Heart of Fury - Stone and Fire # 2 [17+]

Chapter 22

yall finna LOVEEE this

Aurora's POV

I spent the first half-hour wandering around downstairs, refusing to let myself follow the magnetic tug towards the mini-bar in Evelyn's living room.

Chase Atlantic's Heaven and Back played a steady beat in the background, water splashing and laughs covering it up to make it seem like the trailer of a summer hot-topic film.

My friends walked towards me with bottles of various alcohol and shot glasses, a few unrecognizable faces flopping down on the couch around me as well. The one on my right was a girl with black skin almost luminescent against the sun-rays pouring through Evelyn's gigantic living room window, and a smile so big I felt defeated just sitting next to her. She gasped taking in my outfit.

"Oh my god. That's designer, isn't it? Mario and Reeves?"

I nodded enthusiastically, almost immediately comfortable. "Yep." Her black one piece was exquisitely simple, sheer-covered by a thin kimono robe. She noticed me looking, grin turning playful. "Walmart."

"No way." I had to let my jaw drop. Only a model like her could make a thin-clothed swimsuit look like it was designed by Coco Chanel herself. "And what would the name of this Walmart-bearing-model be?"

"You flatter me." She laid out her hand with a chuckle. "I'm Juliet."

"Aurora. Nice to meet you." New people made me somewhat anxious, but people like her-Juliet, made me wonder why the hell I let my parents make me be homeschooled.

We had a small conversation, endorsed by the common things- weather, the current economic state of New York City, and why the hell men can't seem to take hints. I realized by the time she bid me temporary farewell, that it didn't take much guts to meet new people. 

Maybe, just maybe, I'd find a some guy with the perfect scopes of Juliet's personality.

"Get up, Aurora. We have to go swim!" Evelyn's hand tugged my elbow, exasperation on her glazed over face. I glanced at the pool through the window, seeing Vera on the edge with eyes darting towards groups of people lounging under the balmy summer air. She liked being alone, but sometimes I wondered if it was just that thought that kept her from branching out. 

Scattered lawn chairs greeted me and Evelyn's group, and Kaiden along with some other guys jumped in, splashing everyone. Girls goaded at their hair being ruined, but luckily I'd taken the step back before mine encountered the water.

"Ah, fuck. The water's cold!" I seemed to forget Kaiden was a hot-blooded mammal, he hated all temperatures below the medium 25 degrees. 

"Missing my cousin?" I held a bottle of Casamigos and slipped waist-deep into the cool water, handing Vera a shot glass. My eyes scanned the familiar pool, stopping on a new addition Evelyn's renovation-loving mother probably had installed. On the far end, where fewer people lounged, was a mound of rocky cliffs and a waterfall display. I craned my head, seeing a little entrance behind the rushing water. A cave?

"Please. He's scarier than Ricky when I saw him bleeding out." 

I swallowed down a laugh, because I had no idea whether she was being serious. "Since when did you use dark humor as a coping mechanism?"

She tipped her head back, swallowing down the tequila with not an inch of reaction. "Since I realized I can't do anything to change what happened to him."

I kept glancing at the small gap between the waterfall and rocks, feeling the need to explore the place grow bigger. "We all have our ways." I closed my eyes, tilting my head back and letting the tension bleed out of my body. Finally. A few seconds passed, where all I did was let myself become a floatie like many others- and drowned out any and all noise.