haunting aurora,

chapter one ; mom's casserole

"I'm gonna guess it didn't go well," Aurora glanced at Mike as he shifted in the passenger seat of his car. He looked tired, more than usual and he offered the woman beside him no response with his mind stuck in the career meeting.

She settled her hand on his arm, pulling his thoughts from the stuffy room he had just spent the best part of an hour in to the old car that had been parked outside for a little over ten minutes. Mike's gaze met Aurora's and upon seeing that her eyes held nothing but understanding, his brows softened and his shoulders relaxed.

"I can ask at work again. Barb is always complaining that we are understaffed," Barb had also told Aurora that she wouldn't feel comfortable hiring a man who beat a father in front of his son as security for the vulnerable elderly residents at the nursing home. A perk of living in Hurricane; news tends to only travel fast when it affects your future.

Mike shook his head and Aurora hesitantly removed her hand from his arm, sitting it on her jean clad thigh to pick at one of the many pulled threads.

"You've asked twice already," Mike tucked a curl behind Aurora's ear, revealing the birthmark that painted the top of her cheek.

The car fell silent for a moment and Mike dropped his hand to Aurora's. He was disappointed, the meeting hadn't gone well at all and he was beginning to worry more with each failed attempt to find a job that stuck. He knew Aurora was worried, she didn't say it, mostly out of fear that it would make his situation worse, but it was plainly written across her face.

"I'll find something, Rory," Mike spoke softly in the quiet car as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her palm.

Aurora nodded, she knew he'd eventually find a job but after his aunt threatened to take Abby into her care the last time she visited, claiming that Mike was unfit to raise a child, he needed to find something sooner rather than later and that was made even more clear when they arrived back at his home to find a red eviction notice taped to the door.

Mike tore the notice from the wood and read over the smaller print as he entered the house. Aurora trailed behind him, shutting the door and greeting Abby's babysitter as she tucked her hands into her father's brown coat. The coat was loose and the sleeves had been folded up to better fit Dustin Daines's daughter after his death over a decade ago.

"Thanks for babysitting," Mike dropped his car keys into his coat pocket before shrugging the thick fabric off his shoulders, swapping the notice from one hand to the other as he slipped his arms out of the sleeves.

"Rory," Max didn't tear her eyes from the television screen and Aurora glanced over her shoulder to the girl, toeing off her shoes, "Your mom stopped by with a casserole. It's in the fridge".

Hanging his coat up, Mike asked the question he already knew the answer to, "Did Abby eat?".

"What do you think?". No.

Mike kicked his shoes off next to Aurora's as she walked over to the fridge. Her stomach was rumbling and her mother's casserole had always been her favourite. Usually there was a dish in the fridge, ready to be warmed up when she returned home from her shift at the nursing home.

"Have you eaten?" Aurora asked Max as the girl stood up from the couch.

Aurora opened the fridge and the familiar smell wafted out of the cold box into the kitchen. Just as it was normal for Rose to leave food in their fridge, it wasn't unusual for her to make food for Mike and Abby. It began when Rose accidentally ordered too much chicken but when she realised how much Mike appreciated the warm food and her company — especially on days when Abby shut herself in her bedroom — Rose made sure to order more than she and Aurora would need.

Max nodded, "It's a good casserole".

"Mom's speciality", Aurora smiled, pulling the dish out of the fridge to sit it on the counter.

"Same time tomorrow?" Max opened the door, looking between Mike and Aurora.

Mike discarded the notice on the counter, nodding his head, "Yeah. Same time".

Placing three plates on the counter beside the casserole dish, Aurora bid Max goodbye as she pulled the door closed behind herself and Mike walked through his home to Abby's bedroom, straightening one of the two picture frames that hung on the bare wall, assuming that it had been knocked by either the youngest Schmidt or her babysitter.

Humming a quiet tune, Abby sat at her desk, eyes focused on the drawing in front of her as she coloured it in with various crayons to her own satisfaction. Mike entered her room and peered over her shoulder at the a4 sheet. The drawing was similar to the ones that decorated her four walls and Mike instantly recognised a few of the characters in the centre.

He switched on the desk lamp beside her and pointed at the drawing, "Well, that good looking guy, I recognise," It was himself, wearing the dark green sweater that he wore in all of Abby's drawings, "And that's Rory," Mike pointed at the curly haired character, a faint smile turning up the corners of his lips. "She's pretty. Who are all these other punks?" Mike asked.

Abby picked up a different crayon, "My friends. It's not done yet".

"Well, look. You can finish up after we eat," Mike stood up straight and turned to leave her room. He could hear Aurora talking to herself to fill the silence as she dished up a plate of casserole, waiting for another that rotated in the microwave, "Rose made us dinner, come get some food".

"I'm not hungry".

"Abby, please. Come eat," Ignoring her brother, Abby continued to colour. Mike sighed, pushing himself off the doorframe, "Come on. Abby, please-" The crayon in Abby's hand snapped in half as Mike tried to pry it from her fingers.

Abby looked up at him, her brown eyes a mix of sadness and anger. Mike pressed his lips together, blinking away the annoyance that had built up throughout the day.

"Abs, with the day that I'm having," Mike sat down on Abby's bed, loosening his tie, "Can you just eat some food?" Abby picked up another crayon as she looked over her shoulder at Mike.

"You're sitting on my friend".

Mike looked beside him, dragging his hands up his thighs. He shook his head and stood up, "You know what? I don't care. Do whatever you want," Mike pulled the door closed behind him and pushed it open by the handle to poke his head in Abby's room, "But you should know what happens to little kids who don't eat their dinners," Abby stopped drawing to listen to Mike, "Their bodies stay the same size forever and they never get to ride the adult rides at the amusement park".

Abby looked at her imaginary friend that sat on her bed and Mike pushed the door open a little more, turning his head to look in the same direction.

"My friend says you're an idiot".

Mike hummed, "At least I'm real".

A hot plate clattered to the counter as Mike shut Abby's door. Aurora balled her hand up instinctively like she had seen countless children do when they grazed their hand in the playground. It took a few seconds for Aurora's brain to catch up and when Mike entered the kitchen again, she was shoving her hand under the cold water that ran out of the tap.

Mike crossed the room to stand beside her, quickly piecing together the scene in front of him and Aurora mumbled a string of inappropriate words as she cursed herself for being distracted by her own thoughts.

He cupped her right hand with his, holding it under the water as he examined the wound. It was red, as expected.

"You know there's an oven mitt in the drawer," Mike rested his left hand over Aurora's hip and smoothed his thumb over the slither of exposed skin that sat between her shirt and jeans. Her jacket had been shrugged off and thrown over the back of the couch to avoid staining it with the casserole after one of the sleeves grazed a plate and was millimetres from being covered in sauce.

"I'll keep that in mind for the future," Aurora leaned her head against Mike's shoulder, letting herself be surrounded by his warmth as she mumbled her words, "The food smells good though, doesn't it?".

Humming with a nod of his head, Mike looked back at the plate that Aurora had dropped. There was more casserole on the counter than on the steaming white dish. It smelt good, he agreed.

"How about I finish up," Mike stepped back from Aurora, gently squeezing her hip, "and you tell me how it went at work?".

"You wanna hear about bingo with the grannies?" Aurora straightened up, already missing the comfort that Mike provided her even though he was only an arms length away, scraping the casserole back onto the plate.

"No fight broke out over the television?".

Aurora could hear the smile that tugged at Mike's lips. Four weeks after the 'remote incident', Mike was still amused by the scuffle that had led his girlfriend to being covered in blue frosting and layers of vanilla sponge birthday cake.

Fortunately for Aurora, there had been no fights over the television since that day — at least not while she was working. No birthday cake (except a cupcake for Ian, who's birthday it was) was a punishment for their bickering.

Aurora kept her hand under the tap for a couple more minutes as she told Mike how Lindsey, the eldest resident at the nursing home had cheated at bingo, which Aurora didn't know was possible until the white haired woman jumped from her seat, screaming bingo, ultimately causing an uproar as the game had only just begun.

Dinner as expected was as good as it smelt and when Mike was washing the stress of the day down the shower drain, Aurora plated up a smaller portion of the casserole and delivered it to Abby's bedroom.

"Hey, Abs?" Aurora tapped her knuckles against the door once, twice and then a third time, "Can I come in?" Aurora asked.

She could hear Abby shuffling the white pieces of paper that sat upon her desk, some adorning various drawings and others plain, waiting to be scribbled on and stuck upon her wall.

"You can come in," Abby's voice was quiet behind the closed door but Aurora heard her loud enough and pushed it open.

"I've got some casserole, if you want it?". Abby sat up, stretching her neck and Aurora lowered her hand, holding the plate closer to the girl as she inspected the food. "Or I can make you some toast?".

Abby pushed aside her paper and crayons, clearing a spot on her desk for the plate, "Is Mike mad at me?".

Aurora's brows furrowed, "Mad? Why would he be mad at you, Abby?".

With a shrug of her shoulders, Abby rubbed her hands over her knees. Aurora sat the plate on the desk and crouched beside her, "He's just had a rough day," Aurora placed her hand on Abby's, smiling faintly, "He's not mad at you".

"He looked pretty mad," Abby muttered, fiddling with one of the three silver rings that Aurora wore.

The rings belonged to her mother, two of which had been bought by Aurora's father during their marriage and Rose had bought herself the other ring with her second ever paycheck when she was pregnant with Aurora.

The older Daines woman only wore her wedding band now.

"That's just his face," Abby's brown eyes held the same loneliness as Mike's did. "He's not mad," Aurora repeated.

"Promise?".

how are we feeling so far?
i'm hopefully going to update this fic once a week but with christmas approaching and my other fics glaring at me it may be a couple weeks until i publish the next chapter of haunting aurora. but i've already begun chapter two so... hopefully next sunday.