[COMPLETED BUT WONT LET ME PRESS THE COMPLETED BUTTON AHAHHA]
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 be...
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Everything felt like it was upside down. That phrase made no sense, but it was the only way to describe the mess that had unraveled my life since the winter ball. Keith was gone. My mother had gone into full-on helicopter mode, hovering around me with relentless worry. And as much as I loved her, her every hug chipped away at my sanity.
I wanted my mother's attention about as much as I needed it, which was not at all. Her hovering just made it all the more real. The world knew now. My secret was out, and there was no way to erase it. I'd been branded, labeled a victim, and I hated it with every fiber of my being.
The thought of returning to school on Monday felt like a mountain too steep to climb. If I could sell my soul for a reset button, I would have done it without a second thought.
"Are you sure you're warm enough, pet?" Mam asked for what felt like the hundredth time that Saturday night, as she peered into the sitting room.
"Yes, Mam," I replied.
"I can put another block on the fire."
"It's warm enough, Mam."
"Are you sure, love? I don't want you to be cold."
"Mam, I'm basically roasting," I groaned, gesturing to the roaring fire and the fact that I was sitting in shorts. "Relax, will you? I'm grand."
The concern etched on her face told me she had no intention of relaxing anytime soon. "What about you, Aurora, pet?" She turned to the brunette sitting cross-legged on the floor across from me, her body hovering over the game board.
"I'm grand, thanks, Sadhbh," Aurora replied, her attention split between my mother and the dice she'd just rolled. She glanced up, flashing a quick smile. "I'm roasting, actually."
"Cheater," I accused, grabbing her game piece and moving it back down the snake she was clearly trying to skip.
"I rolled a five," she protested, her cheeks pink as two apples—she was the world's worst liar.
I gave her a dry look. "You rolled a four, Princess."
"Don't make me go down the snake, Gerard," she said, voice dropping into a pleading tone.
"Not my fault," I said, smirking. "It's the rules."
"Then break the rules," she urged, her eyes wide.
I rolled my eyes and, of course, relented, moving her piece where she wanted it to go. "You're the best!" she said with a triumphant grin, doing a little celebratory shimmy. "I love playing with you."
And I loved playing with her, too. After the truce we'd struck on New Year's Eve, we'd fallen back into a sort of rhythm. Almost like we were before. Almost. The truth still hung in the air between us, lingering like smoke, impossible to ignore.
But one thing had become painfully clear: whatever happened, wherever I was meant to go, it didn't make sense if Aurora Lockheart wasn't there with me.
"All right, I'll be in the kitchen if either of you need me," Mam said, finally retreating.
