𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 ᶠⁱⁿⁿ ˢʰᵉˡᵇʸ

𝟎𝟎𝟒: 𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒
𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

Aurora shot up, gasping for air and clutching at her throat. She kicked the white bedsheets off her and tried her best to regain her breath. Her heart was pounding and sweat had covered her forehead.

Looking around the room, she noticed the light seeping in from under the door. She held her head in her hands and finally regained her breath. Standing, Aurora felt her knees almost buckle beneath her. She grabbed the side of the bed and closed her eyes.

There was light mumbling outside the door and she couldn't exactly hear what they were saying or who it was but she knew they were there. Rory finally stood straight and ran a hand through her hair before pulling on the door handle.

She was met with John who was leaning against the doorframe across the hall and his arms crossed whilst Arthur splashed water onto his face in the bathroom sink.

"Mornin' angel." John greeted with a warm smile. Aurora huffed and hugged her arms around her body. "Shouldn't you be with your new wife?" She retorted, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear and meeting his eyes. John hummed. "Probably." He shrugged.

John knew she'd done it again. The way she'd wake up in a state of panic and not being able to breathe. It happened more when she was younger and would result in her staying in Tommys bed with him for the rest of the night — well, the nights he was actually home.

"Is that Aurora?" Arthur called out, his accent thick.

"Yeah 'tis." Aurora replied with a yawn. Arthur emerged from the bathroom with a towel to his face. After removing it, he flashed her a smile. "Mornin'!" He said in the same tone John had only moments earlier.

She pursed her lips together and just made her way down the stairs. To her surprise, the front door was wide open and there stood Finn out by the front steps whilst Isiah sat on the step smoking.

She frowned and moved to the door, leaning against it. "What ya's doing out here?" She asked, squinting and shielding her eyes from the sun.

Isiah looked up at her and blew smoke from his mouth. "Conversing." He said plainly.

Aurora tilted her head and frowned. "And what does that mean?" She asked, completely clueless as to what the simple word meant. Isiah shook his head in disbelief and looked away. "To have a conversation." Finn finally spoke.

Aurora nodded in understanding and dug her foot into Isiah's back.

"The hell was that for?!" Isiah shouted, jumping to his feet to avoid falling face first into her floor. Aurora sniggered and pinched his cigarette from his fingers.

"For bein' a dick." She said, taking a drag and blowing the smoke into his face.

The sound of heels against the dirty, Small Heath cobble grew loud as Polly approached the house. She had a basket over her arm and a sharp expression across her features. "What the bloody hell are you doing out here— and you, standing half-dressed in the door." Polly scolded the three, shaking her head and shoving past them all.

"Where've you been?" Aurora asked, nonchalant.

"To see Ada." Polly said plainly, walking through the house with the Thorne girl close behind her. "Is she alright?" Rory asked, only recently decided to care for the girl once she had given birth to Karl.