Chapter 15

Aurora’s POV:

Darkness isn't empty. It hums. It breathes. It waits. That’s the last thing I remember before I come crashing back into consciousness.

My eyes flutter open to harsh white lights above me, blurry and too bright. Everything feels... off. Like I’m underwater, and the surface is too far to reach. My tongue is thick in my mouth. My head pulses in a slow, agonizing rhythm. I blink, trying to bring the world into focus.

Where the hell am I?

A dull ache blossoms in my ankle, radiating up my leg, and that’s when it clicks; the game. The court. The spike. My fall.

Jon’s voice, distant and panicked.

Arc’s face, twisted, unreadable.

"Hey, hey, Aurora?" A familiar voice cuts through the fog. I turn toward it too fast, and pain shoots through my skull. I groan.

Cali leans over me, her brows knit tight in concern, her messy bun frizzed around the edges like she’s been tugging at it. There’s a bandage on her wrist, probably from catching me.

"Thank God," she says with a shaky laugh. "b***h! You scared the crap out of me."

"What… happened?" My voice is hoarse, like I swallowed gravel.

She presses a cool bottle of water into my hand. "You fainted. Like, full collapse. Right after that spike from Arc."

I take a sip, wincing as it hits my dry throat.

"They said it was a concussion and a sprained ankle. You’ve been out for a while, almost an hour." Cali settles back into the chair beside my bed, gnawing on her thumbnail. "Jon and Arc carried you here like some weird Twilight fanfic."

I blink at her. "Wait… Arc carried me?"

"Yeah. He looked like he was frozen with no expression on his face, but Jon barked something at him and suddenly he was holding you like you were made of glass. It was intense."

I glance down at my ankle. It’s propped up and tightly wrapped in white gauze. "Doesn’t feel like I was carried gently."

"You should’ve seen the nurse’s face. She looked two seconds from calling an exorcist. Not kidding."

I almost burst out in laughter when a wave of dizziness hits me, and I lie back down. "Damn! It must have been bad then. Did Arc say anything?"

"Not really. Just stared. Then he left. Weird guy." Cali watches me carefully. "You okay? Like, really okay?"

I hesitate. The truth is… no. Something feels wrong. Like something inside me shifted, cracked open. But how do I even begin to explain that?

"I’m fine," I lie.

"Liar," she says, but there’s no heat behind it.

A pause hangs between us, heavy and awkward. The kind that always comes after something scary happens and no one knows what to say.

"I don’t remember passing out," I murmur. "Just… pain. Then nothing."

"Yeah, that’s normal, right? For concussions?" Cali shrugs. "But there was something else, right before it happened. It was weird as f**k. The lights flickered. Like in those old horror movies. A few people said it felt like the floor vibrated."

I shift uncomfortably. “Wow. Coincidence."

She raises an eyebrow. "You don’t believe in coincidences. You have never seen anything as a coincidence. Are you sure you are good?" She raises a brow at me, skeptical.

"I don’t believe in haunted gyms either. And I'm fine. Stop stressing me."

She snorts. "Tell that to my goosebumps."

The curtain shifts and the nurse enters; a stern woman in her fifties with square glasses and a clipboard clutched like a weapon. She eyes me with a tight smile.

"Miss Wane. You’re awake. Good. Any nausea? Blurry vision?"

"Headache," I admit. "And my ankle hurts."

"Expected. You’ll need to stay off it for at least a week. No running, no volleyball, no mysterious locker room fights, understood?"

Mysterious?

My stomach flips. "What?"

She eyes me over her glasses. "Just saying. Kids end up in here more than they should. Try not to make a habit of it."

I give her a weak nod.

She jots something down and moves toward the door. "You’re excused from the rest of the day. Your friend can walk you downstairs but no stairs. Use the elevator. We have tried to reach your guardians but no one was taking their calls so you friend might have to drop you off."

"Got it," Cali replies quickly.

The nurse pauses at the door. "Oh. There’ll be a school-wide announcement in a few minutes. You might want to stay tuned for that."

And with that, she disappears. That woman is hella creepy.

Cali helps me sit up. My whole body feels wrung out, sore and drained. Like something inside me tried to explode and left behind smoke and ash.

"You sure you can walk?" she asks.

"With you as my crutch? Absolutely. But I'm also very open to being carried like a princess." I wink at her. She laughs at my antics.

She helps me swing my legs over the side of the bed and slips her arm around my waist. "You know, not to be dramatic, but I seriously thought you died for a second. Like, your eyes were open but… not."

Okay, that's even weirder than the creepy nurse. My eyes were open but I was unconscious?

I decide to not push it further to prevent a can of worms from being opened.

I lean on her as we move slowly toward the door. "Thanks for catching me."

"Anytime. But next time maybe just don't die on me during P.E. Girl, that sun was already doing the most. Your sweaty body in mine only made it worse." She makes a disgusted face at me.

"My sweat is gold love." I say in a fake British accent.

We shuffle down the hallway. The school feels quieter than usual. Like everyone’s collectively holding their breath.

Then, over the speakers, a familiar voice crackles to life.

"Attention students," says Principal McAllister’s voice. "We have an exciting announcement to make. As part of our cultural enrichment program, this year’s annual school excursion will take place in....drumroll, please.......Australia!"

Cali squeals. "No way!"

"There will be limited slots, so keep an eye out for permission forms and sign-up details. Remember to get your parents or guardians to sign them on time to avoid being excluded from the final plans.Thank you."

The intercom cuts off.

"Australia?" I repeat, dazed.

Cali grins at me, eyes sparkling. " We are so going. I don’t care if I have to push you around in a wheelchair, Aurora. This is happening. I have waited all my life for this. Not only are we leaving this suffocating state, we will be leaving the country. I'm going to meet so many hot guys-"

Despite everything, my pounding head, my bruised ankle, the memory of Arc’s burning eyes, her rambling, I laugh. A real one.

For a moment, it feels normal again. But somewhere deep in my chest, a whisper curls like smoke. Nothing is ever really normal anymore.