Page 23 of The Storms Between Us
“Yeah, that’s me,” I say, giving her a small wave. “It's so nice to finally meet you.” She quickly pulls me in for a huge hug which stuns me momentarily, but eventually I return it.
“Sorry,” she says, shrugging, “I’m a hugger. You can call me Rory, everyone does. I’ve heard so much about you. I was hoping you would be as awesome as Elijah told me you were, luckily it seems like you are.” At this point, I'm sure I'm as red as a tomato.
“Oh, thank you so much,” I say awkwardly. “Seeing you two together, I can’t believe I didn’t notice the resemblance as soon as you walked through the door.” Aurora has the same dark brown hair and crystal blue eyes I see every day on Elijah. Standing next to each other, it's incredibly obvious they’re related.
“Okay, okay, what are you doing here, Bug? Is everything okay with mom?” he asks, concern etched across his face.
“Oh yeah, mom’s fine. I just needed to get away for a little while. Erik and I broke up again and I’m done for good this time. I just didn’t want to be there when he comes to grovel,” she says, looking down at her shoes. I know all about running from ex-boyfriends, so I don’t blame her for running straight to her big brother. I did the same thing.
“Do I need to kick his ass? You know I already hate that asshole. I’d gladly do it,” Eli says.
“No, bubba. I just needed to clear my head, and I thought the crisp South Carolina air would be just what I needed.” She gives him a small, weak smile.
He steps closer to her, wrapping her in a hug. “Of course it's what you needed. You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to.” He tells her. Their tenderness towards each other is so heart-warming. “Let me wrap things up and clean up my station, then we can all head home,” he says, nodding to us both. He drops a quick kiss on my forehead and walks back to his room.
“That’s so fucking adorable,” Rory says, with a huge grin on her face as she watches us.
“Oh, I totally agree,” I say, smiling back at her.
