Rebellious Aurora | ✓

thirty-one | she would've loved you

I couldn't believe it.

It was no wonder that Millicent had asked if I had been a reincarnation of someone and it must've been her sister, Kahlilah. And yet, it still didn't make any sense to me.

"Ashton," I whispered softly as if I was cradling his fragile heart. "What happened to her?"

Ashton turned to me, his voice cracking as he spoke. "It was my fault."

My heart ached when I saw tears streaming down his cheek and I couldn't help but squeeze his hand tighter, moving closer to him to give him a sense of warmth. This was Ashton. "Tell me."

"She was beautiful," Ashton reminisced, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Her personality wasn't like Millicent's though, it was more of you. She was so carefree and badass, someone who I admired and adored with all of me and as a child, I aspired to be like her."

I felt his hand shake and I intertwined our fingers, my thumb stroking his own as I moved a hand to his head and brought it close to my chest as I ran my fingers through his hair, hoping to soothe him.

He continued to speak, his arms wrapping around my body tightly ad if afraid I was going to vanish into thin air. "I was ten and my mom had called us to the shore but my dumbass decided to stay near the waves. Cayden and Millicent had already left because they were starving and Kahlilah stayed, watching me from the shore because she couldn't swim." His voice wobbled.

"The waves were getting stronger and in a distance, Kahlilah was screaming at me to come to shore but...I didn't listen...I didn't listen, Aurora," he voice broke and my heart constricted at the sound of him crying. I couldn't bear it as my own eyes became wet. "And when I had turned around, there was this big wave coming my way and I was already trying to make my way back to shore but it was too far..."

My eyes fluttered shut, embracing for what was next.

"I screamed for help but Cayden, Millicent and my parents were too far to even hear me and Kahlilah...she grabbed the donut pool float that only fit on person, one she had been using earlier and tried to get to me using the float," Ashton continued, his voice becoming raspy. "She got to me just before the wave and put it over me, telling me to never let go before she pushed me to shore. I screamed for her to come with me but the wave had already swallowed the both of us and the only person who rose to the surface was me...because of the float. I screamed for my sister because I couldn't see her..."

I exhaled shakily, my eyes now watering as tear after tear slid down my cheek, holding tightly to Ashton's hand as if we were each other's only support.

"Cayden and my father were too late," he whispered, his voice dangerously low. "Her body washed up ashore a day or two later and that was the last I ever saw of her."

I was trying to be strong for the both of us even though I was on the verge of balling my eyes out. I bit my trembling lips and whispered in a raspy voice, "I'm sorry."

He began to sit up as he crawled towards the cliff and for a moment, I almost pulled him back because I thought he had a suicidal moment but instead, he held out an arm towards the ocean and almost smiled. "Kahlilah loved the ocean even though she wasn't able to swim. She loved life...and it should've been me that day."

"Don't say that, Ashton," I said softly, crawling to sit beside him. "She wanted you to live. She loved you."

Ashton gulped and looked down at me with watery eyes. "And God knows I love her so much. There isn't a day where I don't miss her and think about her. Oh, how she would've loved you, Aurora. She would've loved you and I just wanted her to see that for once since the time she's been gone, I'm truly happy."