Chapter: Memory-1

Luna called Tavin's phone hoping to speak to him just once before she left. She knew he would not want to see her, but she still had not gotten a chance to apologize the way she felt she needed to. She had treated him poorly in the past, based solely on the fact that she believed he deserved it. In hindsight, he was only trying to move forward while she was stuck in a fictitious past.

Tavin did not answer his phone, so Luna once again swallowed her pride, exited her vehicle and made her way up to his apartment. Even if he was with someone else, she wanted closure for them before she left the country. Luna knocked for a long time before the door flew open.

"What are you doing here?" Tavin asked.

"You didn't answer your phone." Luna said as if it were a valid reason for a visit.

"and so, you came over?" Luna stepped into Tavin's apartment and he shut the door behind her. She did not waste time, she poured out her apology before he had a chance to change his mind about hearing her out. "Take off your shirt," Tavin said and Luna's eyes flashed wide.

"Here?" She asked, and Tavin went to open the door but Luna held his arm. She slowly started to unbutton her blouse but before she had gotten too far, Tavin placed his hands above hers and pressed their foreheads together.

"Is it humiliating?" He asked, knowing that Luna was offended by his request. "That is how I felt every time I opened up to you and you shut me down."

"I truly believed-" Luna was cut off.

"And after that? What did you believe when we shared our first kiss on that couch?" Tavin pulled Luna into his bedroom and pushed her onto his bed. His body fell on top of hers, not giving her a chance to sit up or put her shirt back together.

The pair kissed passionately and Tavin found himself being a little more aggressive than he had ever been in the past. He tore the remaining buttons of Luna's blouse, and removed her bra. Her body tensed, but she did not ask him to stop, and she did not try to push him away.

There was no love in what Tavin was doing, and more anger than lust. He had been obsessed with Luna for so long, and he did not even know who she really was. He was aware she was strong; it was a side effect of her upbringing, but he had no idea she could be cruel enough to put someone in harm's way over a misunderstanding.

Tavin slid his fingers under the line of Luna's underwear and tugged roughly on the fabric. He began to pull them down, and only then did Luna grab his hands to stop him. The look of fear on her face startled him. Tavin had never seen her scared. He had seen her angry, confused, worried, embarrassed, but never scared.

"Be gentle please," Luna said meekly. She realized that Tavin was actually looking at her, and she did not know if she would get another chance to be heard. Everything was happening so fast that her heart and mind were struggling to keep up with one another.

"Will this be your first time?" Tavin asked. There was a hint of disbelief in his question, he knew that Luna had dated around, and he just assumed she had done other things as well. When she nodded at him, Tavin felt shame overtake him. He had always wanted to be with her, but not the way it was happening. "Get out," he whispered.

"What?" Luna asked. She bolted upright, hoping she had heard wrong.

"I said leave."

"Tavin, it's okay. I want-"

"Get out now or I will call your brother to come and get you." As Tavin spoke, he stood up and threw a shirt at Luna, who was already shamefully putting her clothing on.

Tavin exited his bedroom allowing Luna to get dressed without him around. When she left, she did not even look up at him, but Tavin could see that she chose to leave in her own clothing. Her nose looked red, but he could not tell if it were out of embarrassment or anger. His apartment door closed with a resounding thud.

----

Mina awoke early in the morning. She crept out of bed and snuck into the kitchen where she was not surprised to see her mother already awake. She kissed her mother's cheek and wrapped an apron around herself.

Mina moved to a hidden corner of the kitchen, where she pulled out ingredients she had bought specifically for her sister's birthday.

"What did you hide?" her mother asked in a whisper. Their home was small, and it was not well insulated; so sound from the kitchen could easily carry around the home.

"I bought the things to make a cake. Can you teach me?" Mina asked cheerfully, and her mother came to check what her daughter had bought.

"Where did you get the money for this?" her mother asked, and Mina shrank back in guilt. "Are you doing homework again?" she demanded to know in a whisper shout. "Mina, you are not helping those people. You know it is selfish. You are only helping yourself." Mina knew the lecture she was about to get, and she knew she would be in trouble for it later, but for right now, she only wanted her mother to help her with the cake.

"Mommy, I knew I would be in trouble for it. I just wanted to do something nice for Sadie." Mina was telling the truth, but she knew her mother would never believe her.

"In trouble for what?" Came her father's voice, he was also whispering, as it was a weekend and Sadie was allowed to sleep in.

"She is doing it again," Mina's mother said, and Mina felt her heart burn. Her parents always spoke about her as if she were not there, but she knew they were just trying to keep her safe.

"Mina, do you know what will happen if you keep doing what you are doing? They will come back for you. Is that what you want?" Her father asked, and Mina shook her head in fear.

"Please don't let them take me away," she begged, and her father came to stand in front of her.

"We won't have to if you stop doing things that you know are wrong. What have we taught you?"

"To think like Sadie." Mina looked at the simple ingredients and could not see what was wrong with what she had done, but that had been the problem with her. She had heard what the doctor told her parents that day, and she was surprised they even kept her around.

"Where is the rest of the money?" her mother asked, and without being told Mina went into her room and pulled the remaining cash out from one of her notebooks. She brought the money back to her mother. "Since you said you did it for Sadie, we will give her the money." Mina's eyes widened.

"Anne," she heard her father say. "That may be a little too much. Regardless of how she earned it, it belongs to her." Mina's mother was not swayed, but she respected her husband.

"Of the forty left, twenty-five will go to your sister. You can keep what is remaining." Mina did not argue, she kept her face blank because anytime she was not smiling, her parents worried. Trying hard not to cry, Mina started to pack up the ingredients she had bought, but her father stopped her.

"It's already here. Might as well use it," he said. Mina nodded, but she had no interest in baking a cake anymore.