Page 72 of Light It Up Red
“Don’t cry. You’ll make me cry, and I’ve cried enough this week,” I tell her.
“Well, I still think breaking up with Travis was a bullshit move. If you ask me, you should be with him. Help the guy mend. Sponge baths and all that.” Aurora waves a hand in the air with a devilish smirk on her face. I laugh when she begins fanning herself.
“I’m sorry, Lil. I have to go. Class is about to start.” Tilly looks around, and it’s only now that I notice she’s in a lecture hall.
“Thanks for chatting. I have to get up and drag my ass out of bed anyway,” I huff.
“We’ll talk again soon,” Aurora says, disconnecting the chat first.
“I’m really sorry, Lil. You should follow whatever your heart tells you to do. If it wants you to be with Travis, then go to him. If it doesn’t, then come home and we can get drunk.”
“Thanks, Tilly.”
The screen goes blank and I lie back down on the pillow. I don’t know how long I stare at the ceiling, but eventually the rumbling of my stomach has me crawling out of bed.
“What are you doing here? And what the fuck happened to your head?” Zio Matteo calls out from the foyer.
“I’m here because my cousin needs me. And I dyed my hair because Zia Izzy said blondes have more fun. She was right by the way,” Aurora replies, smirking while she pops a piece of chewing gum into her mouth.“I’ve been having all sorts of… fun.”
I run down the hall as soon as I hear her voice. “Aurora?” I just spoke to her this morning and now she’s here. My cousin shoves past her father, rushes over to me, and wraps her arms around my neck. She squeezes me tight. A little too tight.
“I can’t breathe,” I tell her.
“Sorry. I just missed you,” she says as she pulls back.
I reach out and run my fingers through her hair. “I love it.”
“Right? So do I,” Aurora says and then turns to her father. “I look good, right, Daddy?”
“You always look beautiful, Aurora. You don’t need to be blonde to accomplish that,” he grinds out.
“Ma’s blonde,” Aurora reminds him.
“Your mother is a natural blonde,” he counters. “And stop trying to change the subject. How did you get here?”
“I took a flight. First class, of course. It’s not the same as the jet, but it wasn’t bad, I guess.” Aurora smiles.
“By yourself?”
“Yep, all by myself. Who would have thought little ol’ me was capable of such a thing?” Aurora rolls her eyes before she grabs my hand. “Come on, we have so much to catch up on,” she says as she drags me back up the stairs.
“Aurora, we’re not done talking about this,” Zio Matteo calls after her.
“Okay, Daddy. I’ll come find you after I’m done with Lil.”
I turn and offer my uncle a weak smile, and he just shakes his head at us.
Once we’re closed inside the bedroom, Aurora turns to me with a wicked grin on her face. “Okay, we’re going to plan how to get that boy back,” she says.
“No, we’re not. And there is nothing boyish about Travis O’Neil—trust me.”
“Yes, we are. You’re miserable as hell and I am not going to sit by and watch you hurt yourself because you’re all stuck in your own head.”
“Aurora, it’s not that simple.” I force out a long sigh and flop onto the bed. “He got shot because of me.”
“You know Zio Luca jumped in front of a bullet for Zia Katy, right? And they’re doing just fine.”
“That’s different.”
