aurora.

the leather seats of my car were blood-stained. i smiled at the stains, remembering the fear in the eyes of my last victim.

nobody messes with me. nobody gets to say anything negative about my love ni'jah.

with love on a cloud playing on the car radio i drove further into the woods. i stopped at a place that seemed far away enough from the road.

i dragged the body, covered in dried up blood, out of the trunk and tied it to a tree, the head hanging forward a little.

i took the phone out of my victim's pocket and took their gucci bag, throwing it on the passengers seat before getting back in the drivers seat, leaving the dead body deep in the woods.

*

"hi can i get a white chocolate mocha? name aurora", i asked a purple haired girl behind the counter of a starbucks.

she mumbled a soft "yes", before walking off to make the drink.

i looked around at the other customers as my eye fell on one in particular. at that same moment she made eye contact with me.

the girl had short brown hair, clear and glowing skin, and something about her face was mesmerizing.

instead of looking away we had intense eye contact, for a long minute.

"aurora your drink's ready.", the same purple haired girl said. i paid and walked out the door, the bright sunshine hitting my face.

i walked to my car, noticing the blood on the backseat was very bright coloured and visible.

as the same girl i made eye contact earlier walked up to my car, i quickly threw my denim jacket on the backseat, covering the blood.

the girl knocked on my window, with a little smile. i quickly rolled the car window down.

"hey, are you here for the ni'jah show at the festival this weekend?", the girl spoke with a soft voice. i nodded quickly.

"i'm cricket by the way, nice to meet you!", she held out her hand through the opened car window.

i looked at her hand, not shaking it. "aurora", i mumbled in response.

"where are you staying?", cricket asked. "it's only wednesday and i don't think you're willing to stay at the crappy hotel that's nearby. why don't you come with me?"

i blinked at her slowly, not understanding her. was she really inviting me to her place now?

"it's just me and some friends, and you look like you could use some."

after debating with myself for a moment, i decided to go with her. if they sucked i could always kill them anyway.

cricket got in her truck, in which another pretty girl was already waiting, and drove home, me following shortly behind her.

*

i got out of my car, looking around. there was a big house, and there were two girls working in the garden.

the girl that was in the truck with cricket jumped out aswell and quickly went inside.

"i brought a friend home!", cricket told the girls, both of them looking up.

one of them stood up, wiping her hands on her apron before holding out her hand.

"hi, i'm eva, welcome! this is janine!", she said, looking at the girl, who was still busy with earth and soil.

janine waved quickly before putting her focus back on what she was doing.

"cricket could you please go and help janine? i'll show the new girl around."

cricket nodded and got to work.

"so, what's your name, hm?", eva spoke, with her voice sweet as honey.

"aurora."

"spell that out for me, dear"

"a - u - r - o - r - a."

"no wonder i feel so drawn to you!", eva's light blue eyes lit up. "a bias is often created when people have a similar name, it essentially binds people together", she smiled.

"me for example, my entire life i've felt a deeper and more intsense connection to people with a name that ends with an a, such as anna, marissa, lia, ella and so on. and now aurora!", eva told me.

*

"girls, i want you to meet aurora! she's new but her aura gives off positive vibes, so let's make sure she feels welcomed and safe here!"

"wow you're gorgeous!", a girl said.

"that's salem! here we have audrey, grace, salem and isis", eva said, giving the last girl she named a quick kiss on the lips.

"oh and you already met janine and cricket of course!"

"i made some flat bread, do you want some?", one of the girls asked me.

"yes please", i responded.

not too much later we all sat around the table together. i got the yummiest vegan flat bread i've ever tasted and a glass of water, while the girls were bombarding me with questions.

"did you get your tickets to see ni'jah in the mail or did you need to go pick them up?"

"oh i uh- i picked them up yesterday, before heading here."

"have you ever meditated before?" "do you like hikes?" "what's your favourite dessert?" "how long are you staying?"

*

after audrey had showed me around the house and told me about how cricket designed the place, and the group of girls didn't live here full time, she let me choose a bed in a bedroom where multiple beds were standing.

"you can choose any, the room's all yours. i think this is your bed though", she said, standing next to a bed with white pillows, a white duvet cover and a purple bedspread.

"why?"

"it matches your vibes and energy."

i just nodded, placing my bag and backpack on the bed and sitting on the edge.

"if something's up just let me know, i'm usually in my room. down the hallway and then the door with my name painted on it."

"oh and if the music gets too loud, just shut the door."

[979 words.]