Chapter 66
1221words
When her vision finally cleared, the first thing she saw was the sight of the school nurse leaning over her with a bright light pointing into her eyes.
"Miss Rochester?" The nurse's hollowed voice called out, "Miss Rochester, can you hear me?"
She nodded dazedly, blinking once and then twice. Her senses slowly returned, the buzzing sound morphing into a more clearer and sharper sound.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" She heard the nurse now, better than before and she sighed.
Aurora sat up instantly, wincing at the effect it had on her head. She rubbed the heel of her palm against her forehead,
"There, there," The nurse cooed, rubbing her back, "You shouldn't have sat up so quickly. Are you still feeling the migraine?"
She nodded wordlessly and the nurse muttered something while helping her relax against the headrest before stalking off.
That was when she noticed the other figure in the room, sitting atop the other bed adjacent hers.
"Louisa?" She called, cocking her head to the side and ignoring the sharp pain that it caused.
Louisa rose to her feet and slowly trudged towards her, she shifted as the girl settled on the space beside her.
"How do you feel now?" She didn't respond and so Louisa sighed, "The nurse didn't want any crowd in here so I had to be the one to bring you in. Your friends are in class though and I could call them if you-"
She wrapped her fingers around her wrist, stopping her, "No," Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat before repeating, "No, you can stay."
Louisa smiled softly and nodded, placing her hand on top Aurora's and patting gently. Strangely, she felt comforted by the action and she allowed her eyes to fall shut again.
When Aurora woke up for the second time that afternoon, she felt much better and after a severe warning from the nurse to eat and rest well with some prescriptions, she sent them off.
They walked side by side, Louisa's arm wrapped around her waist. She still felt a little bit woozy and the nausea remained but it was quite better than before.
"Julius is in class right now," The blonde announced, passing her a skeptical look, "Do you want to-"
The sound of the closing bell rang loudly and their feet shuffled to a stop.
"Shit," Aurora muttered the curse, straightening her back and narrowing her eyes.
The halls would be filled any moment from now and the last thing she wanted was more attention. But the gods mustn't have been listening because the doors pulled open at once and different students filed out of the classrooms. When they realized who she was, most of them paused, others neared her to take a peek.
And as luck would have it, the door directly in front of them pulled open, revealing Eva. The brunette's lips curled into a cruel smirk as she sauntered towards her,
"Well, well, if it isn't our very own princess. I'd have to say, you really have no shame at all," She snickered, pretending to be shy, "I mean, I expected a lot of things from you but fucking out in the open? That's a new low. I know you recently got engaged so it can't be your fiance."
The murmurs began again and her skin prickled, her eyes skimmed around the crowd until they stopped at the faces she was looking for. Mason and Natasha were at the back of the crowd that had gathered behind Eva and they looked just as drained as she was.
She wanted to call out to them but thought better of it, returning her gaze to Eva,
"Tell us, we're all very curious," Eva tipped her chin proudly, "Who's the guy?"
Everyone fell silent, gawking at her expectantly and she felt like throwing up right there and then. Louisa wrapped her fingers around her wrist and tugged Aurora backwards, standing protectively at her front.
"That's enough, Eva," Louisa warned, her shoulders tensing as she spoke, "Cut it out."
Eva scoffed, cocking her head to the side, "Why are you defending her? She has been nothing but a bitch to you. Do you think sticking to her side will-"
"What's going on here?" The Chancellor's voice boomed, echoing through the narrow space.
Everyone deflected immediately, some returning back into the class room. Chancellor Richardson Blakeley, a big man with an even bigger gut, came to stand beside her, his beady eyes narrowed into slits.
Louisa scrambled backwards but Eva maintained her stance, a determined glare on her features,
"Haven't you seen the photo, Mr. Richardson?" Eva asked, her voice sounding nasally, "Aurora has taken the internet quite by the storm."
Mr. Richardson cocked a brow but he didn't respond, instead he turned to face her,
"Miss Rochester, I think it's best if you go home," He paused, an inscrutable emotion flashing in his eyes, "Do you need me to call your mother?"
She was about to tell him that she would call her driver when Louisa piped up,
"I'll drive her," The chancellor gave her a questioning look and she chuckled sheepishly, "I was going to leave anyways and my house is in that direction."
Now it was Aurora's turn to give her a skeptical look, thankfully the chancellor didn't notice and ushered them both out of the hall. They walked out the main entrance and trudged towards the parking lot,
"You don't have to do this, you know," She muttered, fidgeting with her fingers as she trailed behind the blonde.
Louisa suddenly stopped, digging into her pockets and fishing out a black key, "I know," She slipped the key into the lock and twisted it before pulling the car door open, "But I'm doing it anyways. Get in."
Aurora threw a wary glance at the deadbeat vehicle, it was a Mustang and she couldn't exactly tell if it was supposed to be red or maroon in colour. Asides that, the paint was peeling and the bumper was a little off looking, plus it didn't have one of the side mirrors.
"Is this car safe to use?" She questioned, hesitantly slipping into the passengers seat.
"Of course, I've been driving this for two years now."
She tried to hook the seatbelt but found that it didn't have the metal, Louisa grimaced,
"Put it under your thigh, still works that way."
Aurora couldn't help it, she snorted but did as Louisa instructed, "How come you've never been flagged before? This thing is basically a death contraption."
"Trust me, I've received more than a warning note from the officers. One time, I spent the night in a jail 'cause according to the lady officer, I was causing a hazard on the road."
The engine sputtered to life with a dramatic rumbling sound that scared the life out of Aurora. She turned wide-eyed towards Louisa who had a cheesy grin on her face,
"Hold on tight, it's about to get really bumpy."
As they sped out of the parking lot, Aurora couldn't decide which was better; staying in school with Eva breathing down her neck or driving in Louisa's death contraption.
