My Enigma

Chapter Eighteen

I'm sorry my lovelies..I have no excuse :(

I hope this chapter makes up for some of it.

Happy reading!

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(Auroras pov)

My alarm went off causing me to wake up and I had never hated my alarm clock more... I say that every morning though.

The first thing I felt was the pounding in my head, each beat like a hammer against my skull. My mouth was dry, my limbs heavy, and I groaned, rolling over and burying my face into the pillow. The events of the previous night were a hazy blur, but I distinctly remembered the beer. Too much beer. A groan escaped my lips as I struggled to sit up.

The sunlight filtered through the curtains, a harsh reminder that it was morning, and I had to face the day. School. The thought of it made my stomach churn, not just from the hangover, but from the anticipation of seeing Luke. Or rather, talking to Luke about that almost kiss.

The soft knock on my bedroom door was a sound I didn't need right now.

"Aurora, are you up?" my mom's voice called from the other side.

"Yeah, Mom," I replied, trying to mask the rasp in my voice. "I'm up."

"Your door was locked last night," she said, a hint of suspicion in her tone. "Is everything okay?"

"Just wanted some privacy," I lied smoothly, forcing myself to sound casual. "Needed to catch up on sleep."

There was a pause before she responded. "Alright. Just checking."

Phew! I exhaled in relief as her footsteps retreated.

Thankful that she let it slide, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and planted my feet on the floor. With every movement, my head throbbed, reminding me of my poor choices. I couldn't even think about breakfast; the thought of food made me feel queasy.

The car ride to school with my mom was a silent affair. The radio played softly, but I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to pay attention. I stared out the window, my mind racing with what I would say to Luke.

"We're here," my mom announced, pulling up to the drop-off area. I muttered a quick thanks as I hugged her,  kissed her cheek goodbye, and quickly got out, eager to escape the confined space of the car and the unspoken questions I knew she had.

I had never locked my bedroom door before so I am sure, she did not buy my lie and there will be questions I will have to answer later but for now, all I wanted to do was talk to Luke.

Last night was amazing, I had forgotten how being outside and having fun felt like, damn! Just living in the moment, and not having a worry in the world.

I know I only met Luke and Gabe a few weeks ago but slowly they had become a significant part of my life and that was both exciting and scary because I'm a believer that things take time, especially building bonds and such but lately, things have seemed to be moving at an exponential rate,

Speaking of... I have been having some recollection of last night and OMG! I tried to kiss Luke and he pulled away, I'm not going to lie to you beautiful people, that kind of hurt my feelings. Granted his reason was absolutely valid but it felt like some sort of rejection, you know?

I am not going to over think it though because his reason was actually really sweet and cute. I guess that's the reason I woke up just wanting to see him and talk to him, I don't have anything in particular that I want to say to him but I just want to be around him you know?

I woke up feeling more into Luke than I did yesterday and it is low-key scaring me.

I met up with Gabe, Hanna, and Connor at our usual spot by the lockers. Gabe gave me a knowing look, clearly aware of my state from the night before, but said nothing.

"Rough night?" Hanna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You could say that," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "Seen Luke?"

Hanna shook her head. "Not yet. Why?"

I bit my lip, hesitating. "Nothing really, Just asking."

Connor was fiddling with his phone, seemingly oblivious to our conversation. Probably still nursing his own wounds from my rejection. I felt a pang of guilt but pushed it aside.

The first period dragged on, and there was still no sign of Luke. I had waited for that classroom door to swing open and for Luke to come walking in but sadly, it never did.

By lunch, I was getting restless. I checked my phone repeatedly, but there were no replies to my texts, and my calls went unanswered.

Each time I stared at the screen, my stomach twisted tighter. What if he was avoiding me because of last night? Because I had been the one to lean in, to almost kiss him? My mind spun with self-blame and confusion.

Was it my fault? Did I misread everything?

Panic started to creep in. This wasn't like Luke. We'd only known each other a few weeks, but he had never just disappeared like this. I turned to Gabe, who was busy scrolling through his phone.

"Do you know where Luke is?" I asked, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.

Gabe glanced up at me and shrugged. "It's just something he does sometimes. You'll get used to it."

"Get used to it?" I repeated, incredulous. "Just disappearing?"

"Yeah," he said nonchalantly, going back to his phone. "He'll turn up." He said that as if it was normal, like no big deal at all but still...

Frustration bubbled up inside me. Why did I care so much? Why did it bother me that he was ignoring me? Maybe because I liked him, more than I wanted to admit. We weren't even in a relationship, yet here I was, stressing out over his absence.

By the end of the day, my worry had morphed into anger. My phone buzzed with a notification, and my heart leaped, only to crash when I saw it was Gabe's phone, not mine. Gabe answered the call, and from his end of the conversation, it was clear he was talking to Luke.

"Yeah, man. Sure, I'll see you later," Gabe said, hanging up. He looked at me and shrugged. "Luke's fine."

"He didn't call me," I said, the anger evident in my voice.

"Guess he didn't think to," Gabe said with a shrug.

He didn't know it but that statement caused my heart to break a little and I didn't know why.

I clenched my fists, feeling a mix of hurt and anger. Why hadn't Luke reached out to me? Did he not care how I felt? Was I that insignificant to him?

Maybe he'll call me later, I tried to convince myself and in the moment, it worked and I felt my anger dissipate a little.

Connor, who had been in his own world, finally tuned in. "What's going on?"

Hanna, always too honest for her own good, blurted out, "Aurora and Luke were at a party together last night."

Are you freaking kidding me? Why on earth would she tell him that?

Connor's eyes narrowed, and I saw the familiar flash of hurt and anger. "You what?"

"It was nothing," I said quickly, trying to diffuse the situation. "It didn't even happen."

"Doesn't seem like nothing," Connor muttered, clearly upset.

Great. Now Connor was mad at me again, and Luke was nowhere to be seen.

The day had gone from bad to worse.

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Hey lovelies!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

I just wanted to say thanks for sticking around and bearing with me. I am really grateful.

Love,

Alegna.