Family Secrets.

Chapter 7.

Aurora jumped as her phone rang. She was mid conversation with Optimus and the shrill cry of her ring tone interrupted them. The Prime looked at her curiously and she held up a finger.

"It's Korinthia." Aurora says, and Jack approached.

Aurora answered and put the phone to her ear, about to speak when Korinthia began screaming and cursing loudly at Aurora.

"Look," Aurora began, her tone changing from sweet to authoritative and irritated.

"You and Daniel have taken care of me since I was four years old, congrats, but that doesn't mean I deserve to be treated like shit from either of you." She begins, and Ratchet pauses his work to begin paying attention.

"I've dealt with it for fourteen years. The constant cursing and pushing me to be better than my mom was, expecting me to be someone I'm not, and then when I took my own initiative and began taking EMT classes instead of enlisting in the army, it got worse.

You don't even know what my course of action is yet, but I sure as hell got my ass beat." Aurora growled into the speaker.

"You and Daniel won't control me anymore Korinthia. My mother did all she could until she committed suicide, and I'll forever be grateful that you and Daniel stepped up to raise me, but fuck both of you." Aurora said and then hung up.

"Ratchet?" Aurora called, finding his teal gaze already on her.

"Yes?" He responded.

"At nine tonight will you or Optimus take me to get some things from my house?" She asked.

He nodded and Jack rubbed her back. "It'll be okay, Rora." Jack whispered, and she relaxed into Jack's touch.

"I hope you're right, Jackrabbit."

-

Aurora slid out of Ratchet's alt mode, quietly and softly shutting the passenger door. His holoform fizzled to life beside her and together they snuck onto the Jameson property. Aurora held a finger to her lips, signaling Ratchet to be quiet as they passed a window with the light still on inside.

"That's Daniel's bedroom." She whispers and Ratchet nods.

"It appears he has a guest-" Ratchet muttered.

"Wouldn't doubt it, I'm pretty sure he's been cheating on Korinthia for a while." She whispered as she approached an old oak tree.

"I dislike unfaithful people." Ratchet whispered with a low growl.

"Me too, yet here I am being poly." She joked as she hooked her foot in one of the tree's knots.

Ratchet didn't speak after that, looking at her in bewilderment for a moment before leaning against the tree to keep watch.

Aurora skillfully climbed the tree, gaining minor scrapes and cuts as she eventually got to her bedroom window and vaulted inside.

Aurora grabbed both of her duffle bags and her school bag, launching the school bag down towards Ratchet before unzipping one of the dufflebags.

She opened her drawers, stuffing undergarments, t-shirts and shorts inside along with a couple pairs of leggings. She already had a good chunk of clothes at June's, and she could always get more.

She heard a bang from downstairs, and tossed the now closed duffle bag down to Ratchet.

She opened the last duffle bag and shoved three pairs of ripped jeans into it and a few hoodies along with her mom's stained grey hoodie. She then snatched a box from under her bed and pried it open, finding a smaller box labeled with her mom's handwriting.

'Open on your nineteenth, love - Momma and papa.'

Aurora started at the handwriting for a moment before shoving the box into the dufflebag and stuffing her wolf plush on top, zipping the bag up and tossing it down to Ratchet.

And with one last look around her bedroom, Aurora vaulted back out.