Headlights

*Hezzlie*

I sit in my bed for a few minutes, staring at the door where Rowan just disappeared. I’m flabbergasted. Stunned. Why the hell did he go from making out with me to walking out the door?

I have no idea.

After a few moments, I decide to get up. I”m not going to spend the whole day lying here. I haven’t taken a shower yet today, so I head to the bathroom. I’d like to take a really long shower, but my stomach is rumbling. So I hurry up and get out, getting dressed in a nice outfit–a skirt and a sweater, and start working on my hair and makeup. I’m not sure what I”m thinking getting a bit dolled up except for maybe I want to make Rowan regret his decision to walk out of the room.

When I’m ready, I head downstairs to the dining room, which is empty. Of course it is. It’s past lunchtime but before dinner. I wander into the kitchen. Smokey Sam is there, humming a tune as she empties a dishwasher.

I’m surprised to see the head chef doing that menial task, but I guess it takes all of us to keep the household running. 

“Well, hello there,” she says with a friendly smile. “We missed you at lunch.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t feeling well,” I tell her.

She nods in understanding. I’m sure someone has told her that I collapsed after my battle this morning. “Can I fix you a sandwich? We have some roast beef. It makes an amazing sandwich on rye.”

My mouth waters just thinking about it. “That sounds great. But I can get it.”

She laughs. “I’m not letting my Luna fix herself a sandwich in my kitchen. You have a seat, dear. Let Smokey Sam take care of you.”

It seems futile to protest again, so I sink down onto one of the barstools at the island and listen to her hum as she goes about fixing me a sandwich. I don’t know the tune, but she has a lovely voice. 

In no time, she’s sliding a plate to me with a sandwich that looks like it came from a deli, with a pickle spear on the side, some chips, and glass full of my favorite soda.

“Thank you so much,” I tell her, taking a huge bite. She’s right–it’s delicious. 

“Is it good?” she asks.

I can’t even finish chewing before I find myself trying to answer. I nod and manage to swallow most of it before I say, “It’s great.”

She flashes a wide smile. “Good, good. I’m glad that you like it. Is everything okay?”

I’m in the middle of shoving another bite of the sandwich into my mouth when she asks the question, and it takes me off guard. I find myself nodding along while I swallow again, but by the time I swallow, I have to ask, “Why do you ask?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. It just seems like something is bothering you, and I don’t think it has anything to do with your battle this morning.” 

“Nah, I’m fine,” I tell her. “Just tired.”

She stares at me for a moment and then says, “Well, if you wanna talk, I’ve got two ears.” She smiles and then returns to the dishwasher.

It has me wondering what it is she saw in my expression that made her think there was something wrong with me. Not that she’s wrong. But I don’t want to talk to her about the situation with Rowan, how we were kissing, and he basically just got up and left. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I wonder if someone called him in the mind-link or if it really was just me. I understand that we were arguing, but I thought we’d moved on from that. Just when I thought everything was good between us, he’d stopped kissing me and left the room.

Who does that?

I clean my plate and stand to carry it over to the now empty dishwasher, but Sam takes it from me. “I’ve got it, Luna.” She pats me on the shoulder lovingly.

“I’m not the Luna yet,” I remind her. 

“You will be.” She has a certainty in her tone that makes the doubts deep inside of me bubble to the surface even more.

Rather than telling her I’m not so sure about that, I thank her again for the sandwich, finish my drink, and hand her the glass. She puts it in the dishwasher, and I wander out of the kitchen. My stomach is full, but my heart is feeling a little empty. 

‘Hezzlie, can you come to the backyard, please?’ Rowan’s voice sounds in my head through the mind-link.

I stop in my tracks outside of the kitchen in the hallway. Is he actually asking me to do something without even explaining what in the world happened in my room earlier? I want to smart off and tell him I can’t right now, but I can’t even think of a sarcastic comeback or something witty to say. 

Since I’ve got nothin’, I say, ‘Fine.’ 

It takes me a minute to figure out where the hell I am in the hallway and how I need to navigate to get to the backyard. I wander around for a few minutes before I recognize a hallway and then head out to the backyard.

But the backyard is huge, and once again, I’m a bit lost. The sun is starting to set. It’s not that late, but it is late fall, so the sun goes down earlier and earlier every day. I look around, thinking maybe I’ll just tell Rowan to go screw himself when I see some lights in the distance that I’m pretty sure weren’t there before.

I decide to walk in that direction and realize I’m walking down a stone path that seems to lead to the lights. As the trees part in front of me, a gazebo comes into view. It’s decorated with hundreds of twinkling white lights. I’ve never noticed this place before. I don’t know if the lights have just never been turned on since I’ve been here or if that’s new, but when I realize Rowan is standing in the middle of the gazebo, I no longer care about the lights.

He’s wearing a suit. It appears to be the one he wore to my birthday party, though I’m not sure. All I know is that he looks hot as hell, and even though I’m wearing a skirt, I feel completely under dressed for whatever the hell this is.

I have no idea what’s going on.

“Hi, Hezzlie,” he says, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his suit pants. “Thanks for coming.”

“What’s going on?” I’m not sure what else I can say. “What is all this?”

“This is the gazebo where my family used to have picnics when I was little,” he explains. “It’s always been a special place to me. I wanted to share it with you.”

“Okay,” I murmur as I come to a stop in front of him. I don’t see a picnic basket or anything, which is good because I couldn’t eat another bite right now if my life depends upon it. 

“Hezzlie Stone,” Rowan says, and my attention snaps back to him. I can’t remember the last time he’s ever called me by my full name. “When I first met you, I was a foolish man who thought he knew all of the answers in life.”

My eyebrows raise. I’m not sure what kind of confession this is, but I’m invested in listening now. 

“I made mistake after mistake, and yet, you forgave me for all of them. You are the most intelligent, kind hearted, sexy woman I’ve ever met, and I am eternally grateful to the Moon Goddess that She is far wiser than I.”

Suddenly, things start to click into place, and now, I can’t even think, let alone try to come up with a response. Not that I’m supposed to speak right now.

“So… Hezzlie, I’m humbly asking you now, to accept this ring.” He pulls a box out of his pocket and opens it for me as he drops down on a knee, and I do the stereotypical motion every woman does when she’s getting engaged and cover my mouth with both hands. “And become not only my wife, but my Luna Queen? Hezzlie, will you marry me?”

My mind is swimming. I’m staring into his gorgeous eyes, completely mesmerized, knowing that this is the man the Moon Goddess has sent for me. He loves me. He wants to marry me. He wants me to be his queen.

HIs fucking queen? I’m Hezzlie Stone–I’m a woman-child. I’ve never even led a cheerleading squad, let alone an entire kingdom. How the hell am I supposed to know how to be a Luna Queen? And there’s no one here to show me. The last one died–God! I could die! 

Panic sets in, and I begin to look around. I know Rowan is concerned when he says, “Hezzlie?”

I return my wide-eyed stare to him and freeze. Like a deer about to find out how durable the Michelin tires are, I stand there, dumbfounded and paralyzed.