Aurora’s POV
I was numb.
No, I was worse than numb. I felt like I didn’t exist. I couldn't feel my body. I didn’t want to feel my body. I would have to feel the pain in my chest choking me and I didn’t want that.
I wanted to lay in my bed and sleep. I wanted to escape the reality. At least for a little while.
I wouldn't be able to escape the pain. I knew that. I would have to face it. I would have to deal with it.
I would have to face the fact that my own twin believed such terrible lies about me. I would have to accept that he thought so little of me. I would have to accept that he believed I would be capable of such things.
Didn’t he know me? Was our relationship just a huge lie?
I closed my eyes and tried to take a deep breath. I wasn’t sure if I succeeded. I couldn't feel my lungs.
Why didn’t he talk to me? Why didn’t he come to me? Why did he believe them?
He didn’t even believe them over me. He never even talked to me about it. He never even asked me.
He should have asked me.
“Rory?” he called me and it was the first thing that caused a reaction in my body.
It felt like someone stabbed me in the chest.
“Don’t call me that,” I somehow managed to mumble.
He was silent for a moment.
“I will never stop calling you that,” he said, his voice laced with guilt. “I did it once and I won’t do it again.”
I didn’t care.
“You are angry,” he continued. “You deserve to be angry, Rory. I deserve to grovel a your feet and I am going to do it. I am not leaving. I am not giving up. I will wait for you as long as I have to.”
I wasn’t angry. I was nothing.
I looked through the window. We were only a minute away from home.
“Are you hungry, princess?” Rhys asked.
I felt the first burn of pain in my chest.
Why didn’t he tell me? Why did he keep it from me? Did he believe it too? How long had he known?
“Aurora?” he called me when I didn’t respond.
“No,” I said just as Sebastian stopped the car in front of our house.
I opened the door and rushed out of the car. I wanted to go to my room. I wanted to shower. I wanted to cover myself with a blanket and sleep.
“Rory,” Sebastian called me
I ignored him. I unlocked the front door and got inside the house. I wanted to run but my body wouldn't listen to me.
“Aurora,” Rhys said. “You need to eat something.”
No, I didn’t.
“Aurora!” Rhys exclaimed as I started climbing the stairs.
“Rory, please,” Sebastian said as he tried to grab my arm and stop me.
I pulled my arm out of his grip and continued climbing upstairs. I could hear them both following me. I didn’t care. I didn’t want to talk to them. I didn’t want to be with them. I wanted to be alone.
“Princess,” Rhys called me as he too tried to stop me.
I got our of his hold.
“Fuck, Aurora, please,” he cried out. “I a sorry, princess, I am so sorry.”
I didn’t care.
I finally reached my room. I opened the door and walked inside. I didn’t even look at them before I closed the door and locked them.
“Rory!” Sebastian exclaimed. “I am sorry, okay? Please just open the door and come out. You need to eat something. We won’t talk to you if you don’t want to, but you need to eat.”
I didn’t need to eat.
I walked toward the bathroom, taking my clothes off as I walked. I didn’t want to look at my body. I knew what I would see and I didn’t want to see it.
I could hear Sebastian and Rhys fighting in front of my room, but I didn’t care about what. I shut them out and ignored them completely.
I decided to take a bath. I wouldn't be able to stand in the shower. My legs were shaking.
I felt like I was on autopilot. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just found myself lying in a warm bath, staring at the ceiling, and trying to find a way to prolong the numbness.
I could feel the pain burning my chest a little and I wasn’t ready for it. I didn’t want to deal with it yet.
“Aurora!” I heard Rhys scream.
I closed my eyes and tried to shut him out.
“I am not giving her a minute, Sebastian!” he screamed. “I need to see her. I need to know that she is okay!”
I shut my eyes tighter, trying to focus on anything else except his voice.
“Aurora!” he screamed again.
I heard a loud banging against my bedroom door.
“I am going to break the fucking door down, Aurora!” he continued yelling. “You need to let me in!”
“Stop it!” I heard Sebastian’s voice. “She doesn’t want to talk to us right now. Let’s just give her some time, okay?”
“What if she is hurt?!” Rhys yelled and there was another loud bang against my door. “Aurora!”
“She isn’t hurt!” Sebastian shouted. “I know her, Rhys. She is taking a bath. She always does that when she is sad. She needs time.”
Sebastian's voice was trembling. I could hear pain and fear in his voice and I wanted to scream. He was my twin. I didn’t want him to be afraid. I didn’t want him to be in pain.
His pain was my pain, no matter what he did.
“Aurora, please!” Rhys cried out. “I love you. I am sorry. I am so sorry, princess.”
I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat. The pain was pulsating in my chest. The numbness was slowly fading away. I was unable to hold onto it, no matter how hard I tried.
“We will be downstairs, Rory,” Sebastian said loudly, his voice shaking. “Please come down when you finish in the bathroom. You need to eat.”
I wasn’t going to do that.
“I love you, Rory,” Sebastian added after a moment of silence. “I love you so much.”
I felt the tears burning the corners of my eyes.
I loved him too. I loved him so much it hurt. He was my other half. He was my best friend. I couldn't imagine my life without him.
But I wasn’t sure if I would be able to forgive him.