"Aurora," Jonah says softly, shutting his bedroom door behind them. "They're your parents, aren't they?"
"What gave that away?" She snaps, running a hand through her hair as she paces the length of the room, her breathing quickening. "The fact that we share the same last name or me currently FREAKING THE FUCK OUT?"
"Calm down," he soothes, moving closer despite her attempts to push him away.
"I most certainly will not calm down!" She shrieks, stiffening as he pulls her into a hug. "Let me go, Jonah."
"No, Aurora. If I do, you'll either break something or end up hurting yourself," Jonah explains. "There's no need to freak out. We'll think of something."
She doesn't listen, choosing instead to continue fighting her way out of his grasp. Pulling back as far as his arms will allow me, she tries to swat his hands away, stopping only when her wrists slip out of his hold on her.
"I'm sorry," Aurora mutters, suddenly feeling guilty. Still keeping her distance, she glowers at his shirt instead of making eye contact. "I shouldn't push you away when you're trying to help me."
"Aurora, look at me," Jonah pleads.
She shakes her head resolutely, silently fuming.
Jonah carefully steps closer and slowly reaches out to tilt her chin upwards. Having no choice but to make eye contact, Aurora's glare softens as she looks at Jonah, his eyes filled with worry.
"There's a side door downstairs you and I can sneak out of when everyone goes into the dining room," he tells her. "You'll be able to avoid your parents and I can show you around Stillwater."
"But I don't want your parents to think I'm rude," she protests. "And I haven't even met your dad yet."
"You can meet him when we explain the situation to them later," Jonah reassures her. "They won't think you're rude."
"I don't deserve you," she sighs, resting her head on his chest. "You deserve a girl that isn't a total bitch with a ton of fucking problems."
"You are not a total bitch," Jonah states firmly. "And there isn't a single thing wrong with you. You're perfect, never think otherwise."
Aurora's response is cut off by the door cracking open and Esther Grace poking her head through. "Mom wants you and Aurora to come to the living room."
"Are the neighbors in there too?" Jonah questions, glancing down at Aurora as he does so.
"Last I checked, they were in the kitchen," Esther says, not waiting for a reply as she shuts the door again.
Lifting her head off of Jonah's chest, his arm drops from her waist once he's sure she's no longer being irrational.
"You don't have to go downstairs if you don't want to," Jonah begins. "You can stay in here while I te-"
"I'll go downstairs," she decides. "If my parents are in the kitchen, they won't even see us. If they aren't, well, I'll cross that bridge when we get there."
"Are you sure about this?"
She nods, entwining her hand in his as he leads her into the hallway. Her nerves begin to skyrocket as she fully comprehend how close she is to actual family members for the first time in two and a half years.
Though she loves Jonah and his ability to understand and comfort her, Aurora wishes more than anything that she had Mark by her side as she risks facing her biological parents.
Loud, calloused laughter reaches her ears halfway down the stairs. She freezes, which causes Jonah to halt.
Drawing in a shaky breath before Jonah can say anything, she begins moving again. He looks at her, obviously concerned but doesn't comment.
Squeezing her hand reassuringly once they reach the bottom of the stairs, he turns and guides her into the living room.
"My eldest son, Jonah, and his girlfriend are visiting for a few days," Carrie is telling a couple that has their backs turned to them. Aurora pauses, instantly trying to tug Jonah out of the room before they're noticed. "And here they are now!"
The woman turns around first, keeping a hand on her rather round stomach as she does so. Aurora's anger rises once again, replacing her nerves as she realize the brunette is pregnant. Her eyebrows furrow together as she looks at her, seemingly confused.
"Charlie," she gasps, tugging on the sleeve of the man standing next to her, who's speaking to Tim, Jonah's father. "Look."
The man with a buff build and slightly graying hair turns around, smiling politely as his eyes first land on Jonah. The fake smile immediately turns into a scowl as he notices Aurora standing next to Jonah.
"Don't be shy," Carrie waves Jonah and Aurora closer, not noticing the reaction her appearance caused.
"We can leave if you want to," Jonah whispers, slowly leading the tense girl across the room. "No one is going to make you do this.
"I will not give them the satisfaction of seeing me run away," she mutters, glaring at the couple she's supposed to call her parents.
"This is my son, Jonah, I was telling you about and-"
"Aurora," Charlie Daniels cuts Carrie off, fixing his daughter with a steely gaze. "It's been so long since we've seen you."
"It hasn't been long enough," she snaps, releasing Jonah's hand as he instead wraps his arm protectively around her waist.
"Tell me," he begins. "Are you two really dating or are you paying him to say that you are?"
"Is that really your baby?" Aurora retorts. "Or are you paying mother to say that it is?"
Tiffany, still as frail as Aurora remembered her, gasps, affronted by her statement. Esther and Zebulon appear in the doorway, confused by the sudden hostility surrounding the atmosphere. But Carrie quickly shoos them out, telling them to go back upstairs.
"That is no way to speak to your parents," Charlie declares.
"You lost that title the day you kicked me out," she grits her teeth. "Besides, Mark and his parents were a better family to me than you two ever were."
"We didn't kick you out. Your ungrateful ass moved out on your own accord," Charlie states, raising his voice slightly. "We gave you everything you ever wanted and more. What else could you possibly want from us?"
"For you to actually give a damn about me!" Aurora snaps, anger coursing through her veins. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I didn't want millions of dollars wasted on me? In the sixteen years that I lived with the two of you, I never once got a hug nor did I ever hear you say that you loved me. The first person to do that was Mark!"
Tiffany has yet to say anything. Carrie and Tim watch as Aurora argues, torn between whether they should intervene or stand back. They opt for the latter as she continues to rant.
"You were always at work and she couldn't be bothered to give up her daily life of whoring around! The most I ever got was an occasional nod, and actual eye contact if I was lucky!"
"Then why didn't you just tell us that?" Charlie asks, putting on a sorry charade. "We could have worked something out, but instead, you leave without a word on your sixteenth birthday!"
"Drop that fucking act right now!" Aurora demands, my voice growing shrill. Jonah's grip subconsciously falls away as she steps forward. "I'm tired of your bullshit! You know damn well that it was your decision for me to leave and I think it's about time Mother knows why, especially since you'll let the same thing happen with that baby."
"Charlie, what is she talki-"
"Him and his bastard of a colleague know what I'm talking about." Aurora pauses, her voice shaking and fury clouding her vision as she thinkd back to the night she's tried so hard to forget about.
A girl's sixteenth birthday is supposed to be unforgettable. Unfortunately for Aurora, her's definitely is, but not in the way a young girl hopes for it to be. She shudders as everything comes flooding back.
The stench of too much expensive wine. A burly man in a wrinkled suit. A torn dress. Slurred words as father's friend from work lunged towards her. Desperate pleas for help that were never answered.
The will to fight suddenly drains out of Aurora, instead leaving her feeling broken and vulnerable. The dam holding back her tears break and she turn her head away, sobbing into her hand as she refuses to let Jonah touch her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a nagging voice is telling her how weak she let herself look in front of her biological parents. But she can no longer find it in her to care.
The walls and life she had built up to keep the truth at bay are crumbling around her, and the one person that can stop it from destroying her completely is gone.