Rebellious Aurora | ✓

nine | one more word

Ashton had managed to fall asleep on my lap and if you asked me how I sure as Hell didn't know. And let me tell you, he was a heavy sleeper.

This was evident when I tried waking him up by shaking his shoulders a few times but when he didn't even budge, I decided to give up on the shaking. Instead, I used my hands to hold his head before I removed myself from under him then dropped it to the ground.

He had immediately woken up, his piercing blue eyes staring straight into my soul. He was on the verge of strangling me but when he saw who he was dealing with, he immediately backed off and threw me a lazy smile.

A smile that wanted me to punch his face for making me feel some sort of stupid butterflies, fluttering in my stomach.

I slipped out of the car and gave the middle finger to Ashton who only laughed before driving away. I took in a deep breath and allowed the warm breeze to swallow me as I sauntered over towards the double front doors, nervousness settling in the pits of my stomach.

Just before I balled my fists and was about to knock, the double doors immediately flew open, revealing a girl with blonde hair and blue hopeful eyes. I raised an eyebrow in surprise, surprised that she would be the one to open the door before I felt her pull me into an embrace.

An embrace that made me feel loved and cared for again.

An embrace from my own sister.

"You're okay!" she exclaimed, tear welling up in her eyes as she pulled me inside before closing the front door softly. "I looked for you almost everywhere and apparently, Miss Nixon, called us this morning to give us a heads up that you were staying at their place."

I nodded stiffly. "I'm just going to go upstairs to...change." The fact that she said 'I' meant that my parents didn't even dare look for me. My mother probably didn't want to ruin her Christian Louboutin's.

"Mom and dad..." Dakota trailed off just as I walked away, already heading towards the staircase before halting my steps, my eyes lighting up in hope. "They...went on a trip to Paris. For their anniversary."

Like a bottle crashing down and shattering on the floor into a million pieces, my hopes followed suit as I felt my almost-empty heart slightly crack.

Blinking back my tears, I rolled my shoulders back and took in a deep, sharp breath before turning on my heel. I shot my sister a smirk and flipped my hair behind my shoulders. "I honestly don't fucking care."

Slamming my door shut behind me, I was greeted by the darkness that immediately swallowed me whole. I bit my lips to stop them from trembling as my heart jumped to my throat, just wanting to burst out at its finest moment.

I rubbed my temples before running a hand over my face as I breathed out, sliding down my door. I welcomed a rough wave of sadness and allowed it to envelop me as something dropped onto the back of my hand. I looked down and realised I was shedding tears.

"Get your act together, Luna," I reminded myself, taking in deep shaky breaths. "You are a Steele. A woman made of Steele." My lips twitched at the exact words Ashton had said to me on our first night that we had properly met.

↡

As I slipped out of my convertible, I glanced over to my left to see Dakota slipping out of her own car with a smile plastered on her face. Her group of friends approached her with a smile as they began to chat about their weekends.

"Ciao, love," a feminine voice voiced from behind.

I spun on my heel to see Hailee smiling at me as she held up a Starbucks cup. I smirked and accepted it gratefully before sipping on my latte before Hailee hooked her arm in mine, making our way towards the school's entrance.