BURN CRASH • LRH

8. late night talking

LATE NIGHT TALKING

The night was quiet. Too quiet.

Surprising for living above the streets of New York City. Even the usual kind middle age man who plays his saxophone on the corner of third and second street was asleep tonight.

It was far too silent.

Aurora sits and stares out her living room window, looking out at the few people that walk by below her.

She woke up from another nightmare, the one that she wishes every night she could erase from her memory forever. the one that leaves a terrible taste in her mouth when she wakes up.

It always keeps her awake the rest of the night.

They always started the same way, her waking up back in San Francisco, back with her mother. Her mom being the reason she's here in New York in the first place, she wanted a way out. and she got it.

Once she finally wakes up with her heart pounding and cold sweat drenching the tips of her hair that cover her forehead. Going back to sleep never happens, because the memories keep playing like a movie stuck on repeat.

But this time, Aurora has something to at least attempt to distract herself with while she waits for the sun to come up.

Flipping through some of the photos she's taken on her camera, holding her laptop in her lap, she tries her best to stare at the bright screen while her eyes are screaming at her to go to sleep. but Aurora knows that's impossible.

Because every time she closes her eyes, the nightmare replays in her head. It haunts her. Keeping her from having a restful sleep when knowing the next day her schedule will be slammed full and two hours of sleep is all she's had.

As she scrolls through the thousands of pictures she has saved on her laptop — some dating back three years ago. She comes across more recent ones to see Luke's face across her screen.

Luke.

Shaking her head at the thought of the blonde man who seems to be taking over her every thought, Aurora picks up her phone. her finger hovering over Ophelia's content, looking at the time it reads three am, the moonlight is testing her again.

She knows her best friend isn't awake, but it's worth the shot.

Hearing the dial tone ring for a minute, she gets no answer, which is what she expected, in fact, Aurora hoped her friend wouldn't answer so she knows she was sleeping well unlike herself.

Calling Michael could be a hit or miss. He could be awake playing a video game, or, he could have already been asleep for hours. But when she gets no answer, she knows he's asleep too.

Aurora looks back to her laptop to see Luke again, the pictures she took only last week with his white tank and burnt orange pants that brought out his bleached hair and blue eyes.

Luke.

She thought to herself for a moment, contemplating whether this was a good idea or not. Knowing him, he's probably asleep by eight to be up at dawn with his booked schedule. He won't care Aurora.

Running her hands over her face, her eyes stinging with lack of sleep. She just wants to close them and see nothing as she drifts to sleep instead of the past things that chip away the good memories with her mom.

Throwing caution to the wind she picks up her phone and dials her last resort. Hating the fact she has to talk to someone about her problems just to sleep, but she knows Ophelia and Michael have told her countless times if they're awake they'll do anything for her.