Aurora hesitated, her face flushing slightly. "Well, um… I'm getting sleepy..."

I stared her down. "Derek told you not to tell me, didn’t he?" I called her out.

Aurora tried to brush it off, playfully patting her mouth, "Oh, this mouth of mine just can't keep secrets."

I took her hand in mine, my grip firm. "Tell me everything. I can handle it. If you only tell half the story, I'll just keep overthinking it and making it worse."

She sighed, her resolve crumbling. ...