⎯⎯ ୨ post mexico night 1 ୧ ⎯⎯
THE RIDE BACK TO THE HOTEL WAS AGONISINGLY SILENT. Aurelia put her headphones in, unable to bear the thick quiet that settled between them. Her father was gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were turning white and she was digging her nails so deeply into her palms it was leaving a mark.
She knew she had royally fucked up, and that the tiny sliver of trust her father had in her had crumbled to pieces. And it felt awful. She had thought that all she wanted was to see Taylor again, to feel the reassurance only she could provide, but sitting in the passenger seat beside her father who was both so deeply outraged at, and terrified for, her, all she could feel was regret pooling in her stomach.
It had meant the world to her to see Taylor again, to know that she still loved her like a daughter- so why didn't she feel any better? She thought that she would have, but the only emotion coursing through her veins was shame and a deep sense of bitter regret.
When they reached the hotel, Aurelia was quick to jump out of the car, grateful for the escape from the stuffiness of the car. She kept her earphones in and her head down as she followed Joe all the way up to their hotel room. As soon as she passed through the entrance, she stormed to her room and slammed the door shut.
Joe re-opened the door and followed her straight in. She was lying on the bed, facing away from him. He walked in further and took a seat on the edge, keeping a careful distance from her. "Aurelia..." He started, his anger rising with each second. He sighed, shaking his head. "Do you realise how stupid what you did was? You've never even been to Mexico before! And you thought you could navigate it on your own? You couldn't even handle leaving the house in the English countryside!"
"Well, I was fine!" She fought back, sitting up and turning to face him. "Everything turned out fine! I'm not a baby! You don't have to overreact like this!" She crossed her arms, glaring at him. She may have regretted her actions- but that didn't mean she was going to back down.
"But that's the thing, Aurelia! You weren't fine! You had a meltdown in the audience! What if Andrea didn't find you? Then what? If someone didn't take advantage of your vulnerable state- you probably would have ended up hurting yourself anyway! And how did you think you were going to get home mid-meltdown? You weren't! You're just..." He trailed off, his voice quietening. "...so fucking lucky Andrea found you when she did."
Aurelia furrowed her eyebrows, but her resolve was faltering. He wasn't wrong- she knew that. There'd been so many times when she'd had a meltdown and she'd hurt herself during it. And that was with Joe or Taylor helping her. She had no chance alone. It frustrated her beyond belief that she didn't have the independence abilities of a regular sixteen year old.
Joe sighed, continuing on, but his voice was less angry. "You know I can't let you get away with this..." He shook his head. "I'm taking your phone, and you're on strict house arrest. Not that you ever leave the house, but now you're not allowed to at all. And you can only use your computer for schoolwork, and I'm going to be checking to make sure you're actually doing your work everyday. You'll earn those privileges back when you can prove you can be trusted not to make dangerous decisions like that."
Aurelia groaned loudly, flopping back onto the bed so hard it hurt her head. "That is so not fair!" She complained, staring up at the ceilings with her arms still crossed. "I just wanted to see Taylor! It was no big deal!"
"If you wanted to see Taylor you should've asked me! I would much rather facilitate a visit then get a call from her saying you snuck out to attend her concert and had a meltdown in the middle of it! In an unfamiliar country, no less!" Joe shouted back. He stood up, running his hands through his hair in irritation. "Look," He said. "Our flight out back to New York leaves in the morning. Just... get some rest. We can discuss more then."
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right where you left me
FanfictionAURELIA ALWYN was stuck. After her life crumbled to pieces in April of 2023, when she lost the one person she thought she'd have forever, she couldn't move forward. She couldn't push through the rubble and the debris her life had left her with, and...