Forever August ✔️

chapter thirteen

"i wish i knew you when i was young."
- the revivalists
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THE NEXT MORNING, Aurora awoke to the sound of light chatter coming from down the stairs. Her curiosity peaked and she jumped out of bed, slipping her bare feet into bunny slippers as she padded down the steps.

With each stair she walked down, she thought of a name that could be sitting in her kitchen right now with her bother, but each was less possible than the last. She rounded the corner and stopped walking when she saw Gus sitting at the table, eating a donut while Thomas spoke animatedly, whatever he said made the two of them laugh.

Aurora cleared her throat and watched them with narrowed eyes. Both heads turned to her slowly.

"Finally," her brother grumbled. Aurora turned to Gus, whose eyes were trailing up and down her body. When their gaze met, he looked away shyly.

"Anyone wanna tell me what's going on here?" she asked, walking to the table and choosing the donut that had the most chocolate on it before taking a big bite.

"I brought donuts," Gus said sheepishly.

"I thought we were meeting at the beach," Aurora said, giving him a look that implied he should not be here right now.

"Ugh," Gus squirmed in his seat. "I waited for you at the beach, Rory." He paused. "For almost two hours."

Thomas laughed as he watched the ordeal with keen interest. "What?" Aurora asked, her mind still hazy with sleep.

Thomas groaned. "It's two-o'clock, you idiot. You slept in. Again," her brother said as he shoved an entire donut in his mouth.

Aurora ran through the kitchen and stood in front of the oven, its bright red lights showing that it was, in fact, that late and she slept through her plans with Gus. She turned around slowly to see Thomas glaring at her, and Gus with a goofy grin on his face, his mouth covered in white powder.

"I'm going to shower," she declared as she walked out of the kitchen. "When I'm done, there better only be one of you here!" Aurora called behind her as she marched up the stairs.

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After her shower, when the warm water gave her the same buzzing awakened as caffeine, she dressed herself in overalls with a white tank top underneath and tied her hair back into a long braid before returning downstairs to see who was the lone survivor of her threat.

Aurora silently hoped it was Gus, and that her brother hadn't forced him to leave. When she stepped into her kitchen and saw a head of black curls standing in front of the coffee pot, she grinned.

Aurora walked up to Gus and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her head into his back. She felt his body jolt at the surprise contact before he laughed.

"Rory?" he asked.

"It's a pity hug for having to spend the morning with my brother," she clarified. But even as she spoke, she felt something stir within her, a subtle warmth spreading through her veins and making her heart speed up. 

Aurora unwrapped herself from Gus quickly and poured herself a cup of coffee. "What did you guys talk about?" She tried to make the question seem causal, but her insides were burning with the desire to know.

Gus leaned against the counter as he watched her, a single eyebrow raised. "You," he said, sipping his coffee slyly.

"What about me?" Gus shrugged and sipped his coffee once more, a secretive smile on his face. Aurora's lips pursed in frustration. "Tell me."