Chapter 12 - Where the Hell Did These Unexpected Guests Come From?

They were still standing, still fighting, and for now, that was enough.

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕿𝖜𝖊𝖑𝖛𝖊

It was late in the morning, a shameful hour to wake up, but Aurelia didn't care. She needed the extra hours of sleep after the terrible night she had gone through the day before. 

Even though she had slept like a log, Aurelia still woke up feeling more tired than she'd ever been before. She felt like her eyelids were heavier than a baby elephant, and that was partially because she had kept waking up in her sleep, shaking in a cold sweat, due to the horrifying nightmares that kept playing in her slumber.

Where is Roxland? Aurelia thought as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. Why would he leave me alone in his dad's house?

She stretched and yawned before slowly creeping out of bed. Her legs felt like jelly—all that running from the night before was not light. Aurelia felt like she had run more than an Olympic athlete.

A tall mirror was leaning against the wall, and Aurelia trudged over to it to check her body for any injuries. To her surprise, there was only a small red mark on her lower back along with the fading bruises from the altercation at her wedding. 

That small red mark probably showed up when I fell on my butt after Jimmy shoved me to the floor, Aurelia thought. 

She shuddered. Usually, when Aurelia thought about Jimmy, she imagined a pile of money—hers to keep—and a rotting corpse—Satan's to keep. But now she only imagined a powerful, horny monster that would do anything to capture her and use her how he wants. Jimmy was never a saint in her eyes, but now he seemed like the devil, sure to stab her with a pitchfork. 

Tears flowed out of Aurelia's eyes faster than cars on a highway. All she ever wanted to do was to live life the easy way without any hard work. Now she felt like her brain was working overtime just to stay calm and contended.

"Aurelia," a voice called accompanied by soft knocks on the door. "It's Roxland. Can I come in?"

Quickly wiping her tears away, Aurelia opened the door.

"Hey, Rox."

"You're finally awake," Rocco said. "I've been knocking on this door every hour I've been awake—and I had to make four stops here!"

"Wow, you've been awake for four hours? You're sure a morning person."

Rocco shook his head. "Not at all, Aurelia. I'm just used to waking up so early because I've always had to attend to Jimmy's needs early in the morning."

"Oh, true. Must've been tough."

"Most definitely. Anyway, enough about that bastard—" Rocco looked at Aurelia's face and frowned. "It looks like you've been crying."

Aurelia sniffled. "Well of course I've been crying, Roxland. I just had the worst night of my life for crying out loud!"

"Yeah, sorry," Rocco muttered. He smiled. "Well, cheer up. At least we are safe here, eh? Would you like a toothbrush? There's a spare."

"I hope no one has used it to scrub their feet," Aurelia mumbled.

Rocco chuckled, his smile now crooked. "Ehh, I wouldn't think so... Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," Aurelia said awkwardly. "You just always have to make sure, y'know?"

"Most certainly..." Rocco murmured while nodding slowly. He waved his hand, gesturing Aurelia to follow him. "I'll lead you to the bathroom."

They both walked out of the room into a hallway, and Aurelia noticed how Rocco's feet barely made a sound when he walked.

He could easily sneak on people with that skill, she thought.

Rocco opened a door revealing a small, dirty bathroom.

"I apologize for the nastiness," he said. "I see my father hasn't cared to bother himself about the housework since I left. Please don't mind him."

Aurelia nodded. "It's fine. I've seen worse."

"Lucky you," Rocco sarcastically said. "The spare is the red toothbrush still inside the packaging. You can use the mouthwash, too, if you want."

If I want? Aurelia thought. What does he mean 'if I want'? Is Rocco trying to say there's a possibility I WON'T want to use the mouthwash, and therefore, I like having stinky breath? 

Despite her questions, Aurelia simply smiled and thanked him. She went into the bathroom and closed the door before opening the packaging of the toothbrush and running water through its bristles.

Roxland is so sweet for allowing me to stay at his dad's, Aurelia thought. He even got me a spare toothbrush! If that's not kindness, I don't know what is.

She was about to brush her teeth but paused when she heard heavy footsteps getting louder and louder. It sounded like they were heading to the bathroom. Aurelia assumed that Rocco was walking back to the bathroom... but what reason would he have for coming back? And last time she checked, he walked rather quietly.

Suddenly, the door opened and Aurelia jumped. She hadn't expected Rocco to burst through the door like that. But it wasn't Rocco.

"What the hell..."

Through the mirror, Aurelia saw a tall, bald old man with a scraggly grey beard that could've been mistaken for pubes, and his beard hairs looked like they were trying to flee from his chin. 

She turned around, wide-eyed, and screamed as if Jeffery Dahmer had walked through the door, making the old man also yell out in surprise. His beard hairs tried harder to flee from his chin.

"Who the hell are you? What the hell are you doing in my house? And for the love of hell, why the hell are you screaming, I should be the one screaming! You're the intruder, here!"

Startled and embarrassed, Aurelia dropped the toothbrush and started to cry. 

"I-I'm sorry! I'll leave right now!"

"Yeah, you better get the hell out of here! Who invited you to my damn house?"

Hearing all the commotion, Rocco ran over to the bathroom.

Cripes. I should've told Aurelia to lock the door, he thought.

"Father, stop it! I was the one who brought her here!"

"Roxland? What the hell are you doing here?! One of you better explain what the hell is going on here!"

"I will when you stop yelling!" Rocco replied. "If you could just let the poor girl brush her teeth, we'll tell you why we're here."

Rocco's father, Light, sighed, trying his best to calm down. "Fine. But you," he said, pointing at Aurelia, "need to get out of the bathroom. I need to use it."

Aurelia nodded and scurried out of the bathroom as Rocco followed her. They sat on a black faux leather couch and sighed. It was silent and stayed that way for about two minutes.

"I apologize for the sudden yell of my father," Rocco finally said. "Please excuse it. He was startled."

"No, it's okay," Aurelia replied. "His reaction was reasonable."

"Yeah. I am just thankful he didn't have his pistol with him. He wouldn't have wasted a second to pull the trigger."

Aurelia's eyebrows raised. "Wow. I gotta admit, he's badass," she said. She sighed and looked at the ceiling, noticing that it was popcorned. "It's so crazy how we keep getting into these situations that almost cost us our lives."

"I suppose so," Rocco responded. "It's not exactly a change for me, however."

Aurelia frowned upon hearing his disheartening comment. "You're used to being put in life-threatening situations?" she asked, not wanting to believe the truth.

"Well, I would be lying if I said I'm used to situations that don't care to spare my life," Rocco replied. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes while thinking about the scary threat Jimmy made.

"They haunt me every day, and, as a human, I feel immense fear whenever my life is on the line. I'll never get used to them."

"Roxland..." Aurelia's eyebrows furrowed as her eyes became glossy. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry. Perhaps, would you like to talk about it?"

Rocco quickly shook his head. "Perhaps not. I shouldn't have brought the topic up."

"No, don't feel bad." Aurelia put a hand on Rocco's shoulder. "You should never feel bad about being vulnerable, especially with me. My life is as shitty as it gets, so don't feel embarrassed."

"Thank you, Aurelia. You're so very kind," Rocco smiled.

"You're welcome, Rocco. I love you."

"Vice versa."

Aurelia grabbed Rocco's waist and pulled him into a bear hug. It was the kind of hug that made you feel better, even if you didn't like hugs.

"Alright, I'm doing using the bathroom," a voice announced.

Aurelia and Rocco turned their heads to face Light. 

"Now tell me why the hell you both are here."