Aurora 2025 with cover

Justin Sullins scared away by the echoes of the gunshot. Angie hugged Paul and told him not to be a stranger. Paul laughed at the situation and promised to stay in touch and keep up with her more. However, he still worried that something like this was bound to happen when he was around her. Angie asked him if he would still go to the funeral, and he told her he would think about it, but he knew that was a lie. He was leaving this town and not turning back. He didn’t understand her superstitious beliefs on what caused Austin’s death. He hadn’t believed in the supernatural since he spent time in jail. He figured if he was cursed, it would be better to ignore the force that destroyed him. His new pursuit was acknowledging reality. His life at home was not perfect, but at least he had the stability of a full-time job. Something Angie never had. She couldn’t hold down a job for more than a few months, and Paul attributed this to her ability to not accept the world for what it is. She was stuck in the past, a place he wanted nothing to do with. He found the highway from the back roads and didn’t even stop in town. He was sad that he would miss Austin’s funeral, but felt better off this way. He needed to not think about what happened and worry about his own problems back home. Sometimes the past is better off in the past, he thought as he exited the town. On the drive back, Paul thought about all the times he spent with Angie. He was reminded of all the arguing they did. He realized he needed to make his own decisions, move on with his life in New York, and get back to his workflow. He didn’t have time to walk through the woods or deal with places that didn’t change. He was in control of what happened in his life and no one could stop that. As he drove, he twisted the knob on the radio and heard the lyrics “never break the chain” come on, and he kept driving the speed limit down the highway. He pressed the cruise control button on his steering wheel, nodded to the lyrics of the song, and drove on.

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