Chapter 6

"Why would she do something like that?" I ask disbelief clouding my senses. I met her only once when I was dating Aron, my aunt had earlier introduced her to me at my parents funeral. She was my mom's high school friend, then why would she do this to me. "Get ready for school in five minutes". I see the look of resignation in my aunt's eyes. The same look she's always had when she knows I'm asking a question we already know the answer to.

I remember that one time I met her. The brief flashes of spite in her eyes, the way instinct told me that smile wasn't right, that it was forced, like having me in her house irritated the hell out of her. The way she smiled and told me I looked just like my mom. It strikes me now that she already knew what was going on between me and Aron, she knew that every time Aron said he loved me in front of her, it wasn't love. It was all fake. Everything he's ever told me has been a lie. His mother knew that much, I guess that's why she always laughed whenever Aron and I spoke of kids, or marriage, or a happy life together. She knew her son well and despised me even more. That's why she gave him free levrage to crush my heart. That's why she didn't warn me, she wanted me to know how it felt, how it is for someone you loved to leave you for someone else.

"I wasn't joking when I said get ready for school". I look up to see my aunt, barely controlled anger bubbling in her eyes. The tears make my eyes sting and I can't control the sob that escapes my lips next. "They all knew!!!!!" I say crying as the pain comes fresh again. "Everyone knew and no one tried to warn me!!!!" I say as I cry even harder. The tears flow freely now and I can feel the chill from the night before settling into my bones. 

I can see my aunt still standing there, looking ridiculous in her black mourning outfit. Her eyes soften a bit and I can see exactly why nobody had told me now. They saw how happy I was, living with the hope of Aron's lies. They saw my happiness and they were scared to take it from me. The mourning garb is as much for me as it's outlandishly for Gabanna. "Be your own happiness" my aunt says and goes out of the room.

I know that exactly five minutes from now she'll honk the car and if you're not in by then, find your way around town on your own. My feet take me through my morning preparations quite subtly, making sure my train of thought isn't interrupted, making sure my heart has the time it needs to grieve adequately. My room is basically a reminder of my relationship with him. The stickers of us we printed, the same stickers that decorate almost every drawer in my room, the toothbrush I almost killed him with, the same one I use to brush my teeth.