~Discovering Aurora~

Dolores, after successfully disentangling herself without rousing him, leant over to drop a light kiss on Nicolas' forehead as she sat back and watched him fall into a peaceful slumber. The stress lines that were initially etched prominently on his face smoothened out bearing to him, an aura of utter tranquil. She would give anything for him to be in this state everytime, despite all that he had been through.

With a heavy heart, with her mind once more replaying the things Nicolas disclosed to her and with quiet strides, she grabbed her purse which lay on a nearby seat then walked out of his room. Just as she pulled the door closed, she whirled around to find Aurora standing nearby with a hand clasped tightly over her mouth. Her body shook with restrained tears.

Dolores didn't want to pry but she felt compelled to know what was wrong with her. If the girl pushed her out, then she would leave quietly. As opposed to her thoughts, the girl swept into her arms, surprising her. Her gentle sobs were muffled by her sweatshirt as Dolores mirrored her action.

Sensing that Nicolas might hear their voices, she ushered them both out of the corridor and into the sitting room where she had Aurora sit down. Embarrassed, Aurora wiped her face with the back of her palm and took with gratitude, the hanky which Dolores offered her.

Clearing her throat, she spoke. "What are you?"

Dolores seemed taken aback at first by the question. "I don't understand you."

"You always appear at the right time when I least expect. The day my friends publicly embarrassed me, you showed up from nowhere to console me but being the idiot I am," Tears once again found way to her eyes but she dabbed it away with the hanky she held, "I had to snap at you the way I did and now here you are, being around for my brother."

Dolores let her hands reach out to hold hers in reassurance. "We were created to be there for each other especially when we least expect it. Stop saying you're an idiot. You were the one in a terrible mood and I shouldn't have tried talking to you but I just couldn't let you walk past."

"I'm glad you tried talking to me anyway. I came home feeling bad for what happened. My brother was there for me." She turned to look at her earnestly now. "Who are you to my brother?"

The question took Dolores off guard and her fingers slightly trembled before she composed herself. How was she to explain to her that hers and Nicolas' relationship was a very complicated one?

"Well," She started. "You can say we are close friends. Super close."

Aurora's brown eyes sparkled with interest. "You are close friends. Do you like him? You don't have to lie now because no girl in her sane mind would leave school for a guy she doesn't like. I'm a girl too and I know it's not worth it."

"Actually, I had an appointment somewhere else but I thought it could wait when your call came in. Besides, how did you know what number to call?"

"He kept asking for you in his sleep then requested I call you. That's when I took his phone to search up your name."

Dolores wanted to be sure it wasn't some arranged plan and she didn't miss her appointment for something silly but seeing as the explanation she gave sounded plausible, she decided coming over was worth it.

Aurora leaned closer to her with her eyes opened wide. "You know you can't tell anyone about me. Right?"

Dolores gave a tight-lipped smile in response. "Your story isn't for me to tell. When the time is right, Nicolas will let everyone know about you. He explained some things to me which I believe he would let you in on, but I understand his intentions. He just wants you to be safe. Look at him now." Her hands pointed in the direction of Nicolas' room. "Do you think whoever hurt him isn't capable of doing worse to you?"

She didn't miss the slight tremors that coursed through Aurora even when she tried to conceal her fears. It was also spelt evidently in the way all colors drained from her face.

"H-hurt m-me?" She stammered out.

"No, you don't have to be scared. Just do what your brother says and you'll be fine." Dolores' intentions weren't to scare the girl half to death with the way her fingers clutched the hanky in a death grip. "Aurora?"

Frightened brown eyes met with hers in an instant. "You'll be fine. You have an awesome brother who loves you. If you want, I can be your friend too. Never had a girl your age to be friends with. We can form great alliance."

"I don't know." She seemed to recoil in wariness as she studied Dolores again. "I don't think I'd be giving friendships a try anytime soon but thanks."

"I understand." Dolores stood up, taking her purse along with her. "Take care of yourself and your brother, Aurora."

Without thinking, she gave a small hug to the doe eyed girl then proceeded on her way out of the house. As she got to her car, she felt eyes on her. When she raised her head, she caught sight of a frail, ugly looking figure staring down at her from the window above. Creeped out, she entered into her car, driving off immediately without so much as a back glance at the house.

°•°•°•°•°•°

The majestic building Dolores visited with her Dad and best friend once more stood out in splendor, topping over most buildings in view. Initially, due to the fierce anxiety that gripped her, there was no time to deeply admire the work of architecture, but every other time she arrived after that, she didn't fail to.

Someone familiar was walking in her direction with a friendly wave but she didn't recognize the face until the person got closer. What was Grayson doing here?

"Hey, Dolores."

"Um, hi. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Her emotions were a wavering balance between surprise and stark curiosity.

His eyes crinkled at the sides as he offered her a sincere smile. "I could ask you the same. I actually, uh, came to see my Aunt for something important. She works here. How about you?"

"Oh, wow. I'm here on my dad's orders to run some errands and all of that stuff. He couldn't do it himself because of work and asked that I, uh, do it for him." She replied, failing woefully at replicating his sunny smile.

His smile only got wider at her response then he leaned closer to whisper. "Um, don't say a word about seeing me here to Adelina. Please?"

Dolores stepped back to stare at him with eyebrows rumpled in confusion at his words. "Why?"

He sighed, "I'm actually here on an appointment but I don't want her feeling unnecessarily bothered about it and working herself up. You know how she gets when she senses unease from you."

Dolores nodded slowly in comprehension. Adelina could get overwhelmed with worry when she sees the person she loves feeling uncomfortable. "Deal on the condition that you make time to tell her yourself. Else, I'll do the honours."

His grin returned to his features, lighting up his demeanour. "Thanks. I'll be seeing you tomorrow then."

He sent a friendly pat to her arm then stepped around her to walk to his car. Her eyes followed for a while before she turned to focus on her main purpose.

Her time with Miss Evelyn was long over but she hoped the woman was done with work for today and could attend to her. When she arrived at the lobby on the very floor where Miss Evelyn was located, she was met with warm reception from the secretary.

"Mrs Evelyn stepped out for a break but would be back in a few minutes. Please hold on." She said with a broad smile gracing her face.

For an impulsive moment, Dolores thought receptionists and secretaries were the most false beings on earth with their smiles so bright they could light a room on fire and their false cheery expressions even if they just had a fit from cursing someone to hell and back.

A few of them were naturally born with the happygolucky attitude while the other misleading lot had to act that way because it was a job requisite. Ignoring her, Dolores sat on the waiting couch, eyes skimming through some fashion magazines she found on the nearby table while she awaited her return.

After some excruciatingly and painfully long minutes of checking updates on her phone, reading the boring magazine that didn't appeal to her, the woman she was here for arrived the lobby, spotting her first.

"Dolores, my goodness. I almost thought you couldn't make it today."

At the sound of her name, Dolores whipped her head sharply in the direction of the voice. Surprised, she sprung up from the couch. "I'm sorry I came late. Some things came up and I had to attend to those."

"It's no problem, really. I had almost called your Dad to ask what the matter was but thank goodness I didn't. Let's go in, there's a lot we need to discuss."

This was one of the things Dolores loved about her; treating her like a friend instead of a patient. To the lady typing away at the keyboard, she ordered, "There should be no more appointments for the rest of today. My closing time is almost here anyway."

With that, they both strolled into her office talking animatedly with smiles on their faces.

~~~{•}~~~

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