Chapter 38
1522words
Aurora released a long string of curses as she massaged the throbbing spot with the heel of her palm. Maybe turning off the lights was a bad idea after all considering how she'd walked into so many clutter, the cupboard above bring the fourth of her accidents so far.
After righting herself, she pointed her torchlight toward the shelf. She had been searching for some minutes now and so far, nothing incriminating had been found...yet.
Aurora's wary eyes darted towards the door when she heard footsteps approaching, she quickly hid her flashlight against her shirt and held her breath.
Whoever it was neared the door and her eyes widened a fraction. Just when she thought they were going to walk in, she heard someone yell,
"I already cleaned that room earlier. Leave it." The woman sounded suspiciously like Rosa but she couldn't be sure.
There was a moment's pause before, "Oh, okay, ma'am."
The footsteps retreated and she released a heavy gust of breath. Aurora hadn't even noticed that she was clutching her shirt tightly, she shook out of her stupor turning towards the shelf again.
She had to move quick.
She pulled some drawers but nothing suspicious was there, asides from a few business papers, his nearly folded underwears and a picture.
Aurora frowned, picking up the photograph and frowning. It was an image of a smiling mother and a boy who couldn't be more older than ten. She recognized those sharp green eyes and messy blonde streaks. The woman however, was a mystery. She had long flowing brown tresses and smiling blue eyes.
This must be his mother.
She was a beauty, Aurora confessed. With a tired sigh, she placed the photo back into the drawer and closed it shut.
This was a foolish idea, she should've known that Evan wouldn't be so clumsy as to drop clues in his room. Aggravated at the realization, Aurora switched off her flashlight and headed for the door.
Dinner that night was more awkward than usual. Her father kept rambling on and on about some legal issues at his workplace and for once, her mother seemed genuinely interested in what he was saying. Evan, however had been staring at her unblinkingly ever since she started eating.
She found it unnvering and coughed a couple of times to let him know. But either he chose to ignore her or he was too invested in whatever he was seeing in her face.
"I heard that there's to be a contest to pick the prima ballerina, is this true?"
Aurora paused halfway to placing the mutton she had cut into her mouth. She belligerently sighed, dropping the fork back onto her plate,
"Yes, mother. I assume the announcement was made yesterday," She added pointedly and Miriam bristled, obviously disappointed with the news.
Aurora took the opportunity to put in the mutton chop into her mouth, slowly chewing. Her mother made a sound at the back of her throat and crossed her fingers on top the table.
"The chancellor must be insane if he thinks I'll let this slide. That position has always been yours from the onset, why try to complicate things?"
She shrugged, "Why should I care? Besides, I think it's a good thing," Miriam gawked at her like she'd said the most stupidest thing possible and she sighed, "I mean, It's kind of tiring if I'm the only one allowed for that spot." She nodded to herself, feeling pleased with the sudden idea, "It would be nice to have some competition. Might even let her win this time."
Her mother sputtered, her grey eyes going wide in petrification, "Y-You are joking!" Aurora gave her a look that said, she was not at all joking, "Well, thank goodness your opinion doesn't matter. For all the money I put into that damn academy, you deserve to be prima ballerina until you graduate."
Aurora stilled, her fingers clenching around the utensil. She took in a shaky breath through her nose and expelled it using her mouth. This was the reason why nobody took her seriously in the academy, they all thought she had gone this far because of her mother's influence.
"I think I'm full," She dropped the fork in her hold with a loud clang, causing her father to jerk a little.
Miriam rolled her eyes, piercing her with a condescending look, "Don't tell me you're offended because of what I said. You should be grateful for the effort I'm putting into your future, not a lot of mothers would do this for their child."
She almost scoffed. Aurora couldn't determine if her mother was this ignorant or she truly thought this was the best for her.
"Count yourself lucky, Aurora," Her head snapped towards Evan who had a grim look on his face, "Not all of us has the privilege to enjoy the fierce love of a mother."
The entire table had gone terribly quiet, even Rosa who was halfway through serving the dessert had frozen on the spot. Aurora cleared her throat at the uncomfortable stillness and rose to her feet, the chair dragging loudly against the tiles,
"I'll be in my room if you need me," With one last question glance thrown at Evan, she stalked off, heading towards the stairs.
The moment she walked into her room, she slammed the door behind her and jumped on the bed, burying her face into the sheets. She inhaled the comforting scent of rose and lavender, letting it wash over her weary bones.
"What a way to have dinner ruined," She muttered disappointedly and rolled on her back. She was truly hoping to eat a lot since this was one of the rare moments where her mother allowed her to eat actual food and not the crap she was being served daily.
Aurora grabbed the laptop that was beside and opened it up, scrolling mindlessly through the homepage. Her mother's words resonated in her head causing her to scowl. She was suddenly reminded of Ryan's question the other night and the frown lines on her forehead began to lessen as she mused over it,
What did she truly want out of life?
So far, all she'd done, everything she'd achieved was a product of her parents wishes. Her father had wanted her to study business in hopes that she would take over the company some day, so she got a degree in business management. Her mother had always dreamt of having a famous ballerina as a daughter so she was put in the best ballet school since she could learn to walk. All her actions, paths and thoughts were primarily spurred by her parents wiles and desires.
"Shit," She cursed as the realization speared her through the chest and she blinked, focusing back on the screen of the laptop.
Funny enough, she was looking back at a picture of she and Matt during their middle school days. Her grin was almost as wide as her face while Matt had a arm wound around her shoulders. She remembered how excited she was when he asked her to be his date to prom and how she'd cherished the corsage he brought for her that night.
A smile crawled up her lips and she slowly reached out to touch the image when a rapping sound startled her. She jumped in fright, turning towards the door,
"Who's there?" She received no response, only the continuous knocking.
Aurora sighed, pushing up from the bed and hurrying towards the door. When she pulled it open, she was stunned to see Evan standing with a serious expression.
"What are you-"
"I would've never imagine that you would stoop so low as to rummage through my room," He cut in harshly and the rest of her sentence died on her lips, "And for the record, you're terrible at it."
Aurora opened and closed her mouth, suddenly at a loss for words but apparently, he didn't need her to speak either. Evan forcefully grabbed her wrist, slapping something onto her palm,
"I told you to stay out of my way. I have no plans to hurt you but if you keep doing things like this, you'll leave me with no choice." He snarled dangerously and her breath hitched.
All of a sudden, the corners of his lips pulled up into a wide smile and he leaned to press his icy lips against her cheek. Aurora shuddered.
"Goodnight, dear sister."
As he walked away, she looked down at the object he'd placed in her hand. It was a photograph, she noticed, a small sized thing and she turned it over for inspection. The horror that speared her was enough to cause her legs to tremble, she leaned weakly against the doorframe, her fingers shook in trepidation.
Evan was a fucking monster, she realized then with harrowing dread.
Why?
It was because staring back at Aurora was an image of her and Ryan, both of them naked and in a scandalous position. Both of them on the ledge of a familiar rooftop that once brought her excitement. Now, all she felt was a chilling terror.
