All Chapters of There Is No Aurora For Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

I took a deep breath, turned off my phone, and looked at the man standing before me.“Lennon York, I’m not messing around. I’m serious.”Lennon pulled me into his arms.“Be a bit more sensible. I promised Chloe Cole I’d fulfil that wish slip. I can’t go back on my word, can I?”My heart ached like it was being torn apart.For that plane ticket, I had worked day and night at the coffee shop. The unreasonable customers pushed me to the point of tears.To save money, I even lived in a leaky rental apartment and could not bring myself to eat a proper meal. I lost thirty pounds in a single month.Lennon had seen all of this.Yet he still transferred every penny I had saved to Chloe.A dense, bitter ache crept over my heart. I lowered my gaze.“Lennon, let’s break up.”Lennon’s breathing grew heavy.“Leal Sawyer, don’t speak out of anger. It’s the same thing if we were to visit your mom again during the semester break.”As he spoke, he tied on his apron.“How about we have cray

Chapter 2

Neil was my mom’s best friend’s son. We grew up together.It was not until we got into the same high school that he found out I had a crush on Lennon.From then on, he would not stop nagging me.“Leal Sawyer, wake up! He doesn’t like you at all. The only reason he talks to you is to catch a glimpse of your best friend.”I did not believe him. So, I made a bet with him that I would definitely win Lennon over.The bet was that wish slip.From then on, I persistently wrote love letters to Lennon.Finally, outside the SAT venue, he confessed his feelings to me with a bouquet of flowers.Neil rolled his eyes.“It looked like he was confessing to you, but his eyes were glued to your best friend the whole time. Maybe he was just doing it out of spite. Leal, can’t you be a little smarter?”I ignored him and threw myself wholeheartedly into my romance and part-time job.I overlooked the fact that Lennon had agreed to pick me up after work but was called away by Chloe with just one ph

Chapter 3

My eyes stung a little. Then, I replied. [Okay.]My phone vibrated violently. Lennon was calling.“Leal, Chloe and I are at the mall. What color suitcase do you like?”I was taken slightly aback.Just as I was about to speak, Chloe’s voice came through the phone.“It has to be pink! All girls love pink. So, Leal definitely does too!”Lennon asked me.“Is that okay?”I lowered my gaze. There was a pang of sadness in my heart.“Lennon, I like blue.”He did not reply because he was helping Chloe pick out clothes.“Get this one. It’ll go great with the snowy scenery at the auroras. Perfect for great photos! Get two fox-fur scarves too. Then, you can take best-friend photos of me and Leal!”Only after she finished speaking did she remember I was on the other end of the line.“Leal, I’m sorry I broke your mom’s necklace today. I’ll pay for the clothes. Consider it an apology!”The words about my fur allergy got stuck in my throat. I gave a soft hum and hung up.At that moment,

Chapter 4

Lennon sounded a little impatient.“What’s wrong? I’m at a party.”I fought back the pain in my stomach and crouched down, while leaning against the wall for support.“I’m not feeling well. Can you come back?”“If you’re not feeling well, take some medicine first. Everyone’s here. It wouldn’t be right for me to leave.”As if afraid I would read too much into it, he added, “Be a good girl. Do as I say.”A metallic taste filled my mouth.A second before he hung up, I heard Chloe laughing heartily on the other end.I forced a smile and dialed Neil’s number.Less than ten minutes later, someone rang the doorbell.A second before I lost consciousness, I saw that figure pause for a moment, then rush toward me in a panic.“Leal!”When I woke up again, the burning sensation in my stomach had eased up quite a bit.Neil was leaning over the bed. He instinctively handed me a cup of warm water with his brow furrowed.“Why didn’t you call me sooner?”The curtains billowed in the bree

Chapter 5

From then on, Lennon started a cold war with me on his own.To provoke me, he deliberately took a bunch of staged photos with Chloe and posted them on his Stories.Below the posts, classmates left comments one after another.[No way! Seriously, Lennon, have you two finally ended up together?][It’s great that you finally broke up with Leal. She’s so dull. How could she ever be as easy-going as Chloe?]Chloe could not stand it anymore and spoke up for me.However, from the beginning till the end, Lennon did not say a single word. It was as if he were deliberately trying to provoke me into reaching out to him.With five hours left before my flight, he finally could not sit still any longer and came home to look for me.However, he realized his key would not open the door.The door swung open, and a head peeked out.“You must be the previous tenant? That girl moved out. She asked me to give this to you.”Lennon took it. It was a printed IOU.It listed all of my summer vacation

Chapter 6

Lennon completely froze.“I’m sorry, Leal. We’ve known each other for so long that I always tend to confuse your likes with Chloe’s. But nothing really ever happened between us. Can you believe me?”I looked at him straight in the eye.“I believe you. But Lennon, emotional infidelity is still infidelity.”Lennon fell silent.Chloe had a carefree, easygoing personality. No matter what he threw at her, she could handle it with ease.So, compared to me, someone who was quiet and introverted, he preferred spending time with her.“Leal, I’ll keep my distance from her from now on. Will you give me another chance? Didn’t we agree to go to the top universities together?”Lennon’s eyes were teary and red.However, as I watched him, I felt nothing in my heart.“Lennon, I’ve given you plenty of chances. But every single time, you’ve unwaveringly chosen Chloe. As for college applications, I didn’t apply to any of the top universities. I’ve always wanted to go to the south—to a city where

Chapter 7

I replied with a simple hum.There was a long silence on the other end, then she spoke again.“Why? Is it because of me? Leal, we’ve been friends since we were kids. Are you seriously suggesting something is going on between Lennon and me?”I asked in return. “Not even a little bit?”After the SATs, Chloe got drunk one night and dragged me aside to talk at length.She had said, “Leal, did you know? Actually, I like Lennon too. I really like him a lot, a whole lot. But since you like him, I can’t compete with you for him.”I snapped out of my reverie, but Chloe was still ranting and raving. I stared at the screen and suddenly felt it was all pointless.“Chloe, you know how close we’ve been for over a decade. But with some things, once there’s even the slightest hint of a spark, there’s no going back. Let’s unfollow each other.”I hung up and stared at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep for a long time.Did I feel reluctant to leave? Of course, I did.Mostly though, I felt regr

Chapter 8

College life was rich and varied. However, it was not as laid-back as my high school teachers had made it out to be.I was constantly dashing back and forth between classrooms every day, on top of doing homework. I wished I could split myself into three to handle it all.Fortunately, Neil and I applied to the same university.When I was at my wit’s end, he sent me flowers. On holidays, he bought me tickets so we could fly back abroad together.During that time, my dad came to campus to look for me a few times.However, I never showed up. Instead, I gathered evidence of his affair and how he had embezzled child support. Then, I posted it in his company’s group chat.It cost him his job.“Leal, my mom was on a business trip and spotted a dress. She thinks it would look great on you. Want to take a look and see if you like it? Don’t worry about saving her money. Her biggest wish in life is to have a daughter. She’d love to buy you a whole new closet.”I paused for a moment, then n

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