AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oh my God.
“Who’s this, mama?” he asks. His voice is so sweet and so innocent.
She wraps her arm around his shoulders and with her eyes locked on mine, she quietly says, “This is Avery.”
She knows my name.Of course she knows my name. But if she knows my name, she must know other things too. My face burns with embarrassment.
I can’t be here.
I can’t be a part of this.
Turning around, I wrap my coat around me more tightly and start walking quickly to my car. My chin quivers, and cold, wet flakes hit my face as my eyes flood with tears. My body feels numb from a lack of oxygen, so I suck in air through my nose to try and catch my breath.
This is horrible.
I’m devastated and drowning on the inside.
“Avery, wait!” I hear her call after me.
No way.
I am not going to stand here and subject myself to her questioning and judgment.
Why would he do this? Why would he ask me to be his and then bring her here?
I feel naïve and stupid. I feel tricked and used. I feel like succumbing to the grief that’s weighing me down, and it’s then I feel the footsteps behind me.
Is she coming after me? My heart starts racing even more.
No, he’s coming after me and my vision tunnels and darkens.
No! No! No!
This is not happening to me. Not here and not in front of her.
Looking down, I focus on the snow, on my boots, and the dark purple color of my coat. I need to stay in the present and not slip into the past.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
The crunching of footsteps behind me increases and grows louder. The driveway begins to disappear, and in an instant, it flashes to the hallway. The whiteness of the snow fades to darkness and tears drip down my face.
Wet snow on my face . . . cold rain soaking my skin.
The crunch of gravel . . . the roll of thunder.
Pounding footsteps . . . chasing footsteps.
Light . . . dark.
It’s going to happen.
It is happening.
Conscious chaos.
It's like it doesn't matter where I am, who I'm with, or what we’re doing. It's so sudden and so quick that I can’t even catch the transition into the vortex of complete and utter bedlam.
Panic swirls through me and I’m back there, in the dark, in the hallway, and as hard as I try, I know I’m not going to be able to escape him.
