CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT !
[ real life ]

❝ YOU'RE WEAK. ❞

ummm tw for physical abuse / violence, please don't be hesitant to skip this chapter if you feel that's too triggering for you to read! i have the scene marked w a tw before and after said abuse occurs

📂﹖﹕𓂃𐩐💻

ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ

aurora enters her house with red hair and a slight frown to her face.

her and nick had dyed each others hair and literally all matt said to her was 'it looks good.' like what? literally what? she didn't get a moment alone with him after they were interrupted so it's one of the few words he said to her after the time in his room. she's not sure why he's so worked up over her 'hating him' when it's very clear she doesn't anymore.

whatever it is, it caused him to act weird the rest of the night. chris went with them when matt dropped her off here and she let him take passenger without a fight, not wanting to worsen matt's dim mood when it's clearly got something to do with her.

whatever, she thinks. she just wants to go to bed tonight. she'll talk to him tomorrow at school.

she begins to walk towards the staircase to go up to her room but catches a glimpse of her step father in the kitchen that makes her pause her movements. he's home? since when?

she knows she should just turn the other way and continue her journey to her room, but the part of her that still wishes to someday have a normal relationship with him causes her to walk in the direction of the kitchen.

she walks in while he's currently looking through the cabinets for something, awkwardly stepping behind the island counter and resting her hands against it. she clears her throat to make her presence known and he doesn't even glance up at her. "when did you get home?" she asks, lightly tapping her fingers against the edge of the counter from the ridiculous nerves she has just because she's speaking to her father.

"around noon," he answers without looking up at her. he finds what he was looking for in the cabinet and goes on speaking, "your mother told me you haven't been going to—" he cuts himself off when he finally looks over at her, his face twisting up as he sets down the bowl he grabbed. "what on earth have you done to your hair, aurora?"

"i dyed it," she answers quietly, uncomfortably shifting on her feet.

"it's very impractical and foolish of you to dye your hair an absurd color like that one," he begins to scold her, shaking his head with the disappointment he always has for her. "i'm not sure where you expect to get in life with red hair. no one is going to take you seriously when you look like that, aurora."

"i wanted a change," she tries, looking to the surface of the counter instead of him now. "i can always dye it back later on."

"yeah, let's hope so," he murmurs, moving to open the fridge and grab some leftover food of sorts. he glances up at her once more and clicks his tongue. "what are you wearing?"

aurora looks down to her clothes, realizing they're matts. she looks back up to him and shrugs. "clothes?"

"do they belong to the ross boy you had over a few days ago?" he asks, catching her off guard. she blinks in surprise and prepares an answer but he takes her silence as one before she can speak. "i'm not scolding you. i think it's nice to see you finally date a presentable boy."

auroras heart drops in her chest a tad. he usually never has a single nice thing to say to her but now when he does, it's because he thinks she's dating ross. she scratches her neck awkwardly. "i'm not—"

"i work with his father, you know? that's why i thought his face looked so familiar," he cuts her off yet again. he never lets her speak. "he's a nice man, has a great family. i'm glad to see you finally getting mixed in with the right peo—"

"they're matts clothes," she interrupts him with a slight sigh, knowing it's never smart to interrupt her step father but also being tired of listening to him to run off with something incorrect.

he freezes for a moment, giving her a look that makes her wish the floor would sink in underneath her. he finishes putting leftovers into the bowl and puts the rest back into the fridge. after it's closed, he looks at her again. "marylous son, you mean?" he questions, an unpleasant tone to his voice.

"yes, dad," she sighs exasperatedly.

he's immediately shaking his head in that same old disappointment. "since when have you gotten along with him?" he asks but as usual, doesn't give her the time to respond. "he's already wronged you before, hasn't he?"

she falters for a moment, thinking back to the time she stupidly cried next to her father in the passenger seat of his car in elementary school. "it was a misunderstanding. i forgave him and i'm past it," she tells him.

he looks at her as if she's stupid and it makes her want to die. he clicks his tongue and walks over to the microwave, putting the food he grabbed inside and setting the time. he turns back around to her and crosses his arms. "have i taught you nothing, aurora?" he scoffs, very displeased with her and her actions. "you forgave the boy? forgiveness is a foolish thing, you know that. it leaves you pitiful and vulnerable. he's going to do the same thing again since you let him get away with that."

aurora's face drops just slightly. he doesn't know that matt has hurt her for a second time, yet he predicted it in the way he spoke. she doesn't let it get to her though and hides the way her expression changes.

her step father can read her very easily though. "oh," he hums. "he already has."

aurora's calm exterior crumbles and her back stiffens as she straightens her body. "you don't get to do this," she responds to him, shaking her head. "it was another misunderstanding you know nothing about. you don't get it and you don't know matt. you can't—"

"do you hear yourself?" he cuts her off for the fiftieth time tonight, a tone in his voice that suggests he thinks less of her, that he thinks she's stupid. "you're defending a boy who has made you cry more than once, i'm assuming. do you really think he's anything important if he keeps making you cry?"

a lump is beginning to form in her throat and she tries her best to swallow it away. it doesn't work though, so all she manages to respond with is a weak, "i don't feel like holding grudges anymore."

his face twists with distaste and he sighs disappointedly. "you're weak, aurora."

she knows her eyes are glossed over with tears because they always get like this when she talks to her step father but she manages to look up at him determinedly anyways. she removes her hands from where they rested on the counter and stomps over to him. she gives him a dead serious look, finally managing the courage to speak up to him. "you're cold-hearted," she tells him, causing him to raise his eyebrows like he finds her small outburst amusing.

she doesn't let it stop her though. "i've never seen you look at my mom with an ounce of love, ever. you've only ever screamed at her and told her she's good for nothing. you do the same to me, but i'm not a little kid anymore. your words can't hurt me anymore because i'm not like you, nor do i want to be like you. every thing you've taught me has done nothing but fuck me up in the long run. you are a terrible parent and i'm not going to let you dictate how i feel any longer," she lets it all out, every thing she's been holding back since she was just a little girl biting her tongue with tears in her eyes as he yelled at her.

his face is set into a stern scowl and she feels satisfaction for once in her life. a tear falls from her face but she doesn't allow herself to beat herself up over it because that would be letting him win and she's tired of letting him win honestly.

his eyes narrow and he's about to speak, but the dinging of the microwave going off stops him from opening his mouth. he looks to aurora once more before stepping forward and opening it. he grabs the bowl and sets it on the counter before looking back to aurora. he takes in a breath and aurora prepares herself for every thing he's going to say before he can.

he takes a step towards her until they're face to face. "you have some nerve, aurora," he speaks, his voice quite literally the harshest he's ever spoken to her in. "you come into the home i've raised you in with ridiculous red hair, talk back to me, and now disrespect me?" he says, his words slow and hostile so they really cut into her. "you are nothing but a disappointment to me. all i see when i look at you, is shame. it's pathetic. you're pathetic."

aurora's eyes gloss over with more tears than she thought possible. she doesn't bother trying to keep them in. her heart is on the floor, stomped on and shattered. there is nothing quite like the pain of being a disappointment to your father. all she's ever wanted is for him to give her a smile, a pat on the back, a 'you're doing great,' a single kind word—anything.

the hurt she feels makes her angry though, furious even. why can't she just be good enough in his eyes? why can't he just be a good father to her?

TW !

she gulps and allows the hurt she feels to take over her thought process of what she's saying. "yeah? what are you gonna do?" she bites back. "hit me like you do my mo—"

aurora's step father has never hit her before. he's never dared to lay a hand on her. he's never been shy when doing it to her mother but for some reason, something has always held him back from taking out the same anger onto aurora or elijah.

whatever that something was though, seems to be forgotten now. a loud sound rings through her ears and she's not sure what's happened until her head whips into another direction and a strong sting takes over the feeling of her cheek. she blinks repeatedly, sure she's hallucinating until she looks up to see her dad putting his hand back down.

her step father just slapped her.

as she begins to register what just happened, her  eyes well up with even more tears and she looks up to him with betrayal. when he married her mother, he promised to take in elijah and aurora and to see them as his own children. how could he lay his hands on his own child that has only ever wanted to be good enough in his eyes?

her hand comes up to her face, hesitantly touching the same place he just slapped. it stings immediately and tears fall from her face. she waits for his face to scrunch up with regret but it doesn't. it stays the same.

"go on, cry then," he speaks blankly, taking a step back and grabbing his bowl of food from the counter. he glances over her once more with another look of disappointment before walking right past her and leaving her in shambles. "go to bed. it's a school night," is all he says before he exits the room completely.

aurora stands there by herself for a good few minutes, unsure of what to do, unsure of what to say, unsure of how to go on. what is a person supposed to do after being hit by their father? are they supposed to just shake it off and move on?

TW OVER !

she takes in a deep breath and wipes some of the tears that have piled over her cheeks with the hem of matt's sweater. she shakes her head slightly and grabs her phone from her pocket. she enters her password and heads for the first person she can think of to talk to. she's always hated calling people but she still clicks the call button instead of sending a text.

it rings four times. matt doesn't pick up.

aurora bites on the inside of her lip, trying to hold back more tears as she puts her phone back in her pocket. she exits the kitchen and dreadfully walks up the stairs, heading for elijah's room instead of her own. she knocks on his door twice before opening it, then finding him sat up on the edge of his bed playing his xbox.

he glances over her quickly, not taking in how the girl is clearly in pieces and looks back to the tv. "yeah?" he asks, moving his fingers along the controller.

"um," she speaks quietly, toying with the hem of the sweater on her wrists. "can you-"

"what, rory?" elijah cuts her off with an annoyed sigh, impatient with her taking so long. he looks over to her again and gives her a blank look. the blank look only lasts a few seconds though before his brows become furrowed and worry quickly washes over his previous expression. "woah, are you okay? what happened?" he asks quickly, putting his controller aside as aurora walks more into his room.

"nothing," she immediately responds, her voice a quiet one. it just causes elijah's eyebrows to furrow even more. "i just can't be here right now. can you give me a ride somewhere else?"

"yeah, of course," elijah is quick to answer, now standing up from his bed and walking towards her. he gives her a serious look and she knows his question before he can ask it. "look, did dad do something becau-"

"i'll talk to you about it later, eli," she cuts him off with a shake of her head, not in the mood to discuss anything that just happened. she takes in a breath and breathes out a quiet, "can you please just give me a ride?"

"yeah, of course," he repeats again, his eyes now softening with sympathy for his sister. he's not sure what happened but it's never great seeing her cry. "the triplets, right?" he questions, referring to where he's giving her a ride.

"um no, i don't think so," she answers quietly, making his eyebrows scrunch together a tad. "give me a second," she murmurs before pulling her phone out from her pocket.

she unlocks it and goes to ravens contact instead of matt's like she had before. she clicks call and raven answers on the first ring because that's just the type of person she is. "rory? why are you calling?" she's quick to question, knowing it's unlike her to start a phone call.

"um, can i come over?" she asks quietly, raven on the other end instantly noticing somethings up.

"of course," she answers quickly, her voice becoming softer as she hears auroras fragile state from her voice. "is it okay that vee's here too?"

"yes," aurora answers instantly, feeling a bit of comfort from the fact of getting to see two familiar faces instead of just one. "i'll see you soon."

raven quickly returns the same words and aurora puts her phone down, glancing back up at elijah. "can you take me to ravens?"

"sure."

"hi, bae," is the first thing raven says when aurora steps into her house. she shuts the door behind her and raven tries to ignore her slightly puffy eyes, knowing how aurora hates to talk about her feelings. she'd pull her in for a hug but she knows she also hates that.

"hi," aurora greets back simply as venus enters the room they're in, something in her hands. aurora glances over at her and raven turns around to look at her as well.

"hey, rory," she speaks up before holding up her hand and the prepackaged cookie dough in it as well. "should we make cookies or what?"

a ghost of a smile grazes auroras lips for the first time since she left the triplets house and she nods, setting her bags down. "we should actually."

raven grins and walks over to rest her arm over her shoulders as the trio begins making their way into the kitchen. "i'm actually so glad you came over because we have so much to talk about that we can't say with the triplets over," she laughs slightly.

aurora rolls her eyes amusedly, allowing herself to try and forget about her father and matts earlier behavior. "if you want to know about me and matt, just say that."

"we want to know about you and matt, obviously," venus confirms as they enter the kitchen, her setting the package of cookie dough on the counter. raven comes to stand beside her and aurora jumps up to sit on the counter next to them.

aurora sighs, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes at venus slightly. raven begins to grab a tray for the cookie dough as she speaks, "remember when you were the one that told me to show matt was he was missing, vee?" she brings up playfully, watching as venus' jaw drops from the topic.

"okay, when i said that, i meant for like one day!" venus instantly defends, crossing her arms over her chest. "and that was before i found out ross was annoying and saw how desperate matt was to get you back.. so."

"yeah, yeah," aurora murmurs mindlessly before continuing on with the original subject brought up. venus begins to open the packaging as raven sets the tray down on the counter they're stood in front of. "kingston was actually the one who snapped me out of my ross era or whatever the fuck you'd call it."

"ross era seems about right," raven agrees easily, her mouth dropping in offense when her girlfriend next to her plops a square of cookie dough in her mouth. she shoves her lightly for doing so and venus just amusedly rolls her eyes. she sighs and steps away from her, instead turning back to aurora. "i'm not even surprised. kingston is like a therapist at this point."

"real," aurora chuckles slightly. she thinks of the next part in telling what happened, before awkwardly fidgeting when she realizes one of the next times something happened was when he took her to her dads grave. "but uh... matt was just there for me when i was having a hard time," is what she settles for saying. "and then we talked when the time passed and i was in the right mindset. he was really vulnerable with me and patient and yeah, i appreciate it a lot," she explains to them, a slight smile on her lips despite how matt was acting completely weird before she got here. "i've learned that there's like no point in holding grudges and that i'd rather go through the risks of being with him than be with anyone else."

venus and raven both go silent for a moment as they stare at her. it's actually crazy how far she's come because not that long ago, she would've shouted from rooftops that she had absolutely no feelings for matt. it's almost unbelievable that she's finally left her hating days behind. once they realize there's no 'haha just kidding, you thought' coming, they both grin. "awww, rory!" raven exclaims. "look at you being all soft and shit."

"ugh, please stop," aurora instantly groans, covering her face with her hands. "i am so sick of hearing that."

venus rolls her eyes. "it's a good thing!" she enthuses as aurora dreadfully puts her hands back down. "i know you were like.. so convinced that you hated him so it must've taken a lot to realize you're literally in love and shit."

"yeah," aurora sighs to herself, missing the way they immediately share a look. she seriously keeps forgetting not everyone knows she also now knows she's in love. "i guess i just always thought it was better to settle for hating him than to allow myself to be hurt again after we stopped being friends and shit," she explains. she leaves out the part where some of it obviously roots back to every thing she's been taught to feel by living with her step father.

"so you're in love," raven grins at her, that being what she heard most out of every thing she said. aurora rolls her eyes, a sheepish look washing over her face as she nods shortly. "oh my god!" she squeals, turning to venus who just chuckles. "i never thought i'd see the day. like actually."

"yeah, i know," aurora agrees amusedly. "preeeetty crazy."

"so..." venus speaks up now. "have you told him?"

she clicks her tongue. "...no."

"what!" raven exclaims as venus sighs and turns to begin placing the cookie dough squares along the tray. "why?"

"i just realized it. i will eventually, i swear!" she tells them honestly, throwing her hand out like it's no big deal. "plus, i've already talked with kingston about it. it's fine!"

venus turns her head to give her a look but raven just sighs and nods her head. "well, anyways, i've been meaning to ask you," she trails off for a moment before tilting her head just slightly. "what are we doing for your birthday next week?"

auroras eyes widen. her birthday.

she had completely forgotten about how soon it is with all that's been going on recently. she taps her fingers along the edge of the counter she's sitting on and shrugs after a moment of thinking. "i'll probably just throw a party since that's like.. all we're good at," she says honestly.

venus chuckles. "true."

"it'll be fun no matter what," raven says, a moment of silence falling between the trio before she speaks up again with raised eyebrows. "oh! did you bring your homecoming dress like i asked you to? that way you can just come back here with me tomorrow and we can get ready together."

"yes," aurora answers her quickly. "duh."

raven grins.

they put the cookie dough in the oven after they've laid it out and once the cookies are made, they all watch a movie. throughout the time spent watching the movie though, aurora can't help herself when she loses focus and finds herself checking her phone for notifications. she has no notifications from matt every time she checks.

once the movie is finished, aurora excuses herself to the bathroom and attempts calling matt one last time for the night. he doesn't pick up.

💌

the first part of this chapter is very unlike anything i've written before and it's very important to me that i've portrayed it correctly, so if you feel anything seems completely unrealistic and off, do not be scared to comment on it!

if you are going through anything aurora is right now, my messages are always open and i promise you that one day you'll be 18 and be able to go wherever the fuck you want! i love u all so so so much.

now... where has matt gone off to... 🤨🤨

how he's acting rn will be so shortly lived and it leads to something good so #trust, it's worth it 🙏🙏

<3
jaden