Better The Devil You Know

Should've Stayed In Bed

Aurora remained clutching onto Nathan whilst her mother ran over to the body of her father.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Valentina hummed, running her hands through Antonio's hair.

"Mum," Aurora pulled out of Nathan's grip and pulled her mother away from Antonio. "Mum, let go." She whispered.

"He was going to... I had to." Valentina turned around, sobbing into Aurora's shoulder.

"I know Mami, I know." Aurora tried to stop her hands from shaking as she brushed her mother's hair off her face.

"Mum, come on. Let's get you out of here." Angelo helped Valentina up, guiding her out of the room.

"You two should go." Andrea was quiet, his voice hard, but Aurora could see he was hardly holding it together. "I'll clear this up and be in contact soon."

He walked out, no doubt to get clean up, leaving only Nathan and Aurora.

"Aurora." Nathan called.

"I can't move."

"I've got you." Nathan's arms were around her as she slowly felt herself be lifted.

Her head was pounding. All she could hear was crashing waves and high pitched screams and bullets ricocheting off walls and all she could see was blood, blood everywhere and as she clenched her eyes shut there was no relief. Her father's body was engraved in her mind and the thought, the wretched thought, echoing in her head.

Thank God it was him and not me.

That was the first thought that ran through Aurora's head when Antonio, her father, had been killed.

Thank God it was him and not me.

She felt the coldness of the night, heard the opening of the car as her own voice echoed in her ears.

Thank God it was him and not me.

As Nathan placed her in the passenger seat, he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm taking you home now, ok?"

Aurora only had it in her to nod.

🖤

The whole 5 hour drive home the pair were silent. But neither felt the need to fill the silence.

Aurora was staring out of the window when Nathan parked the car, her gaze still hardened when he opened her door, taking her hand and leading her in. Her crutch had been left behind but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

Unlocking the door, Nathan pulled her inside only to meet the entire family.

"Did it go alright?" Izzy asked.

"Is everything taken care of?" Mateo questions.

Aurora tightened her grip on Nathan's hand.

"Antonio is dead. The rest we will discuss tomorrow. It's late." Nathan's voice was firm, as he gestured for everyone to fuck off.

As they all depart, looks of horror and bewilderment on their faces, Aurora maintained a cold look to her face.

"Aurora-"

"I wanted him to die. Nathan, I wanted him to die."

"Me too. As soon as he pulled that gun out on you I knew he wasn't leaving that room alive. I just thought it would be me killing him."

"I wanted my father to die." Aurora clamped her hands over her mouth as soon as she said it. Her eyes filled with tears and she couldn't stand on her own two feet as suddenly her entire world fell on top of her. She couldn't stop the cries coming out of her mouth or the tears rolling down her cheeks as she fell into Nathan as the pair dropped to the floor.

Her clothes were covered in dried blood. His dried blood. But she didn't care. She wasn't even sure she was crying about his death.

As Nathan held onto her he began to stroke her hair, whispering apologies in her ear.

🖤

How Aurora ended up in the bath she didn't know. Nathan had taken them upstairs after her crying had stopped, and now she was in the bath, her blood soaked clothes on the floor beside her.

She was still in her bra and pants, which was kinda strange but she didn't question it.

As Nathan began to wash the dried blood off her he examined her body.

Aurora suddenly felt self-conscious. Sure he had seen her naked before, but there were fewer flaws back then and well, he wasn't concentrating on what her body looked like back then.

Swirling the water around her with her hands, Aurora's voice was small and quiet, her voice unrecognisable to even herself.

"My dad loved Jack. Adored him. His way of punishing me for breaking up with Jack was to make me marry you. I told him what Jack did, and all he could say was that it was my fault. That Jack wouldn't just hurt me because he was drunk but because I did something wrong, because I wore a revealing top or I was late to a business event or I made him look like a fool. He nearly killed me, all because I told him he'd had enough to drink and my father said I only had myself to blame. So I went back to Jack. Again and again, and he would be nice. He would apologize, he would tell me I'm beautiful and I would think "yeh, my dad's right. Jack loves me." And then I'd wake up in another pool of blood or with another concussion and it went around in circles and circles until I was nothing but a sad little girl, head over heels in love with a man who never loved me, still trying to make my father happy. Even though I knew nothing I did would ever make him happy. And now he's dead. And I've never hated anyone more."

There was no voice break. No change in voice, change in tone, nothing. Aurora stared at the wall in front of her as Nathan's hands stopped rinsing her hair.

The tears fell so silently that one would have hardly noticed they were there.

🖤

Aurora was drifting off to sleep, still wrapped in a towel. After there was no blood left on her, the couple had collapsed onto Nathan's bed, both too tired to go over to Aurora's room.

Her eyes were closing, troubled sleep on its way when Nathan softly mumbled her name.

"Aurora?"

"Mmhm"

"I killed Jack."

Aurora's heart stopped.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my place. I shouldn't have done it but I was mad, and you were missing... I thought you were dead... I was so mad and I just went over to his house and I-"

Aurora turned around so she was facing Nathan, shutting him up by smashing her lips against his.

Pulling away after several minutes, Aurora pressed her forehead against Nathan's,

"I love you."