AURELIA

𝘈𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

(𝟯 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼)

Today started like any other day. My alarm buzzed at exactly 6:30am. Same as Amelia's. Only hers was silenced by Dad's hand on the way to her room, as usual.

I woke up alone. Again. No surprise there.

Why? Oh, just because of my lovely twin, Amelia, and if you haven't noticed I was being sarcastic.

I wonder what I'd be doing for her today.

Maybe cleaning her part of the house because she has fragile hands, or even better: Go on her little stupid errands because she cannot be seen on a rusty bike while the summer sun is blazing.

She once asked dad to buy her a car. There was only one problem though: she did not want me to get one and she wasn't willing to share hers, so dear old daddy said we both won't get one.

Typical. I'm used to it though. Always getting punished for something I wasn't a part of.

I stare at my reflection at my vanity's mirror. A beautiful frown etched on my faced.

God! Even the thought of her makes me angry.

I think I've reached a point where I strongly dislike my sister. Yes I said it. 𝙎𝙪𝙚 𝙢𝙚.

The thing is, dad feels guilty about not being able to protect us from mom and what she did, and Am knows that and takes undue advantage.

I tighten my grip on the duvet, the thought of my twin railing me up.

How can dad be so gullible. It's so annoying!

To the point where dad gives her all of his time and attention. He says it's because Ame is more sensitive and the incident was more traumatic for her. I don't think that validates neglecting your other daughter.

Once we both had dance recitals just at different time slots. Ame's was first, mine was 30 minutes after. He watched Amelia's recital and left just before mine started. His excuse was that he didn't have time for both.

I remember his exact words

"𝐼'𝑚 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑘𝑖𝑛. 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑢𝑝, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝐼 𝑏𝑒𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝐵𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝐴𝑚."

It's laughable, truly, and I have only one person to blame.

𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮.

Our mother, Sara, was a master manipulator, and her lunacy knew no bounds.

I double-checked if the door was closed. Old habit.

𝙁𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠

(𝟲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼)

"𝘔𝘰𝘮? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?" 𝘈𝘮'𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.

𝘋𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘺'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘥. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.

𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺'𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘋𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘺'𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘐 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?

𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘢. 𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯 8 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘥? 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧.

𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳: 𝘐'𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘈𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.

"𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵!" 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘮. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘈𝘮 𝘶𝘱. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘺; 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦.

𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘴, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥. "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳?" 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘯.

"𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬," 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺, 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 – 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳'𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘈 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. 𝘈𝘮 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺?

"𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺," 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥.

𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦?

"𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘩𝘶𝘩? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺! 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭!" 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

"𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺..." 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧.

"𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱!"

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘨, 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥.

𝘈 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘦.

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 – 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.

𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯: 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 crazy.

𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩

My hands tremble.

Ever since that day, I have hated being in the kitchen.

I don't like to think about that day. That day everything changed for me. That day marked the beginning of misery and solitude. I just didn't know it yet

''''''

I lay in bed staring blankly at the ceiling. It's currently 9am and dad's probably gone to work. Meaning I'm alone with psyco twin.

Yay!

Today is going to be a shitty day. I can feel it. I remove the duvet off my body and slowly make my way to the bathroom for my morning routine.

Which basically consists of brushing my teeth, having a shower and dressing up for the day. Before beginning, I stare at myself in the mirror.

I look basic. Nothing like my sister, despite being identical. I hate how effortless she is.

𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯.

𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳

𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦.

I smile at my reflection.

𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩.

I continue to smile. Silent tears stream my face.

I step into the shower, the water mixing with the tears.

When I'm done, I make my way downstairs.

As I walked down the stairs, I heard him - Asher, my best friend, whom I love with all my being.

Wait. What is he doing here?

His probably here to profess his undying love for me.

𝐻𝑎ℎ𝑎. 𝐴𝑠 𝑖𝑓.

Shut up!

Leave it to my subconscious to dampen one's mood.

His melodious laugh and woody aftershave engulfed my senses mixing with the morning coffee brewing in the kitchen. Liberating and Intoxicating.

𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔

I unconsciously check if I'm drooling, a frown etched on my face. Very funny sub.

𝑅𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑎

Is it bad that I want to kill my subconscious. It never shuts up.

I make my way to the kitchen where Asher and Ame are drinking some coffee, but before I can make my presence known, I am frozen in place. Mesmerized by his presence. My heart, beating against my chest Goosebumps littering my body.

He is wearing his usual skinny jeans and graphic t-shirt.

𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩.

My next step came out too fast. The wind knocked out of my lungs, face-planting onto the freshly polished floor. A daily occurrence in my existence.

Just as I was enjoying my meeting with Mr floor...

Amelia's voice cut through the air.

Fuck my life.

"Oh, Auri, must you be such a klutz?" I shot back, "Not everyone can be as gracious as you, Amelia."

Asher looked at me with those ocean blue eyes, humor lacing his features. I slowly get up, heat rushing up my neck.

Before I could bask in the warmth of his gaze, Amelia interrupted, "Auri, Auri! Are you ignoring me?" I look at her questioningly.

She continues to stare at me, her smile growing.

My stomach in knots.

She never smiles at me

So her smiling right now doesn't help my nerves.

"Asher is now my boyfriend."

I stare at her. Lump in my throat.

"W-what?" I stuttered.

Shock fills my veins. My heart clenching painfully.

How could she? She knows how much Asher means to me. She knows that I love him. Why would she inflict so much pain,on purpose.

She just looks at me smugly. Clearly enjoying my misery.

"H-how?

𝑩𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌.

When? I just... I just don't un-understand", my voice cracking at the end.

𝑩𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌.

I turn to Asher.

He's looking at her. Only her.

𝑰 𝒅𝙤𝒏'𝒕 𝒆𝙭𝒊𝙨𝒕

The room blurring into mush.

"Look, I wanted to tell you, Auri, but Ame thought it would be better if we surprise you," Asher said, his eyes still fixed on Amelia.

𝑰 𝒅𝙤𝒏'𝒕 𝒆𝙭𝒊𝙨𝒕

𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑.

I smile.

The lump in my throat, painful.

I straighten my clothes and correct my posture.

A surprise? More like a nightmare. I just shake my head in disbelief before walking to my room.

Is this what my life has become?

I have been in love with Asher for what felt like forever, and now he was with my sister. The one person I'd thought understood me, was now lost to me.

Just because of my sister. My other half. The one person who once swore to never hurt me is doing the exact opposite. That to on purpose.

I don't even know why I'm surprised because as usual I was just the shadow of 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙖'𝙨 world.