Chapter 6: Just Because of One Slap

When Cole got home that evening, he must have seen the box of his stuff in the dumpster. He immediately marched upstairs and pounded on our door.

"Aurora! Come out! We need to talk."

I pulled the door open.

Cole stood there, his face hard and furious.

"Why did you throw away everything I gave you?"

"How is that any of your business?"

I stared at him. Dead-eyed.

The mark from his hand was still stamped across my face. He hadn't held back. My cheek was bruised and swollen, the outline of his fingers vividly clear. Instead of fading, it had only gotten darker.

Cole's furious expression cracked. He stared blankly at the dark bruises on my skin.

After a long moment, his voice wavered.

"How... how is it that bad?"

He reached a hand out, trying to touch my face. I took a sharp step back, my expression perfectly blank.

I rarely got hurt. In the past, if I ever got the tiniest scrape or bump, I would run to Cole with tears in my eyes, waiting for him to comfort me.

Truth was, I actually had a pretty high pain tolerance. I was pretty clumsy and often didn't notice cuts until days later. I just liked acting fragile in front of the boy I loved.

Cole always called me delicate, but he secretly loved it. He thrived on me needing him.

But that was over. I wasn't playing that game anymore.

Cole had never seen me look so utterly detached. For a second, he just looked totally lost.

"I didn't mean to do it, Aurora. You were just cursing at me, and I lost my temper..."

I cut him off.

"Since you're here, let's make things crystal clear. Starting today, we don't know each other."

"From now on, address me by my full name. Don't speak to me in the hallways. And don't ever knock on my door again."

I moved to shut the door.

Cole lunged forward and grabbed my wrist. He locked his eyes on mine, his expression shifting rapidly from guilt to absolute, uncomprehending rage.

"Are you seriously taking it this far, Aurora? If you're pissed that I hit you, I'll apologize. Don't you think you're being extremely dramatic right now?"

His grip tightened.

"Aren't you going to regret this?"

"I won't."

"Why?" he demanded, fighting to keep his voice steady. "Just because I accidentally slapped you?"

"Yeah. Just because of that."

I punctuated every single syllable. Completely unbothered.

He stared at me, speechless.

"Fine. If that's how you want to play it, be my guest."

Cole let out a dark, mocking laugh, dropped my hand, and slammed his own door shut.