Moon and Stars

thirty eight

Fred's stomach dropped at her simple words, and not because of the words themselves, but the way she said them, and the way her body language gave off negative energy. Her tone alone sent shivers down his spine, and it let him know that whatever she was about to say, it was serious.

"Alright, what is it?" He asks hesitantly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He studied Aurora's features as she bit the inside of her cheek, refusing to make eye contact with him.

Running a hand through his hair, he furrowed his brows at her, a deep crevice forming between them. He watched as she fiddled with the skin around her nails, something that she always did when she was nervous, and something that even Fred began to do because of her.

"Aurora, what is it?" He asks again, this time more firmly than the last. His voice was clear and to the point, and it made Aurora flinch.

He could tell that she was struggling to find the words by the way her eyes frantically scanned over the bedsheets. His knee began to bounce, so he stood back up to distract himself, causing Aurora's eyes to shoot up to him.

He stared down at her, and her eyes, though only lit by the small light from the bathroom, were as clear as the moon. Her brows were furrowed, and she bit her lip nervously, still picking at the skin around her fingers. He could tell that her dark eye bags had lessened since this morning, which was good, but other than that, she looked just as sick, and it was scaring him.

Her silence built a feeling inside of him that he couldn't describe, but that feeling alone was clawing at his insides. She had no right to frighten him in such a way and then sit in silence, it was unreasonable.

"You can't just go mute after that, you have to speak, Aurora!" He says, frantically, and Aurora furrows her brows at him, shaking her head.

"Fred, I'm finding the words. Don't yell at me." She whispers back, and he scoffs, running another hand through his damp hair.

He was beginning to get annoyed, which might have been an exaggerated response, but he couldn't help it. Hearing her say those four words in such a serious tone scared him, and the fact that she still hasn't said it was making his stomach turn.

We need to talk.

"You said we need to talk? Well here I am, trying to talk." He says at a lower volume, his voice shaking.

He crossed his arms over his chest, taking his bottom lip between his teeth. While he was only trying to keep himself together, he was intimidating Aurora, and pushing her further from speaking.

She already felt like she was letting him down, and she actually was, so seeing him all riled up beforehand only made her nervous. She had a speech prepared, she had her words together, but as per usual, Fred took them away.

All she had to do was look at him, just make eye contact with him, and he was the only thing she could focus on. She knew he was a wizard, but she didn't know that he would have such a magical effect on her.

"It's not something I can just blurt out. Please, just give me a second." She whispers, and he sighs in response, walking back and forth in front of the bed.

"Aurora, you're scaring me." He deadpans, and he stops pacing for a moment to look down at the broken girl on the bed.

Her thumbs had blood around the nail bed from where she picked away the skin, and the sight of her so nervous made bile rise in his throat. In a moment of true seriousness, his eyes were open to how she truly looked.

He was no longer blind to the way her skin paled, or to how it seemed to close in around her bones, making her look unhealthily thin. Her deep purple bags underneath her eyes were a clear sign of exhaustion, and he just assumed she had a cold.