A Peculiar Time in 1944 - A Millard Fanfic (Miss Peregrine's Home) #wattys2020

Chapter 99

"You're one of us now. You won't get rid of us that easily." {Miss Alma Lefay Peregrine, pg 434 book 3}

Their vacation weekend ended all too quickly for Aurora as Miss Peregrine said goodbye to Miss Aufa and thanked her for allowing them to visit. The old ymbryne seemed overjoyed to have had company and hugged each of the children goodbye before they left. Aurora sat on the wooden stairs looking out over the beach and the waves, most of the others had already gone back but she was among the few who were still readying themselves to go. Emma and Claire were gathering a few last minute shells and she watched them with a smile off in the distance. She heard footsteps behind her and Millard sat beside her a moment later draping an arm across her shoulders.

"We can come back, you know." He said trying to cheer her up as he placed a kiss on her temple and whispered, "We still have a honeymoon to plan after all."

She felt her face heat up with a raging blush as Emma and Claire appeared at the bottom of the stairs ready to go. Emma seemed to notice the look on Aurora's face and when their eyes met briefly Aurora knew the blonde would find a way to interrogate her later. Using Claire as a distraction she asked the little girl what kind of shells she found as Aurora took her tiny hand and they made their way back to the door that would take them into the halls of Bentham's house. She heard Emma ask Millard what they'd been talking about but he only muttered a quiet "Nothing."

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Quite some time passed after their trip and Emma had still heard no word back from Jacob. She was clearly starting to worry, Aurora would often find her pacing the halls with a look of deep thought on her face, she'd barely touch her food at supper. Even Millard had admitted to following her around unseen, he was so worried for his friend, and he'd overheard her muttering to herself but couldn't make out what she'd been saying.

"Emma –" Aurora tried after weeks had passed and the blonde's behavior hadn't improved.

"Don't try to comfort me Aurora, I'm not distraught I'm angry!" she snapped not halting her pacing in front of the fire in the library. Some of the others stopped what they were doing to watch the exchange while others buried themselves deeper into their books and games to avoid being snapped at.

"Are you sure?" Aurora pressed on not letting Emma's harsh attitude get to her.

"This isn't like with Abe! Even if Jake had lost romantic interest in me he wouldn't just stop writing! With Abe his letters became less and less frequent over the years, Jake. . . Jacob's last letter said how much he missed us and the loops, how dull life seemed now and how it was hard earning his parents trust back after everything he'd put them through. To just stop writing. . something just doesn't add up."

"She does have a point." Millard spoke up nestled next to Aurora on the couch, one arm over her shoulders. "We all know Jacob was hesitant to leave the loop, he cares for all of us as much as he does his own family, for his letters to stop so suddenly . . ."

"Maybe there's a problem with the post?" Hugh asked trying to come up with a reasonable explanation, "We all saw the present when the wights had us, all those people bustling about, it's possible the post has just been slow."

Then Emma snapped her fingers like a light bulb had gone off, "The electrical letter!"

"Pardon?" Enoch asked from his chair looking up from his book.

"Jacob said in one of his letters that he'd set up a machinated postbox on something called a computer. Maybe he's been using that instead."

"How would we even check something like that?" Olive asked now intrigued by talk of something from the modern age.

"When I've left to fetch the post there's some kind of establishment I pass called an 'Internet Café' we can use a computer there."