Chapter 6:

No.

No…

Go away.

It was hard to welcome the sunlight when it came in the morning.

I didn't sleep well last night. 

Worry itched my skin like a disease and curiosity had kept me awake. 

I wanted to know more. I needed to know more. 

How could he possibly know where I lived?

I didn't tell him, did I?

My memory from yesterday is still perfectly clear.

 Or is it?

 Throughout the car ride, I had been drunk on anxiety and excitement. I couldn't have slipped then could I? 

Even though I questioned my own sanity, I knew that wasn't the case. 

I didn't tell him anything.

Today was a Tuesday, so I would be seeing him at school. 

My heart stuttered now as I thought of confronting him again. 

***

The engine of my truck came to a soft hum when I parked. 

I was nervous now as I got down and my hands were shaking on the handle of my car.

Did I really want to know the truth? What if he's some sort of stalker…?

I opened the door to American History and immediately shot my eyes towards the back. 

…Maybe he's late…?

He wasn't in his seat, like I expected him to be.

Class hasn't started yet so perhaps he'll show up later. 

I sat down carefully and looked around slowly.

Becoming aware of my surroundings isn't something I'd ever had to think of before. The crime rate here is relatively low so it was never a concern. I'd always felt safe, like nothing could ever touch me. 

Clearly, I was wrong.

It didn't occur to my stupid little brain that I might have a stalker following me and watching my every move. 

It isn't so uncommon actually. It happens a lot in movies. 

Class went by with Ms. Burks’ annoying voice ringing in our ears, but still, he never showed up. 

The bell rang and everyone was on their way to the next period. 

It seems however, that his absence did not go unnoticed. 

In the hallway, people were discussing how he apparently had a spotty attendance record in his last school as well. 

But how would they know that? Wasn't his former school in Sacramento? I ignored their words and tried to form my own conclusions. 

Where could he be..? Is he scared of confronting me? Did he realise his blunder last night and became too afraid to come to school??

That wasn't likely. I doubted he would be thinking of me at all. 

To believe that the whole day passed by, and he still didn’t show up. 

It was odd, but what was more concerning was my concern for him. 

I don’t know why I’m so bothered by it. I don’t care about him…I just need closure, that’s all.

****

“Yeah, they’re like totally chipped and I need to get them done again. Wanna come with?” Clover asked while using the car mirror to gawk at herself.

She was asking if I could come with her to the nail salon on Wednesday. 

“Umm..no I’m fine, thanks.” 

…

“Uh, you seem really distracted Aurora. You ok? You’re like--spaced out or something.” 

What? 

“N-no I’m not! I’m just really hungry. Yeah…I need to eat when I get home. Cus I…didn’t eat lunch. That’s all.” 

Clover raised an eyebrow sarcastically as I pulled up in her driveway. 

“Kay girl.” 

She doesn’t believe me. 

She gave me her classic kiss goodbye and again, I was on the road home. 

She's right though…maybe I am too focused on this. I need to relax…

This is a small town. Everybody knows where everybody lives… nothing new. 

My mind wasn't settled when I arrived though. 

There was another car in the driveway!

One I recognised. 

The car door almost tore off by the time my feet touched the ground. 

There's no way.

I tried to go in quickly, fumbling my doors’ keys to get inside.

I’m not the brightest so I doubted my suspicions but… I was right. 

There he was. 

Sitting.

With dad. 

…

With dad?!

"Hey, you're back!" 

Dad said to me after he slipped a small piece of paper his way.

Lucy sat across from dad, on the chairs of our dining table. They seemed to be having an immersive conversation before either of them noticed I was even standing there, in the kitchen, with my mouth hanging open. 

Lucy gave me a fake grin. 

"Oh! Yeah..! Um, Luciano here came into the hospital today. Very sick. 102 fever and everything. He suddenly got better and um… I invited him here. For lunch..I mean." 

I'm sure my mouth was still hanging open. 

Dad shifted his glasses as he always did when he was uncomfortable. 

"Um. So.." He continued awkwardly.

This isn't real…

Lucy continued to stare at me with unsettling intensity, as if he were trying to decipher the meaning behind my obvious expression. 

I put my bag down on the couch and came to join them at the dining table, sitting next to dad. 

Underneath the table, I crushed dad's feet, hoping with all my strength he could feel my wrath. 

But he was an expert at hiding his pain. 

"Uhm!! Mashed potatoes anyone?? I-I think I'll go get started on the potatoes..y-yeah." 

Such a clear excuse to avoid confronting me.

Dad fled, to the garage, leaving me and Lucy together alone. 

The door shut and his eyes made his way back to mine, defensive.

So he knows what I'm going to ask.

“How did you know where I lived?” 

“.....”

Silence.

“How did you-” 

“I saw you.” 

He finally spoke. His voice was grave.

“I was taking a walk to look around the neighbourhood one day and happened to see you going into your house.” 

…

“That’s all.” 

Lucy’s fingers were intertwined together over the table in a very formal manner. 

I could hear his feet tapping against the floor. 

A sign of nervousness. 

Is he lying?

“So you also just happened to remember exactly where it was when you dropped me off? And you don’t even live in this neighbourhood. Why were you taking a walk here?”

I’m not letting you off so easily. 

 His voice was deeper. “Good memory. And I took a walk to get some space from……home. I picked a random neighbourhood.” 

…Oh. 

Maybe. But it’s too convenient. 

Still, I have nothing to refute his answers. 

Damn…

I cleared my throat. “Um. Well okay then. I just thought it was sorta creepy that you knew where I lived without me telling you. So…” 

His tapping stopped. 

“Your best friend could have easily told me if I asked. Some employees in the hospital. Anybody would have answered me. Did you never think of that?” 

…Knowing Clover and my dad’s colleagues, I don't doubt that they would even be excited to tell him my address. They wouldn’t ask any questions. 

“Um…no,I didn’t.” 

I began tapping my own left foot now. He’s making me nervous…I hate it when he looks at me like that. It’s too intense. Jesus, look at this. I was the one interrogating him, now the tables have turned.

“I would never hurt you Aurora.” he said in a whisper. 

Just like yesterday, his face was suddenly sweet and soft, adjacent to the dead glare he had on a second ago. 

But he meant what he said…he wouldn’t hurt me. I could hear it in his voice. 

“I know…” I replied in the same tone. My tapping stopped too. 

It was silent.

“My parents want to meet you.” 

“What?!” 

His face was smooth and relaxed when he spoke. So nonchalant.

“Your parents?? W-why?!” I sat up straight as my body went rigid with nervousness. 

 “It’s just for a job offer…at the hospital. It’s some sort of program for highschoolers wanting to specialise in the medical field… That is what you want to do right?”

“Um- Yeah. Yeah. Obviously.” Why am I lying?

“It’s just…when is this supposed to happen?” I asked.

He tapped his finger impatiently and blinked once. “Tomorrow. For dinner.” 

Tomorrow…?

“If you’re wondering, I told your dad already. He gave me his number in case anything happens.” Lucy slipped the small piece of paper I saw dad give him earlier towards me. 

It’s true. It had his number on it. 

So dad already approved huh? He’ll kill me if I refuse this. 

“Well…I’m free tomorrow. Kind of. I’ll just cancel my shift at the hardware store.” I said nervously. 

He took a deep breath and nodded absentmindedly. He seemed upset a bit. There was a tiny show of disappointment between his eyebrows that made me worried. 

But I didn’t say anything wrong. Does he not want me to come? Are his parents forcing him to do this? Why do they even want to meet me anyway? Why me?

Time went by and Lucy and I sat in silence. Sometimes he would turn his beautiful eyes towards me before they eventually flickered back to the table and he would resume tapping his finger again. 

He seemed to be thinking. Wondering. And I wished with all my soul that I could know what looked to be torturing him. He still looked upset…

Then he said something so simple, yet so rare to hear nowadays.

“Thank you, Aurora.” he said this in such a whisper that I was wondering if he even said it at all. 

Am I hallucinating? 

I nodded slightly, just to be sure that he did in fact say something. 

A small smile came about his lips and it even reached his eyes for a second. 

I kept that split second image of his smile in my memory forever. 

It was beautiful. 

So Beautiful...

Needless to say, the mashed potatoes dad made that day, weren't so good...