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Aurora ☪︎
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Chapter 11: Charge to 200 [Edited]

The harsh water droplets make us jump back in shock. Both of us look at each other with wide eyes, confusion, and embarrassment as clear as day on our faces. We were about to kiss if the rain wasn't in the way.  As if Mother Nature is mocking us for whatever reason, it starts to rain even more.

I seem to be the first to snap out of it, so I grab Theo's hoodie from the ground before taking his hand as we make a run for it. I ignore the sparks coursing from my arm and through my body, deciding it isn't the right time to get all flustered. We don't bother to try to cover ourselves, seeing that it's pretty much useless now that we're already soaking wet.

I lead the way as Theo and I continue to run, Theo following my lead until we get to my dorm. It was clear to me that he could have outrun me but chose to stay a step behind. I don't even think as I lead him inside the building. After both of us get inside and take a good look at each other. The soaking wet clothes, and hair sticking onto us like a second layer of skin, with the water we just attracted in here, we burst out laughing.

"Wait- how far... is your apartment?" I pant out, one from being tired from running back here, and two the laughing fit didn't help me catch my breath either.

He wipes a tear- or water droplet from his eye, his laughter slowly dying down before answering. "I think another 20 to 25-minute walk from here."

I frown at the numbers he gave me. Surely I can't make him run back home to his apartment. He'd get sick then if he hasn't already. In the spur of the moment before I can even process what I'm saying, "Do you wanna sleep in my dorm? I mean, you obviously won't fit in my bed, but if you don't mind, then you have the luxury of our floor..."

He looks hesitant to answer, so I add to it. "I have extra blankets and pillows. You don't have to stay if you don't want to, I just wanted to give you an option other than running back in freezing rain."

"Okay." He slowly nods, giving me a thankful look. "I appreciate it."

☪︎

"Ow!"

"What the hell?" My eyes open to the sound of my roommate's shriek. Don't be fooled when I say my eyes are closed; I'm not sleeping. My eyes were too tired to stay open, so I had to close them for the rest of the night as I tossed and turned in bed.

Theo, on the other hand, knocked out rather quickly after we came in. I gave him my biggest pair of sweatpants and he decided to sleep shirtless. I felt bad that he was still cold in my middle of the night so I tossed him my last blanket. I wore many layers to make up for my missing blanket.

I turn over and sit up from my bed, looking at the scene before me. Since there was no space on any of the beds and the fact my roommates probably wouldn't want a stranger sleeping with them, I placed Theo on the floor beside me. His slender frame ended up taking most of the space.

"Oh my god. You're Theo, aren't you," Nisha says matter of factly, slowly leaning towards him as if he's some rare bird she's trying to observe at the zoo. She has her blanket sprawled across her body protectively while hugging onto a pillow.

"That's me," Theo mumbles with a tired voice, but his face holds alertness. He gives me a quick look as he sits up, turning his focus back onto Nisha.

"What the hell are you doing in our dorm?" She questions, getting out of her bed and standing in front of him cautiously. I wince at the harsh look she's giving him, quickly getting up to go by Theo's side.

"I..." He looks at me for help, so I go ahead and explain, seeing as it's probably better if I do anyway.

"We were outside last night, and it started raining hard, so I invited him to our dorm since his apartment is too far away..." I trail off, not bothering to explain further from the disapproving look she's throwing at me. She crosses her arms, opening her mouth to speak before closing it.

Now it's my turn to look for help. I look up at the empty bed and silently curse myself out when I remember Emrie already left a few hours ago for a class. Might I add, she saw Theo on the floor but shrugged it off and went about her day.

Before I can say anything else, Nisha's attention flickers back to Theo. "I think you should leave."

"Yeah, I figured so," He mumbles awkwardly and gets himself up, walking back towards the door. Before he exits the door, Nisha adds on her to her earlier sentences.

"I wish we would have met in... different circumstances. Hopefully, next time it will be nice meeting you." She adds a small smile that I can't tell if it's genuine or not, but Theo just nods before mouthing sorry to me.

I wave him goodbye, and the second the door closes, Nisha explodes on me. "Are you kidding me, Aurora! Has this lack of sleep clouded your mind? You don't have somebody sleeping in your dorm when you barely even know them!"

I cringe at the loud tone and in slight embarrassment, hoping Theo or anybody else doesn't hear this conversation. I don't say anything, which makes Nisha continue on, and I almost feel like I'm a little kid getting yelled at by her parents. Ironic seeing as I've never gotten yelled at by my mom, ever. I've gotten warnings and such to keep me in place but never yelled at.

"Do you know how dangerous and how bad that could have gotten if this Theo guy turned out to be- to be some kind of psychopath? We don't live in a perfect world where bad things don't happen, Aurora." By now, she's out of her chair, pacing back and forth in front of me and making occasional hand gestures to emphasize her words.

I continue to stay silent, staring at her with a guilty look that overpowers any other emotion I'm holding. When Nisha talked about her childhood life, people would always tell her the dangers of the world, which gives her a lot of paranoia. I got a taste of it when her parents came by and lectured me about not checking behind myself in the hallway. Even the slight anger I have is quickly shoved to the back of my mind, knowing that it wouldn't mix well.

She goes on a little longer, telling me all the reasons why letting Theo stay was wrong and potentially dangerous. She sets the boundaries on how it should have been discussed beforehand, among a few other things before things start to blow off, and she gets it all out of her system.

"I'm sorry," I say honestly, seeing as it's my turn to talk. "It was a spur of the moment thing, I wasn't thinking of the possible repercussions, and I definitely should have warned you guys or woke you up and asked. I know he's still kind of a stranger, and I don't know him all too well, which is why this kind of thing won't happen again." I pause. "At least not until I know him a lot better, and you guys too."

Nisha stays silent for a moment before nodding. "I can agree with that." She refers to knowing him better. "I know it seems like I'm overreacting but we have to be cautious of who we invite into our dorm. You never know." She gives me an intense look, hoping that I would understand from her view, and I do.

"I know."

☪︎

"Again, I am so sorry you got in trouble," Theo says to me for the third time today as I wipe down the table that is filled with crumbs and spills. I scrunch my nose in discomfort from how dirty it is, but these tables won't clean themselves, and it's my job.

"And again, I said it's fine. Nisha isn't my mother, so I didn't get in trouble, I was just getting strong advice and boundaries set." After that incident, I went to class, and when everyone was home, we all went out for a quick late lunch together, Matthew tagged along too, and everything's pretty much just back to normal. I knew Nisha felt guilty about her lecture when she bought me a fruit platter and cupcakes to enjoy during my shift. I ended up sharing it with Kelly since I couldn't finish it all.

"Still. It wasn't the greatest idea for me to stay over."

I shrug at that, not wanting to agree since that seems too rude. I was the one who suggested it.  "Well, I wasn't going to make you run all the way back home without offering you to stay. Let's just move on." I pick up the dirty dishes before making my way to the back, placing them in the sink. Theo's waiting outside since he obviously can't be in here.

"Can you wash these? I'll clean up the rest of the tables," I ask Kelly, hoping she'll say yes, so I'll still be able to talk to Theo as I do my job. She eagerly nods, saying an okay before getting to work, and I smile appreciatively before going back out.

Kelly has been my only co-worker since I started a few months back. I've grown closer to her and she's become a friend of mine despite our 25 year age gap. We talk to each other about our days and any minor problems we have.

Her main topics would usually be about her kids, 8-year-old Harrison, and 10-year-old Penelope. She would always ask me about my own life though, claiming it makes her feel young again. I would talk to her about my roommates, how stressful school is, Matthew, and clearly Theo as well.

Since I started my shift early at ten tonight, there's still a decent amount of people here who I need to serve, so I end up going back and forth with talking to Theo and the customers.

Once again, I wipe down another table and then glancing at the clock as I let out a yawn. 2:03 am. If I can finish everything up within the next half hour, get home by 3, I'll be knocked out as soon as I get to my bed.

"Why did you stop talking?" I ask, not turning to look at him, but I know he's still sitting down on those spin stools by the counter. The whole time I've been working, he's been keeping me company by talking to me, well up until now.

"You're busy." He states. "I don't want to bother you."

"I'm still listening."

"Oh..." He says softly since I'm not facing him, I have no idea what his facial expressions are. "Okay, back to what I was saying earlier, I just hate long car rides." I close my eyes for a brief second, feeling extremely tired.

A sudden rush of exhaustion hits me as I make my way towards the last table, and instinctively my hand goes to my heart. I press deeper against the surface of my chest to try to feel my heartbeat, but it seems just to get slower and less prominent.

"All I get is my time wasted and a bunch of motion sickness as I try to stuff beef jerky down my throat to have something in my system." I swallow a lump in my throat, panicking as my vision starts to go out on me, and the world begins to spin.

"That's why I'm never..." I let out a gasp before clutching my chest as a sharp pain erupts from it, and all I see is black. "This wasn't supposed to happen yet, Aurora?!"

☪︎

"Ms. Castro, we need you to move out of the way."

"Dios mío! What's happening to her? Help her!" I recognize that voice... it's my mom, it's my mother's voice.

"We're going to do everything we can, please step aside." It's deep, but I know it belongs to a woman. I've heard it somewhere, but I can't place my finger on it.

"O'Neil, please lead her outside, there are too many people as it is... Charge to 200... Adams stop compressions." I feel my body being jolted upwards, but nothing else, nothing more.

"Charge again." The voice says assertively, and you can tell this procedure is common for her. I get jolted again, and with another gasp of air, my eyes shoot open back to the familiar scenes of the diner.

"Oh my god." I jump up, slapping my hand over my chest. There it is... there's my heartbeat, back to normal. What the hell just happened to me?

"Aurora?" My eyes snap over to the voice, to Theo, who's hovering above me. His eyes are wide open with his arms on both sides of my shoulders. "Are you okay?"

I don't know how to reply. I don't even know what's the answer is. "I just- was I- did I fall asleep?" I ask shakily, pulling myself up into one of the seats, and Theo places himself next to me, not too close, not too far as if he knew the right spot I wanted him to be.

"You passed out. One minute you were cleaning the table, and then the next, I saw you collapse on the floor." Was that just a dream? Did I only dream about something relating to my car accident, had my mind just make that up?

I take a look at the diner, the place completely empty, and my co-worker nowhere to be found. I rub my eyes, scanning the restaurant once more. "Where's everyone? How long was I out for?"

"I'm not sure, maybe a couple of minutes," He says, eying my cautiously as if I'll pass out again. I hope not.

"I think I had a dream of me dying," I whisper, my voice uneven at the last word. It's not like it's a daily occurrence for me, hell I don't even sleep long enough to have a regular dream.

"Are you okay?" He asks, and I weakly nod. It wouldn't matter what my answer would be, it's not like you can do anything about a bad dream.

"I think you should go home and get some sleep... like right now," He urges, picking up the towel and the rest of the dishes for me. He places them on the counter to have somebody else pick it up. I sigh, glancing at the time before I decide.

"Yeah... I think my insomnia is starting to mess with me... I'm going to go home." I slowly make my way to the back to get my things, Theo following closely behind as if I'm going to trip over myself any second, and he'd have to catch me. I keep an eye out for my coworker, quickly finding her and letting her know I'll be leaving a little early.

We leave the diner and I stare at the long walk ahead of me. For a second, I'm tempted to ask him to walk me home. I don't know if I can trust myself walking on my own, and Nisha's paranoia is slowly getting to me. "Do you want me to take you home?"

I immediately nod at that, "I'd appreciate that."

"Okay, let's go."

Hey lovelies

How do you guys like Nisha's character? Do you think it was unreasonable for her to get upset for Theo to be in their dorm room?

Also what the hell just happened to Aurora? Is she that tired that she just knocked right out and started having a crazy dream?

What do y'all think of the book so far?

I hope you liked this chapter, comment and vote if you enjoyed! It really makes my day :)

Much love xx

Jess