Page 21 of Those That Don't Exist
There’s screaming, crunching metal, and my stomach roils as my body is spun violently whilst simultaneously being trapped beneath the seat belt. I lurch again with the impact as the car crashes into the ground once more before coming to a stop. A figure looms. Pain erupts through my arm and this time my lungs feel like they will burst with the cry that wracks my entire body.
“Aurora!” David’s voice cuts through it all, making me startle awake. “You’re dreaming, it's ok,” he soothes me. He’s abandoned his laptop and is crouched by me, his hands on my shoulders.
“I… er…” I can't form a sentence through my erratic breathing.
“Had a nightmare?” he finishes for me. He perches on the sofa beside my legs, moving one hand to my thigh, the other he puts on his own. I sit myself up as I manage to slowly nod. The sound of my book hitting the floor makes me startle again.
“Want to talk about it?” he asks. He starts brushing my thigh up and down in a comforting way. We’re close enough it's not weird he’s touching me, but I feel the heat through my jeans.
“No,” I answer a bit quickly. “But thanks for waking me. It was just a stupid dream,” I add when I see his brows furrow.
“One that was bad enough to make you scream, and to leave you crying?”
I swipe my hand over my cheeks. He’s right, there are tear tracks running down them.
Fuck,I hope my magic didn’t drop in my sleep.
“Thanks, for waking me,” I repeat, but offering nothing more. I was signed off as mentally healthy enough to return to university, I’m not risking that being revoked.
“Glad I was here to help. Are you ok now?” He offers me a small smile, lifting his free hand to brush my hair out of my face.
Okthistouch is new. I look up and meet his eyes. They’re soft with concern but I think I can recognise heat in his hazel gaze too.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I inhale deeply. He’s sitting so close, I catch his cologne. It's woodsy and slightly metallic. My pulse spikes as I realise I like it, the metallic undertone. We continue sitting close, butterflies taking off in my stomach. I gently reach out, placing my hand over his on my thigh, needing to return thetouch. I see something flash across David’s face but it's gone before I catch it. He looks down at where his hand and mine are now touching. He gently flips his over so we are palm to palm before entangling our fingers.
His voice is low and almost timid, “Aurora, I know now is probably terrible timing but…”
“Rory, Claire wants…” Bree comes jogging into the room, her sentence falling away as she comes to a surprised halt.
David and I spring apart.
“She fell asleep and had a nightmare, I just woke her up.” David is quick to supply, seeing the shock on Bree’s face. I guess we both look guilty of something, even though nothing happened. I think it was about to though.
“Oh. Are you ok?” Bree searches my gaze with that best friend's look. Half actual concern, half “What the hell are you doing?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I fell asleep reading, guess I should lay off the fantasy.” I chuckle, reaching to pick up my book from the floor. David stands at my movement. “What did you want, Bree?” I ask, my voice surprisingly normal.
“Right, yes. Claire is having a meltdown over her hair, she’s trying to pin it into this up-do, I can’t do it right. Please, come help?”
“Ok, sure.” I leap up and link arms with my friend as we head across the house to the stairs. I force myself not to look back at David, pushing all wayward thoughts out of my head. This is not the time for complicated lust.
Although between David and the mystery guy maybe some fun of the sexual kind is exactly what I need.
CHAPTER 11
AURORA
All three of us are getting ready in Claire’s bedroom, we’ve got music playing and a bottle of wine already open. We’d set up stations for hair and makeup around the room but it quickly becomes a chaotic mess.
The wine has had less effect on me than I’d like but the buzz from my two best friends has got me excited about tonight. This holiday has always been a favourite of mine, a night where you can look different, adopt a new persona, and no one will question it.
“Anyone seen my wig?” Bree asks rifling through clothes strewn on the bed.
“I think it’s on the dresser,” I reply, twisting to answer her as I try to tame another piece of my hair around the curler. I’ve already dropped my glamour enough to let my natural colour show, although I’m using magic to make it look more lush and voluminous than it currently is naturally. It feels like the right time to bring my colour back, I don’t regret my choice of character for tonight.
Tacita is from before the veil fell. Most of the stories state she was one of those morally grey badass goddesses, who collected souls, dragging them to the underworld so they could neverreincarnate. She was fierce, and protected the underworld single handedly with her fire power. I love the version where she’s painted to have known a secret truth, that the heavens were the real hell, and she was in fact saving the souls she reaped. Hell was a serene place with a smoke screen.
“Where’s the eyeshadow palette?” I ask a while later after finishing my hair, ready to start my makeup.
