The silver cross hadn't left her neck since she was gifted it three weeks ago. February arrived and the only time Aurora had seen Weston was at the charity event.
Was he avoiding her?
During lunch the other week, Aurora overheard a girl, Harley, gossiping with her friends.
"So? Give us the deets," A redhead, Trisha, demanded.
"And leave nothing out! I want to feel like I was there instead of in here with eyes on me all the time. For god sake, it's not my fault Julia walked through the door and not that dick Brendan! The mud pool wasn't meant for her, but of course she didn't understand that. Can you believe I'm on laundry duty for another two weeks?" Sabina rattled on.
Harley looked annoyed at her rambling, "How about you hush so I can tell you." Sabina merely rolled her eyes and sipped her water.
Her story started off boring and Aurora zoned out but her interest quickly peaked again at the mention of a certain somebody.
"It was only a party for close friends and family but obviously I was invited since my mum's friend's with Weston and Josh's mum."
Weston had a party? Or maybe it was his parents' party?
"We got through the boring stuff. You know, dinner and things and then Weston and Josh cut the cake. The cake was actually pretty good," Harley described.
Aurora's brows furrowed. Why would there be cake? And why would Weston and Josh be cutting it? Weston's birthday had already passed. Perhaps it was Josh's birthday?
"What was the flavour?" Sabina questioned as she ate the carrot cake.
"It was vanilla. But that's besides the point! Anyway," she sighed, "the night went on and I made my way over to Weston. The next thing I know, we're kissing and he's taking me up to his bedroom." She was smug.
"No fucking way!" Trish's eyes were wide. "I said details, you're not giving them."
"And you're not gonna get them. I don't kiss and tell," she smirked.
Noelle, Maisie and Max were sat with Aurora. Everyone heard the conversation on the other table. Max looked confused and Noelle and Maisie's eyes saddened.
"I'm so sorry, Aurora," Noelle soothingly rubbed Aurora's hand.
"What are you talking about?" Aurora shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about."
"Aurora, come on," Maisie said in a tone as if to say 'don't try and kid yourself'.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Aurora annunciated. "I've got to go anyway. University applications await."
Aurora felt betrayed even though they had no commitments to each other, they'd never said anything explicitly but it was all shown through their actions towards one another.
Italy, the gifts, the painting. Didn't that all mean something?
Maybe Aurora got the wrong end of the stick. Maybe she was the naive one this time.
"What's got you in a slump," his deep voice penetrated the silence.
Aurora turned her head. She hadn't locked her door so anyone could've walked in if they tried the handle.
She turned her head back to look at the sunset out the window and remained knelt on her bed. "Nothing." You. "Just tired."
"You're not gonna ask where I've been?" Weston walked around her room and looked at the pictures on her walls. Some were drawings and paintings she'd done herself, some were works from her favourite artists and sculptors, and some were pictures. Pictures of Aurora alone, pictures with Aurora and Maisie and Noelle and Max. None of him. None of Weston.
"No," she responded. "But, about that. How are you gonna graduate? You're never here."
Weston left the pictures alone and joined Aurora on her bed. "I'll let you in on a little secret. I actually graduated last year but my dad likes to keep me in check so he has me here sometimes."
"You want to let me in on any other secrets?" Aurora said bitterly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," she sighed. "Nothing, unless it means something to you." She glanced at him through the sides of her eyes.
His hands washed over his face. "Aurora, I'm going to be completely honest with you."
"This is it," she thought. "He's gonna tell me that he had a party, didn't invite me and fucked someone else."
"I have absolutely no clue as to what you're trying to insinuate. I've had a very stressful time away and the last thing I need is for you to be uptight. I just need to relax," Weston answered. He did look drained. He didn't have his natural glow, his eyes were dark.
"You think you can relax after you fucked another girl?" She accused.
Weston looked dumbfounded. Confused, as if some unfathomable maths equation came out her mouth and he was expected to tell her what x was. "What?"
"Don't act like you don't know!" Her voice raised.
"That's because I don't know, Aurora. You're talking bullshit. I've not been with anyone. What's it to you anyway?"
"You've been away for weeks and some girl comes back, chatting to her friends about a night she spent with you, and I'm supposed to believe you?"
"Yes! You know me more than whoever this girl is. She probably just made it up to make you jealous."
"How can she possibly do that when no one knows about..." she paused and tried to find the right words. "Us. Or whatever it was."
"Was?"
"You think I'm going to carry on whatever this is after that?" she gestured at the space between the two which had grown since she was now at the other side of her bed. "I'm not the same person I was in England. You know more about me than my parents do. I've spent the most time with you..."
Ten minutes later and they had gotten nowhere. It was heated and Aurora was still sure he was lying but Weston was adamant he knew nothing about it.
They were interrupted when someone burst into Aurora's room.
"I've got to make more use of that lock," Aurora thought to herself.
Their argument got put on hold when they both looked to see who had invaded Aurora's room.
"Dude, I think you've got my phone," the guy waved a phone around in his hand. "This one's yours."
Aurora looked back and forth between the two a few times.
"Weston?"
"I'm Josh. Nice to meet you Aurora," he winked.
"You're twins?"
Josh walked over to Weston and switched phones. "Westie didn't tell you about me?" He slapped Weston on the shoulder. "I'm fucking hurt."
"Stop your crying. I did tell her."
"You said you had a younger brother. Not that you were twins. Identical."
It was as if they were a mirrored version of each other. Aurora stared at Josh to try and find some sort of identifying features to tell the two apart. She came across a beauty mark on the left side of Josh's neck, just below his ear.
"Woah, woah, woah. Let's not get ahead of ourselves now," Josh put his hands out. "I'm the better looking one. And I thought that you stopped this younger brother bullshit. You're only three minutes older because I knew what a shit tip the world was so I tried to stay in longer. But no, mum had to push me out."
"Was he the stressful thing you were talking about?" Aurora referred to what Weston mentioned earlier on.
Weston huffed, "One of them."
"We're gonna cruise over the fact that Westie isn't happy to see me. Sick of me already? Anyway, what's going on? Lovers quarrel?" Josh raised his eyebrows in a suggestive way.
Aurora felt a bit uncomfortable with the term 'lovers quarrel'.
"I've heard make-up sex is amazing. Talking from experience," Josh pointed to himself.
"You sound like quite the ladies' man," Aurora observed.
"He is. He's fucking lucky he's been at school abroad out of reach from dad. You'd be in here twenty-four seven."
"Don't be salty about it. You got the art gene and I'm musically gifted living my best life in Italy."
"What do you play?" Aurora asked.
"Everything, darling," Josh winked. "Very good with my hands."
A beep sounded from Josh's phone. And another, and another, and another.
Aurora pointed to the phone, "Someone's popular."
"Just some girl from the party that won't leave me alone. I don't even know how she got my number."
"Wait, what girl?" Weston questioned.
"I dunno. Turns out, she thought I was you. I've never been more offended in my life... didn't stop her though. Haley... Halley..."
"Harley?" Weston offered.
Josh clicked his fingers. "Yep. That's the one. Now she won't leave me alone. Blocked," he pressed a button.
Weston and Aurora stared at each other. Aurora broke eye contact first.
"Can you both leave? Please. I've had a long day and I just want to go to sleep."
"Sure. You should come round one evening. Mum wants to cook you dinner," Josh left the room and left her door open for Weston to follow.
He stayed in her room for a few minutes.
"... You could've said you had an identical twin," Aurora shuffled on her bed.
Weston shrugged, "I didn't think it was important."
"We could've avoided the heated argument and had heated sex instead if I knew. I could've put two and two together."
"Who says we can't have heated sex now?"
"Me. I do. Get out Weston," she got up and pushed his back towards the door.
When he was outside her room, he turned around to face her. "No goodnight kiss?"
Aurora bit her lip and tilted her head as if she was thinking long and hard. "Hmmm, no. Because when you kiss me, you can't stop."
"I'm not the one who should be punished. You should be making it up to me."
Aurora stepped forward onto her tippy toes with her hands on his broad shoulders and kissed Weston on the cheek. Her lips lingered. "Good night, Weston," she smiled and closed the door.