A Shelby Mistress

Charles Shelby

'Another failed date' Aurora thought it herself as she closed the front door behind her and threw her shoes into the hall with a sigh. Aurora was lying to herself, she was aware of what she was doing yet she didn't stop herself from trying to believe the lie. The date had been the best one so far, there had been no failure except from her emotions. The man was in every sense of the world a perfect gentleman. He had been kind, brought her flowers and kept her laughing all night long but when he'd asked Aurora to see him again her stomach had filled with dread. His disappointed face as she refused him was one she would never forget. She felt absolutely rotten about herself for turning him away, he'd been wonderful but just like the other dates she'd been on since she got home they all seemed to be missing something, something that continued to make her refuse each man.
Aurora knew what they were all missing and it frustrated her to no end. It wasn't the men at fault, it was her for needing them to be someone they were not.
'Perhaps if they wore a cap your knickers might loosen a bit' A sarcastic voice whispered in her mind making Aurora frown in protest.
"Oh fuck off!" She snapped before placing her palm against her forehead "You're goin' mad Aurora, they're goin' to lock you up"
Shaking her thoughts from her head, Aurora headed from the stairs. She needed to sleep, sleep made everything better and as she walked up the stairs Aurora told herself she would try harder next time, she would do better.

One week later
She was busy today, a lot busier than usual. Aurora was certain the papers on her desk could not be stacked any higher, even the floor was littered in papers and files that had been thrown from her cabinet. She was running out of space and patience but she was determined to battle through it. The imported coffee David had gifted her was now her only saviour this day as not even her Dad was here to help. The work load now rested on her weary shoulders and Aurora wanted nothing more than to see her Dad walk through the office door. He was supposed to be here today taking calls and helping but it was now mid afternoon and there was still no sign of him, not even a message had been sent to provide a reason for his absence.

It was her Mam who showed up in the end, her face solemn and somber. At first Aurora felt her insides fluttering in panic, it wasn't often her Mam appeared distressed yet the more Aurora stared into her Mam's face she saw something else in her eyes. It was almost as if a glint of satisfaction kept running through them only to be replaced by sadness once again.
"Somethings happened Aurora" Her Mam spoke up taking a seat across from Aurora "It's your Granny"
"The chóvihánni" Aurora replied feeling the poison resting on the tip of her tongue seeing the woman's image appear in her mind causing her blood to turn to ice.
"She died this morning, her heart stopped while she was sleeping"
It wasn't what Aurora expected to hear. She was certain the little old woman was immortal, put on the earth to torture souls until death finally came for everyone in the family except her. Aurora never believed that this day would happen, the great Gypsy witch, worshipped by all, dead in her sleep.
"What heart?" Aurora muttered turning her attention back to her papers, unaffected by the news. Aurora wasn't a monster, she couldn't say she was glad the woman was dead but she also couldn't say she was sad. She just felt nothing.
"Aurora! That's your granny!" Her Mam gasped in shock, taken aback by the frostiness on Aurora's face.
"Mam, she couldn't stand me, she couldn't stand you! She hated us more than anything in this world and spat upon the ground we walked on, hell didn't she spit in your face once? your wedding day you told me" Aurora snapped lightly now wishing she hadn't been disturbed at all. Perhaps she was being unfair, she'd always been told from a young age not to speak badly about the dead but the longer her Mam sat there the more Aurora felt a brewing of bitterness in the back of her throat.
"Your Dad is really upset, it's why he hasn't come to work. We may have hated her Aurora but she was still his Mother"

"Only when it suited her" Aurora grumbled quietly before dropping her pen and sitting back in her chair "I am sorry that Dad is hurting Mam and I will go see him once I'm done here but I'm not going to sit and pretend to mourn for a woman who spent her life abandoning her children over and over, a woman who would viciously attack you for no reason, a woman who laughed upon finding out about Henry's death because she was pleased to see her vision had came true. She was an evil, cold hearted lady and I will not spend a minute of my time remembering her life when the only good thing she did with it was have the children she claimed to love"