Cross My Heart (Explicit Version)

~Chapter Sixteen~

"Without you?" I asked. Despite not having any friends, Miss Olivia would always play board games with me. She helped me after I was bullied.

"I won't be there, but we can write letters," she said, "Do you want to meet them? Are you ready?"

"Yes. I want you there," I said.

"Okay. I'll be right back, Lu," she said, leaving the room. I waited for thirty one-hundreds and Miss Olivia came back with a man and a woman. "Lu, these are your new parents."

I instinctively reached for Miss Olivia's hand. She grabbed it. The woman came up to me and crouched to my height. "Hi, Luna. I'm Lydia, your new mom," she said, extending a hand. She was going to shake it, but I hid behind Miss Olivia. The man did the same as the woman as I peeked at them from the side of Miss Olivia's legs.

"It's okay. We're not going to hit you," he said.

"Really?" I asked, emerging slowly.

"We won't," he promised me.

"Lu, let's go pack up your things. I'll bring her right back," Miss Olivia said, sensing my tightened hand. This was too much.

"They won't hit," I said, not believing it.

"They wouldn't dream of it," she said, leading me up the stairs. "The woman you met, your mother, she can't have kids. You are her only chance. I spoke to the family earlier. They have a boy who is your age."

"What if he hits me?" I asked.

"He won't," she said, bringing down my backpack and a duffel bag from the closet. I never knew where those duffel bags came from. Miss Olivia helped me with my things, packing them neatly. Before we finished, I remembered my notebook.

"Can you write how I can keep in touch with you?" I asked.

"Of course I can," she said, writing everything down carefully. I marked that page and packed it in my backpack. Upon zipping everything up, we headed down the stairs, back to the room where we were before. I said a final goodbye to Miss Olivia and I followed these strangers.

The woman finally spoke. My mum. "Luna, you are our child from now on. We won't hurt you. We won't hit you. We're here to help. I know your family is still out there. We'll help you find them," she said. I still seemed reluctant. "We promise we won't hurt you. Come meet the rest of your family."

"Are we going to move a lot?" I asked.

"No. You might stay with your new grandma, but we won't move unless we have to," she said.

~Flashback over~

"Now you have this constant. I'm going to miss you," Meredith said, hugging me tightly. I hugged her.

"Me too," I said. We returned to the stage and lounged about. I was on FaceTime™ with Robert backstage, telling him the recent happenings while he waited for Alex outside her work in his car.

"So when's all the moving going to happen?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I still have some stuff in LA that I want to sort through and bring some things that I have here there. I think that process is going to start after the show. It should be a month before I'm fully moved," I said, "In reality, I have no idea."

"Let me know when you're coming here. I want at least a daily text. And you should probably call your mum and dad. The ones in Australia. And you biological mum," he said. I nodded as he glanced to his side.

"She there?" I asked.

"No. Just let me ask this person," he said. I heard the window slide. "Um, hello. Do you know when Alex Paul is leaving?"

"Alex Paul? She left an hour ago," the person said.

"Well, thank you," Robert said, "Have a good one."

"You, too, buddy," the person said. The window rolled back up and I heard the car's engine turn on.

"I'm sorry," I said to Robert.

"What's today?" He asked.

"Thursday," I replied.

"Shit. She's out early today. Fuck," he said, starting to drive.

"Robert, I have to go, but I'm sorry. I love you," I said.

"I love you, too, Elle," he said, smiling down on me before I hung up. Meredith gave me the sign that I wasn't needed yet, so I called my adoptive parents.

"Hi, Elle. How are things?" Mum asked.

"They're great. How are things in Australia?" I asked

"The usual. But Sarah can crawl now. We baby-proofed the entire house. How are things there?" She asked.

"So something big happened. Not bad, it's good. I just wanted to let you know. So, you know how I'm in a long-distance relationship," I said.

"Yes," Mum replied.

"So today, he asked me if I wanted to move in with him in New York. I said yes. Nothing is definite yet, but I know I'll be there by the end of the year," I explained.

"Lu, sweetie that's great. But how does Robert feel about that? How do your brothers?" She asked.

"Robert encouraged it, so he's okay with it and so is Darren. I think Chuck is, too. He isn't as crazy as Darren," I said.

"Have you told your mom?" She asked.

"Not yet. I wanted to tell you first," I said.

"Thank you. But go call her. Break a leg tonight! I miss you!" Mum said.

"Thank you. I miss you, too. I love you," I said, hanging up and calling Mom.

"How's Chicago?" She asked upon picking up.

"It's good. I wanted to let you know about something that happened today. It's good, don't worry," I said.

"Shoot," Mom said.

"Clark asked me if I wanted to move to New York with him today and I said yes. There aren't any dates set in stone as of right now, but I should be moved there by the end of the year," I said.

"Elle, honey, congratulations! That's great," she said, "Darren just told me that everyone is ok with it, so I'm going to leave you. Half an hour until show time. Break a leg," she said.

"Thank you. I love you," I said, hanging up while Meredith beckoned me to the group.

"We have half an hour. Everything is pretty organized, so can you take care of Emma?" Meredith asked. I nodded and took her again in my arms. I sat down in the dressing room while everyone was getting ready.

It was the final night of shows. The end of the summer season. As much fun as I had, I was excited for what was to come. There were going to be big changes in my life. And that's okay. Change isn't always a bad thing. It's made my life better.

"Guys, thank you for bringing my project to life. This has been my child and I'm finally showing it to the world. Thanks," Jeff said backstage, right before everyone went on.

"I don't think we'll ever top Tittymitty Dikrats though," I added.

"That wasn't necessary, but it's very true," Jeff said, "Let's go on and not fuck it up. Yeah!"

The final Oregon show was perfect. The final bow was bittersweet. I greeted everyone with a hug as they came offstage. "And now it's time for ANI," Nick said. We transformed the stage and ate dinner backstage. Instead of laughing when Nick first introduced himself as Pappy, I fought back tears. I was going to miss this.

The lights went down and I hugged everyone tight. We all went outside after packing up the theater.

Disclaimer: I only own Luna and the plot line.

Guys, there's only one more chapter left. I can't believe it. After I'm done with this book, I have a Black Friday fic in the works and maybe I'll actually update my one-shots book. Have an awesome week and Happy Thanksgiving to my US pals!

--Luna :D