Never Not You

Please Rory

Leah sat on the edge of her bed, barely paying attention to the banter Georgia was throwing her way. Her thoughts were already three days ahead, imagining the feeling of finally being home, walking through the door and finding Aurora and Mateo waiting for her. It was unusual for her to be so eager for camp to end, but this time it felt different. She needed to be there for Aurora, to hold her, to tell her everything would be alright and that they'd face this together.

Her phone buzzed softly on the mattress beside her, drawing her eyes toward it. She reached for it absentmindedly, expecting another message from her mum or maybe a training update. But her hand froze the moment she saw the name light up on the screen.

My Rory <3

The picture of Aurora holding Mateo, his tiny hand curled around her finger, stared back at Leah, as if taunting her with its normalcy. For a second, Leah wondered if she was losing it, if her mind was playing tricks on her because she wanted so badly to hear from her.

"G-Georgia," Leah stammered, her throat tightening. "Am I... am I seeing things?"

Georgia looked up from her bed, frowning at the tone in Leah's voice. She stood up, walked over, and glanced down at the screen. "Leah... that's real. It's her."

Leah blinked, her heart racing as the disbelief washed over her. It was real. Aurora was calling her—video calling her. The words night time video call echoed in Leah's mind. Was it for Mateo's bedtime?

Without thinking, her fingers swiped across the screen to answer. The screen flickered to life, and the first thing Leah saw was Mateo's small face, his chubby cheeks flushed with energy, his tiny hands holding onto a bottle as he wriggled around in bed, moving side to side in that restless way he always did before sleep.

Aurora's voice came through faintly, just barely audible behind the camera. "I told you I'd keep you updated. He's been holding his bottle and rolling around all day... thought I'd let you know before I put him to sleep."

Leah's heart clenched. Aurora's voice was so distant, so hollow. This wasn't the Aurora she knew. This wasn't her Rory. It sounded like she was going through the motions, trying to sound like herself, but Leah could hear it—how far away she really was.

"Hi, little man," Leah whispered, trying to keep her voice steady, even as her heart ached. Mateo gurgled softly, shifting in the bed, clearly too tired to focus on much else. Leah smiled softly at him, though the smile didn't reach her eyes. She spoke to him for a little while, telling him how much she missed him, how proud she was that he was holding his bottle by himself. But the entire time, her thoughts were with Aurora—hovering just out of reach, like a ghost behind the camera.

When it was time to put Mateo to bed, Leah shifted, her voice lowering. "Rory... please. Let me just see you."

But Aurora didn't move the camera. She kept it focused on Mateo's small body, now settled down, his little chest rising and falling softly with each breath.

Leah's voice cracked. "Please, Rory... let me see you."

Still, no response. Leah's chest tightened, tears threatening to spill over. "I love you, Rory," she whispered, her voice barely holding together.

There was a pause, a stretch of silence that felt endless before Aurora's voice came through, weak and detached. "Love you too. I've got to go now... just thought you'd want to see that."

Leah's heart shattered. She could hear the finality in Aurora's words, the way she was closing herself off, pulling away even though Leah was reaching for her. "Okay. I'll see you soon. I love you."

This time, there was no real reply. Just a soft hum of recognition before the call abruptly ended, leaving Leah staring at the dark screen in her hands.