soon to be luna

"Alright, finally home. I can finally get out of this damn rain!" The door creeks open, and the smell of salty sweat is noticeable along with the stomach-turning tension in the room. Something is telling me not to say anything, but I have to. My heels click on the hard floors of my apartment as I walk cautiously to my room. I get more anxious the closer I get. Reaching the doorknob feels like a sudden task I don't want to do. Nonetheless, I open the door. Gasps and eyes grow loud and wide. My entire world turned upside down from here because of this very moment. How could you? I scream in stress and despair, completely distraught. Tears uncontrollably roll down my face as I watch my boyfriend in bed with my best friend, who is frantically dressing herself. “I should've known, always leaving me out of game nights, conversing privately, always hanging out when I can't, always holding or...” Hugging each other for seconds too long. "i should've caught on sooner!" I yell through my tears. “Look, babe, it's not like that,” my best friend says, fully dressed. “Ella, let me explain! I... wasn't thinking, please let's just talk about this!” my best friend says. “No! There’s no reason or excuse for this. I’m not listening to whatever bullshit you're about to come up with!” I storm out back into the rain. No, no, no, god, you have to be lying. Tell me you’re lying! Please, I can’t take any more of this! The rain is freezing, but I barely notice. Compared to this pain, it feels like my heart just split in half, like my gut just imploded, like my head just threw itself off a forty-foot drop. The wind blowing in my face as I run. I run and run until I reach the house of the only other person close enough to help me. I knock on the door once. Twice, and on the third is when the door suddenly opens. His eyes widen as he sees my tear-stained face. “And you are?” he says, with a deep yet soothing voice that makes my adrenaline slow down just a bit. “Ella,” I say while sniffling and shivering. His head tilts, and his eyebrows raise, his expression showing disbelief. "Ella, what the hell happened?" His voice is raw, what brings you here at... midnight? His pauses in his sentences seem calculated. From the way he walks to the way he speaks, everything is so heavy and intimidating. It takes me three seconds too long to answer, leading him to step forward and look at me. “Oh, I—uh, my boyfriend cheated on me... with my best friend, and I want to know how to handle the grief,” I say in a whisper as I look up at him. He continues his cold, deep-set eyes, cutting sharp through my soul. It’s very telling that he was born to be Alpha. The strength of his gaze almost makes me avoid eye contact. “You got cheated on at this time of night, and you came to me out of all people...?” He sounds like he's almost in disbelief, as if I shouldn't have. Maybe I'm out of my mind, I'm just hoping he can help or give some advice. A sudden sigh snaps me out of my thoughts. “Well, first you should get yourself cleaned up. It's quite dangerous at night with such a troubled girl like you. I'm offering a place to stay the night. In my guest bedroom you can wear my shirt and some shorts if you can fit them. You should take a shower; it might clear up your mind.” I nod and stand up, trying to pull myself together, forever grateful for his offer. “Down the hall, it’s the first door you see,” he points in the direction of the bathroom, and I follow. In this luxurious, wide, marble, and gold-tiled bathroom, I look at myself in the mirror, hoping that at any second now I can wake up from this nightmare. Tears fall down my face silently, unable to get the sight of them in my bed together. I wipe the tears from my eyes, I hear knocks on the door. "Yes?" I answer loud enough for him to hear me. "Can I come in?" he says almost as an order instead of a question, yet his voice is still deep, low, and soothing somehow. “Yeah,” I respond nervously. The door opens almost immediately. He walks in with the pair of clothes in his hand that he sets on the long sink counter. He then, without a word, walks over to the shower and turns it on after a few seconds. “Come here,” he says while his hand motions me to come next to him. Reluctantly I do. “Is this too hot or too cold?” he asks me nicely. I'm a bit surprised yet pleased by his concern. I put my hand in the running shower water, and it’s perfect, so perfect it makes me want to close my eyes and forget about this travesty. "It's perfect...," I say softly. In response, he smiles just a bit. “That’s good,” he turns away and goes to the cabinet under the sink. “Go on...I'm not looking," he says playfully as he looks for something. Eventually, I get in, and the water makes me relax from one hundred to one in a matter of seconds. “My sister comes here often, so she bought this flower-scented soap to keep her in case she sleeps over without further notice. So you can use this one...,” he says as he hands me the soap bottle from outside the curtain. “Thanks,” I say softly. "You know, this happened to me before I got cheated on when I was younger, and the only thing my father told me to do was keep moving up and move on. But my mother, on the other hand, my mother, told me to learn from a past relationship even if it wasn't you who caused the problem. At least now you can see the red flags better," he says with a softer tone than before. I close my eyes, my heart too sensitive for this topic. “I've never been so emotionally invested with someone before...and for him to throw it all away...,” my voice becomes shaky, so I stop not wanting to cry again. “You find someone better... I know you will, because it seems to me that a tragedy can also become the best thing that’s ever happened, and maybe he’ll be the best thing you ever lost.” I smile at the advice, knowing that those are the words of encouragement I came for. People all over town always say how natural advice flows out with the town's alpha. Well, he's not really the "town's alpha," yet people call him that because of how much they appreciate him. He's the actual alpha of the gold sun pack. But lives peacefully in town from time to time. I wonder why. Eventually, I get out of the shower and by the time I come out of the bathroom, I’m fully dressed. “Nice to see you here,” he says playfully, but it comes off a bit sarcastic, but even though it does, I smile. "Alright," he says, standing up and stretching. “Are you hungry?” He looks at me with a small smile. I shake my head, I can't even think about food right now. He looks rather thrilled. I don't want to eat, as if he would be too tired to cook, but it is one in the morning now, so I wouldn’t blame him. “The guest bedroom is the door next to mine,” he says while walking away. I nod and head in that direction. The room isn't as big as his, I bet, but it's twice the size of the bathroom. The bed is huge with white silk sheets and a huge comfy blanket. I get into bed and turn off the nightstand light before falling asleep.