Never Not You

I'm begging you

Leah returned home with a mixture of hope and dread twisting in her gut. The drive back had felt like a blur—her mind racing with thoughts of Aurora, the strained phone call, the hollow tone of her voice, the way she had barely even spoken to her. She had no idea what to expect, but she knew she couldn't leave Aurora alone in this any longer. She needed to be there, to help her through it, to remind her that she wasn't alone.

But when Leah walked through the door, the sight that greeted her wasn't what she'd imagined. It was worse.

Bags. Packed.

A wave of panic surged through Leah, her breath catching in her throat as she took in the sight of suitcases lined up by the door. Aurora's bags. Mateo's things. Everything was ready to go, like they were leaving.

Her heart pounded in her chest, her feet frozen in place for a moment as the reality of it hit her.

"Aurora?" Leah's voice was shaky as she called out, her mind racing with questions, with fear. What is she doing? Why are the bags packed?

From the kitchen, Aurora appeared, her face pale, her eyes red-rimmed and tired. She looked like a shadow of the woman Leah knew—the one who always had a spark of energy, who smiled when Leah walked into the room, who met her with warmth. Now, she was hollow. Distant.

"Aurora, what...what's going on?" Leah asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Aurora didn't meet Leah's gaze. She didn't even try to offer an explanation right away, her hands nervously fidgeting with the sleeves of her shirt, tugging at the edges as if the fabric could hide the truth of what she was doing.

"I..." Aurora began, her voice cracking. "I thought it might be best if I left for a while."

Leah blinked, her heart sinking further. "What do you mean, left? Where are you going?"

"I don't know," Aurora said softly, finally looking up at Leah, her eyes brimming with tears she had clearly been trying to hold back. "Anywhere. Away from here. From everything."

Leah stepped forward, her voice desperate, "You can't be serious. You're leaving me?"

Aurora shook her head quickly, guilt flashing across her face. "No. I'm not...I'm not leaving you. I just... I can't stay here, Leah. I can't do this anymore."

Leah's chest tightened, her heart aching at the sight of Aurora so broken, so lost. "Aurora, please. I'm here now. You don't have to go anywhere. We can figure this out together. You don't have to go through this alone."

"I am alone," Aurora whispered, her voice trembling. "You don't understand. Every time I turn on my phone, it's like... I see it all. All of the hate. All of the people blaming me, attacking me. I can't escape it, Leah. I can't even look at Mateo without thinking about what everyone's saying—that I've ruined lives. That I'm the reason those families are broken."

Leah's heart shattered at Aurora's words. She stepped closer, reaching out to touch Aurora's arm, but Aurora flinched, pulling back just enough to keep a distance between them.

"Aurora, none of this is your fault," Leah said, her voice firm but soft. "You were the one who was hurt. You didn't cause this, those men did. You stood up for yourself, and that doesn't make you the villain."

Aurora's eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head, refusing to believe Leah's words. "I keep thinking about their families, Leah. The kids who don't have their dads anymore. The wives and girlfriends who hate me. I'm the reason they're suffering. If I hadn't said anything, none of this would've happened."

Leah's voice broke, frustration and heartache swirling together. "You can't think like that, Rory. You didn't choose to be attacked. You didn't ask for any of this. Those men made their choices. You didn't ruin their lives—they did."