Chapter Fifty-Six Aurora #2
Her laugh was loud and bright, bouncing around the room. “Yeah, you,” she said, reaching over to flick my forehead gently. “You’re, like, stupidly cute, Rora. The kind of cute that makes people want to wrap you in bubble wrap. Very girlfriend material, also.”
I stared at her, heat crawling up my neck, and she noticed because her grin softened into something more affectionate.
“But,” she added quickly, waving her hand from side to side, “being friends is the best. Promise.”
I tilted my head, blinking up at her. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Aly nodded, her expression softening further. “You… you look like someone I want to keep forever, you know? Not in a dating way, just… keep. You make people want to protect you. You make people stay.”
Her words hit somewhere deep.
But I tried to ignore it and just smiled, nudging her shoulders a bit. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
She laughed, tossing a fry at me. “Careful, angel. I might start blushing.”
—
It was already past noon when I finally opened my eyes. Aly groaned softly, stretching her arms like a cat.
“Morning,” she mumbled, voice still husky with sleep.
“More like afternoon,” I whispered back, voice quiet but calm.
We both laughed a little, that soft kind of laugh you share when the world finally feels less heavy.
Aly got up first, dragging me by the wrist downstairs to the kitchen, hair messy, wearing one of her oversized sweatshirts. I trailed behind, still in the borrowed t-shirt she gave me, the sleeves covering my hands.
The kitchen looked like something out of a magazine: marble counters, a double fridge, sunlight flooding in through the glass doors. Aly jumped up and sat on the counter, swinging her legs as she tore into a loaf of bread.
“You want breakfast?” she asked, mouth full.
“I’ll cook,” I offered, already moving to the stove.
“Of course you will,” she teased. “Perfect little housewife.”
I giggled lightly at that; It was cute. Funny too. The fridge was stocked with everything: eggs, butter, milk. I grabbed what I needed and started whisking, the soft sound filling the silence.
Then, out of nowhere, Aly’s voice dropped. “Do you know how he feels?”
I froze mid-whisk. The question hit like a slap, gentle but stinging.
I turned to her slowly, and she was looking right at me, really looking, not teasing this time. Like she wanted to have a serious, proper conversation about this.
Like she knew something I didn’t
“Joshua,” she said softly. “Do you know how he feels about you?”
My throat went dry. I swallowed hard and shook my head. “No,” I admitted, barely above a whisper. “I don’t.”
Not really.
Aly tilted her head, curious. “But you… want him.”
I didn’t even bother denying it. My chest felt too full, my heart too tired for lies.
“I do,” I whispered. “I want him. I want to be with him.”
The words trembled out of me, but once they were said, they didn’t feel wrong.
“They’re different, Aly. Miles and Joshua.
” I turned to face her fully, resting my palms against the counter.
“Miles made me feel warm, soft, like I was standing in the sun. But Joshua…” I paused, trying to find the right word.
“Joshua feels like… gravity. I can’t not look at him. Can’t not care, even when I try.”
Aly smiled faintly, but her eyes were sad. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I figured.”
There was a silence between us, heavy but not uncomfortable.
Then Aly exhaled slowly, setting her bread down. And I could feel something weird in my stomach, but I pushed it aside as she spoke.
“Rora… there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What?”
She bit her lip, looking down. “We drove him away.”
My heart stopped. “What?”
“Me. Jennie. Layla. Not quite Layla… she was fine.” Her voice cracked slightly. “We thought he was still hurting you. We thought he was playing you, pretending to care just to mess with your head, so we told him to leave you alone. To stay away from you. We told him he wasn’t good enough.”
I froze, completely froze. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The words echoed in my head, sharp and heavy.
Aly’s eyes filled with guilt. “We didn’t know, Aurora. We didn’t know he’d changed. We didn’t know what he’d done for you, what he meant to you. We thought we were protecting you.”
I shook my head slowly, tears already burning behind my eyes. “You—” I tried to speak, but my voice cracked. “You told him to leave?”
Aly nodded miserably. “We were cruel. We told him he was a coward, that he’d done enough damage and needed to quit while he was ahead.” Her voice broke. “We didn’t know you loved him, Rora. I’m so sorry.”
I leaned back against the counter, hand over my mouth, the tears slipping before I could stop them.
He didn’t leave because he wanted to. He left because he thought it was better for me.
Because they told him to.
Aly slid off the counter and came closer, her hands hovering near my shoulders. “If I could take it back, I would. I swear, I would. I just—” She sighed shakily. “You were so broken, and I thought getting rid of him would fix it.”
I met her eyes, trembling. “You made me lose him.”
“I know.” Her voice cracked. “I know, angel. And I’m so, so sorry.”
I turned away, wiping my face, taking a deep breath to steady the shaking in my chest.
Aly’s voice came soft again, trembling. “If there’s a way to make it right, I’ll help. Whatever it takes. I’ll help you find him again.”
I whispered a quiet okay… because I wasn’t sure if any of this was worth it anymore. If getting him back was even possible, but stupid little me… hoped anyway.