Aurora | ✓

23| No longer afraid

I was so broken without him...I wished we could stay together

"I met Zach a few years later and I blocked the Ferguson's home from my memory because I didn't know how to live knowing I'd never see you again" I say. I'm crying now and Phoenix has tear stained cheeks

"Those things never changed, blue is still my favorite color because it reminds me of you. Everything else is the same too. I never forgot about you but I did try to get over you. I didn't want all the pain of never being able to see you again" he says

"How did you find Zach?" I ask

"A year ago I received my file because I turned 18 without being adopted. It had information about my dad which led to discovering Zach" he answers.

He's holding my hand and carefully tracing circles on it.

"How did you know you were both talking about the same Aurora?" I ask

"When I found him a year ago he was a very sad person. He was barely holding himself up for Eli and after a few weeks we started living together and we opened up to each other about our pasts. I told him about you first, his eyes widened when I said your name and he told me everything he had to do to you"

"So you knew where I was when he told you about Riggo?" I say genuinely curious

"Not exactly, Zach had been running away from Riggo in case he decided to use Eli against him again so he didn't know Rodrigo had taken you in along with Maura"

"Wow. How did he find you guys?" I ask

"We started doing some research a few months ago and found out he had you. Rodrigo knew we'd been asking questions so he got pissed. We ran away again and made plans to get you out but then you were taken in by your family. We came here in hopes to find you and at the same time make sure Eli was safe"

We walk back to the others and they panic when they see our tear stained cheeks and red eyes.

"What's wrong baby girl?"

"Rora what happened?"

"What did he do Rory?"

"Do I need to kill someone sorellina?"

"Why the hell were you crying RoRo?"

They all say and I almost laugh at their protectiveness. Phoenix doesn't even flinch at their glares.

Zach has a knowing look on his face and a happy smile.

"You guys will want to sit down for what we are about to tell you" I say

"By the look on your face I'd think you were going to tell us you're pregnant or some shit if you weren't carrying a child already" Quinn says and they all agree.

I just laugh nervously

Phoenix and I both tell them our story. I cried again. It was hard telling them all, the pained look on their faces upon hearing yet another tale of the abuse I lived kills me.

I know it's hard for them and I hate to cause them pain. They like Phoenix better now, the gratefulness in their eyes when I told them how he protected me and cared for me all those months in the bad behavior isolation rooms or...cells.

We're all having dinner now, we went out to a small restaurant and the food is amazing! I'm sitting next to Phoenix, I don't want to be apart from him anymore. We agreed to go slow but..is it wrong for me to want to make up for all those years apart?

I pinch Phoenix's arm to get his attention.

"Yeah?" He asks

"Would you like to make breakfast with me tomorrow?" I'm lame, dumb, stooopid. Who says that?