The Incorruptible Bond

Chapter 13

Aurora's white bedroom ceiling was beginning to bore her. She had finished every piece of homework due on Monday. Her room was spotless. The bookshelf in the living room and the kitchen cabinets had been alphabetized. The entire house was swept, mopped, dusted.

And it wasn't even dinner time.

Anything was better than thinking about that day, she'd decided. Thinking leads to dwelling, and dwelling leads to feeling, and feeling leads to--

Aurora exhaled and her breath hung in the air, like Aurora's situation. Her window was open, inviting the cold outside atmosphere to fill her room. She absentmindedly fiddled with her snowflake earrings.

Despite efforts at burying her thoughts, they seemed to resurface effortlessly.

Auri.

The word had been haunting her, banging around like her skull was a pinball machine. The name sounded so familiar it was almost painful. What would possess Ember to say that? Aurora thought angrily. Sadness, madness and fear washed over her. This was what she'd been trying to avoid.

She didn't even breach the subject of Phoenix.

A squeal pierced Aurora's silent turmoil. She rolled off her bed, approached the window, and carefully peered outside.

Much to her surprise, her mother's car was whipping into the driveway. Aurora knew her mother as an overly cautious woman. She was constantly monitoring the doors, windows, and terrifying anything idiotic enough to wander onto the lawn. This reckless person was a stranger to Auri.

One slammed door later and her mother was silently fuming on the lawn, phone jammed to her ear. Her head swiveled, checking for any eavesdroppers. Aurora ducked below the window sill.

She heard a loud sigh. "Fine, you ignoramus," her mother spat into the phone. "Tomorrow. I can't believe you allowed this to happen. Do not be late!"

A chill ran down Aurora's spine as her mother entered the house. Her mother was going to meet someone tomorrow and she didn't sound happy about it one bit. The beginnings of a plan was forming in the back of Auri's mind. The more she tried to resist it, the more concrete her decision was.

~

Aurora tried to calm her frayed nerves. She'd barely gotten any sleep, the next day filling her every thought. She was going to betray her mother, the only person Aurora had ever trusted. This whole 'disobedient daughter' persona was quite new to Aurora. She briefly wondered if Ember had any tips.

It was sad, really. Saturday, the only day she was allowed a few extra hours of rest, was the one she would be sneaking around in the woods after her mother.

The woman seemed to glide across the damp forest floor, while Aurora's feet managed to catch every rock, branch and hole. She was trying to be silent, failing miserably.

Thankfully, her mother took no notice of Aurora (not that she noticed her much in the first place) and she soon halted in a small clearing. She stood to the right and seemed to be waiting for something. Someone? The person on the phone? A watch check revealed it was 7:00 a.m. Auri settled into a nook at the back of a large rock and waited.

About five minutes later, a man emerged. From what she could see, he was a little shorter than average with wild brown hair, most likely in his 30's or 40's. Her mother's anger shone though her scowl, but Aurora felt completely the opposite. She was actually excited to finally grasp what her mother was hiding.

Then Aurora caught a glimpse of someone hidden in the undergrowth. She recognized the person almost immediately. Biting back a groan, Auri realized what needed to occur.

The small rocks she originally hated proved very helpful in her plan. You can only ignore blows to the head for so long. Hazel eyes met Aurora's and the white haired girl waved the person over harshly.

"What are you doing here?" Auri whispered poisonously.

"Same as you apparently." Ember said as she positioned herself out of view. Her gaze lingered on the brown haired man before meeting Aurora's. "I was following my parent."