Aurora continues to sob into her palm, her cries echoing throughout the dead silence in the room. Tiffany stands stock still, a hand covering her mouth as she looks between her husband and her daughter, no longer knowing what to believe. Charlie does nothing but glare daggers at Aurora's crumpled figure as her legs finally give way.

Tim stiffens, pulling a shocked Carrie closer to his side as he faces Aurora's parents.

"I think it'd be best if the two of you left," Tim states firmly. "The dinner has been cancelled."

"Don't tell me you're actually falling for her story," Charlie scoffs disbelievingly, pausing to allow his wife to back him up. When she doesn't say anything, he continues, not deterred in the slightest. "I hate to break it to you, Jonah, but Aurora is only with you for your money. Once that disappears, so will she."

"Unlike you, I actually know her," Jonah snaps, keeping calm for the sake of Aurora as he guided the still sobbing teenager back to her feet, careful to keep the distance she wants. "She would never do that. It's a shame your shitty parenting caused you to miss out on being there for this amazing girl. But it's too late now."

Jonah turns away from the group, planning to help Aurora back to his room. He pauses as he reaches the stairs, turning slightly to see the couple one last time.

"And, I promise that as long I'm around, you'll never get this close to her again."

××××

"Aurora," Jonah sighs, standing next to the bed with a plate in his hand. "You have to eat something."

The girl doesn't answer, continuing to stare blankly at the wall in front of her with swollen, red eyes while clutching Frederick to her chest.

"Please, Aurora," Jonah begs, his eyes welling up at the sight. Setting the plate down on his dresser, he sits next to her. Reaching to pull Aurora closer to him, he hesitates as she visibly flinches. "You need to eat."

When she doesn't answer, Jonah's tears finally begin to fall as he puts his head in his hands.

"Why haven't you left me yet?" Aurora murmurs hoarsely, her voice so quiet Jonah almost didn't hear her.

"Why would I?" Jonah asks, confused.

"I'm a fucking mess."

"You are not," he states firmly. "And if you think I'm going to think any less of you from what I've heard today, you're wrong. I still stand by what I said before we ran into your parents. You are perfect and I'm not going anywhere."

××××

Jonah sighs for the hundredth time that day, frowning as he glances down at the emotionally exhausted girl by his side.

It had been four hours since the incident with her parents, and Aurora had finally cried herself to sleep.

Carefully extracting himself from her side, Jonah's heart nearly breaks as the girl whimpers in fear, clutching Frederick closer to her chest.

Grabbing his phone off of the dresser, Jonah tiptoes out of the room, leaving the door open slightly. He heads across the hall, walking into his sister's room without so much as knocking.

Esther Grace jumps, her head snapping up from where she had been scrolling through her phone.

"Jo! Why didn't you kno-" She cuts herself off, noticing the troubled expression on his face. "Is Aurora okay? How's she holding up?"

"Will you keep an eye on her while I call someone?" Jonah asks, avoiding her questions. "I don't want her to wake up and see that she's alone."

"Of course I will," Esther agrees, climbing off of her bed. Giving Jonah a quick hug as she leaves the room, she mutters, "If you ever hurt this girl, we're kicking you out and keeping her."

Jonah cracks a brief smile as the door shuts behind Esther, thrilled that his family liked Aurora. Opting to celebrate later, his distressed mood returns as he dials a familiar number.

Carmen answers on the first ring.

"How's Aurora? Is she okay? Why hasn't she called me? Are you okay? Where's Aurora?" Carmen spouts off questions immediately, not bothering with a greeting. "Jonah?"

"Aurora just went to sleep." Jonah takes a deep breath, bracing himself for the conversation. "How much do you know about her parents? And I know she calls Mark's parents her's, but I'm talking about her biological parents."

"All I know is Aurora hasn't spoken to them since she was sixteen," Carmen says, growing more worried by the second. "What's going on, Jonah?"

"They showed up today," Jonah says, deciding not to go into detail. "So, of course, there was this huge argument and Aurora isn't handling it too well. I don't know how to help her and it's killing me."

Jonah's voice cracks as he thinks back to how broken and defeated Aurora had looked. Curled up against his bed and sobbing while all he could do was rub soothing circles along her back and whisper words of comfort.

"I wanted to fly her home immediately but she's on the 'no flight list'," Jonah continues to ramble, not giving Carmen time to answer. "And it's not like we can steal another car. But I can't ke-"

"Jonah!" Carmen cuts the frantic boy off, sounding equally as frazzled. "Don't leave, you haven't even been there for a full day."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Jonah unintentionally snaps, exasperated.

"We'll fly to Minnesota," the girl states simply.

"Carmen," Zach's voice can be heard in the background. "We can't ju-"

The phone call is ended, leaving Jonah unable to hear Zach's protests.

Jonah groans in frustration, beginning to pace the room as he tries to figure out what to do. Not long after, his phone rings, but it's not Carmen who calls.

"Hello," he answers wearily, the day's events catching up to him.

"Addi and I have booked a flight. We'll be there by tomorrow afternoon."