Contrasting Similarities

44. Aurora or Rose?

"Something bothering you, sweetheart?" Asher asked, tapping my knee with his index finger to stop my leg from bouncing.

I looked away from the window to look at him. He was facing forward, focussing on the road with a small twitch in his lips that gave away the small smile he had.

The words flowed out spontaneously.
"When you asked me what was wrong and I said nothing, I tried to smile but I couldn't." Asher glanced at me at this before turning his head back to face the road.

"It was like a force was pulling the corners of my lips down. So I asked Nico about it and he said you had the answer." I looked at him expectantly. The expectant look on my face changed into a frown when I saw he was struggling to keep a straight face.

"That's because you lied." He said. My frown deepened. "That means, I'm about to reach your heart. I'm almost there. Since our hearts are now friends, every time you lie, the forces of your heart will fight against you. They will look for a way to tell the other heart that you're not being honest."

He gave me a pointed look at the end, making me look away immediately. There was silence after that as I pondered over his words.

"Are you really almost there?" I asked, turning to him. My hand rested on my chest, feeling the heart thumping inside.

Hearing those words felt like I was being ripped of the only defense I had.

"Yes, my love," he said, softly. "I can see your heart through the walls but not as clearly as I should."

"Does that mean I'm weak now?" I found myself asking.

"No. Not at all. That means you're strong. My heart will help your baby heart through everything and we will be strong together." He smiled softly.

I knitted my eyebrows together and looked out.

"But I didn't let Lucas see through the walls. How did he hurt my heart then?" I mumbled, keeping my hand on my heart and my other hand on my knee, which was bouncing.

"The question is, did he hurt your heart?" Asher countered. I stopped tapping my foot and listened closely.

"Yes, I think." I answered.

The car stopped before the huge building. The school library.

I saw him finally turn towards me in my periphery.

"Lucas never reached your heart. Because if he did, he wouldn't have dared to try and remove the bright light shining inside," Asher said. I turned to look at him with the frown still prominent on my face.

"Then why did everything affect me so much? Why did it make my heart go..." I stopped not knowing the right word that fit here.

I felt heartless. Like a robot just going through each day with the same routine. Misbehave in school, so they complain to the guardian. Accept the bitter consequences silently, so Rose stays out of the fire.

I didn't feel the warmth anywhere. I didn't feel the warmth I feel in my chest, every time Asher looks at me like his whole world revolves around me.

Instead, I pushed everything away. Every single bit of happiness, so I didn't jinx my twin's happiness again.

"It affected you because when he tried to attack your baby heart, he actually hit the walls around it. The baby heart got scared and built the walls stronger, so its only protection doesn't break and fall," he said, reaching out to grab my hand in his. "That's why you're the strongest person I know."

"Since the walls were stronger, there was nothing that could pass those walls. That resulted in the heart feeling lonely," he finished.

"But you did," I mumbled. I think he can see my heart clearly.