𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘- a labyrinth sequel

𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄. Aurelia flinched when she entered the kitchen and noticed her mother leaning on the kitchen counter, like she'd been waiting there for this exact moment. Aurelia wondered what would happen, if she'd yell at her, or ground her. She hadn't meant to fall asleep at Donnelly's house, but the two of them had been exhausted after all the talking (and crying) they'd done that afternoon, that she hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep. When Donnelly finally shook her awake, it was eight o'clock, and Aurelia knew she'd be dead when she walked in the house. 

"I got an interesting phone call today," her mother hummed, taking a sip from a cup of coffee. "Your school called to tell me you had left early and not returned. And it's now nearly nine o'clock, and you're just now walking through the door. Where were you?"

"I'm sorry," Aurelia stated instantly. This was so unlike her. She never skipped school, never came home late. "Donnelly wasn't at school today, and I left to bring him his homework." It wasn't technically a lie, since she had brought him his morning homework. 

"That still doesn't explain why you walked through the door so late," said her mother. She'd never seen her look so maternal before, with her arms crossed over her chest as she cocked her head to the side, expecting an answer. Up until now, her parents never really had to parent her. Aurelia was a precocious child, and she'd usually spent most of her time at home, at school, or with Xander. They'd never had to worry about anything like this happening until recently. 

"He was home alone, and he was really out of it. I didn't want to leave him by himself," she answered. "We were watching movies, and I completely lost track of time."

"You should have called," Celia Clairmont replied, her voice cracking slightly. "When you're going to be home late, you call me, Lia. You know that." It was only then that Aurelia realized her mother wasn't angry with her at all. She had been scared. The guilt that Lia had been feeling about her tardiness was now amplified. How could she have been so selfish? She knew exactly what her mother had gone through, the fears that still plagued her even after all these years. After everything her mother had gone through, it made perfect sense that her mind would go to the worst case scenarios. She had been here all night worrying about her, and Aurelia hadn't even thought to call. 

"I'm sorry," she repeated, trying to convey just how horrible she felt. "It won't happen again, I swear-"

"You scared me," she frowned, pulling in Lia and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "We don't ask much of you. All I care about is that you're safe."

"I know," Lia whispered. All she could think about was Donnelly as her mother hugged her. Lia could only think about the fact that he had no one who cared about whether or not he came home, no one to hug him like this. His mother was gone, and his father-

Lia shuddered. She didn't even want to think about his father, nor the heinous things he did to his son. She squeezed her mother a little tighter, stifling the tears that threatened to spill again. She'd done enough crying today. 

"Where's dad?" Aurelia asked, noting his absence.

"Working late," her mother replied softly. "Are you hungry? There's some pasta on the stove if you're hungry." Aurelia nodded, and pulled herself from her mother's embrace to make herself a plate of food. Her mom followed her into the kitchen and moved to pour herself another cup of coffee when Aurelia cut her off. "How many cups have you had today?"

"Just one," she replied, averting her gaze. Liar. Aurelia narrowed her eyes, "Mom," she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Her mother sighed, muttering something about profilers, before she finally replied, "Okay, three," she grumbled. Lia shook her head disapprovingly, "You're cut off for the night. You know you can't be drinking caffeine so late."