Make me.

23

Aaron's POV:

Christmas was pretty uneventful. It went by as usual. My parents flirted with each other at the dinner table while I felt like a third wheel. It was just like being with Archer and Blair. After dinner, I went up to call Aurelia. I know she didn't like her mum so much but she still went. I don't know what her past with her mother is like but it doesn't seem all that great.
As soon as she showed her face on the call, I noticed her eyes were red and tears were running down her cheeks.
"Lia, what happened?" I asked her, my voice laced with concern.
"Nothing, my eyes are just watering."
"Shut up and tell me what happened. What's wrong?"
"It's just my mom, it's fine. I'm dealing with it."
"When are you leaving from there?"
"I don't know. Tomorrow maybe."
"You're gonna spend New Year's alone?"
"I don't mind." She said.
"I'm picking you up tomorrow. You're coming here. I'll be there in the morning."
"No, Aaron you don't have to do that."
"But I am," I said.
"Aaron."
"I'm not letting you spend New Year's alone. All right?"
She nodded, tears still running down her face. She didn't want to talk about what happened so I decided to just ask her when I got there. I told my parents I was going to get her and I called the jet.
On the way, I made some more paper roses for Lia, since I didn't really have anything else to do.
I knocked on the door and she opened it,
"Hi, my love," I said, hugging her softly.
"Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it." She said, her voice muffled.
"Come in." She said after two minutes of hugging.
She led me into the house and I met her dad.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Aaron. Aurelia hasn't explained to us why she's leaving before New Year's yet. Do you have an idea?" He asked, smiling kindly.
I realized she probably didn't want her dad to know she didn't want to spend time there anymore. She looked at me, her eyes wide.
"Oh, I'm just really lonely back home, sir. My parents have been desperate to meet Aurelia so I just thought I would take her to meet them. If that's alright with you, of course."

"Yes, of course. Take care of her and be safe."

He turned to Lia and said,

"Call me as soon as you land. I love you."

Aurelia hugged him and waved goodbye to her mom and we left.
I opened the car door for her and got in from the other side. The driver started the car and we left for the airport.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"It's fine, Aaron. It's just my mom. I don't know why I let it affect me this much this time."

"It's always like this?"

" Yeah, she says something about my body or my relationship or my studies and how I wasted a year. It's always something. I can never be enough for her."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't believe that someone thought she wasn't enough. She's never gotten less than a 99 in the entire time I've known her.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to my chest. I heard her soft sniffles as I felt my shirt getting wet. I ran my fingers through her hair as I tried to calm her down. I pulled her into my lap she she could be more comfortable and she hugged me tighter.
She pulled away after about ten minutes and I wiped away her tears. She smiled at me softly as I looked up at her.

"I'm so sorry." She said.

I shook my head at her and pulled her close to me again.

"I missed you, my love."

"I missed you too, Aaron."

We reached the airport and got into the jet. She slept for most of the journey as I had my arms wrapped around her.
We reached the palace at around 6 pm. Aurelia was exhausted but my parents were waiting so we met them before going to my room. I think they liked her. She's the only girl I've ever talked about with them. They were so keen on meeting her. I was glad that they approved of us. After meeting them, I took her up to my room and showed her around. She was so fascinated by everything. Her eyes didn't stay in one place for too long since there was so much to look at. She went to change in the washroom and I waited outside.
After she came outside, I showed her around the palace and showed her the grounds. It was a huge area. It was pretty dark at the time we came back and we sat down to have dinner with my family around 8.
"So, Aurelia. What made you decide to date this guy?" My father asked her. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he laughed.