the truth

chapter ten

After a restless sleep, Aurora stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom the next day as she prepared to get ready to meet Bonnie and Elena at the Grill. She had just gotten home from a boring day at school and was eager to update her friend on the shocking news that her and Elena had discovered the day prior. 

As she admired her outfit, her eyes landed on the necklace hooked around her neck. She moved her fingers delicately over the silver chain of the necklace, tracing it as she viewed it. The simple design held a small emerald stone, giving it an understated elegance. As she latched the necklace, Aurora couldn't help but appreciate both its beauty and the purpose it served.

Stefan had given her the necklace earlier that day when he visited Elena. He decided that with the new unknown vampire in town, it was best for his and Elena friends to have a form of protection from vampire compulsion and so he gave Elena jewelry to give to her loved ones and personally gave Aurora the necklace she was currently wearing.

During the exchange, Stefan also had explained that vervain could also be ingested to provide protection against compulsion. Wanting a more convenient and reliable option, she had requested some to take daily. Stefan agreed and promised to get her more from their house as soon as he could. In the meantime, he insisted she wear the necklace for added protection to which she agreed to. Aurora's fingers played with the small emerald pendant, a tangible reminder of the extraordinary world she had been thrust into. 

Aurora then gathered her stuff and made her way downstairs to see her mother sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in her hands. As Jenna's eyes landed on her daughters presence she froze. She had been waiting to talk to her all night, but now that she was right in front of her she couldn't make out her words. Jenna cleared her throat grabbing Aurora's attention. 

"Morning, I'm going to the grill, I'll be home later." Aurora informed quickly as the tension in the air built around them. As the strawberry blonde began to head out the door her mother's voice stopped her. 
"Rory, please." Jenna pleaded her voice cracking, signaling that she had been clearly upset all night long. This caused Aurora to close her eyes and take a deep breath trying to stop herself from crying. She was so sick of it. 

"Can we please just talk?" Jenna asked in barely above a whisper. Aurora hated feeling this estranged from her mother, the two were always so close growing up. Aurora felt like she could tell her mother everything. Which was quite ironic in the moment. The girl really didn't want to talk to her mother right know as she still wanted time to process the information Damon had told her yesterday before she did. But on the other hand, she wanted to know the truth, whether it was bad or not. Aurora inhaled before turning around, she suppressed her mother a small smile before nodding and heading over to the table to sit down. Jenna poured Aurora a cup of coffee as Aurora texted Elena letting her know that she was going to be late. 

"I like your necklace, is that new?" Jenna began awkwardly as she sat back down. 
"Yeah, uh. I originally bought it for the party tonight, but it turns out it goes really well with my complexion so I might wear it more frequently." Aurora began to ramble nervously as she played with her necklace, a habit that she often did when she felt overwhelmed. No matter the kind of jewelry, she would always fiddle with it to calm her nerves. Silence overwhelmed them once again.
"Rory, I'm so incredibly sorry." Jenna apologized breaking the quietness. "I should've told you." 
"Why didn't you?" Aurora questioned hurt in her voice.

"I was being selfish... I was afraid that if you found out I wasn't your real mother, you'd stop treating me as one and I didn't want to lose you." Jenna admitted tears building her eyes once again. 
"I would never do that. Whether you gave birth to me or not, you raised me. So therefore, you'll always be my mother." Aurora reassured the woman. "So it's true then?" 
"Well that depends what do you know?" Jenna questioned hesitantly. 
"I know that my birth mother was some woman named Lorelai and apparently she was your best friend and went to high school with you. She passed due to complications while giving birth to me and in her will she appointed you guardian of me if anything was to happen to her." Aurora recalled Damon's words from the previous day. "The only thing I don't get, is who is my father and why didn't he want me?" 

Jenna's face turned sympathetic reaching over and grabbing her daughters hand in comfort. 
"Your father's name was Chase Argent, he was a wonderful man and he loved your mother very much. They met in high school when we were Juniors, I was already friends with your mother at the time and they truly did bring out the best in each other. They were soulmates. When Lorelai went into labor with you, Chase dropped everything and drove to the hospital. But on the way there he missed a stop sign and got into a car accident. He didn't make it." Jenna explained as she watched tears roll down her daughters face causing tears to fall down her own. "I am so so sorry Rory." 

Aurora couldn't hold it in anymore, the girl broke down into cries. Her and her mother hugged finding comfort in each others presence. Both of them feeling Lorelai Argent's presence within each other. After the emotional exchange, Aurora didn't feel up to going out and socializing so instead she went up to her room when one thought on her mind. What did she do to deserve this?