Aurora
It was Saturday morning. The city seems to be smiling with a nice smell of the weather. I got out of bed and opened the curtain. The rays of the sun glint through the room, blinding me for a second. I shielded my eyes with my hand and stared at the busy road. It's Saturday, and everywhere is meant to be cooler than it used to be.
I stretched and yawned. "Argh!" I yelled in pain. I took off my dress and stared at the mirror. The pain came from my back and I don't remember any injury. There was a brown leather-like stuff wrapped around my chest.
I unwrapped it and saw the huge scar on my back. It's like a lion's mark but it looked bigger. Scared to death, I rushed out of my room and went downstairs. "Mom, there's something—" I paused.
Mother was in tears with some other people in uniforms, probably the cops. They all looked up at me and their jaws dropped. Mom stood up immediately to hug me. "Is it you?" She cried.
I tried to pat her too, totally lost in the situation. "Did something happen?" I asked. She couldn't answer, instead, she was choked in her sobs. "Oh Aurora, where have you been?"
"In my room…"
She sat me down and the cops exchanged glances. Mom went to make me a cup of coffee. Her eyes were glassy. "Mom, what's wrong? Why are these people here? And…why are you so sad?"
She didn't answer any of my questions, instead, the cops took out a pen and a light notebook.
"Can you remember where you were last night?" The handsome male coped with a tint of silver in his hair and asked me. It felt like a very awkward question to ask. Mom kissed me last night before I went to bed.
"I was in my room."
He wrote something down and exchanged glances with the female cop. "Aurora darling. Try again. What is the last thing you remember?"
I thought for a while and the last thing I could remember was mom making some sandwiches…I ate it…took my bath and went to bed. "Now this is weird. Would someone tell me what is going on?"
"Aurora, you have been gone for a week now. Your mom and I have checked the whole of New York City…you were nowhere to be found. I still checked your room yesterday…you weren't there…"
I stood up. I've had enough of their nonsense. "Mom, did you pull this up? Are you trying to scold me for leaving Mike? I guessed so. I have no idea what any of you are talking about and last night, we still had sandwiches together, remember? The one you made with cheese."
None of them responded. So useless. I stormed out and ran up to my room. I had more important things to do. Sitting in front of the dresser, I wondered where the scar came from. I should see Mrs. Anderson.
I sighed and went on with my daily stuff. The cops had left and Mom still didn't say a word. In the afternoon, I went to sit beside her in the garden in the backyard.
"What is wrong, Mom?"
She sobbed. "It's nothing. I just hope you are okay."
I knew her too well. "You have things to say, Mom. Tell me."
She hesitated for a while before she took my hands and looked into my eyes. "Aurora…you were gone for a week. I don't know where you went but you disappeared. And now…you are back without remembering a thing. I sent the cops away…told them you had a little problem with your thinking."
"But I was with you yesterday."
She sighed and a tear dropped. "This is what happened to your father…this was how he died. You'll be fine. It's nothing too big. I heard there would be a party in your school later today, wanna go?"
A party…it's not a bad idea. "Okay. I'll go if that would make you happy. You know what? I will make breakfast today."
Her face lit up and she laughed. I'm awful at cooking but I can always try.
I grabbed my phone and checked YouTube on how to bake a cake. Mom helped me and it turned out great. I went back to my room to dress up for the party. It's like a union party and I'm planning to give a hit with my look.
I scrambled around my wardrobe and picked out a white shirt dinner dress that exposed my back. I wore black heels and styled my hair. After spending about two hours in my room, dressing and matching up things, I ordered an Uber and it came in fifteen.
I almost stepped in when a whoosh of air blew past my back. The pain dived deep into my flesh, reminding me I had four strikes of open wounds on my back.
It's a total disaster. "Give me a minute, I'll be right back."
I rushed back into the house. "What is it darling?"
I ignored Mom and went back to my room, changed my dress to a better one that wouldn't make me a total disgrace in Mike's presence. I got back to the Uber and off to the party.
We took the road from Lilly's to Chester and took a quick turn on the right to the main hall. The screams and echo of music could be heard from the door and I wondered if it was a dinner party or a clubhouse.
Just as I had imagined, they did plan B. Giving out invites to a dinner party yet, all they wanted to do was have some erotic fun one last time before college.
I should have stayed at home.
"Hey, it's Aurora. Who could have thought." Isabella, the daughter of Mr Brandson, owner of B&T Reality. Through high school, all I did was avoid her but one way or the other, she always finds me.
With a pleasant hiss and a flip of my hair, I ignored her and went to the bar. "Whisky please."
"Make that two."
I found the owner of the voice, awfully familiar. "Who are you?" I asked. "I don't think I've seen you in our school before."
He nodded with a captivating smile. His golden eyes burned through the club lights. "It's me…Lucas."
Although it does sound familiar, he probably just needed a lady for the night. I grabbed my drink. "Nice try. Try again sometime."
On my way to the ladies' room, I met Mike and my heart skipped a beat.