Her Inheritance

CHAPTER 6 -•- You Can Be Distressed Again

  Graham shook Aurora awake, and it took her a second to remember where she was as she gazed ahead at the pink and purple, twilight horizon.
  "Look... we finally made it," he pointed out the windshield at the looming city. There were dark gray— almost black— and teal clouds swirling endlessly in the sky above it. They flashed with bolts of colorful lighting that would strike the rods on the tops of the buildings, which seemed to power them. The city was beginning to light up in the dusk, with traces of gold and teal lights twinkling all over the horizon. Tall towers and mag-trams were appearing in their view on the skyline, stretching out like an ocean as far as they could see.
  Aurora looked back at the navigation screen, which was the only thing illuminating the old moving truck they had just spent the last sixteen hours in. She looked at the mountain of luggage and snack trash stuffed beneath her feet. She looked back at her dad, who looked exhausted and thrilled all at once.
  "This can't be real..." she muttered under her breath. The last few weeks she spent completely in her own without Mae, packing up all of her belongings in the house she grew up in— the house she last saw her mother in when she was only three years old. They put it all in a truck and left it behind. The school days felt like a blur— eight hours a day of trying to survive her ghosthood— staring at the wall on a bench because she had no where to go during lunch, sitting in the bathroom stall for her entire passing period just to escape the chaos for a moment, and just trying to focus on her schoolwork. Some days she went home and realized she literally hadn't used her voice once all day. Aurora didn't feel excited to have left it, though. She was leaving behind a burning world by jumping straight into the ocean of the unknown.
  "I feel the same way," Graham responded after some time, "I never thought I'd ever step foot in this lab again... but it's run by a different CEO now. Their policies have changed a lot in the last decade, they have so many generous benefits... it's how we got this apartment, you know. I'm just ready to turn a new leaf, aren't you, Rory?" Aurora looked at her father, and then her eyes shot to the high-tech truck that approached them in the opposite direction. The design was sleek, clinical, and elegant, and it had bioluminescence lines around the perimeter of all of its seams. It was a huge vehicle, but made almost no noise other than a hiss of wind as it sped by them. She had never seen a truck that advanced.
  "I don't know, dad. Seems easy to get lost in a place like this," Aurora told him as the skyscrapers and other high-speed flying vehicles became easier to distinguish. Graham knew the deeper meaning behind her words, and he gave her a comforting look.
  "These last few weeks have probably been the worst thing that has ever happened to you. I know that. That's why I couldn't wait to come here. If I could've packed our things and left after the dance, I would've. I know that things are going to get better here, Rory. Not just because you're escaping the last situation, or because I'm just saying that to make you feel better. I think once you see things for yourself, you'll realize that you can really thrive here! It's everything your mother would've wanted us to do if she was still here," he explained to her with a hopefulness in his voice that made Aurora really start to believe him. The casual mention of her mother always caught her off guard, since they usually harrowingly avoided the topic. She began to wonder if it was true, if her mother were still here, would she want her to start a new life in the city? Would she think it was better for her than the torment she dealt with in Glenhallow? She felt like she was being left out on so many details that would answer her endless questions.
  The apartment was astonishing. Aurora stared in awe at the sleek, polished interior. Strobe lights decorated the trim on almost every piece of built-in furniture. Their fridge had a big screen on it, asking them if they would like to write a shopping list. Everything looked like it was made from shiny, white marble. The floors were similar to the ones at her old house, but they were warm under her feet from the heating features. There was a huge flat-screen TV built into the wall. The size of it was ridiculous. She noticed that there were screens everywhere. One in the hallway, another built into the wall in the kitchen, and even one in the bathroom.
  She walked up a thin set of white stairs— she almost felt like she could trip and fall in between them— up to a loft room with huge windows looking out into the apartment. There was yet another screen mounted next to the window. Facing opposite to it was a beautiful view into the dimly lit city.
  "This can be your room, if you'd like," Graham said after silently following her up the stairs.
  "Really?" Aurora smiled at him, to which he nodded.
  "I figured you'd want it as soon as I saw it on that virtual tour. My room will be the smaller one just below. Besides, I have the same gorgeous view, and mine has a bathroom attached to it," he crossed his arms as he bragged about his new room, making her giggle.
  "I don't know about these windows though... everyone can just look right in," Aurora pointed to the other window peering into the apartment, where she could see the kitchen, dining, and living room right from where she was standing.
  "Not a problem," he raised his eyebrows at her, before turning on the screen. He navigated through the options and pressed a button that suddenly blacked out the window. She gasped.
  "Woah..." she smiled, racing back down the stairs to view it from the outside. It looked like another piece of the sleek, white wall, like no window had ever been there in the first place.
  "Oooh, look, Rory, it has a two-way mirror option. I can see you but you can't see me!" Graham told her as he continued pressing buttons. She grinned at the white wall and raced back up the stairs, and gasped with excitement when she could see the light from outside the room still visible and illuminating through the window.
  "That is the coolest thing ever!" Aurora jumped up and down, and all she could think was how funny it would be to rub it into Mae's jealous face. Perhaps it was a good thing they stopped talking.
  "The movers won't be here until tomorrow, but the apartment staff said they could at least help us bring up our bed. Nice of them, huh? I can't believe they'd do that for us this time of night," he explained, checking his watch, "Anyway, it'll end up working out perfectly because we're going to meet your headmaster at your new school tomorrow. Maybe we can check out the town while we wait for them to finish up? Try some new restaurants?" he smiled playfully at her. Aurora felt a roller coaster of emotions wash over her at his announcement of going to her new school already. She tried to focus on the last part of his offer and smiled warmly.
  "Do you think they have any authentic Noravellan restaurants here?" she asked him shyly.
  "I know you've always wanted to try it! I already found a place called La Vellune, and I think you're gonna freak when you see it," he laughed, wrapping her into a tight side-hug. She smiled and hugged him back with both of her arms, feeling like he was her only safe space in the whole world, no matter where they were.