"Come on, girl," Aurora says. "Outside for a bit."
She lets Ellie out back, much to Ellie's dismay, but she only hesitates outside the door for a few moments before trotting down the path toward the pool.
I eye them all warily, trying to piece together what exactly is going on here as Seven sleepily pours himself a coffee and burns his tongue trying to drink it without letting it cool.
He grimaces and sets it down on the counter, sagging against it as he rubs his eyes. "What's up, Ro?"
When his brows pull in, I find what's got him confused—it's the easy way she's standing only a few feet from Atticus. The way he's positioned himself behind her, leaning against the entry to the hall with his arms crossed over his chest like he's her bodyguard or something.
"Angel? What's going on?"
She sits heavily at the island and props her elbows on its surface, pressing her palms into her eye sockets.
"Take your time," Atticus tells her in a soft tone, and Sev and I share a look.
Something happened.
I don't know what, but there's definitely a different vibe between them than there was last night. But for once it's not malice or hostility. This is something else entirely and relief floods me.
Did he finally get through to her? Did she finally forgive him?
Crossing the kitchen, I take the stool next to her. "Are you guys okay now?"
I pull her hands from her face, but she slides them out of my grip.
"Wait," she mutters. "Let me get this out."
"Ro?"
The concern in Sev's tone sets me on edge. It sets her on edge, too. I can tell by the way she winces at it.
My pulse picks up, and I lift my eyes to Atticus behind her. "What is this?"
I didn't mean it to sound so accusatory and I swallow back the tone, trying on a softer one. "What happened?"
I don't like seeing her like this.
A muscle tics in Atticus's jaw, but it's clear he's not talking.
"It's not about him," Aurora is quick to say, then takes a shaky breath. "There's something I haven't been completely honest with you about. I didn't know for sure until Sunday, and then when I did, I didn't know how to tell you."
Her gaze doesn't budge from the surface of the kitchen island.
"It's okay," I tell her, already prepared to forgive her no matter what she says. She's clearly torn up about it, and I don't want her to hurt. I never want her to hurt. "Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. We'll figure it out."
She laughs darkly. "It's not something you can figure out."
Sev comes to lean over the island, and she casts him a furtive glance, and I don't know why, but it bothers me that she can look at him, but not at me.
My chest tightens.
"I think I know what this is about," Sev says to no one in particular.
"I promise you, you don't," Aurora replies, then takes another deep breath and begins. "It was only suspicion at first. It started the first time I met Ambrose."
She tugs the necklace from beneath the collar of her T-shirt. "When he recognized this."
Aurora sighs and then begins at the beginning. She struggles to keep an even tone as she explains everything she's been too scared to say and I don't know when exactly I stopped breathing, but by the time she's finished giving us every detail about how Ambroseisher father, I'm lightheaded from the lack of oxygen.
