࿇ ══━━━━✥ Aurora ✥━━━━══ ࿇
When I came home I first looked through the window to see if my father was there, I did not want to talk to her after he had told me that he no longer wanted me in the house.
I saw that he was sleeping on the sofa. So I could go in without him seeing me. This morning I could only leave the house because Phoebe had distracted him.
So I quietly opened the door and closed it again. I ran to the stairs on tiptoe. "Aurora?" his voice suddenly asked.
I turned on my heels and looked at my father who looked pretty bad. His hair was standing up in all directions and his father's stubble was clearly visible, as were the circles around his eyes.
And this time there was no trace of anger in his face but only sadness. We just stood there and looked at each other.
Then he came towards me. I smelled that he stank of alcohol again, how could it be otherwise. I was afraid what would happen if he stood with me, would he hit me? Therefore, I stood there as if rooted to the spot.
But when he reached me, he stretched out his arms and embraced me. I had expected everything but not that. Which is why it took me a short time to return the hug.
"I'm so sorry Aurora, I didn't mean what I said. What would I be without you please do not go. You are like my Cassy." He said and pressed me even tighter against him.
I was surprised that he even remembered what had happened. "It's okay dad, forgive and forget." I said and tapped on his shoulder. The stench of alcohol was too much for me. Of course I hadn't forgotten and he was just going through a phase of being sorry. Tomorrow he would hate me again, just because I looked like her.
He finally broke away from me and then looked at the plaster on my face. "Oh no, is it deep?" he asked, obviously meaning the wound.
"No," I replied.
"I hope it doesn't leave a scar."
"Yes, of course you hope so, it would be just one more feature that would distinguish me from my mother on the outside". I said and rolled my eyes.
He looked hurt by my words and I felt so bad. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it," I apologized.
"No, it's okay Aurora. You look like her and maybe it's even good if a scar develops that I don't switch you drunk anymore."
"Yeah, it's fine, Dad. You don't have to apologize." I said. But he should apologize, but not for switching me with her, and he should be sober for once.
I wanted to turn around and go back to my room to think about Matt, but he cleared his throat.
"I know I'm giving you a hard time and believe me I wish I could always recognize you but you're like your mother's twin. You look like her, talk like her and have the same charisma as her. And I know you're standing in front of me right now but all I see is her."
I felt so incredibly sorry for him and wished he was always like that, but he wasn't and I had to deal with that.
"That's what keeps putting us in the same situation dad. I know it's hard that mom is dead but it's time for you to let go. Me and Phoebe already made it, our family made it, Mary-lou, her best friend, made it too and now the only one missing is you." I said and then I went to my room.
Once there I threw myself on my bed and stared at the ceiling again. My cell phone buzzed and I knew it was Matthew so I answered it.
"Hey"
"Aurora, nice of you to pick up, I was getting worried".
I rolled my eyes in amusement, that was so him. No matter what I did or how much I would push him away from me he would always take care of me.
"I appreciate that Matt but you don't have to."
"You always say that, but one time you were in rehab after that, so I don't trust you anymore."
"Okay, point taken."
"What are you doing? You want to come over?"
"I was there yesterday, do you miss me yet?"
He didn't say anything for a while and I was afraid that I had said something wrong.
"Yes" he said with a sigh and my heart beat faster. And I did not know what to say.
"Are you coming?" he asked when I didn't answer. I looked at the clock. I wanted to see him but it was already 6:44pm.
"I know you're looking at the clock and I'm telling you that you can sleep here. Then you don't have to go home."
"All right. I'm coming."
"yay, see you in 20"
"Give me 40, I gotta pack up some stuff and talk to Phoebe about picking her up tomorrow, not that she's gonna wake up tomorrow and me and my car are gone and she has no idea where I am."
"Okay, I'll see you in a bit."
I hung up and went to Phoebe's room and knocked. Then I entered. She looked up from her laptop and looked at me questioningly.
"I'm sleeping at Matt's tonight. We'll pick you up in the morning." I said and she started to grin.
,,Okay, see you tomorrow and I want to hear all the details then." She said and I rolled my eyes.
...
When I arrived at the boys' house, I didn't even have to ring the doorbell. As soon as I stood in front of the door, someone opened it automatically. Of course it was Matt.
"Can't wait to see me, can you?" I said and we hugged.
"No,-" he was about to say something, but Chris interrupted him.
"WUHUU, Aurora is here." He shouted and joined our hug.
"Group cuddle without me? Naughty" said nick as he came around the corner and joined the group hug.
I had to laugh. "You guys are acting like I've been gone for three years. What happened?" I asked and had to giggle more.
"Nothing, we are just glad that you are here." Chris said and detached himself from me. And it felt so good to hear that you were loved.
We watched a movie together and then each of the boys disappeared into their rooms, me with Matt.
We talked and intesiv and the looks he threw me again and again missed me fire under my skin.
He had made music in the background on, he had made a playlist with my favorite songs as he knew I do not like to hear rap.
And then one of my favorite songs, lost in the wild, played, whereupon I immediately had to smile and jumped up and grabbed an empty bottle and used it as a microphone.
"I really thought that I could save us... AND WE'LL ALL BE ANIMALS" I said to him before he just smiled at me. And I don't know what got into me but somehow I felt so good.
"You're crazy." He said.
"And you're boring." I said and looked at him in front. It didn't take him 3 seconds to get up and dance with me and sing along to the lyrics.
"I love this side of you." He said as I turned in a circle. And when my gaze met his there was again this expression in his face and this glitter in his eyes.
"I kind of missed her too." I said.
"I missed you."
"I was here yesterday." I said and laughed.
"I meant when you were away, in the clinic." And the mood changed with that sentence and I was about to tell him the truth when he grabbed my hand.
We stood so close to each other that I had to look up at him. He stroked a tear of hair from my face and all doubts that I was not in love with him were blown away.
"Aurora?"
"Matt?"
"What is this? I mean this, between us" he asked with a relaxed warm voice.
And I didn't know what to say. He had me trapped. And it annoyed me that I didn't ask him first. But it was also good that he asked because I knew that he also realized that this was not just friendship.
Our eye contact still held and I felt warm. What were we doing?
And I don't know where I got the courage to stand on my toes, but it happened and he was the one who joined our lips.
It was a magical feeling. Our lips moved in sync, his hands lingered on my waist and mine on his neck. I smelled his good smell and my belly was warm, I never wanted it to end.
Every now and then our lips parted again so we could catch our breath but as soon as we could they collided again. No idea how long we stood there and kissed us but in my opinion not long enough.
Because at some point we separated and looked at each other out of breath, still in each other's arms.
Then matt started to stutter. "Wow...that, that was...just...uh wow." And I had to laugh, he was so overwhelmed and somehow I thought it was totally sweet.
"And what does that mean now?" I asked so that he wouldn't be the first to ask again.
"Was the kiss not clear enough?" he asked, amused. "I think you're great Aurora, I did it before and I'm doing it again?
Somehow I had to smile when he did it.
"So you have a crush on me?" He rolled his eyes and laughed, leaning forward again to give me a quick kiss. After that he breathed an "Oh yeah" against my lips and that made me so happy that I couldn't describe it in words.
"And you? Do you also have a crush on me?" "Wasn't the kiss good enough?" provoked him. "Oh, it was more than good, but I want to hear it."
"Yes, I do," I said and then he grinned widely and pulled me closer to him.
After that we talked a little and then we went to bed. I fell asleep in his arms and it was such a nice feeling to know that he felt the same as I did.