by Ivy Rose
“Well not really, you were only little,” she replied and started the dishwasher.
“Still, I did come back again when I was twelve, for the funeral. Why weren’t they at Grandma and Grandpa’s funeral?”
“They were at the funeral, Aurora.”
“Lexi too?”
“No, she wasn’t there that day. They decided not to bring her.”
“Why—” I didn’t have time to finish before Mum’s phone started ringing.
She picked it up and looked at her display. “Aurora, can we talk about this later? Sorry, I really need to take this call.”
“Sure,” I replied, my head swirling.
“Come and say goodnight, okay? We can talk more then.” She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and left the kitchen with her phone in hand. I blew out the candles that were still burning in the holder on the dining table and went into the living room to watch some TV. I wasn’t tired at all. Mum and I had unpacked everything in here and the room was now decorated with all our furniture and belongings. I curled up on the couch and was just about to reach for the remote, when I noticed the double doors at the other end of the room. Behind those doors was a long hallway with another three or four rooms. One of them was my grandmother’s old library.
I put the remote back on the table and got up from the couch. I hadn’t explored this area of the house yet but I felt a sudden longing to see what was behind those doors. I opened the heavy doors and searched the wall for a light switch. I found it and quickly turned the light on. We didn’t have enough furniture to fill this whole house, so this end still looked exactly the same as when my grandparents were alive. I ignored the first three rooms and headed straight towards the end of the hallway, where the arched doorway welcomed me to my grandmother’s cosy library.
There were books from floor to ceiling, and a big north-facing window where my grandmother’s armchair still sat. In the corner was an old fireplace, very similar to the one I had in my own room. It was an old-fashioned library, reminding me a little bit of the library in town, but not as big. This was my grandmother’s own private collection of books. I walked over to her armchair and let my hand touch the velvety fabric. I used to sit here in my grandmother’s lap while she told me amazing stories: some from the books we read together, and some from her own wild imagination.
I sat down in the chair and closed my eyes, just for a minute, before a familiar noise forced me to open them again, interrupting my moment of nostalgia. On the other side of the room, one of the books had fallen off its shelf and was now lying on the floor a few metres away from me. This was the second time in twenty-four hours that this had happened to me. My grandmother’s words echoed back to me. Be aware of the signs. Was she here? Was she trying to tell me something? As ridiculous as that sounded, curiosity got the better of me. I got up from her chair and approached the book with piqued interest. I didn’t really believe in signs or anything supernatural, but this felt a little bit weird and unusual and it intrigued me.
As I got closer and saw the title of the book, my breath caught in my throat and the room started to spin. Fallen Angels and Demons. The same book from the library.
I picked it up with shaking hands and looked over its cover. It was definitely the same book I found on the floor in the library. This was so not a coincidence. There was something more to this; there had to be. Oddly that didn’t scare me; I felt like my grandmother was speaking to me.
“Okay, Grandma, I hear you,” I mumbled to myself. I took another look around the room before I switched off the light and left the library with the book in my hand. I had finished my other book on the jetty earlier and didn’t have anything else to read anyway, so why not?
When I got upstairs, I walked straight to Mum’s bedroom to say goodnight. As I moved down the hallway towards her door, I heard her voice inside. She was still talking on the phone. I decided to go and brush my teeth instead, but as I was about to walk away I heard my name. I stopped and tried to listen, but I couldn’t hear anything properly from where I stood. I had never eavesdropped on her before, but something made me go back and move closer to the door. That’s when I heard her again.
“I know, and I promise I can protect her. It’s safe here, but we have to do it. There’s no other way.”
Silence.
“She will never know. It’s the only way for now.”
I stood there in the dark, frowning. What on earth was she talking about? Was she talking about me? Why would I need protection?
“I’ll let you know, okay? But I know what I’m doing. I would never put her in danger.”
Her voice came closer, and I turned around and sneaked back towards my room. I had just flicked the light on and was about to put the book on my desk when I heard a knock on my door. I don’t know why, but I tossed the book in a drawer as Mum opened the door.
“There you are. I wanted to say goodnight.” She gave me a big hug and looked at me. “Everything okay in here?”
“Yes, everything’s fine.”
“Okay, I’ll see you for breakfast tomorrow morning?”
I nodded and sat down on my bed. “Sure thing.”
“Everything will be fine. We made the right decision coming back here.”
“I’m sure we did, Mum. I’m sure.”
“It was a good night, wasn’t it?”
“It was great, Mum.”
She smiled. “Good, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’ll see you in the morning then.”
I nodded. “See you in the morning. Goodnight, Mum.”
She kissed my forehead. “Goodnight, Aurora.”
I watched her close the door behind her and as soon as she was gone I got back up again. I was too worked up to sleep. My mind kept replaying the conversation I’d just overheard. Assuming it was about me, what was it that I didn’t know and why did I need protection?
That’s when something hit me. Dad. Was he back? Did he want to see me? Mum had always shut me down whenever I tried to bring him up in conversation. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that my dad was trying to reconnect with us. Was Mum going to let him back into our lives? I wasn’t too sure after what I’d overheard, but I knew she would never do anything to hurt me. So, what now? Should I pretend that I’d never heard any of this? A part of me didn’t want to ignore it. If this was about my dad, I wanted to know what was going on. I had the right to know.
After tossing and turning for hours, I decided I would give Mum a deadline. I would give her until my eighteenth birthday to say something, otherwise I would have to ask her. I checked the calendar on my phone. It was only four weeks until my birthday. Surely, I could wait that long…
Chapter 4
By the time Monday morning arrived, I was so nervous about school that I was seriously thinking of taking a sick day for the first time in my life.
“You’ll be fine, Aurora. You’ve done this so many times before. Besides, isn’t Lexi meeting you outside?” Mum asked, looking at me from across the table.
“Right.” I nodded and tried to finish my toast, which seemed to be growing in my mouth.
“I will probably be late tonight; there’s a lot to do at work. Will you be all right on your own?”
“Mum, I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks. I’ll be fine.”
“Mr Peters will probably be around somewhere; I think he mentioned something about a broken fence down by the riding school.”
“Okay, but you honestly don’t have to worry about me.”
“If the house feels too big for you, you’re more than welcome to stop by the office. I’ll be there all day and night by the look of things.” Mum sighed.
“Thanks, but you really don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be okay.”
“Maybe you could invite Lexi over after school?”
“Yes, maybe I will,” I agreed patiently, just to get her off my back.
“And don’t forget that it gets darker earlier here, so please make sure to catch an early bus. I
don’t want you walking alone in the dark. The bus only stops out on the main road. If you want, I could ask Mr or Mrs Peters to pick you up by the bus stop. I know they wouldn’t mind.”
“That won’t be necessary, Mum. I’ll catch an early bus, I promise.”
The truth was that I was actually looking forward to having an evening to myself. After what I’d overheard on Saturday night, I wanted some time alone to digest it all. I studied Mum as she started to clear the table. What was that phone call about? Who was she talking to? I so badly wanted to ask her, but a part of me still feared the truth. I was safe when I chose to be ignorant. I could still pretend that it wasn’t my fault that he left us. But what if it was?
At ten minutes to eight, Mum dropped me off outside my new school. At first sight I was actually quite impressed. It was a grey stone building, two storeys high, in old Edwardian style. The building had an enormous outdoor courtyard and was surrounded by endless forestry. There was no way you could ever feel claustrophobic around here.
I jumped out of the car, said goodbye to Mum and just as she drove off, a black BMW with tinted windows pulled up next to me. I stopped and looked at the car with relief. It must be Lexi, I thought. However, a second later the door opened and Adrian Hunter stepped out. I almost jumped out of my skin, caught off guard by his sudden appearance. I mean, I knew the chances of seeing him again had been more than likely, and the thought that we could end up at the same school had crossed my mind more than once over the weekend. But still, none of that helped settle my nerves right now.
A slow grin spread across his face as he walked over to me. I nervously looked around the parking lot, praying that Lexi would come to my rescue, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Adrian stopped in front of me. “Aurora, what a nice surprise. I was hoping I would run into you again.”
Those pale, turquoise-blue eyes were just as mesmerising as I remembered. He was so beautiful. Butterflies were fluttering wildly in my stomach, and my brain once again scrambled for words that couldn’t find their way out. His smile broadened.
“Aurora, do you remember me?” he asked softly and cocked his head to the side, studying me with the same interest he had showed at the library. Of course, I remembered him. How could I forget him? He wasn’t exactly someone you could erase from your memory that easily.
“I-I…” What was wrong with me?! Why can’t I speak? Embarrassed, I tore my eyes away to catch my breath and steady my mind. I turned my gaze back to him and saw a grin tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Sorry, of course I remember you,” I replied with a shaky voice as I felt the familiar rush of heat colouring my cheeks. I squared my shoulders and tried very hard to straighten my stance so he wouldn’t see how out of place I felt, standing here in front of him again.
“It’s my first day,” I blurted out. I searched around the lot for Lexi one more time, sending another silent prayer to the universe that she would get here soon.
“Are you waiting for someone?” he asked and followed my gaze.
“Um, yes but I’m supposed to meet her by the entrance. I was just on my way…”
“Who are you meeting?” he asked curiously.
“Lexi Dawson. Do you know her?”
He smiled. “This isn’t Paris, Aurora. We all know each other here.” He looked towards the entrance, and then turned back to me. “Come, I’ll walk with you.”
I could see people looking our way as Adrian and I walked across the school grounds. If I wanted to be anonymous and not draw any attention on my first day, I had certainly picked the wrong guy to escort me. I suspected I wasn’t the only one who was affected by his looks. I could feel people staring at us with curious, or maybe jealous, eyes. As we reached the entrance of the building, something hit me.
“How did you know I used to live in Paris?”
“Was it a secret?” he asked with humour in his twinkling eyes that made my heart beat a little bit faster when our eyes connected.
“N-no, why would it be a secret? It’s just that I don’t know anyone here yet, so I was curious how you knew I used to live in Paris. I know I didn’t tell you at the library…”
Adrian shook his head, offered me a quick glance, then continued walking. “Aurora, everyone knows about you…everyone.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that, but thankfully I heard a familiar voice cry out: “There you are! Sorry, I’m late.” I quietly sighed in relief as Lexi ran toward us with a big smile on her face.
“Lexi, hi.”
“I see you’ve already made a new friend on your first day.” Lexi winked and glanced towards Adrian. “Hi, Adrian.”
“Hi, Lexi. I was keeping Aurora company until she found you.”
“Appreciate it,” she said and gave me a huge grin.
I had no idea how she could be immune to that face, but she seemed quite unaffected by Adrian’s charm. Or maybe she was just better than I was at keeping a straight face. That was probably more likely.
“Well, I better be going or I’m going to be late for class,” said Adrian. “Enjoy your first day.”
I watched as he walked away, shaking my head slightly in an attempt to find my focus again. This was the second time Adrian had made an appearance in my life, and both times he had completely startled me by doing very little at all.
“I know, he’s sooo hot, isn’t he? He’s like a freaking supermodel. I told you we have some good-looking guys here,” Lexi said, as if reading my mind, and grabbed my arm. “Let’s go, we don’t want to be late for class, first impressions and all. I need to take you to the office.”
The office was located at the end of the building and as we walked through the corridors, I couldn’t help but admire the high ceilings and the colourful artwork that was displayed on the walls. It was the complete opposite to what the school looked like from the outside. It felt warm and almost homely in here. The office lady greeted us and gave me a huge folder with information, a key to my new locker and a map of the school.
We had just made it to the classroom when the bell rang. I let my eyes wander around the room and cringed inwardly when I saw that everyone was already seated and staring at me, the new girl. I shifted my gaze towards the teacher instead, in a desperate attempt to get away from all those curious eyes.
“Sorry, I don’t know where you will be seated,” Lexi whispered and approached the teacher by the desk. “Mr Thomas, this is Aurora Kinsley. She’s new here,” she explained and left me at the front of the classroom as she walked to her seat. I stood there awkwardly and waited for Mr Thomas to give me some kind of direction. He straightened his glasses while he threw me a quick glance.
“Oh yes, Aurora, welcome. I’m Mr Thomas. Please have a seat next to Julian. You can share books with him for today.”
“Sure,” I replied as I waited for him to tell me who Julian was, but he never did. Okay, weird. I made my way between the desks as I desperately scanned for a boy who obviously had an empty seat next to him. I found the empty chair in the back of the room. Too shy to look at him, or anyone else for that matter, I quietly sank down in my seat and focused my attention back on Mr Thomas, as I exhaled slowly. That was horrible. I hated unwanted attention, and in the last few minutes I had had way more than I was comfortable with.
“I’m Julian,” a voice said softly next to me.
Startled, I turned my head and was caught in a pair of dark, obsidian eyes. Lexi sure didn’t exaggerate when she’d told me that they had some good-looking guys in this town. His light blond hair was the complete opposite of Adrian’s, but his features were just as perfect, with sharp cheekbones and a sensual mouth. I felt my heart pick up speed for the second time this morning as he studied me with a hint of a smile.
“Aurora, I presume?” I nodded and swallowed, and he pushed his book between us. “We’re talking about how to sustain a resilient democracy and a cohesive society for the future.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled. He just nodded and turned his gaze b
ack towards the front of the room. As it turned out, Julian was very bright and really contributed to the classroom discussion. Which also meant that all eyes were constantly turning our way, and I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat every time he opened his mouth. When the bell finally rang, I couldn’t have been happier that the lesson was finally over. I watched everyone gather their books and move towards the door.
“That bad, huh?”
I turned my head in the direction of his voice and got caught in his stare once again. “S-sorry…what?”
“I like this subject. I like to challenge how people think.” He smiled. “I’m not always this chatty. I could feel how uncomfortable you were with everyone staring.”
“That’s okay, I’ll get used to it. I’m actually quite happy to contribute to class discussions as well, just not on my first day.”
He ticked his head towards Lexi near the front of the room. “Do you know Lexi?”
“Yeah, kind of. We used to play together when we were little. My mum invited her and her parents to dinner on the weekend.”
“Well, isn’t that nice. Lexi is a great girl.” He studied me with curious eyes. I blushed and looked away. His eyes were so dark, so different to Adrian’s. Still, there was something about those eyes that spoke to me.
“Yeah, I know. Hopefully we can make up for lost time,” I finally said.
He was still watching me with a hint of a smile on his lips. “Well, I hope you do. I have to go, but I’ll see you later?”
“Sure,” I murmured, watching him gather his things to leave. He was very tall, I noticed. Just like Adrian…
“I told you,” Lexi had snuck up behind me.
I jumped slightly at her voice. “Oh my God, you scared me.” I laughed and shuffled my notebook into my bag.
“Well?” Lexi asked insistently.
“Well, what?”
“What do you think about Julian?”
“He’s…”
“Hot, gorgeous, you name it. I told you.” She giggled, and I couldn’t help but giggle with her.
“Yep, I do remember you telling me that.” I grinned.
