met her yet but she has a son Riley. He is a little boy who looks a bit like you.”

The color drained from Ollie’s face completely. “No.”

“No, what?”

‘I don’t want to see them.” His voice was barely audible which made me have to strain my ears to hear him but there was a desperate

alarm in his voice that made my heart hurt.

“Why not? Riley seems like a nice kid, and his mother said he’s been asking about you.”

Ollie shook his head vigorously, his bandaged hand clutching at his pajama shirt, ignoring the pain from such movement. It seemed that the pain in his hands was small compared to the thought of having a playdate.

“I don’t want to see her. The woman. She… she sounds like…”

“Like what?”

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Chapter 33

But he just shook his head again, pressing his lips together like he was afraid of what might come out if he opened them.

This was exactly what I was talking about. These strange reactions that had been going on and these unexplained fears – something was seriously wrong with my son, and I was becoming convinced each passing day that Lumina’s behavior was somehow the reason for

this.

“Ollie, listen to me,” I said, keeping my voice gentle but firm as I placed a hand on his shoulder trying to show him comfort.

“Riley is just a little boy, like you. And Sophia is a friend of mine from a long time ago. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

“But I don’t want to-”

“What’s going on?”

We both turned to see Lumina standing in the doorway, still in her robe with her hair messy from sleep.

She looked tired,.with dark circles under her eyes that showed evidence that she hadn’t slept any better than I had.

“Daddy wants me to play with the mean lady’s son,” Ollie said before I could respond.

Lumina’s expression immediately hardened, hearing that as she turned to look at me with suspicion in her eyes.

“What mean lady?”

“Sophia called, I explained, standing up to face her as I continued speaking.

“She suggested that Riley and Ollie have a playdate. I think it’s a good idea.”

“Absolutely not.”

The way she shut the suggestion down without even thinking about it only confirmed my suspicion.

“Why not?”

“Because that woman is dangerous, Xenois. I’ve been trying to tell you that, but you won’t listen to me.”

“The only dangerous person I see here is the one who’s filling our son’s head with paranoid delusions,” I said, my patience finally snapping. “Look at him, Lumina. Look at how scared he is of everything. That’s not normal.”

“He’s scared because he’s been hurt! Someone is using magle to-”

“Stop.” I held up a hand, cutting her off before she could launch into another one of her conspiracy theories. “Just stop. I can’t listen

to this anymore.”