Preview
*You’d think they were like Heaven and Hell... But, they were a product of the 2.*
*Aurora's POV*
...
Hesitantly, I open the door.
I swear, if it’s Pennywise casually perched on the sink with that creepy grin, I’ll jump out the windo— Oh.
It’s not Pennywise.
“Hi?” I whisper, eyebrows knitting together in quiet confusion.
Atticus is sitting fully clothed in the bathtub, water pooling around him, a dried-out cigarette dangling between his lips like a forgotten promise.
“Fuck off, Aurora,” he snaps, tilting his head back as he exhales stale smoke that poisons the air between us.
Fuck off?
God, I wish I could.
“Everyone’s downstairs… Won’t you join?” I offer softly, turning off the tap that’s long since run cold. I settle on the edge of the tub, the chill biting at my skin as I watch him.
Aurora, you didn’t even ask how he was first, did you? The boy that's clearly breaking apart right in front of you.
Atticus sighs, and the harshness slips from his voice, replaced by something fragile and raw.
“Honestly… I’d rather press this cigarette into every inch of my skin. Or wrap my hands around my throat until I can just about breathe… then sink under and stay there.”
His eyes flutter shut, as if he’s dissolving, piece by piece, into the cold water around him.
All that—just to avoid dinner with his family?
“Atticus… if you don’t need me, I’ll go,” I say, voice trembling. “But if you do… I can run my mouth until you tell me to stop.”
Then, without waiting, I slip into the tub beside him. The icy water steals my breath, but his arms wrap around me, pulling me close—like a heated blanket made of desperation and need.
“Whatever you need,” I whisper, pressing my cheek against his shoulder. “I’ll be just that.”
*His surname was Knight. Hers was Star. He filled the earth with darkness. And she with light.*
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