Chapter 2
1434 Words
The first raindrop hit her cheek, mixing with the tears she couldn't stop. Then another. Within seconds, the sky opened up, pouring down on her like it was crying too.
She walked without knowing where she was going. Her feet moved on their own, carrying her down street after street. The rain soaked through her clothes, making her whole body shiver, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore.
Her chest felt empty, like someone had scooped out her heart and left her empty.
Eight months. They betrayed me for eight months.
The thought made her stomach clench with fresh pain.
A car horn blared right next to her. Aurora jumped back, her heart slamming against her ribs as a black SUV screeched to a stop, missing her by inches.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the driver yelled out his window. His face was red with anger.
Aurora stared at him with blank eyes. She'd almost been hit, and she felt... nothing. Just cold emptiness where her feelings used to be.
"Taxi!" she called out weakly, raising her shaking hand. Her fingers trembled so hard she could barely keep them steady.
A yellow cab pulled over. The driver's eyes widened with worry when he saw her soaked clothes and the dried blood on her face.
"Miss, are you okay? Do you need a hospital?" His voice was gentle, concerned.
"No," Aurora whispered, her voice barely audible as she slid into the back seat. Her legs felt like jelly. "Just... take me to Pine Street. Building 47."
The ride felt like a bad dream. Aurora watched the rain streak down the windows, her mind playing Sophie's cruel words over and over like a broken record.
"Poor little orphan... You're nothing but pathetic... He said making love to you felt like work..."
Each memory felt like a knife twisting in her chest.
She paid the driver with shaking hands and stumbled to the familiar apartment building. Her knees were so weak she could barely stand. She knocked on door 3B, her knuckles barely making any sound.
The door flew open, and Emma's face went from annoyance to pure shock in one second.
"What the hell happened to you?" Emma gasped, her mouth falling open. She immediately pulled Aurora inside, her hands gentle but urgent. "Oh my God, you're bleeding! And you're soaking wet!"
Aurora opened her mouth to speak, but only a broken sob came out. Her lips quivered as she tried to form words. Then another sob tore from her throat. Soon she was crying so hard her whole body shook. She couldn't breathe between the tears.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Emma wrapped her arms around Aurora, not caring that she was getting wet too. Her voice was soft and soothing. "Come on, sit down. Tell me what happened."
Emma led her to the couch with gentle hands and grabbed a towel, pressing it carefully to Aurora's forehead. Aurora winced at the touch, her head still throbbing.
"It's over," Aurora whispered between choking sobs. Her voice cracked with pain. "Everything's over."
"What's over? Aurora, you're scaring me." Emma's face went pale with worry.
Aurora took a shaky breath that rattled in her chest. She told Emma everything. Every horrible detail. Her voice broke again and again as she spoke. Sophie's betrayal, Kaiden's coldness, the eight months of lies, the ring, the fight, everything.
Emma's face grew darker with each word. Her hands slowly curled into tight fists.
"That damned girl!" Emma exploded when Aurora finished, jumping to her feet. Her eyes flashed with rage. "I always knew she was a witch! I warned you, remember? I told you Sophie was in a different class, but that doesn't mean she gets to use you like that!"
Emma started pacing back and forth, her whole body tense with anger. Her hands were clenched so tight her knuckles turned white.
"Come to think of it, she made you write her exams! Do her tests! Run her errands! You were just someone she thought was easy for her to play around with. And you kept doing it because you thought she was your friend!"
"Emma, please..." Aurora sobbed harder, her shoulders shaking violently. "I loved her like a sister. And Kaiden... I thought he loved me."
Her voice came out so broken it barely sounded human.
Emma stopped pacing and pulled Aurora into a tight hug, her own eyes filling with angry tears.
"Listen to me," Emma said firmly, her voice steady despite her rage. "Let's get you cleaned up, get some food in you, and help you relax. We'll figure out the rest later. I promise you this, I will never throw you away like they did. You are not alone."
Emma's voice dropped to a whisper.
"And we will take our revenge."
The next few days blurred together like a nightmare Aurora couldn't wake up from.
She didn't leave Emma's apartment. She couldn't. Her body felt too heavy, like she was made of stones. Every time she thought about going outside, her chest got tight with panic. She imagined running into people who knew about her engagement. What would she tell them? That her fiancé and best friend had been sleeping together behind her back?
Her cheeks burned with shame every time she thought about it.
Aurora spent hours staring at nothing, sitting by the window in Emma's living room. Her eyes were dry now - she'd cried so much she had no tears left. She'd deleted all the photos from her phone with shaking fingers - the happy pictures with Sophie, the romantic ones with Kaiden, the excited selfies of her trying on wedding dresses.
But deleting them didn't delete the pain in her chest. The memories played in her head repeatedly, torturing her with how fake it all was.
Her phone kept buzzing with calls from her part-time job at Riley's Bar. The sound made her jump every time. She was supposed to work, but she couldn't face it. Her hands shook just thinking about it. Everyone there knew she was getting married next month. They'd thrown her a little engagement party just last week.
Now what would she say? Her throat closed up at the thought.
Emma found her on the third day, still in the same spot by the window. Fresh tears were streaming down her face as she listened to sad songs on repeat.
"Okay, that's enough," Emma said, her voice firm as she turned off the music. "Aurora, you need to get out of here."
"I can't," Aurora whispered, her voice hoarse from crying. Her whole body curled up smaller on the chair. "Everyone will ask questions. Everyone will know I'm a failure."
Her lips trembled as she spoke.
"You're not a failure! They are! They're the ones who should be ashamed, not you!" Emma's eyes blazed with protective anger.
But Aurora just shook her head, her movements weak and defeated. She turned the music back on with shaking fingers.
"I gave you all of me, but all you did was make me bleed..." the song played, and Aurora felt like the singer was telling her exact story.
Her chest ached with every word.
Emma watched her friend fall apart for two more days, her own heart breaking as she saw Aurora waste away. Finally, she'd had enough.
"That's it," Emma announced on Friday evening. "We're going out."
"No, Emma. I can't." Aurora's voice came out barely above a whisper. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
"Yes, you can. And you will. Get dressed. We're going to the club." Emma's voice was gentle but authoritative.
"I don't want to." Aurora shook her head weakly, her hair falling in her face.
Emma pulled Aurora up from the couch.
"Listen to me. Loud music and alcohol will take the pain away, at least for tonight. You need to stop thinking about them. You need to stop hurting yourself like this."
Aurora's eyes filled with fresh tears. "Nothing will make this better."
"Maybe not better, but different. Come on, Aurora." Emma's voice softened with worry. "When's the last time you ate a real meal? When's the last time you showered? You're wasting away, and I won't watch you destroy yourself over people who don't deserve a single tear."
Aurora caught sight of herself in Emma's mirror. Her face was gaunt, her eyes were red and swollen like she'd been punched, and her clothes hung loose on her shrinking frame.
"I look terrible." Her voice cracked with shame.
"Nothing a shower and some makeup can't fix. Come on. One night. Just one night to forget."
- Writer
