blurred lines in a forbidden fairytale

{17} so scarlet, it was maroon

A/N: there is a chapter before this many of you haven't seen!!

Aurora's POV:

The second I step inside the house, I feel cold. I try to keep my head down, make a straight line for the stairs, but my mom's sharp voice cuts through the air like a knife.

"Aurora!" she calls out from the kitchen. "Get in here. Now."

I pause, my pulse quickening, and for a split second, all I can think about is earlier—how everything with Ms. Swift blurred the lines between right and wrong, how she took control. I shake my head, trying to focus as I head toward the inevitable confrontation. When I enter the kitchen, my mom's standing there with her arms crossed, looking like she's been waiting to unload on me for hours. Alyssa sits at the table, eyes glued to her phone, pretending not to notice, but I know she's listening. She always does.

"What?" I mutter, leaning against the counter like I'm not already bracing for the explosion.

"Don't 'what' me." My mom's voice is ice-cold. "I found your English test."

My stomach tightens. I have been hiding it from my parents ever since Ms. Swift handed it out, continuously kept telling her I'd bring it - including he signature - the next day, since I was dreading showing it to my parents and this is exactly why.

I try to play it off. "So?"

"So?" She slams the test down on the counter in front of me, her voice rising. "Is this how you plan to throw your future away? By not giving a damn about your grades?"

I roll my eyes, fighting back the anger bubbling beneath the surface. My mind flashes to Ms. Swift, the tutoring session that was anything but about school. The way she kissed me, how I felt her hesitation, but she still kissed me back. The memory makes my stomach flip, but I bury it.

"You don't care about my future," I snap, trying to deflect. "You just want something to brag about at your stupid parties."

"Excuse me?" Her face hardens, and from the corner of my eye, I see Alyssa glance up from her phone, her eyes darting between us. "This isn't about me. This is about you, Aurora. You're wasting every opportunity you have, and I'm done with this attitude."

"Attitude?" I let out a bitter laugh, the tension spilling out. "I'm not the problem here! Maybe if you and Dad actually gave a damn about anything other than my grades, you'd realize—"

"Aurora, stop," my dad's voice booms from the living room, and I freeze. He appears in the doorway, his face set in that familiar scowl that makes my skin crawl. "You need to show some respect."

"Respect?" I turn toward him, fists clenched at my sides. "You don't even care! You don't know anything about what's going on with me!"

My dad steps closer, his voice cold. "What's there to know? You're failing your classes, disrespecting your mother, and acting like a spoiled brat. What the hell are you doing with your time? Certainly not studying."

I swallow hard, fighting the urge to scream. "You wouldn't understand."

"Understand what?" my mom interjects, her voice shrill. "That you're throwing everything away for what? To act out? To rebel for no reason?"

Alyssa's eyes widen as she watches, shifting uncomfortably in her chair, but she stays silent. I want to say something, anything, to explain, but my mind is spinning, and all I can think about is Ms. Swift. The way she looked at me, how close we were, how much I wanted to stay there with her in that moment.

My dad steps even closer, towering over me, his face dark with anger. "Do you want to end up a failure, Aurora? Is that it? You're not even trying anymore, and it's pathetic."