The Day Stayed and Mark Twain 81

Chapter 81

Aurora

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The cafeteria was louder than usual, every table full. My stomach knotted at the sight, but hunger pushed me forward anyway. I gripped my tray so tightly my knuckles turned white, scanning the room for anywhere–anywhere–I could sit without seeing them.

But fate, it seemed, had other plans.

The only empty seat I could find was at a table just a few feet away from theirs. I hesitated, standing frozen in the middle of the

room, the weight of Zayn’s presence pressing down on me like a physical thing. He was sitting across from Charlotte, their heads

bent slightly toward one another, talking low enough that I couldn’t hear the words–but I could hear the sound of it. His laugh,

deep and warm. Her soft giggle that followed.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to move, each step toward the table feeling like a punishment.

When I finally sat down, my chair scraped against the floor, too loud in my ears. I stared at my tray, willing myself to eat, but my appetite had vanished completely. All I could hear was them.

A fork clinked against a plate.

Charlotte laughed again.

Zayn said something I couldn’t make out, his voice low and rough–the voice that had whispered my name against my skin last

night.

My chest ached.

I stared down at my untouched food until the words and the sounds blurred together, until I couldn’t tell if I was breathing or just

choking on air. I blinked hard, trying to stop the tears before they fell.

Finally, I shoved my tray away, the motion sharp and too loud. A few people looked at me, but I didn’t care. I grabbed my bag, my hands shaking, and my only goal was to get out before anyone could see me cry.

The second I stepped into the hallway, the first tear broke free. Then another. And another.

By the time I reached the stairwell, I was a mess–tears streaming down my face, breath coming in shallow gasps. I pressed my back against the cold wall and slid down until I was sitting on the floor, my arms around my knees, letting it all come out.

I had trusted him.

I had believed him.

And now he was sitting there with her like I had been nothing more than a passing distraction.

I don’t know how long I stayed there, curled up on the stairwell floor

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Long enough for the tears to leave my cheeks raw, long enough for my legs to go numb,

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When the sobs finally slowed into shallow, hiccuping breaths, I forced myself to move. My body felt heavy, sluggish, but I stood anyway, wiping at my swollen eyes with the sleeves of my shirt. I couldn’t sit here forever.

The walk back to my dorm felt like wading through water–every step an effort. By the time I reached my hallway, my chest felt

hollow, like there was nothing left inside me but exhaustion.

But when I opened the door, I froze.

Mira and Selene were back, sitting cross–legged on one of the beds, hattering about something and laughing. The sound cut

through me like a blade. Riven and Lira weren’t there.

“Aurora?” Mira’s voice was bright at first, but then her smile faded when she really looked at me. “Holy shit, what happened?”

I opened my mouth to say nothing–to lie like I always did–but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, a broken sob tore out of me.

Selene was off the bed in an instant, crossing the room. “Hey, hey,” she said softly, but I was already crying, hard and

uncontrollably, the kind of crying that wracks your whole body.

And before I knew it, I was on the floor, my back against the door, and everything came spilling out.

“I–I slept with him,” I choked out, my voice shaking. “Last night. For the first time. And this morning he- My breath hitched, my

hands fisting in my jeans. “He told me I was pathetic. That I was just some stupid human who spread her legs for the first guy who

paid attention to her.”

Mira’s face went pale. Selene’s hands clenched into fists.

“And then-” My voice broke completely, my throat raw as the memory hit me all over again. “Then I went to the cafeteria and he

was there. With her. Charlotte. Like nothing happened. Like I never-

I couldn’t finish. The sobs took over again, leaving me shaking.

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