Aurora Lockheart was once the sunshine girl-bright, kind, and full of life. But one night changed everything, leaving her a shadow of who she used to be.
A year later, just as she's beginning to think she'll never find her way back, her ex-best fr...
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It had been five hours since I last heard from Aurora—five long, tiring hours. She'd seen my message but hadn't answered, and every time I tried calling, it went straight to voicemail. Maybe she was asleep, or maybe she just wanted to ignore me. But to say I was worried was an understatement.
I had tried my hardest to get her to stay earlier, but she wouldn't. I couldn't force her, even if I wanted to. I missed her. God, I missed her so much it was almost painful.
When I hugged her earlier, I nearly told her I loved her. The words were right there, sitting on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them back. I didn't want to scare her off. What if it was too much too soon? Still, the truth was undeniable: she practically owned me at this point. Every thought, every beat of my heart, was hers.
Now, though, the concern was starting to creep in. I'd tried calling her at least a million times, and still, nothing. I tried Shannon. Nothing. Hell, I even tried Joey the hurler—and that's when you know things were getting desperate—but still, no one answered.
I was sat in Johnny's room, keeping an eye on him as he slept, the steady beeping of the hospital monitors the only sound. My phone was in my hand, and I kept glancing at it, hoping it would light up with her name, but it didn't. Then, suddenly, it rang. I shot up, nearly dropping it as I fumbled to pick it up.
The number was unfamiliar.
"Hello?" I answered, my heart racing for a moment, thinking it could be her.
"Finally... I've been calling you all week! Why'd you block my number?" Lola's voice came through the line, and I nearly groaned out loud.
"Jesus... leave me alone," I muttered, already feeling my patience wearing thin.
"She ruined everything! We were fine before she came back—" Lola started, her voice rising with frustration.
"She has a name, Lola," I snapped, cutting her off. "And we were never anything."
With that, I hung up, tossing my phone onto the chair next to me. Lola was doing my head in. We'd hooked up a few times, three or four at most, but she'd blown it all out of proportion. It had never been serious—not for me anyway—and now, she just wouldn't let it go.
I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to push away the irritation building in my chest. My thoughts drifted back to Aurora. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I grabbed my phone again, scrolling down to her contact, and hit call.
It rang and rang until, finally, her voicemail kicked in. I sighed as her familiar voice came through.
"It's Aurora. I'm probably sleeping or ignoring you, most likely the second option... anyways, leave a message after the beep."
I smiled despite the knot forming in my stomach. I could listen to her say those words a thousand times and never get tired of it. Her voice was like music to me, soft and sarcastic, just the way I loved it.
Loved her.
I hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Hey, Aurora... call me back when you get this. Sorry if I'm being... too much." I chuckled nervously, trying to keep things light.
But as I hung up, the uneasy feeling gnawed at me again. Something felt off. Really off.
