~Kissy Faces~

Nicolas sat in his car hours after he had arrived from Dolores' and killed the car's engine in front of his home. He was finding extreme difficulty in believing what he had watched on the flash drive as his body still reeled from the aftershock of the episode. Drops of rain pattered on his windowpane but his eyes were kept straight ahead. All he saw, instead of the road, was the video replaying itself in slow motion.

What on earth would she have done to deserve such level of cruel death?

He had hidden the flashdrive between the couch in a state of panic at her arrival even though he knew it was bound to be recovered anyway. If the housekeepers didn't find it on time, someone else would, but he earnestly prayed for it not to fall back into her hands. The horror of what he saw still clung to his mind like a wet paper towel. How much more herself who was a traumatized victim from the incident that happened.

He tried to shake the odd feeling off but it refused to budge. Instead remained stubbornly like a pestering fly in the back of his head. After a little while, the rain slowed down to a drizzle and seizing that opportunity, he got out of his car, locking it securely.

The light on the front porch was on, bearing semblance to the footage once more. Once he got in, he reached for the switch by the side of the door in order to turn off the light. On second thoughts, he pulled out his phone to dial her number but strangely, held back against it. There was a crazy idea forming in his head which he tried to ignore. It wasn't going away.

The slam of a door came from upstairs and in a matter of seconds, Aurora appeared at the top of the stairs with her phone pressed against her ear and a broad smile on her lips. She sent a silent nod of acknowledgement toward her brother before moving away from his view, continuing her conversation with whoever it was on the other line.

Nicolas ignored her as he climbed up the tedious length of stairs before arriving at the door to his room. His sister was somewhere along that axis, giggling and speaking in a language he didn't understand. The caller had to be a girl if she was in that mood.

That was the least of his problems at the moment. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so concerned about how Dolores would feel if she ever came in contact with the content of the video. Showing her the clip was already out of the question but he needed to come up with a way to tell her and he needed to do that asap.

Report to the police? They wouldn't appreciate a nineteen year old busting into their office with a flashdrive and no other evidence to show who the perpetrator was. That too was ruled out.

Without taking his shoes off, he collapsed onto his bed, dragging his pillows to cushion his chin as he landed. He needed a healthy distraction, something to drag him away from the strangling thoughts he was having.

As soon as he hoped, the door opened and Aurora sashayed in with a hand hovering over her eyes as always. Maybe she hated the sight of his bare body. The idea always made him roll with laughter because he knew he was made out of hot stuff, whether she believed it or not.

"Clear?" She stood impatiently with a scowl.

"Clear." He replied, smirking at her when she pulled down her hand.

"Jerk." She muttered before joining him on the bed. "How did your date go?"

"Went well. We didn't actually go out because the weather decided to pull a fast one on us but we did watch some video clips of her babyhood."

Aurora giggled at that. "That must have been so embarassing for her. What do you think my boyfriend would say if he wanted to watch any of those?"

At that, Nicolas raises his head to observe his sister with a frown. It better not be what he was thinking. "You have a boyfriend?"

Her lips rounded in an 'o' as she tossed him a horrified look. "No. I'm just saying. Any girl would be embarassed if her boyfriend watched clips of her when she was a baby. It's degrading because then, you're doing things you have no control over."

He sighed in deep relief. "Good. Better not be what I was thinking."

The room fell into an awkward silence after that. Aurora resumed tapping on her phone while Nicolas visibly cringed, looking disgusted by the thoughts of his sister having a boyfriend. Now, he regretted not being close to her in school. He would have been able to get close to her friends to threaten the truth out of them.

Some minutes later, he broke through the silence engulfing them. "What do you think of Dolores?"

He asked because he knew how she liked to keep to herself when he was with someone she didn't like. When he had a temporary fling with one hot blonde and she wouldn't stop attaching herself to him, Aurora quit talking to her brother altogether. When the blonde saw he wasn't interested, she went ahead to latch onto Carlos and whoever else that was ready to puff her up with superficial compliments.

"I think she's cool. I like her. Apart from the fact that she has been caring since the humiliating incident at the restaurant, it shows visibly how deeply she feels and cares for you. If you ask me, I'd say she's for keeps."

Nicolas stared at his sister like she had grown a double head. Aurora for one, never gave comments that many about anyone. Negative or positive. Even where their Mom was concerned, it was only a few hateful words, and that was it.

"Thanks." He muttered.

"Anytime. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about a party that Christie invited me over to."

He knew it. His sister didn't come in here to genuinely find out about how his date went. He should have known there was something else on her mind because she normally wouldn't give a hoot about his date and that truth really hurt.

"You came here because of a party and not my date. Admit it."

"Are you stupid? I didn't. I really like Dolores and the thought of you both being together appeals to me. But you don't expect me to keep fan girling over it forever. I'm telling you this now because I need you to know. Not like I'm asking for your permission."

He groaned, swiping his hand over his face. She was right afterall. There was literally little he could do to stop her from going anywhere she wanted to. "When is the party and who are you going with?"

Her eyes seemed to light up as she replied, "This weekend and I'll be going with Christie of course."

Christie was the new friend she made after she stopped hanging out with Selena and those other snobs. It was Dolores who encouraged her to it. According to Aurora, Christie had always wanted to be her friend but didn't know how to approach her about it. Then, she was still really stuck on to her fake friends. One time, Christie confessed to Aurora about being a pawn in the hands of Selena like she was but couldn't take how the snob made her feel worse with every second that passed. So she had left.

That was in the past now because Aurora became a better version as opposed to how bitter she was. Coming from a dysfunctional home, while still struggling to meet up to the high standards of people who weren't in her league, it was the worst phase of her life. He was glad that dark period was over, and Christie brought out the actual fifteen year old teenager that she truly was.

"What are you smiling about?" She struck him into awareness.

His arm stung lightly but didn't affect him. "Nothing. Just remember to be home early. I don't want to have to start searching all over for you. I have better things to do."

"Better things like talking to Dolores." Her eyebrows wiggled suggestively as she dragged the name longer than usual.

"I can't believe I'm ashamed of you right now. Stop making kissy faces and get the hell out of my room, bro." His face was buried in his pillows.

"Okay, okay. I'll leave. But remember..." She teased, walking to the door while still making kissy faces and sounds just to rile him up. She jumped out of the way just in time as a pillow came flying towards her. She shrieked in laughter and closed the door after she stepped out of his room.

~~~{•}~~~

I especially loved writing this chapter because reminds me of  an elder brother and sister relationship which I sadly don't have.
But hey! I'm a big sister to two boys who send me crazy every time.
Surprise! 🙄

Please leave a vote if this was your best chapter yet.
~~Chignature~~