AURORA'S POV:
There's a kind of silence that isn't peaceful.
It's the kind that scratches at your skin like invisible claws.
The kind that doesn't just fill a room, it seeps into your bones. Into your breath. Into your sense of self.
That's what this safe house felt like when Lance wasn't here.
Silent. But never still.
Not really.
The rain had stopped, but its memory stayed.
It lingered on the windows. It echoed in my head.
I was sitting on the floor, knees pulled to my chest, hoodie sleeves wrapped around my hands. My phone was face down on the carpet. Turned off. But even turned off, it terrified me.
Every time i thought about powering it on, my body tensed. My heart started to beat in the back of my throat.
Because i could hear it again. That voicemail.
"Au, please be safe. They're trying to get you… They're trying to kill you, they're plan—"
It played on loop in my head, over and over, the same desperate gasp in Luis's voice before it cut off.
I never got to hear the end.
And now, I never would.
It was supposed to be over. The press. The chase. The accusations. The stares.
But even in hiding, my body didn't believe the danger had passed.
The safe house had no clocks. I didn't know how long it had been since Lance stepped out to get groceries and meds.
Thirty minutes? An hour? It felt like three.
I kept glancing at the door.
Every creak in the hallway outside made me flinch.
Every shadow under the doorframe made me freeze.
And my mind?
It was the worst traitor of all.
What if they found us?
What if someone followed him back here?
What if he didn't come back at all?
My head spun with spirals i couldn't stop.
What if Judge Javier already knew where i was? What if Julius wasn't acting alone? What if they were watching us right now?
I hadn't even looked out the window all day. I couldn't.
The thought of seeing someone, anyone out there made my stomach twist.
So i sat there, in the corner of the living room, blanket wrapped around my shoulders, unable to breathe like a normal person. Unable to stop replaying Luis's voice in my head.
That voicemail haunted me more than any headline ever did.
Because Luis didn't sound scared for himself.
He was scared for me.
I remember the day he left me that message.
I didn't pick up when he called.
And when i didn't answer, he left that voice note.
Then he was gone.
"Don't do this," I whispered to myself, squeezing my eyes shut.
But the memory was already dragging me under.
Luis used to knock on my dressing room door three times, always three.
He said it was a lucky number.
I'd roll my eyes every time, but deep down, I found it comforting. That rhythm. That routine.
He brought me my favorite coffee when shoots ran late. Knew how i liked my food without asking. Held my hand in public even when we were "just friends" because he knew crowds overwhelmed me.
He wasn't perfect.
God, no.
But he was kind.
And now, he was a ghost in my voicemail.
My body started shaking.
Subtle at first, then all at once.
It wasn't cold.
It was fear.
I felt it crawling under my skin like something alive. Like something that didn't want to leave me alone.
I reached for my phone again.
Still off.
I didn't turn it on.
I just held it in my palm.
It was stupid but somehow, it made me feel like I was holding onto him.
The door buzzed.
Not the front door.
Not the actual safe house door.
But the gate downstairs.
The intercom.
I jumped so hard i knocked over the mug beside me. Tea spilled all over the carpet.
My pulse spiked instantly.
I couldn't breathe.
Was it Lance?
He wouldn't buzz.
He had keys.
He said he'd text me when he was outside.
But my phone was still off.
Panic flooded through me like a tidal wave. I ran to the kitchen, grabbed the knife we used for cooking, hands trembling so violently i almost dropped it.
I crept toward the small monitor by the door, the one that showed who was outside.
My fingers hovered over the screen.
I tapped it. The image loaded.
Empty.
No one was there.
I stared for a full minute.
Still no movement.
Then the buzzer went off again.
I nearly screamed.
My knees went weak.
The camera glitched and suddenly, there was someone standing just at the edge of the frame.
Just a shadow.
A coat.
Nothing clear.
But i knew they were watching the door.
I slammed the monitor off and backed away, heart slamming in my chest.
My voice didn't work.
I tried to scream but nothing came out.
Then the lock clicked.
I froze. Knife raised.
The door opened—
And Lance stepped in.
His eyes immediately scanned the room. "Aurora?"
I dropped the knife.
It hit the floor with a dull thud.
Then i broke.
I ran to him.
Practically collapsed into his arms, sobbing so hard i couldn't form words.
He wrapped himself around me, holding the back of my head. "Hey, hey, hey… it's me. I'm here. I'm here."
"I—I thought—I thought—" I gasped, unable to finish.
He pressed his lips to my temple. "I know. I know. I'm so sorry, I took longer than I said."
"There was someone downstairs," I choked out. "I swear, I saw someone on the monitor—"
He guided me to the couch slowly, still holding me close. "I checked the street. No one followed me. But i'll double-check the cameras. I promise."
I buried my face into his chest again. "I can't breathe when you're not here."
"You're safe now," he whispered. "I'm here. I've got you."
Later, after i calmed down, after the cameras showed no one there, not really, just shadows and maybe tricks of the light, I still couldn't shake it.
That fear didn't leave me.
Even as i curled into Lance again that night. Even as he kissed my forehead and pulled the blanket tighter around us. Even as his steady breathing wrapped around me like armor.
The fear stayed.
I didn't know how to live without it anymore.
But i did know this:
If they thought i'd run forever, they were wrong.
I wasn't going to hide for the rest of my life.
Not anymore.
Because Luis didn't die for me to be afraid.
He died trying to protect me.
And i wasn't going to let that go to waste.
Not a fucking chance.