THE TRUTH was, the idea of having money scared Aurora. Being rich was once a dream to her, but now she was clean, relapsing was all she could ever think about and if she had the money, the temptation was stronger. It felt like this constant pressure on her shoulders to make everyone proud; if she relapsed, everybody would hate her and think that she wasn't trying.
Aurora was trying everyday; the struggle was carried upon her shoulders, weighing her down, at every moment and nobody noticed. Nobody patted her on the back and congratulated her for getting through each day, because they didn't know how real her addiction was. They'd never understand how it felt to be her.
Whilst the boys went to look for the twins' uncle, a coast guard who would tell them where the shipwreck was, the girls stayed back to keep the shop open. Rory had her first shift at the counter, accompanied by Sarah, whilst Kiara decorated customers in the garden, and Cleo searched about Blackbeard on the laptop.
"Thank you, have a nice day." Rory smiled at her first customer, before looking back at Sarah and Cleo who clapped proudly.
Sarah asked, "First customer, how do you feel?"
"Like a business woman." Rory mused.
"Do you smell that?" Cleo chuckled, "Money."
"Good afternoon," The next customer, an older man, smiled innocently, "Y'all remember me?"
Rory frowned at the man, who she had never seen before; she looked at Sarah, who's expression faded. Cleo replied sarcastically, "How could we forget?"
"I like that accent," The old man scoffed, "Welcome to the country."
"Excuse me?" Rory raised her eyebrows in disbelief, "I think you should leave."
"I have something for you here." The man continued, passing Sarah a piece of paper. He explained, "I can take this place off your hands at any time. For a fair price."
"Public notice." Rory read over Sarah's shoulder, "You can't just kick us out. This is our place. Search somewhere fucking else."
"Nice language," The man retorted sarcastically.
Rory took the piece of paper from Sarah and ripped it in half, her frustration seething. Sarah replied to him calmly, "I don't think this is necessary. But we can offer you a keychain? Maybe a glass bong, a pipe? You look like you need one."
"You know, y'all are gonna lose this place." The man nodded, "You might as well sell it now." He looked at Cleo, "And you have safe travels back to your homeland."
Cleo waved at him as he left, as Rory took a deep breath to try and suppress the anger she was feeling. When she was high, the anger was accompanied by the euphoric feeling of the drugs, though now she was clean, all Rory felt was the rage; Aurora forgot how overwhelming it felt.
Sarah picked up the two halves of the paper that Rory had ripped up, laying the down on the counter to read it. Sarah explained, "My dad used to do this all the time. It's changing the zoning. It's a way to force owners out of their property."
"So, we're losing this place?" Rory asked angrily, "Fucking Kooks, man. Why can't we have anything for ourselves?"
Cleo frowned, "Is this legal?"
"If you have the money to do it." Sarah nodded, "We're gonna need a lot more than $5,000 dollars." She welcomed another customer, though her eyes shifted to Rory, who was brushing the hair out of her face in distress. Sarah called to her softly, "Rory, get some fresh air, okay?"
