When He Leaves - R. Cameron

4 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒

𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤
𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒

spring of '19

         Aurora stared up at the moon, wrapping her arms more tightly around her bare legs. The breeze was blowing off the ocean, and she could smell the saltiness in the air. The stars were out and bright, and she could see the sea sparkling in the moonlight. She rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and inhaled the smell again. She could not wait for summer break in three weeks when she could be on the beach all day or pick more shifts up at the Wreck to save up for college.

Her house was finally empty— her dad had disappeared again a week ago. She picked all of his trash up and done the dishes until it was spotless. Like he had not even been there. It was the way she wanted it to stay, but he always found his way back.

The hammock swung under her slightly when she shifted to look at her phone. It had lit up and started buzzing. No one called her, not even Ginny now. She had stopped talking to her a few weeks ago when she had rode with Rafe home wish she had figured out. She was much more unhappy after finding out those details.

Rory answered it without checking the called ID, pressing it to her ear. "Hello?" There was a long pause and she nearly hung up. "Hey, Rory. What are you doing?" Rafe Cameron? The last time she had used his number was to text him that she was not going to that party.

She swallowed and shifted the phone to her right ear. "Oh, Rafe." She squeezed her eyes shut and cursed herself for being so awkward. "I'm not doing anything. Did you need anything?" She decided to get straight to point instead of making anymore uncomfortable conversation. He cleared his throat on the other line and chuckled.

"I didn't need anything, actually. I was in your neighborhood and thought I would ask to stop by." He explained and it was followed by another long pause on her end. She looked down at her sleep shorts and oversized t-shirt. "Um, sure." She said a little too cheerily. "Like how close are you?"

She nervously chewed on her lip and smoothed out her hair over her shoulders. "Just pulled in." He said and she could hear the smile in his voice.

Rory exhaled and looked behind her to see his truck lights shining around the corner. "Okay. I'm in the back, you can just come around the house. Unless you want to go inside because then I can open the front door—"

Rafe interrupted her. "It's fine, Rory. I can come to the back. See ya." And then the line went dead. She dropped it in her lap and breathed out— breathing was becoming hard and she had to do it manually. She squeezed her eyes shut and laid back on the hammock, folding her arms over her t-shirt.

She could hear his shoes shuffling through the sand and grass. When she opened her eyes, he was looking over her with an amused smile. "Scoot over." He demanded so she did, watching as he laid beside her. She thought the arrangement would be a lot more cramped, but it was comfortable with his arm pressed up against hers.

"It feels nice out tonight." Rory said and glanced over at him. His head was a few inches above hers and he had to tilt his chin down to see her. "Yeah, it is. Aren't you cold?" He asked and looked back up at the sky like she was before.

There were goosebumps all over, but the heat coming off his body was warming her up a bit. "A little." She murmured and sighed. He sat up, making her sink into his side, and shrugged off the flannel he had on over a t-shirt. He dropped it in her lap and laid back down. "You didn't have to do that." She said quickly while shaking her head.

"Just put it on, Rory." He chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. She hoped he wasn't getting cold because of her, but after seeing at the persistent look his eyes, she sat up and tugged it on. It smelt just like him— mint, musk, and his detergent. She wrapped it around her and shifted beside him so that his arm rested on top of hers.