Better The Devil You Know

A Good Day To Die

Aurora was lying in bed, her head turned towards the window, looking right past the machines and out to the blue skyline.

It was the beginning of spring, the daffodils beginning to spring out and make an appearance.

Her peace was interrupted by Annabel hurriedly walking in, a huge smile on her face.

Pulling out a whiteboard she quickly scribbled,

Your husband, James, is here to see you.

Aurora stared. Who the fuck is James? Had the Sicilian Mafia found her? Were they coming to kill her?

Her heart rate started increasing on the monitor, and if Aurora thought hard enough she could imagine the beeping it made.

Annabel immediately grabbed her hand, using her thumb to gently stroke Aurora's mangled and bruised hand. She scribbled on the board again.

He's currently being checked and your wedding certificate is being examined by the police. Nobody is allowed in unless they have proven their relationship with you, promise.

Aurora didn't feel any comfort. Did Annabel not know how easy it was to forge records, to make the whole thing up?

Annabel looked up, talking to someone by the door, but Aurora refused to look. She refused to turn her head. Whoever it is, it will be bad news.

Annabel nudged her slightly and Aurora tried to scowl. It was practically impossible though because her whole mouth was wired shut into a straight line.

Turning her head slowly, dull blue eyes met cold brown eyes, as Nathan stepped into the room. He was talking, and judging by the eye contact, he was talking to Aurora.

Aurora only rolled her eyes and looked the other way.

🖤

When Aurora resumed her stare out of the window, Nathan was surprised. Sure, 'long time no see' was a pretty shit introduction, but of all the reactions, he wasn't prepared for that one.

Why does she look disappointed to see me?

'Umm, excuse me Mr Smith, but your arrival was very sudden and I must apologise at my colleagues lack of explanation at the situation.' The small nurse was on the other side of Aurora, holding onto her hand and pulling some of her hair out of the way. 'I'm afraid your wife experienced extreme trauma which has left her both deaf and unable to speak. But I can say, since her arrival 13 weeks ago, she has very much improved, and the doctors are hopeful that the hearing loss is only temporary.'

Nathan's heart deflated slightly. 'Oh. I see. And her memory?'

'She remembers her name. She remembers how to write. But apart from that she hasn't told us much. But it is very difficult to test without speech or movement. I am afraid that to see the real extent of damage we have to wait it out.'

🖤

Dr Harrison was here. He was outside talking to all of Aurora's doctors. She could see Annabel arguing, her mouth moving frantically and her hands flying all over the place.

What they were arguing about, Aurora was too tired to know or care. After about 30 minutes, Annabel walked back in and wrote on the board:

You're going home.

Aurora could only stare at her, nonchalantly looking around. Was she happy to leave? Yes. Did she want to go back to Nathan's house? No.

There was a lot of kerfuffle around her room, people talking, contracts and official papers signed and Aurora saw her bleak files passed onto Dr Harrison in a here-you-go-she's-your-problem-now kind of way.

Nathan moved near her, packing up the flowers, the toiletries and the clothes that Annabel had bought Aurora into a small suitcase.

Several times he looked up, his mouth open about to say something, until he remembered that everything he said would fall on deaf ears and he looked down again.

Meanwhile, Aurora refused to make eye contact. She was mad at Annabel, for not fighting hard enough for her to stay, angry at the doctors for faffing over her like a broken China doll, angry at Dr Harrison for his warm, pitying smile, and angry at Nathan for, well, for being Nathan.

🖤

Aurora was outside for the first time in over three months. Granted, she was in a wheelchair and pyjamas, but still. The feel of the cold Spring air hitting her ankles, the chilly breeze brushing against her face, for the first time in a long time, Aurora felt human. Not some rag doll, some science experiment, but a human being. A human being with feelings and emotions, a living human being.

And even though she was still hooked on machines, her body not working even now, she felt alive. She could hear her heart beat inside her chest, thumping quietly, like her marching song. A reminder that she is still alive. A beat in the silence.

She was about to pulled onto some big van, where there was another bed for her to get back into, some more drips for her to hook up to and another window for her to stare out of.

Nathan and Dr Harrison were currently trying to connect the machines to the generator in the van, along with the doctors and nurses help, everyone briefly forgetting Aurora as she looked at the world around her.

Pulling the scratchy grey blanket further up Aurora's arms, Annabel squatted in front of her.

They gazed at each other for a second before Annabel pulled out a mini card from her pocket and placed it in Aurora's wheelchair side pocket.

Annabel looked up suddenly before nodding and speaking to whoever was behind Aurora. Then Annabel leant forward and gently placed a kiss on Aurora's forehead before standing up, and Aurora felt herself be pulled backwards.

With the help of four nurses, Aurora was moved onto the bed and strapped in, the machines next to her. From what she gathered, Dr Harrison was driving with Nathan sitting next to her, only facing the front, the opposite way to Aurora.

Frankly, she thought it silly that the doctor was driving, as Nathan wouldn't know what to do if her heart suddenly stopped, a common reoccurrence of the last couple of months.

🖤

The drive home took about five hours, and by the time they got back it was pitch black. Aurora spent the whole five hours staring out of the window, nonchalantly watching the world pass her by.

When they got home, to Aurora's horror, the whole family were waiting. As they pulled in, the whole Romano family were at the door, eagerly peering into the van.

But Aurora didn't want to see them. She didn't want them to see her either. And when the back doors opened, and Nathan stepped out to get help, she could see them all standing by, Izzy's little happy face, Mateo's cheeky smile, Danilo's bright blonde hair, Samuel's intense eyes and Emilia's comforting face.

And all Aurora could do was look down and ignore the tears burning down her face.

So that's what she did.

Throughout the whole long, painful process of getting her and all of her baggage off the bus, she sat still, eyes only on her broken body as she drowned in the screams of silence, loneliness clinging onto her like a leech to blood.