A Shelby Mistress

Cursed

Daylight had just appeared through the dark thunderous clouds above when Aurora arrived back in town, her heels clutched against her chest, her feet cut and bleeding against the smooth stone that rested outside his door. Her heart was still pounding, her cries loud and clear. Raising her hand she slammed it against the door as hard as she could over and over, wailing each time she saw Grace's dead eyes in her mind. It didn't matter how much she ran, those eyes followed her whenever she went. Bill's stare hadn't been what she saw through the train window this morning but Grace's, the sapphire hanging around her neck as if it were death itself.
A shiver ran through Aurora's spine, she was so cold.....so cold.
"Tulip?"
The door had opened allowing a stream a light from outside to stream through, the first bit of morning seeping into the dark house. Aurora's knocking hand froze in the air as she lifted her gaze and finally laid eyes on a different face, a live face that moved, that looked upon without a trace of hate and blame.
"T...Ted..Teddy" Aurora croaked out moving her bloodied feet forwards and stepping into his warmth with an anguished sob. Her skin began to sting, protesting against his heat trying to flow through her frozen bones. Her mind was screaming at her, Grace was screaming at her. She deserved to feel pain, she deserved to feel cold especially when Grace would never get to experience warmth again. She would remain in the morgue now until buried deep below the earth or burned, to be kept in a urn within the background, never moving, never breathing while Aurora continued on with her life, her heart pumping and blood running through her veins.

Teddy shocked by Aurora's appearance wondered what had happened at the foundation dinner. When she'd left for Birmingham she was all smiles and glowing with happiness after he'd made sure she went with a kiss upon her cheek and a flower in her hand. Now she was at his door, blue lipped and shaking from both the cold and her cries. How she hadn't taken her own tongue off from trembling was a miracle.
Teddy shivered as she stepped into his arms, she felt like ice, piercing through his skin with a sharpness he hadn't felt since the war. Still he held onto her for dear life and pulling her further into the house, he closed the door behind him and pulled her closer still. Her cries wracked through him, her sadness clawing at his heart.
He felt panicked and helpless holding Aurora. He didn't know how to calm her, he'd never seen her in such a state. All Teddy could do was pray he was enough to get her through this.

"Here" Teddy cooed handing Aurora a cup of tea as she sat on the edge of his bed, her stare distant and troubled. She was still trembling, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders doing nothing but casting a weight down on her. He understood why she was troubled, the night had been rough for everyone involved. After he'd pulled her into the house and up the stairs Aurora had soon confessed everything, pouring her heart out until her tears had ran dry and there was nothing left on her face but pain.
"She's here, why is she here?" Aurora whispered looking over towards the door, clutching her cup to her chest.
"She's not here tulip I swear. She's just a figment of your imagination, it's not real. You're seeing her because you're feelin' guilty but you have nothin' to feel guilty for. What happened tonight, it wasn't you. You didn't kill her, you didn't pull that trigger and once you see clearly again she will fade I promise" Teddy explained softly, taking Aurora's chin in his hand and turning her gaze away from the door until she was staring down at him, fresh tears gathered in her eyes.
"I was goin' to say yes to him, I didn't think of her in that moment, I didn't think about her until it was too late. I was goin' to take his hand and leave before she walked in. I was goin' to say fucking yes"
"It doesn't matter if you were going to say yes or no tulip, her death is still not your fault and I will not have you carry it around your back. The only person who should be feelin' the weight of her death is the man who killed her" Teddy replied letting go of her chin before looking at the bowl of water below. Rinsing out the cloth within it he gently began to clean the blood from her feet, inspecting the small wounds closely as he did so.
"He won't be feelin' it he'll be dead by now, his eyes removed and his heart ripped from his chest.....that's if it were clean" Aurora mumbled finally lifting the cup up to her lips and taking a small sip of her tea, flinching each time the cloth ran over her sore feet. She didn't remember how they'd gotten so cut up. I'm truth Aurora didn't remember anything except being on the train and looking out at Grace's face.