Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41

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As I got dressed, I tried to imagine what it would be like to have a real friend that wanted me for me and saw me directly. Someone

who wanted to spend time with me because they actually liked me, not because their mama told them to.

Someone who wouldn’t flinch away from me and call me a freak when I got too quiet or said something weird, that I didn’t

understand.

Like a time I told my classmate that my mama made me not to be scared anymore by locking me in the closet stall.

The girl had ran crying to the teacher and my mum was called and she immediately came and apologized for my imagined and

dragged me out of there. That was a few days before she made us come down to this city.

Maybe Ollie could be that friend, even if the circumstances were all wrong and I didn’t want to replace him as his daddy son.

“Riley! Are you ready?” Mama called from downstairs.

“Coming!”

I took one last look at myself in the mirror. The metal thing on my hand was completely hidden under the long sleeves of my shirt, and I looked like any normal five-year-old getting ready for a playdate.

But I didn’t feel normal. I felt like I was carrying something that could hurt that poor boy and I couldn’t tell anyone.

Mama was waiting by the front door, her purse slung over her shoulder and car keys in her hand.

She looked me up and down, checking to make sure everything met her standards.

“Perfect. Now remember what we talked about. Be charming, be friendly, make Ollie want to see you again. And don’t forget about the

handshake.”

“I won’t forget.”

“And Riley?” She knelt down so we were at eye level as she held me gently and said.

“This is our chance for a better life. For a real family, a real home, everything we’ve ever wanted. Don’t mess this up.”

Her expectations felt like a cross on my shoulders. I was barely five years old and my mama was expecting me to make sure that I be

a perfect version that could do everything she said.

“I won’t mess it up, Mama.”

“I know you won’t, baby. Because you’re my good boy, aren’t you?”

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15:53 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 41

I nodded, even though I didn’t feel like a good boy.

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The drive to Alpha Xenois’s house took about twenty minutes, and Mama spent most of it teaching me on what to say and how to act.

Be polite but not too formal. Be interested in whatever Ollie wanted to play. Ask questions about his toys, his school, his life.

“And remember,” she said as we pulled into a driveway in front of a big, beautiful house, “the handshake is the most important part.

Make sure you use your right hand, and make sure the contact lasts at least a few seconds.”

I stared up at the house through the car window. It was thevery big and beautiful. The kind of houses that I only saw on TV that had

happy families smiling all day.

Are we really going to live here someday?”

“If everything goes according to plan, yes. This could be your home, Riley. Your room could be in that house, your toys in those

rooms. But only if you do your part today.”

She got out of the car and came around to my side, straightening my shirt and running her fingers through my hair to make sure it

was perfect

“Ready?”

I wasn’t ready. I was scared and confused and I wanted to go home and read my book.

“Ready, Mama.

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