aching so much I could barely
breathe.
Halfway through the drive, he suddenly slammed on the brakes, his gaze fixed on the street to his right, his brows furrowing
Following his line of sight, I saw two of his university friends, Theo Cust and Gustavo Kerr, standing outside a funeral goods.
shop, purchasing funeral wreaths.
“What happened?”
Joel parked the car and got out, striding toward them.
Theo glared at the cake box in Joel’s hand, his fists clenched. “Joel!
Gustavo followed Theo’s gaze, shooting Joel a cold, disgusted look.
Aurora is dead, and you still have the heart to buy a cake?”
Joel’s expression darkened, his voice laced with restrained anger. “Others lying for Aurora is one thing, but you two as well? What did she give you in return for putting on this act?”
He yanked at one of the funeral wreaths and tossed it to the ground. “You’ve even prepared funeral candles. Aren’t you making
this a little too dramatic? Do you want to put her obituary in the newspaper and make a public spectacle out of it too?”
Before Joel could say more, Theo swung a fist straight at his face,
Blood trickled from the corner of Joel’s mouth, and for a fleeting moment, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes.
Theo was our mutual friend–steady and reliable, never one to joke about something like this.
As if trying to convince himself, Joel fumbled for his phone, hurriedly dialing my number.
“She just sent Priscilla a bunch of hateful messages today. How could she be dead? You’re all conspiring to trick me.”
Theo finally lost control, grabbing the funeral wreath from the ground and swinging it at Joel’s head.
+15 BONUS
“What makes you so sure that it was Aurora who sent those messages? Did you see her do it? Did you hear her admit to it?”
The wreath leaves scratched Joel’s brow bone, leaving two deep cuts.
Theo had used all his strength, and fresh blood slid down from Joel’s brow, streaking the corner of his eye.
Back in school, Joel was always the center of attention–no one had ever treated him like this before.
Yet even as the blood dripped into his eyes, he remained silent.
He stood there, dazed, like a soulless shell.
His eyes were bloodshot as he obsessively dialed my number over and over again, his desperation bordering on madness.
He muttered to Theo as if convincing himself, “She loves playing tricks. Just wait. She’ll pick up.”
He called over a dozen times, his lips trembling uncontrollably.
Theo didn’t hold back, delivering another harsh blow.
“It’s been three days. Have you seen Aurora? Have you heard her voice? Have you even asked about her? Joel, how can you be so sure that she’s still alive?”
Joel swayed as if his soul had been ripped from his body.
I had always been clingy, texting him every morning and night, even though he rarely responded.
But now, it had been three days, and I hadn’t sent him a single message.
This had never happened before,
Furthermore, Joel knew that while everyone else might lie to him, Theo never would.
