Chapter 12
1604words
Aurora licked her lips nervously, her fingers fiddling with the crystals on her clutch purse. Her heart pounded so hard, she could feel it in her ears.
"Explain yourself, Aurora!" She snapped, taking one step forward, "Explain why you decided to get yourself drunk and hid in here!"
Wait, what?
She blinked, taken aback by her aunt's words, "What?"
Aunty Clara sighed loudly, rushing towards her. Her silver dress sparkled under the moonlight and her fingers wrapped around Aurora's arm, it elicited a sharp gasp from her,
"Your mother is livid. Your father has men looking everywhere for you and frankly, nobody is happy with your disappearance."
To say that she was confounded would be an understatement. She was totally astounded, her mouth opened and close a couple of times but no words came out. Aunty Clara sighed again, her hand falling on Aurora's wrist instead,
"We have to go now before an Amber alert is announced." She moved quickly, pulling Aurora alongside.
Aurora struggled to keep up with the hasty woman, her heels dragging against the concert floor. Her heart pumped wildly, eyes darting frantically,
"Aunty Clara, what do you mean by disappearance?" Her aunt pretended not to hear, instead tugging her further. She yanked her arm off, startling the older woman,
"We have to go-"
"Not until you tell me what the heck is going on!?" She screamed in frustration, shaky hands rising ti run through her hair, "Why is there going to be an Amber Alert and why is everyone worried?"
Aunty Clara's golden eyes flashed, she looked like she didn't want to say a word but decided against it. She blew out a deep breath, "Matt said he saw you before the exhibition started, you looked disturbed and you drank an entire of champagne! Everyone knows you don't drink alcohol and when he didn't see you after the exhibition, he came to meet me and I went to your mother."
Realization finally dawned on Aurora, her mind reeling from everything her aunt had just told her. When the woman continued speaking, she felt like throwing up,
"We were worried about you, we called but you didn't respond and we began to fear that maybe you ran off drunk and hurt yourself."
She winced at the statement, stumbling sideways. Her aunt was quick, she wrapped an arm around her waist, patting her gently, "Let's go inside. You're fine."
Aurora's head was spinning from the realization, the tips of her fingers tingled painfully and she tried to focus. They were inside the museum now, the sound of chattering and music filled her ears. Her blurry eyes took in the scenery in front of her as if drawn by a magnet, everyone's eyes fell on hers.
Aunty Clara froze, her eyes wide with shock. Aurora noticed then that they had passed through the side door and were standing in front of the crowd which meant they had the attention of every single person in the room,
"Oh, god. What did I do?" Her aunt muttered, hands tightening around Aurora. She looked up at her and smiled sadly, "I'm so sorry darling, I wanted to take the side entrance."
She wanted to tell her that it was fine and that there was no cause to worry but she knew it was a lie. There was every reason to be worried but the woman didn't know that. In her aunt's eyes, her mother would always be a woman extremely worried for the safety of her daughter but Aurora knew better.
"Darling!"
Her head swivelled in the direction of the voice and her lips fell. Speak of the devil. She shifted closer to her aunt, and the woman squeezed her wrist reassuringly,
"What happened to you?" Her mother gasped loudly, her voice soft as she took Aurora's face in her hand. "Matt told me all that happened, where did you go? Are you hurt anywhere?" She searched her arms and then turned her face from side to side, concern marred her features.
Her father appeared beside his wife and placed a hand on her shoulder. Aurora stiffened instinctively when the man gathered her into his arms,
"We were so worried about you."
Aurora had to bite into her lips to keep her anger from spilling out. Her parents were truly perfect for each other, they knew how to put on a good show. Her mother even had tears in her eyes,
"Matt told us everything, darling. Why did you have to drink? You know how much you hate drinking?" Her words had an undertone of warning to them and she squished her face, "Why did you drink then?"
Aurora's throat bobbed in fear, her eyes darting around the room. Everyone was focused on them, murmuring and whispering loud enough for her to hear. Her panicked gaze met her mother's and when she opened her mouth to reply, Matt rushed in, coming to stand beside her. Her neck craned to the side and the worried look on his face silenced her,
"Aurora," He called gently. Her mother took a step back, discreetly nudging her in his direction. His arms wrapped around her frame and she inhaled his soothing scent, "I'm glad you're okay."
She pulled back smiling softly, "Me too."
They stayed for the entire gala, after all, even attending the after-party. Aurora had to force a smile on her face the entire night, she knew she was in deep trouble when they would get back home. Her mother's aggravation was palpable and she tried to hide it but Aurora could see through it. So when they had to hug Aunty Clara and Matt good night, anyone could've understood her anxiety.
The car ride was fairly silent, neither of her parents said a word nor did she. When they arrived at their estate, she rushed out of the car first, without waiting for the driver to open the door for her. She climbed the doorsteps and then walked through the front door, she was almost at the stairs leading to the bedrooms when her mother's harsh voice cut through the air,
"Stop there, young lady!"
She froze instantly, her chest rising and falling nervously. She heard the clicking of her mother's heels on the tiles and the quiet shuffling from the shoes of her father.
"Turn around."
Her eyes closed for a moment and she took in a deep breath. She slowly turned on her heels, her fingers tightly gathering the skirts of her gown,
Her mother was exactly a foot from her. Her father stood by the side watching them silently, that was his speciality, his lips pursed tightly.
"You disgrace!" She felt the hit before it landed on her face, her head whipped to the side from the force. "Can you even begin to imagine what you have done!?"
Her head remained like that, eyes watering with moisture and she heaved from the pain splintering her chest. Her mother wasn't done yet, she grabbed her chin, nails digging into her cheeks as she spoke lowly,
"I clearly instructed you to stay off alcohol! You know that more than I do! You know how much I detest you drinking that!" Her mother yelled in her face, from the corner of her eyes she caught their maids shuffle back into the kitchen. "You embarrassed me in front of everyone today," She poked a sharp nail into her shoulder, "Do you know what everyone was calling you? The ballerina drunk!"
"I don't fucking care what people call me!" She screamed back, shocking her mother to the core. Her nose flared in anger, and both of them glared daggers at each other, their chests heaving.
"What did you just say?" Her mother's eye twitched but she wouldn't back down. Not this time.
"I said," She took the last step between them, "I don't fucking care what you or anyone think about me. I can do what I want-"
Another hit came again.
"Miriam!" Her Father pushed himself from the wall and grabbed her wrist, "That's enough."
Aurora could taste blood in her mouth, she lifted a shaky hand to touch the sore spot. The first tear rolled down her eyes as she raised her head to stare at her parents. Her mother shrugged her hand away and sneered at him,
"Don't get yourself involved in this. This is between me and my daughter."
Her father's face reddened, "She's my daughter too!" He barked out and her mother scoffed, laughing snidely,
"Of course she is." Her next words were spoken with malice and contempt, "Only when you want to parade her around like she's some gold medal!"
He rolled his eyes in response, shaking his head in disappointment, "As if you don't do the same!"
"You bas-"
The loud noise of the doorbell seized their argument. Their head simultaneously turned towards the door,
"Rosa!" Her mother yelled and the older maid scurried out, rushing towards the door.
Aurora frowned when Rosa stiffened before stepping aside to let whoever was behind the door walk in. The intruder casually strolled in, a large smile on his smug face. It was almost like he heard everything.
She indistinctly heard her mother scoff and curse under her breath. She barely noticed her father walking up to her or the blood dripping down the side of her lips. Her eyes were set on the boy standing across from her and the large suitcase in his hold,
He slowly lifted his hand then, cocking his head slightly to the side before greeting with a mocking grin,
"Hello, sister."
