AURORA
“Good morning, dear,” a feminine voice came from down the hall on my left.I looked over and saw a middle-aged woman with the same dark hair and charming smile as Kiran and couldn’t help but smile back at her as I stood up, “Good morning, Mrs. Black.”“Oh, please, dear,” she waved her hand, “There is no Mrs. in this house, you can call me Brianna.”“Brianna,” I said and we smiled at each other, “I’m Aurora. Thank you so much for letting me stay the night. You and your son have been so good to me. I apologize for showing up unannounced and ruining your night.”“You didn’t ruin anything,” she insisted as she took a seat on the couch, I followed her lead, “I’m glad you feel comfortable enough with my son to come to him when you’re in need. And just know that whenever you need a place to escape to, you&KIRAN I enjoyed the silence on my walk home, nothing but the sound of the trees moving in the light breeze and the sound of distant cars heading to and from. I got thinking about the relationship that Aurora has with her parents and I have to admit that I pitied her slightly for their lack of connection. I hadn’t thought much about it last night when she said she didn’t want to be alone, and suddenly I was wondering how much of her time out of school was spent alone in her house. It would explain why she tries to make friends with everyone she meets. She’s secretly lonely. Eventually, one of the cars got closer to me and I looked over to see a familiar black Mazda approaching me and slowing down beside me. The window rolled down and I saw Aurora in the driver's seat looking over at me. She had changed clothes and was in black leggings and a pink hoodie. She smiled at me and said, “Get in,” before leaning o
KIRAN Aurora laid down on the blanket with an exhale after dancing to her heart's desire and I decided to go to the opposite side of the blanket and lay down so that our heads were side by side. Aurora chuckled. “What are you laughing at?” “You,” she giggled, “You’re so close to me.” “Do you want me to move?” I could hear her smile as she responded after thinking about it, “No.” I nuzzled myself more into the blanket and got comfortable before we laid there in silence watching the clouds pass by in the sky, the crashing of waves filling the void of conversation. After a while, I broke the silence by asking her, "Why are you so nice?" Aurora chuckled, "What?" "Well, I mean... you're always smiling, happy, and kind... why?" She laughed some more about it but I remained silent as I awaited her answer.
AURORA I left my house that morning like any other day with my backpack and school supplies, nothing out of the ordinary for anyone who may have seen me, except that I was driving to Kiran’s place instead of the high school. "Bye sweetie, have a good day!" Mom hollers from her car at me as I head towards my own. She seems to be late getting out the door today. "Bye, love you!" I holler back, only to have her close the car door without responding to me. I sighed and continued to get into my car, deciding to stop and get and get breakfast burritos for Kiran and me on the way. Once at his door, I knocked and only waited a few seconds before he answered the door with a smile. "Here," I handed forward the bag with his food to him, "My way of saying thank you for everything." He smiled at me and told me his thanks before it dawned on me, "Oh, I didn't even think if your mom wanted something. I'm sorry, I should have texted first." "I
AURORA Tuesday came, and I opted to sit next to Kiran at the back of the classroom instead of with Jen and Dani in English. I was going to do as Kiran said and not forgive them yet. I would try letting the dark side of me take over and decide afterward what to do. Jen and Dani gave me a look throughout the class and I did my best to ignore them, clinging to Kiran as if he were some kind of lifejacket while I'm threatening to drown at sea. I was able to dodge everyone up until lunch. Kiran and I walked into the cafeteria together and grabbed our food before sitting at his usual table together near the doors. I faced my back to the table that occupied Gabe, Jen, and Dani in the center of the room. Not a minute after we took our seats, I noticed Kiran's face showed the slightest bit of anger, and he whispered to me from across the table, "Prepare yourself." My eyebrows furrowed for only a second before a large, callused hand was placed on my shou
AURORA Whatever I had imagined kissing Kiran was like yesterday and any day before, the real thing is so much better! His lips are soft like silk, plump, and slightly salty from the chips he was eating. His hand on my cheek made me feel warm and comfortable with him - I didn't feel pressured at all during the kiss as I had always felt with Gabe, who always tried to stick his tongue down my throat and hand between my legs. Kiran was gentle, tender, and welcoming. It was nothing needy or lust-driven. Instead, it was comforting, and for that period of time, I had forgotten what happened at homecoming a few days ago. I placed my hand on top of his that was on my cheek and began moving my lips with his, surprising even myself as I found myself wanting to deepen the kiss, wanting to bury myself in his embrace and let his entire being engulf me and hide me from the outside world. We slowly parted from the kiss, remaining just an inch apart as we both
KIRAN I ran faster than I had ever run before to the door and into the hallway outside the gym when I heard Aurora scream for me again, "KIRAN!" The sound echoed in my ears and I followed where her screams came from until I came to a janitor's closet where I heard sobbing. I didn't bother looking through the window in the door before reaching for the handle, only to find it locked. I stepped back against the wall opposite the door and got enough momentum to successfully knock the door open. The sight before me was gut-wrenching: Aurora was on the ground with her pants slightly pulled down and her top was torn, she was crying hysterically with her eyes tightly shut. Gabe was hovering over her with his jeans unbuttoned, looking like he was just positioning himself between her legs. I didn't stop and stare, but I rushed behind Gabe and got him in a chokehold, pulling him off of her as I tightened my arm around his neck. His ar
AURORA Once out of the nurse's office, I found Kiran walking just outside the hallway and I hurried to him. I placed a hand on his arm, "Hey, what happened?" "I got expelled," he answered without looking at me, clearly upset over the way things had transpired. "What? They can't do that! You were the one who saved me!" "They can and they did," he finally looked at me, "How are you?" I ignored his last question, instead saying, "They won't get away with this!" I had turned my body and began walking back to the offices. Kiran reached me and got me to stop walking, "There's nothing you can say that will make them change their minds. The damage is done. Gabe won this round." My shoulders drooped, he was right; no one else was there, and Gabe disappeared before we even knew that they had suspected Kiran of being the one to try to assault me. I nodded my head silently and we continued walking towards Kiran's locker to pull eve
AURORAI had tossed and turned all night after taking a hot bath and scrubbing the hell out of my skin. Between my legs stung from Gabe's fingers and I was hoping the bath would help soothe my muscles, but it didn't work. The moment kept replaying in my mind every time I shut my eyes to the point where I was scared to close them. The fire of anger in Gabe's eyes as he hurt me would haunt me forever, I'm sure of it. I wore Kiran's shirt to bed, it was the only thing that could calm me down. My parents listened to what the principal said and they have forbidden me to see Kiran again. I tried to explain to them that Kiran was the good guy, but they agreed that if he got himself expelled, it just means he's a delinquent and I shouldn't be friends with him. I called them crazy and refused before heading back to my room and closing the door. I refuse to never see him again. End of discussion. Finally, after some hours, the memory of kis