Strawberries & Cigarettes

Chapter 16

May 22, 2015

Aurora giggles as she sets her phone down next to the silver sink, twisting the cold tap on to spill water on the large watermelon placed inside.

"I swear I was like, fuck, I got to get out of here before these cops drag my ass to jail — all of my friends' fault, by the way!"

Oliver chuckles over the phone, pausing when he hears the water run or to collect his thoughts.

It's difficult for Aurora to know for certain.

"So, you like, bailed on your friends? Some friend you are," she jokes, her hand scrubbing a yellow soapy sponge across the surface of the watermelon.

He snorts. "They're more acquaintances, so I got the fuck out of there — mind my language, I know you hate cursing or people cursing too much."

Aurora rinses the soap off of the watermelon and puts the multiple opened packages of fruits such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and strawberries under the water.

It's her share of food for the barbecue that starts in about thirty minutes.

She believes eating fruit as dessert is ideal and important, so she's bringing them fresh diverse berries.

"Oh, no! I mean, I don't hate it but if it's too many curse words I feel like my brain automatically hurts or... Something? But I don't hate it!"

"That's what I love about you." Oliver goes quiet for a moment. "You're still a child at heart."

One of her arms carefully carries the heavy watermelon to the black marble kitchen island while she balances all of the fruit packages in one hand.

Love?

Aurora doesn't know if she heard him right, and maybe she wishes she didn't hear him at all.

Her ex-boyfriend saying the one bittersweet word again causes her heart to speed up and her throat to dry up.

But not in a good way.

He said the word so casually as if it isn't a strong expression to use.

"Too soon? Sorry, I had to," Oliver says with a soft chuckle, most likely shifting around when she hears minor static.

She doesn't respond to him.

Even if she wanted to, she doesn't think she could reply when her tongue turns numb and her mind alters to an endless void of nothingness.

No stable thoughts reside in her little world.

So instead she slices the large watermelon in half and slices it again into thin portions, then she cuts them into triangles so the pieces aren't too wide.

"What are you doing today, Rory? I'm going out of town with a girl named Emily, a real charm."

"Oh, really?" Aurora's ear presses her phone against her shoulder, arranging the small watermelon slices into a turquoise-lidded plastic container. "How's she like? Is she good to you? When did you start—"