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“I… fuck, shortcake. I don’t know what to say.”
“There is nothing to say. I spent years, years trying to be the daughter she so desperately wanted. But I eventually realized it would never be good enough for her.
“That I would never be good enough.”
“I know a thing or two about being an eternal disappointment,” I said.
“Look at us”—she flashed me a weak, sad smile that made my heart ache—“bonding over our shitty parents.”
Sliding my hand along her neck, I buried my fingers in the silky strands of her hair and lowered my head to hers. “You’re beautiful, Aurora Hart. Inside and out. I need you to know that.”
Her breath caught, a shy smile tugging at her lips. “I wish I could believe you.” I reared back, frowning, but she went on. “I have spent my entire life being told there is something wrong with me, Noah. Even if I wanted to believe you, those scars are too deep to let me.” She gave me a little shrug.
“That’s fucked up.” I sat back, running a hand through my hair.
“I was eight the first time a photographer told me my thighs were too big. Eight.”
Pure anger coursed through me, but I didn’t interrupt or argue because this was her story to tell, her truth to confront.
“It was a swimwear shoot, and all the other girls had these cute one-pieces on. I remember walking onto the shoot, and every single one of them looked at me like they didn’t understand. Like I didn’t belong there. Just because I didn’t have a thigh gap.” Brittle laughter spilled out of her.
“I hid in the bathroom for twenty minutes, hoping they would do the shoot without me. But my mom”—she made a harsh tsking sound in her throat—“my mom couldn’t let it go. She convinced the producer to let me be in the shoot still, but I had to go in the back, hiding myself under a beach towel while all the other girls ran around in their pretty swimming costumes.”
“That is…” I didn’t even have words.
“Only one story of many, sadly. Mom refused to listen to their feedback. Over and over, she made me go to shoots, begged casting agents and photographers to cast me. She had a lot of sway back then. But that never stopped their brutal honesty.”
“You don’t model now?” I asked.
“God, no. I would rather eat glass than ever step in front of the camera again. When I was twelve, I had a pretty awful experience with a photoshoot coordinator, and that was that.”
I sensed it wasn’t quite that cut and dry, but I didn’t push. Aurora had shared something deeply personal with me, and I didn’t want to overstep.
“Thank you for telling me. For trusting me. I’ll never repeat a single word of it. You have my word.”
She nodded. “Talking about it is never easy, and I’d prefer to pretend that it’s someone else’s childhood. But you deserve to know why I reacted so badly before… when I thought…” Her gaze dropped, shame leaking into the air around us.
“Hey, look at me.” I slid my fingers under Aurora’s jaw, coaxing her back to me. “You never have to shy away from me, shortcake. I look at you and…” Fuck, she was so beautiful, and she really had no idea. “You take my breath away.”
“Noah…”
“It’s true. I love your quirky t-shirts. The way you wear your hair all messy and effortless. I love your smile and the way you verbally spar with me. There isn’t a single thing I’d change about you.”
“I just don’t understand.” Her smile slipped. “You could literally have any girl on campus. Fallon… Harper… Sam.”
“Firstly, Fallon is screwing your brother. I will never go there again. Secondly, Harper ruined her chances with me the minute she became your friend.” I winked at her, and she chuckled softly, the sound like music to my ears.
Fuck, I loved her laugh.
“And lastly, I told Sam exactly where I stand with her.”
“I take it, it didn’t go well?”
“It was the strangest thing. She told me she was in love with me. When I told her I didn’t feel the same, she told me I was a selfish asshole, accused me of playing games with her, then told me she needed time from me.”
“Wow, that’s… I don’t even know what to say to that. She loves you.”
“She isn’t in love with me, shortcake, she’s in love with the idea of me. Part of me gets it. She caught feelings, and I didn’t. But I swear to you, I never made her think—”
