The Hidden Bodies of Sun Valley

Chapter Sixteen

Aurora walked deep into the woods behind Nick's lake house. Ophelia's original plan didn't seem to put Aurora at ease. She decided to take fate into her own hands and find Grant herself.

Around her, all she could see were birch trees. They were so skinny, she would be able to detect any movement.

The sun was beginning to rise.

"Grant!" Aurora beckoned.

Aurora felt like she had been walking for hours already, he must be close by she thought.

"Grant, we need to talk! I came alone," Aurora kept walking through the trees. "Baby, please."

Aurora took Bo's advice and wanted to be seductive to lure Grant in. She didn't know whether she even wanted to see him or run from him.

Grant watched from afar as Aurora called out to him. This was it he thought, she had finally come to her senses and came looking for him.

"I know you didn't mean to kill anybody," Aurora stopped walking and leaned against a tree. "You we're just protecting yourself and — and me." She spoke loudly.

While peering from the leaned tree, Aurora spotted a vehicle a few feet away from her. She squinted her eyes, thinking the car looked familiar.

She started walking, slightly hesitant.

Leo's truck.

Aurora audibly gasped at the sight, her legs ran numb. She swallowed the bile building in her mouth and continued forward.

She examined Leo's vehicle visually, spotting a rope, alcohol bottle, weapons, tarp, a tire iron, and even a lug wrench in the bed of his truck. His car had bents all around the back and Aurora spotted dry blood on the outside. She decided to open the two-door passenger side and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

A picture of Giovanna on the dash, an air freshener, his baseball cap, and even his breakfast — a Dunkin Donut bag.

She backed away, wanting to shut the door to go to the driver's side. As she moved, the door slammed shut for her.

Turning around, Aurora's eyes widened as Grant stood in front of her.

Grant sniffed the side of her head, trying to imprint her smell into his brain. It had been so long since he was this close to her. He wanted to remember everything about her.

Aurora almost flinched back when he began to sniff her but remembered her plan — to seduce and kill him.

"I forgot you always smelt like vanilla, god I've missed that pure bliss smell." Grant whispered.

He licked the side of her face wanting to taste her. Grant wanted to embed himself in all things Aurora.

Aurora was taken aback by Grant's tongue on her face.

"Grant," she purred, putting her hands on his chest. "We need to talk first." She spoke quietly, not wanting to break eye contact.

"Of course, there are some things we need to go over. We have to figure where we are going to run away to, how to dispose of those bodies, what to do with the rest of your lowlife friends," Grant ranted as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

"Where have you been this whole time? You disappeared on me," Aurora backed away slightly.

"The police came knocking on my door freshman year pinning you as the main suspect for three murders. Why come back all of a sudden?" She spoke frantically.

Grant was hurt by the loss of her touch.

"I never meant to leave you behind. I was always going to come back for you. Remember... I was going to meet you that night at the basketball game. But shit got messed up. Those fuck ass pigs got in my way and kept me from you for over five years!" Grant exclaimed as he started to recall the lost time between them.

"But I was never really far away from you, Aurora. I was always there, making sure you were okay. I needed to watch you, even if I couldn't touch you." He gripped the side of her face staring longingly into her eyes.

"This has always been about you. It doesn't matter where I've been because the truth is, I never really left. I knew we were destined to be together and no one was going to change that. Not Leo, not Iris, and definitely not Giovanna!" said Grant.

Aurora could see the unhinged look in Grant's eyes as he spoke about what he had been doing for the last five years. It scared her to see that he was nowhere near the person she thought she fell in love with.

"You were my first everything, Grant. My first love, my first real experience at what happiness was truly about. I didn't even want to accept what the police were saying about you," Aurora's eyes welled with tears. "Giovanna vouched for you. You had no right to kill her dammit, Grant. If you really have been watching me all these years, you can see how much all these people meant to me."

She cupped his chin.

"You could've talked to me. What made you want to kill? Who turned you into this?"

"Well see the thing is Aurora, I was like this long before I met you. My father was not a good man. He abused me and made me hunt people. It was what he was good at and he made me good at it too." Grant burrowed his chin deeper into her hand.

"You say I should see how much these people mean to you Aurora. But that's the thing, I don't give a damn. I only care about what we have. Everything outside of that is non-existent to me. Plus, Giovanna was a noisy little bitch who stabbed me in the back with fishing pliers. She was going to die one way or another." Grant sneered.

"We can just forget about them... about everyone, Grant. You said we could just run away. Where would we go? Do you have passports? I just miss how affectionate we were together — the passion we shared. We still have that, no?" Aurora closed the distance between them, pushing her body close to his, mouths inches apart.

"You did this all for me?" She whispered.

Grant pulled her body flush against his, capturing her lips. He had missed this, being with her. The taste of her. He had his eyes closed, kissing her more passionately.

"I have one more confession to make..." Grant smiled against her lips.

Aurora wrapped her arm around his neck, leaning more into the kiss. She reached into her right boot, pulling out the knife.

"And what is that, Grant?"

He opened his eyes as Aurora plunged the knife deep into his stomach.

"My real name is — Nolan."