Freedom, Books, Flowers, and the Moon

Chapter 9

The four wandered back into the kitchen, Cielo sliding the plates into the sink. Aurie slumped onto a stool, resting her head on the island in front of her.

"You tired, hun?" Beau sat next to her, successfully concreting that these were their spots at the island.

Aurelia nodded, not lifting her head.

"Ok, sweetheart, get your stuff and get in the truck."

"I can take her," Cielo intercepted.

"You just brought her; I got it," Beau answered.

"You got to take her home yesterday," Cielo argued while his opponent glared at him.

Aurie sat in silence, bouncing her focus between the two men.

"If the two of you are going to act like children, I'll take her."

Beau and Cielo froze, looking behind Aurelia at where the oldest man stood.

"You are being ridiculous. Aurelia, get your stuff and follow me."

"Yes sir," The girl quickly grabbed her tote from the floor beside her stool and followed King down the hall to the garage.

King took off his suit jacket as they walked, placing it on the roof of the first car they passed. In approximately the middle of the room, he opened the passenger side door of a white sports car, similar in appearance to Cielo's. Aurie quietly thanked the man and slid into the seat. Looking around, she noticed that the interior of the car was entirely black leather, bringing a nice contrast to the outside of the vehicle. King softly shut the door and walked around the car, climbing into his side. Aurie watched, enchanted, as he skillfully pressed a myriad of buttons around the cab. Her gaze was transfixed on his fingers, surprised by her thoughts of how pretty they were. She rested her head on the headrest and closed her eyes momentarily.

King backed down the driveway, glancing over at the girl next to him. He noticed her eyes were closed and decided to take advantage of her tiredness to admire her for a minute. Suddenly, the man realized why Aurie had been so insecure earlier in the day, ignoring all eye contact and rushing out of his classroom; she hadn't put any makeup on that morning. King smiled down at her, finding his discovery incredibly cute.

"How are you doing over there, bambi?"

Aurie opened her eyes and met his. "I'm just tired."

"I can tell. Make sure you get enough sleep tonight."

The girl nodded sleepily and closed her eyes again.

She woke later, feeling herself being lightly jostled. Aurie opened her eyes to find that her head was buried in someone's shoulder. Lifting her head, she caught a glimpse of King's brown hair.

"Why are you carrying me?" She grumbled sleepily before burying her head back into his shirt.

"You were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you,"

Aurelia rubbed her eyes, "You could've; I'm sure you didn't want to carry me,"

"You needed your sleep."

They passed under a streetlamp, and Aurie unintentionally cowered into King once more before clearing her throat.

"You can put me down now,"

King stopped suddenly, "Oh, right, of course, I'm sorry." He gently let the girl slide down until her feet hit the sidewalk.

The two stood awkwardly for a second before King slightly shook his head and continued walking. He slid his hands into the pockets of his dress pants as he began to speak, "I think you'll be working with Beau tomorrow, though I'm not entirely sure what that will entail."