Growing Wildflowers | WLW

Leafcup

"You think a hunter attacked Liam?" Aurora crosses her arms over her chest, still clutching a dishrag in one hand as she leans against the kitchen counter.

By the time I'd come home last night, Aurora was already asleep but she poured me a bowl of cereal as soon as I woke up and asked me to fill her in on everything that happened while I was out with Jamie. I should have come home sooner but I couldn't pull myself away from Jamie. Being around her is like reading a good book. I never know if I'm going to turn a page and discover the rest of her life is about to be altered. One misstep and I'll be ordered to execute her.

"What else could it have been?" I spoon cereal into my mouth. "The perpetrator used a wooden stake and tried to stab him in the heart."

"But why him?" Aurora presses. "Why would they attack Liam?" There's a slight pause before she says, "Unless..."

"You think Liam is one of us?"

"It's a possibility."

"I guess but..." I let out a frustrated sigh. My head is full. It's like my brain is being slammed with another thought before I can finish my current sentence. I'm worried about John and Bri. I want to kill Jamie and move on. Kelsey might be a hunter and now Liam might be a blood sucker and I hate the elders. The police could find Crystal's body any minute and I don't have an alibi.

Aurora walks around the kitchen island and squeezes my shoulder. "Aren't you having any fun, Gwen?"

"Fun?" I scoff. "No offense, Aurora but this has been the worst week of my life."

She gives a sad smile.

"I'm just trying to survive," I continue. "Trying not to drain everyone within a five-mile radius. Trying not to get thrown in jail and especially trying to avoid crossing the elders."

"You know." She sits in the chair across from me. "Something I never quite agreed with John about is this: I think you should have fun." She whispers the last part. "You're hardly an adult. You were robbed the last years of childhood but that doesn't mean you're doomed to suffer the rest of your life."

"I don't know how to have fun when all I can think about is murdering everyone around me," I argue.

"That gets easier." She nods when I flash an unbelieving look. "I'm serious. The more time you spend around the humans, the easier it gets."

I move the cereal around my bowl with my spoon but I can't bring myself to eat. "Why hasn't John told me about this?"

She shrugs. "Everyone lives differently. John prefers being a loner. He enjoys his cabin deep in the woods and solitude. He likes to sit on the porch with his mosquitos and drink cheap beer." She shivers. "Me? I enjoy people. I enjoy food and cooking and going on walks. Don't let John decide for you." She covers my hand with hers. "Try to have some fun, Gwen."

I force a smile but I'm not sure what to say. I wish I could follow her advice, but it isn't that easy. There's a light knock on the door and I scramble to check my phone.

"Shit, sorry. I didn't think she'd come to the door." I'm rushing to shove my phone in my pocket and take my bowl to the sink but Aurora stands.

"I'll get it."

"Wait. Aurora." My heart is beating through my chest. She's going to let a human in the same room as two predators. By the time I rinse my bowl and put it in the dishwasher, Aurora has guided Jamie to the kitchen.

Jamie's voice is full of wonder. "Your home is absolutely beautiful, Miss... I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"Call me Aurora."