Over and Over Again | ONC 2023

Chapter 3

"Hey Aurelia?"

Aurelia looked up from her book and towards the other end of the couch. She immediately furrowed her brows in concern when she saw the nervousness shadowing Cal's face.

"Yeah? What's wrong?" she asked and quickly scooted over to his side.

He rested his hand over hers. "Were you... engaged?" he asked hesitantly. "I know you don't like talking about old partners, but being engaged is sort of a big deal in someone's life. I'm surprised you never told me."

She assumed he was talking about Jeff. The last time she had been officially engaged, Cal hadn't been born yet – hell, his great, great grandparents probably hadn't even been born yet. "What makes you say that?" Aurelia asked suspiciously. She had moved a few cities over after they broke up, she thought she had cut all ties with that chapter of her life already.

Aurelia never stayed in one place for very long. She had lived in most livable countries by this point, being careful not to form any memorable ties or attachments in each place. She carried her life around in an easy to pack suitcase and cat carrier.

"Teresa went on a blind date recently," he explained. "The guy said he was a photographer, so she looked him up on social media afterwards."

He handed her his phone. His sister had sent a screenshot of a picture from Jeff's Instagram – a picture of Aurelia bundled up under a blanket on a picnic.

"Isn't this Aurelia?" Teresa's text read.

There was definitely no way to deny that it was her in the photo. She was wearing her favorite pastel pink hair clip, and her favorite earrings – gold studs shaped like croissants.

She had always refused to let Jeff take her picture, he must have taken this one while she wasn't paying attention.

She remembered that afternoon, it was definitely not picnic weather. Despite the cold, rain, and wind, Jeff seemed oddly insistent on going out. She would later find out that Jeff had actually intended to propose that day, but decided at the last minute to save the moment for the following week at the party.

The caption beneath the picture stirred up unwanted emotions and broke her heart all over again.

"Excited to call the love of my life my wife."

Aurelia had been making up excuses for years to avoid having to talk about her situation – this was the first time in quite a while. Anyone with basic math skills would figure out that her years didn't logically add up, and immortality was a can of worms that she wanted to keep shut.

These days, trying to convince someone she was immortal would probably get her locked up in an institution.

Immortality like this was about as useful as a Christmas tree in the middle of July.

"This was ages ago," she said and pointed to the date of the picture. Jeff had posted it just over a year ago. A year seemed long to these humans, but it was merely a blip in Aurelia's life. "We were never even officially engaged."

Aurelia was glad to hear that Jeff was putting himself out there again, she had been worried about him. He called and texted her for weeks following the breakup. As much as it pained her to do so, she ignored him – it was for his own good.

Cal furrows his brows. "But the caption?"

"Jeff proposed a few days after posting that picture," she said. "I broke up with him later that evening."

Cal stared at her in disbelief. "Jesus Aurelia, that's harsh."

"Hey." Aurelia pouted and gave Cal a small nudge. "Shouldn't you be happy about that? We wouldn't be together if I had said yes."

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her. "Good point," he murmured against her skin and kissed her temple.

Many people she dated would get jealous over how many exes she seemingly had. Although, no one's guess as to how many she actually had was ever remotely close to accurate. Cal was one of the few outliers. He was mature and the furthest thing from insecure. She told him she didn't want to talk about it, and that was that. It was why she liked him so much.

"I know," Aurelia giggled and snuggled closer against Cal's side. She peered over and noticed the cup Cal was holding was empty. "I'll get us some more tea."

She took both of their cups into the kitchen and filled a kettle with water. The stove clicked a few times before the glowing blue flames shot out, and Aurelia placed the kettle over the burner. After having lived in London for nearly a decade back in the sixties, Aurelia had taken a liking towards tea. Afternoon tea on the weekends became a ritual from her, even after she left England.

Aurelia absentmindedly stared at her reflection in the chrome kettle. Her look hadn't changed much over the years. Sure, she had dyed her hair every color of the rainbow at some point and changed her style too, but in the end, all of her features had been left unchanged.

She still looked the way she did around nine hundred and eighty years ago; deep, chestnut brown hair without any greys in sight; smooth skin free of wrinkles; light brown eyes with perfect, twenty twenty vision; and healthy bones, joints, and muscles.

Every morning, she would look in the mirror, hoping to see some sign of aging. No matter how thoroughly she tried analyzing every square inch of her face, she never did. Without fail, each day would be started with disappointment.

She felt a soft, furry nudge against her leg. "You'd never leave me, right Lily?" she cooed and picked her up. Lily gave her a high-pitched meow and purred in response.

Aurelia chuckled and petted Lily behind the ears. Many people had entered and left Aurelia's life, but Lily was always there when she needed love and comfort. Lily hadn't changed much either; her fur was still thick and soft, and she was as spry as a kitten.

She placed Lily back onto the floor. The cat quickly scurried out of the kitchen, probably to snuggle up against Cal now that the seat next to him was empty.

Aurelia jumped a bit as the kettle began to whistle – it somehow always startled her. Almost like ink, dark streaks began to flow out of the teabags once they hit the boiling water. It wasn't long before the water was a cohesive amber color. She wished she could be like the tea; completely blending into her surroundings until it was impossible to single her out. Although, that contradicted her need to always have a partner – she was impossible to please, apparently.

The sweet, earthy scent filled her nose and calmed her senses. Though not an actual place, a nice cup of tea was her safe place. Even so, there was still a looming feeling floating around her that she couldn't shake away.

Aurelia picked up the cups and headed back to the living room. Both cups were nearly full to the brim, but not a single drop was spilled. Ever since taking those etiquette classes back in the late 1800's, Aurelia's movements were always subconsciously made with care and grace.

If she was being honest, however, she always thought the classes were a stupid waste of time. It was simply the easiest way to find a husband back in those days.

"Here you go," Aurelia said as she handed Cal his cup.

"Thank you." Cal lightly blew on his steaming tea. "By the way, how did Jeff react when you broke things off right after he proposed?"

Aurelia grimaced. Jeff was not someone she wanted to talk about right now. "Not well, I guess," she said flatly and gave him a slight shrug, hoping he'd take the hint.

He nodded and took a small sip of his tea. "I sure hope you don't do that to me when I propose," he said and chuckled softly.

Aurelia's heart sank.

She knew it was time.