Trust

Punish Me

My eyes meet my dad's blue ones and the guilt only grows. His arms are folded across his chest and he looks very angry and disappointed.

"Aurora Tomlinson. In the car. Now." He snaps. I drop my head in shame and run upstairs to grab my things. I quickly shuffle out, giving a tiny goodbye to Lottie and Jay. I shuffle out to dad's car and sit in shotgun.

After a moment, dad emerges and sits in the driver's seat, starting up the car. The drive home is a dreadfully silent one. We finally pull up home and we walk inside.

Dad walks in and Niall greets him with a smile, oblivious to dad's scowling face. I walk in behind him and Niall looks confused.

"Uh, hey Aurora!" He greets. I offer a sheepish smile. He shrinks back, finally aware of the tension. I walk up to my room. Much to my displeasure, dad follows. I throw my stuff down and cross my arms, turning to dad.

"Would you like to explain?" He asks, trying to keep his cool.

"Oh, you know, Lottie and I were having a great time and we snuck out and arrived back in one piece. All in all it was a fun night!" I said in a smart aleck voice. He runs his hand through his hair.

"Aurora, I'm only asking you this once. Where did you go?" He asks sternly.

"Out" I answer vaguely.

"DARN IT, AURORA! WHERE THE HECK WERE YOU?!?" He explodes. I shrink back a little.

"Uh uh..." I say, my sudden burst of confidence gone. He gives me the classic 'I'm waiting' look. I sigh in defeat. "A party"

His eyes grow wide.

"Oh gosh. Did you drink? Who was the host? Are you okay? Did someone hurt you? Were there boys? How old was everyone? You can't sneak out like that! My mum and I were scared to death!" He says in one sharp roll of the tongue. He looks at me, obviously expecting me to answer his questions.

"I'm fine! And no, I did not drink! Yeah, there were guys... But everyone was in their teen years, just like me." I respond, pointedly leaving out one question.

"Who was the host?" He asks seriously.

"A friend."

"Aurora...." He warns. I avoid eye contact before answering.

"Gavin" I say, thinking he doesn't know who he is.

"Aurora, is that the one guy you met at the beach?" He asks. My head shoots up.

"How did you know?"

"That's beside the point. Isn't he like 19?!?" He asks sternly. I lower my head again. "Dear lord...."

"He's not that bad! He's actually a really nice guy!" I argue.

"Then tell me, what did you do at the party?" He asks.

"I, uh, i... Mingled." I say.

"And?"

"Umm, danced."

"Let me guess, with Gavin, right? Well, one more question. Why do you smell like smoke?" He asks pointedly. I bite my lip. Dad just shakes his head.

"Aurora, you're getting into the wrong crowd! Seriously? A guy that smokes? Sneaking out to parties? Short dresses and red lipstick? And where in the earth did you get those heels?!? You're 15 for heaven's sake!" He says, raising his voice.

"He's not bad, dad! He's really nice! So what, he smokes? Zayn does too! Does that make him a bad guy? He's 19, not 90!! You're saying that like he's some tattoo-covered pierced freak!" I defend Gavin.

"Aurora, you are fifteen! He is nineteen! That's just like you dating Harry or Niall! They're all the same age, I hope you realize that! He is FOUR YEARS OLDER than you!! I can already see the impact he is having on you, and I don't like it at all. From now on, you can't spend time with him."

My jaw drops open.

"You can't keep me from talking to him! You can't tell me what to do! You're not even my real dad! I hate you!" I shout, tears streaming down my face.

"Oh, not your real dad? Your real dad beat you, remember?" He retorts. My entire face drops and the tears start back up. The anger on his face melts away as he realizes what he said.

"Oh, Aurora, babe, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." He starts.

"Get out. Leave me alone. I hate you! You'll never be my dad. Why? Because you're worse than he is." I snap. He walks to my door and closes it. I immediately collapse on my bed in tears.

*Louis' POV*

I walk out of her room and my tough facade instantly drops. I slide down the wall, unable to control my tears any longer. She hates me. She said so, not once but twice. She said I'm worse that her abusive father. She disowned me as her dad! Maybe I deserve it! I mean, I just HAD to bring up her dad, didn't I?

"Argh!" I exclaim, hitting my head on the wall. Harry appears from his doorway and pops out.

"What's wrong, Lou?" He asks.

"I screwed up, Haz. I screwed up so badly...." I state