Chapter Four: The Moonrise

*Lou* 

I flinched at the sound of the General Lee's horn filling my room. I rolled over on my bed and snatched my phone off my bedside table. The screen's brilliant white light caused me to wince. The alarm thankfully managed to snooze itself.

I jolted upright as three loud bangs sounded on my door.

"Lunett! Time to get up, and don't you just snooze that alarm again!" My uncle Andre shouted at me through the door. A growl slipped through my slightly gritted teeth.

"Yeah, yeah." I grudgingly flipped on my bedside lamp. A smile almost spontaneously came to my lips.

"Good morning Sunny." I wiped the top of the picture frame off. We were six, and at a guest ranch in North Eastern Wyoming. We were about to get assigned horses for a trail ride. Sunny had been super anxious about the whole thing, but managed a smile anyways.

That was my twin brother. Now? Now he was a prisoner to a facility that only gave him temporary relief. If it did at all.

As I disabled my alarm to keep it from going off another time, I clambered from my bed and ambled to my closet. I actually happened to be right on time. Vibrations in my hand told me someone was calling me. Clicking the phone awake, I squinted at the still quite blinding screen and read the caller ID.

Q. Why was he calling me at six-thirty in the morning? I slid the little green button to the right side of my phone.

"Hello?" I huffed as I tucked my phone against my shoulder with my head.

"Hey so... you're picking me up, right?" Q whispered.

"Well yeah, unless you've had a change of plans?" I began flicking through my shirts, nothing stood out.

"No, no... No change of plan. I just..." Q paused, taking in a deep breath before he spoke. "My mom asked me if she'd ever get to meet my friend..."

"Q, how does the afternoon sound? Or do I have to show your parents my asshole side?" I gave a light laugh and snagged a black t-shirt from it's cheap plastic hanger and dropped it upon my dresser.

"Yeah that works great. No one needs to be graced with that side." He then laughed a bit. "Although you're kinda always a bit of an asshole."

"Hey now!" I laughed some more. "That's probably true. And I don't think graced would be the word I'd use." I jostled one of my dresser drawers open and tugged a pair of semi-skinny jeans free from underneath a pair of other pants. Q had gone silent all of a sudden.

"Seven-thirty, right?" His voice had returned to a whisper. Why in the hell was he whispering so much?

"Yep, like normal. Is something up Q?" I began to shimmy into the skinny jeans as I awaited his reply. "Q?"

"No. No. All is good. Just wanted to check." He seemed a tad bit distracted as he spoke. "I gotta go."

And with that, he hung up. Sighing, I gave my phone a light toss onto my bed. It bounced slightly before coming to rest beside my pillow.

Glancing around my room, I noticed just how messy it truly was. The room itself, of course, was small. My small amount of furniture somehow made it feel cramped. Clothes, shoes, some books, blankets, and some papers were scattered about the floor and rested on some of the furniture. My uncle hated how dirty I kept my room, but it just felt more comfortable with a more busy look. And that's exactly how the room felt. Busy. No real patterns, just busy.

"Lunett!" My uncle's voice startled me out of the trance my disaster had lulled me into. "Your aunt has breakfast ready, get a move on!"

"'Kay." I called back to him. There were pros and cons that came with living with my uncle and his wife. The pros: I am closer to my brother, I actually have friends here (that don't know about Sunny), and I have been granted way more freedoms than my parents ever would have given me. Although the cons... They definitely made me reconsider my helicopter parents. The cons consisted of my uncle basically being a drill sergeant anytime he can to me, about a million chores have been assigned to me since arrival, my car seems to be a target to other drivers, and the very final con.... My "aunt" keeps flirting with me as if she wasn't forty something years old and married to my uncle. It's fairly disturbing, but I've found ways of avoiding that and her altogether. Believe it or not though, that's the type of woman my uncle is interested in. Creepy as hell, although he'd probably use freaky instead of creepy. She also happens to be his third wife.

"Lou-Lou! Come on down before your breakfast gets cold!" Speak of the devil. Her voice carried through the stairwell easily. That was one thing I was pleased with, was that I lived in the attic. Now it was the only room they had available, but I loved it.

Slipping my shirt up over my head I tugged it into place. My eyes drifted to the medium sized standing mirror that hid along the back wall next to a small bookcase. It was Sunny's. A smile spread across my lips once more as I looked into it. Letting a small sigh slip from my lips, I admired my chosen outfit. My jeans were snug on my legs, the crotch of them were a bit loose, and that was perfectly okay. They were more comfortable that way. The black t-shirt and faded grey skinny jeans were a good looking combo. My short blonde hair stood up in some places and not in others. Nothing a few run throughs with my fingers couldn't fix.

"Sunny would approve." I smiled and nodded at reflection, a light laugh escaped. I snagged my black Vans from their perch at the foot of my bed. "Belt." I spun on my heels, the word falling from my mouth. I quickly grabbed one and slipped it through each belt loop before latching it together. I tucked the front of my shirt just behind the buckle before heading towards my door.

Snagging my phone off my bed I slid it into my back right pocket. After it was secure I began to tug my shoes onto my feet. I practically hopped down the stairs giving forceful little tugs on my shoes. I somehow managed to shove my damn feet into them by the time I got to the bottom of the staircase. The smell of fresh cooked bacon and eggs greeted me. The radio was also on, the current song was In The Morning Light by Yanni. One thing my aunt kinda had, was taste in music. And generally the house was never quiet. In the mornings, Yanni was playing. Generally the love songs of his. Midday had Queen, Simon and Garfunkel, and the occasional Styx. Evenings had Chris LaDoux, Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks and sometimes Reba. She usually shuts the radio off around nine at night and the sound machine fills the house with ambience. I don't quite understand why she can't just open a window for that... At least in the summertime.

"There you are Lou-Lou!" She bustled out of the kitchen with a lacey apron strapped to her. She was dressed like normal. Which for her happened to be a black pencil skirt with a flowy white button up tucked in. Her suit coat hung in the entryway, just above her obnoxious black heels. Currently she was wearing very worn out pink bunny slippers. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail, her glasses gleamed as if they were freshly cleaned.

"Hey..." I stepped away from her, attempting to discourage her from hugging me.

"About time you came down here! I have eggs, bacon, and toast made for you. It's on the table!" She didn't step in for a hug, instead she just beamed. My uncle must be nearby. That's generally when she keeps space. I gave her a nod, and headed to the kitchen table. Low and behold, my uncle sat munching on a piece of toast. He was clean shaven, with his shop shirt on. My uncle was a diesel mechanic who was paid double due to being the only one in town. He's also damn good at his job.

"Morning." I gently pulled out the chair that sat where my breakfast was. My uncle looked up from his plate and watched me sit in the chair. Slowly I began to eat.

"When do you plan to see your brother next?" His voice was gruff, as if he truly didn't want to talk to me, but felt idle conversation was needed.

"Well, I thought about tomorrow.. Ya'know since I don't have school." I opened the two toast slices and started to build a sandwich out of the eggs and bacon.

"Ah. Do they allow letters to be delivered?" He no longer was making eye contact, which made me uneasy.

"Uhh..." I nibbled on my lip a bit as I set my sandwich down. "I think they may. Does he have mail?"

"Yeah." My uncle went quiet after the word slipped from his lips. Yanni still played, and seemed to bounce off our silence like a dodgeball on skin. My stomach started to do circles, and my heart raced. Where the hell did said mail come from?!

"Honey--" My aunt froze in the doorway to the dining room. "Is everything alright?" Her voice was meek, she too could sense the tension in the air.

"Yes. Everything is fine. Lunett and I were discussing mail for Soliel." He shot me a glare. A don't damn argue glare.

"Yeah, just mail delivery talk." I gave a nod and avoided all eye contact then. I knew right away she'd see through that bullshit. She was a lawyer. She was paid to lie.

But she only gave a nod, and shuffled over to my uncle, kissing him on the cheek and whispering something in his ear. He grunted, and she then shuffled out of the dining room. The apron wasn't on anymore, so she was probably headed to the firm.

"Have a good day boys!" She called cheerfully from the front door before slipping outside.

"Try my best." I muttered before locking eyes with my uncle. "Who's it from?"

"Me you little--" He paused, and sighed, "It's from me. I would prefer not to see him until he is better, so I'd like you to give him this tomorrow, if it's allowed." At that moment his left hand came out from beneath the table, and held out a grease stained envelope. It had Soliel scribed on it, and was sealed with tape. Scotch tape.

"What the hell do you have to say to him?" I felt the uneasy feeling begin to shift into anger.

"None of your damn business. Do as you're told for once and deliver it to him." He dropped the envelope on the table and clambered to his feet. He then proceeded to quietly leave the dining room. I sat for a moment, staring at my breakfast sandwich. I wouldn't have time to take the envelope up to Sunny today. Especially because Quincey's parents wanted to meet me. After about four months of friendship his parents got curious about his friends. Or the teachers called them to warn them I'm not a great influence on others. Sighing, I rose to my feet and walked into the kitchen with my plate. My appetite had left with my uncle. I wrapped the sandwich in a paper towel and headed for the entryway.

I set my sandwich on the small end table that lived in there, and tugged my jacket on. Grabbing my keys and the sandwich, I headed out towards my car. My car is a silver Ford Taurus. A 1990 Ford Taurus, that happens to move very fast when I want it too. Climbing in the driver seat, I stuck the key into the ignition. It was only a tad bit chilly so it wouldn't need to warm up. I set my sandwich down into the passenger seat, and started the car. Tugging at my seatbelt, I watched all of the gages begin to read the car. The radio lit up, but no sound emerged.

"Not again..." I sighed, clicking the radio off before pulling the car into reverse, and backing up onto the street. I needed to get going if I was going to get to Quincey's on time. Once onto the street, I shoved the car into drive and zipped down the street towards Quincey's neighborhood. Honestly I didn't want to go to school today, but that wasn't something I could decide for Quincey. "Have to invite him..." I muttered as I turned down River Street.

Today was definitely going to be something.