Corrupted hearts || 1

29

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE ❦ AURELIA
"Don't laugh." I warn from behind the bathroom door, "Come outside, Aurelia, you won't hide in there all day." I can hear a hint of a smile in his voice it's almost laughable if I wasn't so embarrassed.

I sigh and embrace myself with a breath as I step outside, he takes in my look, his eyes descending down to the oversized shirt he just lent me as he tries to flatten his lips in a line.

"Don't. Laugh." I repeat sternly, he rubs a thumb over his lips to stifle a smile, "You look...cute." He observes and I narrow my eyes, fighting the urge to punch him in the face.

The corner of his lips lifts and I roll my eyes as I approach him, Elias's black shirt reaches my knees, so ditching the pants right now isn't hard, "My hair is dying." I state out of nowhere.

He eyes the blonde strands sticking everywhere, "And how would you make it come back to life?" He questions, arching a brow, I contemplate the answer for a while, uh, "I would probably braid it to keep it in place, it'll live after that." I shrug, lifting a shoulder.

He rolls his eyes, and beats pass while we're staring at each other, My stomach suddenly growls and I groan internally, I'm hungry, but we didn't exactly have a chance to eat, and even though Elias offered me some food before I slept, he didn't push me because he knew that being sick and my past experiences with throwing up weren't going to align in a cute way.

Whenever I think about recovering from this cycle, I feel a tightness at the bottom of my stomach, I don't want to live like this forever, I know that I can't, but the idea of gaining weight again is just a burden.

"Come on, let's make something to eat." He raises an eyebrow, his voice pulling me away from my thoughts, I sigh, embracing myself with a breath before I follow him upstairs, the house is dark and quiet.

Considering that it's midnight, it's understandable.

A yawn slips from between my lips and I rub a hand all over my face, we reach the open kitchen and he gets inside while I sit on a chair in front of the counter, so only a table is separating us.

"What do you want?" He asks and a teasing smile spreads over my face, I wiggle my brows, "What exactly can you make?" I ask, he turns his head to the side, a smug smirk over it, "Everything." He says with ease.

I roll my eyes, "Umm...impress me then." I shrug, he raises an eyebrow at my response and sighs, he starts placing random ingredients on the counter and I eye them, trying to connect the dots, "Do you know how to cook?" He asks, probably out of curiosity.

I clear my throat awkwardly, "Let's not." I state, thinning my lips in a line, he lets out a short laugh and a smile uncontrollably stretches over my face, moments pass in silence and I decide to break it.

"Let's play a game." I suggest, he turns in my direction, a question floating in his stormy eyes, "It's like 21 questions since you know—we'll be close, or whatever, I think I should know you a bit more, you too." I explain.

He contemplates it for a second, "Ask." He lets out in a firm tone, his muscles rigid, um, "You grew up in New York?" I ask lightly, "No, I was in Florida." He explains and my jaw unhinges.

"That's where I grew up too." I exclaim and he smiles at my reaction, "How come we never met?" I wonder as if Florida is that small of a town or something, he raises an eyebrow, humor flickering in his eyes.

"I stayed there until I turned 15." He adds, "Oh, that was a while ago." About six years if we're being specific, he's now twenty-one, since he's a sophomore, the air turns tense a bit, or more like awkward since I can't just ask him about his childhood or what it was like.