Fog Rising

✿two

"Shut up, I'm trying to listen!" Matt shoved Sean. They were leaning against Andrew's bedroom door, trying to hear what he and Aurora were talking about inside.

"Me too, you moron. I wanna know how old sleeping beauty is before I make a move," Sean smirked. His younger brother smacked his shoulder. Suddenly, the door opened and they lost their balance and fell into the room. Andrew gently nudged Matt's face with his foot and smiled down at them.

"Cut it out," he pushed his brothers with the door until he could close it again. He turned back to Aurora and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry about tweedle dee and tweedle dum. Go ahead, tell me whatever you want to," he said.

"I, well. Um," she spoke softly and haltingly, with no traces of confidence in her voice. This surprised Andrew, because he pictured her as someone self-assured. Her eyes looked exhausted, but not just in a sleepy way. She looked completely done, with no energy or positivity anywhere to be found. He didn't want to push her any further. Whatever she'd been through tonight had drained her. Which made sense, considering she'd been unconscious and bleeding out in a rainy alley when he found her.

"How about we talk tomorrow," he suggested, and her eyes filled with tears. "Hey, don't cry, it's okay."

She nodded and swiped at her cheeks. "I'm not normally so weak, I just want you to know that."

"Crying isn't a weakness," he soothed, "showing emotion doesn't make you any less of the strong person I can tell you are. Now enough of this; you must be hungry. I made pasta, if you want it."

"Please," she sniffled and smiled, standing up. Andrew led her to the kitchen, where Sean and Matt were fixing plates.

"Hello, I'm Sean," Matt introduced himself.

Sean looked confused for a millisecond, but then nodded. "And I'm Matt. Lovely to meet you."

"Yeah, lovely," the real Matt agreed. "Want some garlic bread?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "This is Sean," he pointed to the real Sean, who's shoulders sagged in disappointment that their little game was ruined, "and this is Matt. But you can just call them Idiot One and Idiot Two."

"That's not a very nice way to talk about your brothers," Matt scolded playfully. "Ignore them," he whispered to a tired-eyed but amused Aurora, "I'm the only normal one here."

She smiled. "What's your name?" Sean asked, as if he didn't already know.

"Aurora," she replied. "Mind if I help myself?" She pointed at the food on the stovetop, her stomach rumbling in hunger. She didn't remember the last time she ate, but guessed it wasn't for a while.

"Of course, I'm sorry," Andrew reached to get a plate and silverware for her. She nodded her thanks and piled ravioli and garlic toast on her plate. He followed her and then joined his brothers at the table in the adjacent dining room.

The brothers and their guest were silent for a few minutes as they ate, but soon started to interrogate Aurora. "How old are you?" Sean.

"Almost eighteen," she replied, unfazed as the three boys widened their eyes. They had assumed she was older than just seventeen, by at least four or five years.

"No shit," Matt worded, "when's your birthday?"

She paused. "What day is today?" Andrew told her it was the 20th of October, and she hummed. "Two months on the dot, then."

"Why were you all bloody and shit?" Sean pushed a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

"Sean!" His older brother reprimanded. "You don't have to answer that," Andrew told Aurora.