Aloura West | ✓

Chapter Eighteen

Aloura folded her arms over her chest and blinked at Kaden who towered over her angrily. She was cold, tired and hungry, she wasn't in the mood to talk to Kaden. She found herself feeling like that a lot recently. She couldn't stand anyone, except Elias and Annie of course.

"why're you still in Cambro?" Aloura asked awkwardly after a moment of silence. She didn't mean the question in a rude way, but it certainly sounded like it, so Kaden scoffed.

"What are you? A fucking migration officer? I can come and go as I like" he sneered, his voice hostile and his eyes dark. Aloura pursed her lips in a thin line and nodded, she wiped the sheen of sweat that covered her hand on her sleeves. She didn't mean to anger him already, but she could not think of a single thing to talk to him about. Kaden sighed, taking a step towards the anxious girl. "What happened to us Aloura?"

"You" Aloura frowned like it was obvious- except it was obvious. To everyone but Kaden it seemed. "Ever since you've gone to college you changed."

"Ever since your mum died you changed!" Kaden cut her off, his voice raising with every word he spoke. "You became distant. You don't come over or let me over!"

"Yes, Kaden it's called grieving"

"For how fucking long?" Kaden's words left his lips before he could stop them, and before they reached Aloura's ears, he began apologising. "Baby. I didn't mean that." Kaden's hands reached out for Aloura's shoulders who shrieked and stepped out his reach.

"Don't call me that." Aloura pushed his arms away from her body. Her shoulders now stiff and breathing laboured. It felt wrong for someone other than Elias to call her a term of endearment, even though technically Kaden was her boyfriend. Kaden's eyes followed Aloura's anxious movements in silence- and that only seemed too scare Aloura more.

"Kaden, we need to talk." Aloura spoke after a few moments of silence, her heartbeat rang in her ears in anticipation of his reaction.

Kaden didn't reply, but he stepped back and watched Aloura, so she took his silence as an invitation to continue. "I can't be with you anymore. I thought you were what I needed but I've now realised you're not what I need" Aloura watched her shoes, "or what I want."

Kaden's heart sank. He loved Aloura, in a weird way. But loved her, nonetheless. His extra curricula activities at college were nothing but one-night stands. He didn't see them as cheating, rather living the college life. "What? But" Kaden swallowed. "we've been together for" Kaden racked his brain but came up empty, "For so long."

Aloura smiled bitterly, "I thought we were meant to be."

"We are meant to be. Aloura I'm sorry."

"If we were meant to be, Kaden" Aloura sighed as tears filled her eyes. "Then we would have been. But were not." Her tears were not for Kaden, or the end of their relationships. But for officially outgrowing the girl her mother knew.

"So, this is it?" Kaden whispered, tears filled his own eyes and desperation laced in his words. "All for that bitch."

"Don't call him that" Aloura stepped into Kaden's face, she pressed her finger in his chest, "you don't know him."

"I don't know you either it seems. The more I get to know you the more I realise I don't know you at all" Kaden snapped grabbing Aloura's hand off his chest. "You never used to speak to me like this." He dropped Aloura's hand. "I don't like the version of you that he brought out."

"The version you can't control or manipulate?" Aloura laughed, she walked towards her doorstep, away from where Kaden stood. "If you want to play this way, have fucking fun with Amriss."