unposted letters | short stories

letter #1 | now that we don't talk

story timeline: ease (2022)

characters: aurora, sloane (+ charles cause he's the drama)

a/n: the first time i listened to this song i was like yeah that's so ease coded lol (especially that time frame in the last chapter when no one was talking to each other)

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december 2022

from sloane

«I call my mom she said that it was for the best.»

"It's for the best, Sloane, and I advise you to cut her off forever. You're not in a position to keep humiliating yourself." Her mother said, sounding stern as per usual. She briefly glanced at the phone on the table, a new notification popping at the top: maxverstappen1 liked your post. Sloane ignored it and slid her finger across the screen to send it away. She'd thought the guy had unfollowed her after Zandvoort. "I can't believe Aurora did this. Doesn't she think about what people will say of you?" The indignation poured through her tone with no such thing as effort.

She rested her cheek on her palm and huffed, coming closer to the speaker. "Ma, I seriously don't want to discuss this topic. And it wasn't just Aurora, Charles got with her too. It takes two, you know?"

"Your father warned you about him," Sloane knitted her brows into a frown. He didn't even do that. Her dad only complained about her wasting time during her relationship with Charles. Far from being a warning of any sort.

"Look at the bright side," She started, a pitiful snort bubbling out of her throat. "This means I'm for sure never showing up to another race ever again. Now you don't have to worry about me damaging the family image with bad PR. Yay."

There was a tired sigh from the other side of the line, and she cursed under her breath for bringing that up again. She didn't want to get lectured once more. "What you did going to Zandvoort was an irresponsibility." There it is. "After this, I do not want to see you near Aurora or any of those drivers ever again, Sloane. I'm not kidding."

"Rest easy, Ma," She rolled her eyes. "Lesson learned, no more scandals. I promise." From the lack of reply, Sloane could tell her mother wasn't buying into it. Whatever. She did what she could. "I have to leave. It must be super late for you but send some greetings to Pa from me. We'll talk some other day if you're available."

The conversations with her parents were very stiff and dull. They felt more like a report than an actual chat between family. "Don't get in trouble, Sloane." It wasn't a fun way to say goodbye, it was a straight warning from her mother.

"Duly noted, Ma."

And that was it. That was the weekly call with her mother. She'd only called to ask about Aurora and Charles, and if the rumours were true. The woman didn't even ask if she would be going home for Christmas or New Year's, no, she didn't care. Sloane thought about it with some sense of sourness and depression, the Christmas and New Year's thing. Last year she'd spent those days with Charles and his family, and the years before that it'd been Aurora and her parents. If someone had told her at the beginning of the year that she wouldn't be on speaking terms with Charles — and more importantly — Aurora, by the end of the exact same year, Sloane would've cackled at such a cruel joke.

She breathed deeply, her forehead sticking to the table surface. She missed Aurora the most. What was she supposed to do without Aurora? There was no Sloane separated from Aurora. It'd always been Sloane and Aurora.