𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓
𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐁𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐭

Aurora kicked stones as she walked, a cigarette loosely clutched between her two fingers. Her heart was still pounding from the incident between her and Finn. He never seemed to learn.

She had planned on meeting her two friends at the cut that evening. So when they came round the corner, shouting and trying to scare her, she just stared at them and let out a pathetic laugh. "You've got to try harder than that." She huffed. Mike shook his head with a smile, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and shaking her lightly.

Aurora leaned into him and they began walking.

"Would ya believe me if I said it was Harvey's idea?" He asked with a raised brow. Rory let out a breath. "No." She said plainly. "You, Mikey, are the biggest child I know and you're older than me." She said.

Mikey shrugged, knowing she was right. He was childish at times but only when it came to having a bit of fun. He'd never hurt anyone unless they deserved it.

"So— Isiah...what's the deal with him?" Harvey asked, bringing up the other boys name again like he had the previous time they'd met up. "God, Harvs do you fancy him or something?" She teased and threw her now finished cigarette onto the floor and walking by over it.

Mike gave his friend and look and shook his head. He didn't understand why he brought up Isiah Jesus so often.

"So where we off to then?" A voice asked from behind them. Aurora jumped slightly and glanced over her shoulder to be met with the face of no other than Alfie Jenkins. "No one invited you, Jenkins." Aurora gritted through her teeth.

"Actually.." he began and looked at Harvey who wasn't paying attention. "He did." Alfie finished.

Aurora groaned and squeezed her eyes closed. "Why did you invite him?" She huffed. Alfie dropped beside them to walk with them and smirked. "Come on, Thorne, i thought we were becoming mates." He said, offering her his flask.

She stared at the object for a moment but eventually took it, opening it and taking a large swig out of it. She winced as the harsh liquid scratched the back of her throat. Alfie watched her and was slightly taken back by what she'd done.

"So—" She took a breath, clearing her throat. "Where we going then?" Aurora looked at them all with hopeful eyes.

"The Black Swan?" Alfie suggested. Aurora clapped her hands once before pointing at him. "Yes! Yes, let's go there!" She shouted, catching them all by surprise. "Jesus Christ, Rory." Mikey winced.

"Sorry." She cupped a hand over her mouth. "But please, let's go there." She nodded.

-

The four had been sitting in the dimly lit pub for all but an hour and the more minutes that passed, the stranger Rory had began feeling. The more she drank, the more she would look around in hopes to see Freddie's face in the crowd.

But it was never going to happen. He was gone. Locked up.

"Another?" Harvey offered, sliding a glass of whiskey toward her. "Man at the bar said it's a new batch." He added. Aurora debated against it but still took it, not thinking before finishing off the whole glass.

Alfie was growing slightly worried at the amount she was drinking and how the two boys seemed used to it. "You know— i'm not sure if you should have any more." Alfie said hesitantly and gently removed the glass from her hand.

She swallowed the large amount of liquid that was sat in her mouth and leaned her chin against her palm. "Alfie Jenkins," she snorted with laughter which made all three of them turn their gaze to her, "Alfie bloody Jenkins— tryna' tell me how much I should drink? Pfft come on!" She slurred her words together.

"Shall I go get Isiah?" Alfie offered, knowing the sibling-like relationship between Aurora and him. "I heard he's down at the Garrison tonight with that Finn lad." He continued.

"No— no not Finn! I bloody hate him with me whole heart." She hissed, pressing a finger to her chest. Before she could argue any further, Alfie had took it upon himself to somehow get hold of Isiah. "Finn Shelby?" Harvey questioned. Aurora nodded and held her head. "One in the year above me." She said, unable to keep her eyes open.

"Where's Alfie gone now?" She asked with a certain tone.

"He's gone to get Isiah," Mikey placed a gentle hand on her arm and spoke loud enough for her to hear him. "Mikey." She spoke and lifted her head, "I don't feel well." She said.

"Fucks sake." Harvey quickly moved away from the table and Mikey placed two hands under the girls arms and forced her to her feet before helping her walk outside. The moment they stepped out of the door, Aurora was hunched over and everything she'd consumed in that day was now on the cold pavement.

Mike ran a hand over her back and shook his head. Concern filled him when the laughs of the Thorne girl sounded through his ears.

She was laughing for a good few moments and stopped after a while. "Sorry— my apologies." She raised a hand, pressing her palms into her eyes and rubbing them.

"Jesus fuckin' christ, Aurora." A voice sounded. It was certainly not a voice she wanted to hear. Nor did anybody want to hear it. She looked up slowly and saw Tommy standing before her. Mike dropped his arms to his sides and stood straight. "Mr Shelby." He greeted nervously.

"Tom." Aurora wined.

"What're ya doing drinking till you bloody throw up, eh?" Tommy scolded, "you're not even fourteen yet and here you are throwing your guts up outside the Black Swan." He huffed.

He turned to Mike. "And you? Who the fuck are you?" Tommy asked, giving the boy a once over.

"Mike— Mikey Clarke." He said with slight hesitation.

"Oh, give over Tom!" Aurora waved him away, pushing her hair behind her ears. Thomas shoved his hands into his pockets and glared at her. "You're comin' home. And you're comin' home now." He instructed.

A loud groan escaped her lips and she dragged herself forward. "Bye Mikey!" Aurora called out, allowing Tommy to place a hand on her back to urge her forward. "This needs to stop, Aurora." He said sternly.

She kept quiet and squinted in attempts to see better.

"Did you 'ere me?" Tommy asked with his thick accent. She just grunted and tiredly walked toward the house on Watery Lane that had become her new home.

"I'm serious." Tommy said when pushing the door open. She mumbled a few things and shoved past him, stumbling into the living room.

Aurora focused again when seeing Finn at the table with Polly who was cleaning up the dishes from dinner.

"Why are you fucking everywhere?!" Aurora snapped. "Language." Polly warned. Finn just glared at her and nothing more. Clearly she was still annoyed with what he had said to her.

And when Aurora was annoyed with Finn, he had to act like he was more annoyed with her.

"Guess who I just found throwing up outside the Black bloody Swan, eh?" Tommy raised his voice and threw his coat to the side. Polly turned with her hands on her hips and lips pursed together. Aurora rolled her eyes and fell back onto the couch. "What ya looking at me like that for?"

"You're thirteen." Polly stated.

"I know." Rory replied bluntly.

"Those boys are sixteen, almost seventeen." Polly continued with the same tone. Rory leaned forward slightly. "I know." She gritted through her teeth.

"And who do you think you're talking to like that, girl?" Polly was beginning to grow furious. Tommy raised a hand to stop his aunt and sighed. "Aurora you can't be going out and doing shit like this." He said. "If Freddie were here—"

"If Freddie were here, he'd give me a pat on the back for turning out like him." She cut him off and leaned back again.

Tommy furrowed his brows together let out a sigh. "Go to bed." He pointed toward the stairs.

Silence.

"I said go to bed." He repeated. All eyes were on her and her heart was pounding against her chest. 'If Freddie were here' repeated in her head a few times. "Why should I listen to you, Tommy?" She asked seriously.

"Because if you live here," Tommy raised his voice, "under this fucking roof!" He continued and walked toward her. "You do as I fucking say!" He shouted, "do you hear me?" Tommy shouted again. Rory looked away as he leaned down to her level. "I asked if you heard me?" Tommy's voice was loud and it echoed between her ears.

"What's the bloody shouting for?" John stumbled in — he was also in a drunken state.

Tommy took a few steps back and ran a hand across his face. "Get up the fucking stairs, Rory." He said once more.

"Fuck you." Was the last thing the Thorne girl fired his way. She didn't try and argue. She didn't try and shout back. She let Thomas speak to her the way he did because deep down she knew he was right. Him more than anyone could read the girl like a book. So to argue him wouldn't be worth it.

At the end of the day, it was him who would let her climb in beside him all those times when she was a little girl, who was shaken from a nightmare and unable to sleep as her brother had promised to return to take her home but didn't. It was him who defended her most against Freddie. Even if she didn't see it, it happened. It was him who was planning on getting her brother back. It was always Tommy who has Aurora's best interest in mind.

Yes the whole family loved her. But it was him who cared for her in ways Freddie never could.

-

"She's drinking more at thirteen than John ever did at seventeen." Polly sighed. She sat with a cigarette between her fingers whilst the rest of the boys stood around the table.

"I think you're bein' too harsh on her." John shrugged, looking between Polly and Tommy. "She's having a hard time. We all know it." He said. Finn kept quiet and looked down at his feet.

"Nevertheless, John, nevertheless." Tommy backed up his aunt. "She's a child and she's on the road to being an alcoholic." He huffed. Finn looked up when hearing this. "An alcoholic?" Finn asked. Tommy nodded and leaned against the wall. "I smelt it on her the other day— whiskey. It wasn't even one in the afternoon yet." He told his younger brother.

Finn leaned his elbows on the table and pulled his chair in.

"And those bloody boys—" Polly began.

"Mikey Clarke and Harvey Peterson." Tommy cut in sharply. "The son of Richie Clarke. The man who owns the pub in Spark Brooke." He said. Polly nodded along. "And his mother?" She asked. "Owns the wash house." Tommy said.

"Harvey's dad got locked up years ago. Only recently got out." Finn chimed in.

"I don't want her around boys with a family like that." Polly spoke. Finn chuckled and they looked at him. "Something funny?" John asked him.

"Yeah." Finn nodded simply. "If you think that's a bad family then what are we?" He replied.

"What are you wanting to do about it?" John was quick to move away from his brothers question. "You're complaining about what she's getting up to but you ain't trying to make a solution." He sat in the chair opposite Polly.

"Tell her she isn't to go out without permission." Tommy suggests.

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh?" John suggested. Nobody agreed with him.

And during this time, Aurora had been hovering by the door that was slightly open. It was open enough for her to see and hear what was going on. She took a breath and pushing it further, making her presence known.

All their heads turned to her. "Where's Arthur?" Was all she could get out.

John sniffed awkwardly and lowered his head.

"He's gone out, love. Why?" Polly took a softer approach toward her than she had done earlier that night. "When will he be back?" Rory asked, holding her hands behind her back.

Polly picked up her cup of tea and held it to her lips.

"If he isn't back at his house then i'm unsure." She said. "Why do you ask?"

Rory stole a glance of Finn who was looking at her in a strange way — a lot different to how he had looked at her the last time she had been downstairs.

Instead of answering Polly's question, she turned to the door and opened it, letting it slam behind her.

"She heard you." Finn told them all.

"So what if she's bloody heard us?" Tommy grew frustrated again and paced the room.

Rory had made her way over to Arthur's home where she could see the dimly lit living room through the front window. Without knocking, she twisted the handle and let herself inside the house. "Arthur?" She asked softly.

No response.

Upon entering the living room, Rory saw Arthur sat in his chair beside the fireplace with watery eyes. A cup of whiskey remained untouched in a glass on the small table. He didn't even look up at her. His top few buttons were undone and his fists were clenched.

"Is everything alright?" Rory asked cautiously. Arthur said nothing. Her eyes landed on the red marks forming on his neck and she frowned. "Your neck— what.." she began.

Arthur looked away, ashamed. He sniffed and stared into the fire.

"Arthur what did you do?" She asked again. "I can't do nothin' right, Angel." He finally said. "Can never make no one happy." Arthur croaked. "Couldn't even fucking hang myself!" He said angrily, pressing his palms into his eyes to stop tears from falling.

Her mouth parted and she kneeled beside the chair, taking his hand and gently taking it in hers. "Oh, Arthur." Rory whispered.

"Go home. You shouldn't be the one to see me like— like this."

"I don't have a bloody home, Arthur." Aurora reminded him. Arthur finally looked at her. "What?" He asked. "It isn't my home, not really. You all just took me in cause you felt sorry for me. Mum and dad left years ago. Your Ada ended up pregnant with Freddie's baby so he got off. I had no where to go." She said.

"Don't be stupid, yeah. That's your home." He shook his head.

"It ain't home if you're gone, Arthur."

Aurora tried to sympathise for Arthur. Which was something she hardly done for anyone. She felt it made her seem vulnerable. But Arthur was one of the only people who had always cared for her. He treated her like his own sister. Something that Freddie could never do.

"Polly will be worried. Go home." He repeated, finally picking up the whiskey glass.

Aurora stood to her feet and took a few steps backward after accepting the fact that Arthur wasn't going to let her help him. She let out a breath of defeat and hovered by the door. "Goodnight." She muttered, turning on her heels. "I'll come round in the morning. We can have a cup of tea and biscuits." She suggested.

"Goodnight, Angel." Arthur said to himself after hearing the front door close.

Stepping outside, she looked to her left. The only light came from the street lamps — half of which needed repairing but the council didn't care enough to do anything about it. The air was still warm due to the approaching summer but the sky was getting darker. She stayed there for a few moments and debated if she wanted to go back to her 'home' or find something else to do.

Tommy and Polly were already disappointed with her so surely going off for a while couldn't do much more harm.

Usually, she'd have made her way toward Isiah's home. But something stopped her. Instead she began making her way toward the canal. Given the late hour — nobody would be there. Not even Mike or Harvey.

The hairs on her arms stood due to the sudden breeze that was creeping up on her. Rory tucked her dark hair behind her ears and walked alongside the canal. The murky water made it almost impossible to see her reflection.

Rory sat down on the cold cobble and carefully removed her shoes to place beside her. Her feet hovered above the water and she was left deep in thought.

She found it strange how much things could change in such a small amount of time.

One minute Freddie was there and then the next he wasn't. Then one minute she had never spoken or thought about Isiah Jesus more than once until she did. Every other week, she and Finn would get along until they didn't.

But more times than not, Aurora Thorne had some form of alcohol in her system. No matter where or when, she always found a way to get her hands on the stuff.

Of course for her young age it was worrying. But she didn't care. Not one bit.

Rory leaned down to briefly touch the water with her fingertips. The only thing that was clear in the dirty water was the reflection of the moon. Aurora always preferred the moon to the sun. Because although the moon was never always full or perfect, it was always beautiful.

If anybody saw the moon from the same perspective she did, they'd compare Aurora to the moon.

She was never perfect but always beautiful.

And just when Aurora thought she'd finally gotten a moment to herself, she heard the sound of an all too familiar voice. "They're not that angry at you y'know." Finn spoke up. She looked over her shoulder at the Shelby boy who stood with his hands in his pockets.

She said nothing and looked back toward the water.

"They're just concerned." He said. Rory let out a breath. "They've got nothing to be concerned about, Finny." She said, using the nickname for the first time in what felt like forever.

"When you didn't come back from Arthur's they were worried. But I told 'em that I would come looking for you." Finn spoke.

"How d'ya know i'd be here?" She looked back at him.

"Do you forget we grew up together?" Finn let out a half hearted laugh. Rory shrugged. "Sometimes." She admitted. Finn playfully shook his head and sat beside her.

A silence fell over them when Finn got the impression she wasn't in the talking type of mood.

"What are your opinions on the moon?" She randomly asked. Finn was taken back by her question and frowned. "Well— er.. I dunno. No ones ever asked me that before." He scratched the back of his neck whilst thinking. "I prefer the sun."

"Really?" She gasped. Finn nodded once and she hummed. "I like the moon because it's just.. quiet. It doesn't ask for attention. It's always there but we just hardly notice it. But the sun.. we always notice the sun."

"I suppose." Finn tried to understand what she was trying to say but was severely struggling.

Despite the darkness, Finn managed to steal glances of Aurora every few moments without her noticing. Her hair fell over her shoulders messily and her skin was growing cold due to the fact the warmth in the air had completely disappeared.

Finn reached into his pocket and pulled out a scrunched paper bag. Opening it up, he pointed it to her. "Want one?" He offered.

She looked into the bag and smiled at what was inside. Sherbet Lemons. Her favourite sweets since she was little.

"Thank you," she said softly after placing on on her tongue. "How do you do it?" Aurora asked. Finn tucked the bag back into his pocket and waited for her to continue. "When you hate someone you're supposed to act like it."

Finn agreed. They both claimed to hate each other deeply but never could they stay away from one another. Even after they bickered like children, somehow they'd end up together again. Whether it was because Polly had sent them over to the wash house or they were walking to school on the rare occasions they went. They somehow managed to get over the comments they would throw at each other.

"I wouldn't say I hate you." He said.

"Well, I certainly hate you." She smirked. Finn shook his head with a smile and looked at her again. "I can tell." He assured her.

Aurora stifled a laugh and leaned back slightly. "Do you think things will ever go back to normal?"

"We have always been hostile towards one another.. how can that go back to normal?" Finn was genuinely confused. Rory groaned and dragged her hands across her face. "No— I mean with our families. Like.. Freddie and Ada. Or Tommy and Freddie should I say?" She corrected herself.

"They're worse than us." Finn joked.

"Y'know, I never thought i'd ever say this but I think you're right, Shelby." She nodded. Finn scoffed at her back handed compliment. "Surely Ada can't stay away forever." Rory bit down on the lemon sweet.

"Ada's always been stubborn." Finn commented.

"Her and Freddie are a match made in heaven then, eh?" Rory huffed.

"Could say that." Finn agreed.

The pair sat in silence until Rory stood, slipping her shoes back on and waiting for the Shelby boy to get back on his feet before walking back toward Watery Lane.

Finn had definitely noticed a change in her since just before John's wedding. And he knew it was because of Freddie. But he could tell she was getting sick of bringing it all up. He knew what she was like. Rory would start feeling repetitive and it would get on her nerves. She hated the feeling of burdening other people with her problems. But Finn didn't mind. Yes he made comments that were bound to upset her but he never meant them.

They grew up together. And no matter how many times they said they hated each other, no matter how many times they rolled their eyes at the mention of the others name, no matter the amount of insults they made...

They didn't hate each other.
Not one bit.