Chapter 120
I was having breakfast with Andrew at the mansion when he received a text message from Dennis. Andrew was still on bedrest, but otherwise, things had been going pretty well for us. Even most of the media buzz surrounding the shooting had been positive, showing an overwhelming amount of support for Andrew and me as a couple.
As soon as Andrew read this message, though, I knew that it wasn’t good. Andrew’s shoulders tensed, his jaw clenched, and the muscles in his neck tightened. His free hand curled into a fist, bending the fork that he was holding.
I placed my hand over his fist.
“Are you all right, Andrew?” I asked.
He shook his head and set his phone on the bed tray table holding up his breakfast.
“Just some more rumors that I have to deal with,” he said, his voice flat.
I lightly squeezed his fist and ran my thumb over his knuckles.
“What are they?”
Andrew shook his head again. He removed his hand from my grasp and went to jab a piece of pancake. When he realized that his fork was bent, he sighed and tossed it onto the bed tray table.
I frowned. It wasn’t like Andrew to be so aloof. I put my hand on his forearm.
“You know that you can tell me anything, right?” I asked.
“I know, Crystal. I just don’t want you to have to carry this burden.”
I leaned forward and kissed Andrew on the forehead.
“I appreciate that, Andrew, but you can’t always be the one to carry the weight for both of us. Sometimes, I need to help you get through life, too.”
Andrew smiled slightly.
“What did I do to deserve such a wise girlfriend?”
I smiled back.
“You saved my life a couple of times, and it doesn’t hurt that you’re cute.” I winked at him, and he laughed. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
Andrew looked down at his phone, then handed it to me. On the screen was a gossip tabloid article with the headline:
WILL CRYSTAL BLANCHARD BE THE NEXT LUNA TO FALL TO ANDREW DUBOIS’S BLOODLUST?
I didn’t need to read or skim the article to know what the article was talking about. People were contemplating, yet again, if I would be the next Luna—and if I would die as mysteriously as the others. This time, though, they weren’t being so kind as to hide their speculation that Andrew had killed his previous three Lunas.
I set the phone back on his bed tray table, face-down. I took a bite of pancake and chewed it thoroughly before I responded.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know that’s a sensitive subject for you.”
Andrew nodded. He used his unbent fork to pick up a piece of pancake and popped it into his mouth.
“What are you going to do about it?” I asked.
Andrew swallowed his mouthful and wiped the syrup off his face.
“Same as before: I’m going to hold a press conference to address the rumors and put an end to them as efficiently as possible.”
“Do you want me to be there?”
Andrew glanced at me for a moment.
“No, this is my burden, not yours. You don’t need to be there.”
My fork froze partway to my mouth. For a moment, I stared at Andrew, lost in thought. Then I closed my lips and set my food back down on my plate.
I put my bed tray table on the ground, followed soon by Andrew’s. Andrew stared at me questioningly, but he did not say a word.
I straddled Andrew and settled onto his lap. Leaning forward, I kissed him slowly and tenderly. He held me closer, grinding up into me, but I pulled away to look down at him.
“I’m going to be with you to that press conference,” I said firmly. “I told you, you don’t have to bear this weight alone.”
Andrew insisted on holding the press conference as soon as he was cleared from bedrest three days later. Even though his back was in pain, he still stood tall with a smile plastered on his face. Beneath the podium, though, he gripped my hand tightly, and I held him just as firmly.
“Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen of the press,” he said into the microphones. “Thank you for joining us here tonight. I am sure that you know why you are here.”
He squeezed my hand, and I let him.
“There has been much speculation as of late about whether or not Crystal will become my next Luna. More disturbingly, however, are the rumors regarding whether she will die like my previous three Lunas.”
He released my hand and slammed both of his upon the podium. Everyone in the room froze.
“There is no need for such speculation surrounding a woman that I love and care for as much as Crystal.”
His fingers curled around the edge of the podium. His knuckles paled as his grasp grew tighter.
“As I said in a previous press conference, we don’t know yet if Crystal will become my next Luna, and we will cross the bridge when we come to it,” he continued. “Even if she does, she will have nothing to fear from me. I would never hurt someone I love.”
With a deep yet subtle breath in and out through his nostrils, Andrew released the podium and took hold of my hand once more.
“I would never hurt Crystal.”
He leaned down to kiss my cheek, but before he could, I turned my head and kissed him fully on the lips. That earned a few “awws” from the crowd, and I heard the snapping of cameras as reporters rushed to take our picture.
Andrew pulled away from me and turned back to the microphones.
“We will now be taking questions.”
After the press conference, we went back to the mansion and cuddled in Andrew’s bed, enjoying each other’s company and decompressing from the stressful day. I was proud of Andrew for how composed he had remained throughout the event, but something still bugged me. Even as we lay there, entwined in each other’s arms, I could not get it off of my mind.
“Andrew,” I said, stroking the chest hair poking out from his unbuttoned undershirt, “I wanted to ask you something about the press conference.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“You seemed to avoid mentioning what actually happened to your previous Lunas. Why?”
Andrew’s fingers dug into my hip.
“You noticed that?”
“Yes. I’m surprised that they weren’t pushier in the Q&A.”
“I’ve told you before, it’s a…sensitive subject.”
“I know, but if you told the public the truth, then rumors like these wouldn’t emerge anymore.”
“Neither would rumors about you if you told the full truth about Bob and the car accident.”
I cringed and withdrew from Andrew’s grasp, rolling over onto my side of the bed.
“Point taken.”
Andrew sighed and pulled me back into his arms. I didn’t resist.
“Come back here,” he said as he brought me close to his torso. “I’m sorry. That was a low blow.”
“No, no, I deserved it.” I spread his shirt open farther and rubbed my hand over his abs. “I’m just…curious.”
I looked up at him, my eyes wide.
“After all, if it’s even possible that I might become your Luna someday, shouldn’t I know what happened to the ones who came before me?”
Andrew smiled for a brief moment at the thought of me becoming his next Luna, but the smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
“I suppose, but I’m not ready to discuss it with anyone yet.”
I reached up and nuzzled his neck.
“Are you sure?”
He moaned at my attention.
“Nice try,” he said with a chuckle, “but not quite.”
I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder.
“I promise,” he continued, “I will tell you someday, just…not today. Not yet.”
“All right,” I said, closing my eyes.
In the back of my mind, though, I could not let go of the curiosity and suspicion regarding the death of the three Lunas and why Andrew kept the truth of that so well-guarded.
