bed chem | drew starkey

CHAPTER 2

APRIL 2023





The soft light of morning filtered through the blinds as Aurora stirred awake, her head still resting against the armrest of the couch. The apartment was quiet, besides the faint hum of the city outside.

Blinking sleepily, she reached for her phone on the coffee table. The screen lit up, and her heart sank at the sight of Joe's name

Aurora hesitated, her finger hovering over the notification. Finally, she swiped it open.

joe
i love you
i'm sorry
read at 7:48 am
aurora, just let me explain

Aurora's chest tightened as she stared at the screen. The nerve of him—to send this now, after everything. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.

aurora
are you with her right now
read at 7:50 am

Her heart pounded as the typing bubble appeared, then stopped, then appeared again.

joe
yeah
read at 7:52 am

Aurora's breath hitched. She sat up, her blanket falling off her lap.

That was it. That was the answer she didn't want but already knew deep down.

Her hands shook as she typed her final message.

aurora
we're done

Her thumb hovered over the screen for just a moment before she blocked his contact. The screen refreshed, replacing his name with a cold, lifeless notification:

THIS CONTACT HAS NOW BEEN BLOCKED

Aurora stared at the messages, her stomach churning. She barely heard someone moving in the kitchen until a voice broke through her haze.

"You okay?"

She looked up to see Mia leaning against the counter, her coffee mug in hand, her hair piled on her head in a messy bun. Drew sat at the table nearby, scrolling on his phone but keeping an ear on the conversation.

Aurora swallowed hard, forcing her voice steady. "It's Joe. He wanted to explain.'"

Mia's brow furrowed. "Explain what? That he's trash? We already knew that." She set her coffee down and walked over, taking the phone from Aurora's hands. Her eyes scanned the screen. "Unbelievable. Block him."

"I already did."

Mia raised an eyebrow, surprised but impressed. "Well, look at you, taking out the trash first thing in the morning. I feel like a proud mother," she said, wiping a mock tear from her face as she handed the phone back to Aurora and gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

Aurora managed a weak smile, though her chest still felt heavy.

Drew looked up from his phone, his expression softer than usual. "Good. Now, can we get you something to eat? You barely had anything last night."

Aurora shook her head, brushing her hair back with her fingers. "I'm not hungry."

"You said that yesterday too," Drew said, crossing her arms. "I'm not buying it this time."

"Seriously,"

drew stood up and walked toward her. "You've got two friends who happen to be excellent at guilt-tripping, so you might as well save yourself the trouble and let us make you breakfast."