Short Story Competition 2024 [CLOSED]

Entry 11 ~𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳...~

Author: ManiFuori (Quotev)

Genre: Romance

Word Count: 3047

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Ava lowers the blue cap to her working attire, before ringing the doorbell of Marcus's modern penthouse suite. Although Marcus may not remember her; Ava knows him well. It was just two weeks, two weeks that Ava pays forever. The only good thing that comes out of their casual incounter is her daughter, Amber. Amber is the sweetest, most loving child with hazel hair & eyes like her father. She is a healthy, five-year old & they are both capable of living without him. It has always been that way. Ava swears to herself & to her daughter that no man would ever ruin their lives again. Unfortunately, though, Ava was forced into a low paying job as a hydraulic & homeless. To make matters better, her ex calls the company in which she works in to fix a broken tube. Marcus answers the door, half-complaining & half-wondering, why the service takes so long to arrive. As soon as Marcus saw Ava trying to hide her face away from him, he cracks a wide grin. "Ah, you're Mary! I remember you." Ava scoffs, recognizing the ignorance of this man. He doesn't even remember her name after 2 weeks of burning passion. " I'm Ava," she forces a smile before continuing. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Brodinelli." Ava sticks out her hand, but obviously Marcus doesn't shake it. "Right, you're Ava." Marcus couldn't believe his luck. After all these years, Ava was still one of his favorite ladies of the night. "Even though our realationship didn't end well, we spent two great weeks together," Marcus continues. " I never knew you would look hot in this attire." Ava rolls her eyes. He never changed. "Show me where the tube is."

"Of course! Prego, Madam." In an overly-exaggerate gentleman motion, Marcus lets Ava inside of his home & leads her to the tube. After an hour of repairing, Ava sighs in relief finally glad to leave. Hopefully, she would never have to deal with him again. "Your water system should be working fine now. That would be twenty-four dollars." Ava puts out her hand for the cash. Sighing in disappointment, Marcus opens his wallet and places the bank notes in Ava's hand. As soon as Ava was about to leave, Marcus grabs her right arm. A long, intimate silence passes through them before Marcus leans forward, almost brushing his lips againest hers. Ava, however, manages to yank her arm away from his grip & escape the kiss.

Once outside, Ava breathes heavily & slides down againest the nearest bricked wall of a hidden alley, she can find; attempting to stop her own tears from falling. How can she ever be so foolish to fall in love with a guy like this? There were many signs showing that he was a heart-breaker & alot of people told her to stay away from him, but no one has made her feel good like the way he did. Even though she fell in love so blindly, now she has grown. She'll never fall in love again. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Ava walks to a bagel shop to buy 2 bagel sandwiches with salmon & cream cheese, a bottled juice, a water bottle and a cinnamon bun ( which happens to be Amber's favorite dessert) for lunch. That is already $12 off of her account. Ava also needs to pay the gas for the mini van which adds on to her expenses, so technically she works for free.

Returning to the dark blue Kia Sedona, Ava knocks the code she has taught Amber to do, so Amber knows how to be aware of strangers. Ava slides open the door to find Amber coloring in her book and a document from the school. Ava shoves herself inside the cramp space. "Mommy, you're home!" Amber cries out. " I'm hungary!" Ava leans forward to plant a kiss on Amber's head. "Yes sweetie, I bought good things home. But first, clear up your table so we can eat." As obedient as she is, Amber follows Ava's orders while grinning at her. Ava smiles back and picks up the document. "What's this?" The smile of Amber widens and her eyes fills with hope. "The school is giving music lessons, mommy. I want to play the piano!" Amber replies. Ava scim reads through the document, which informs her when the lessons took place and the prize. Twenty dollars a week. With the salary she earns & their contemporary living condition, Ava is uncertain if she can afford to send her daughter. "Honey, I need you to stay here. Mommy doesn't have enough money to for your lessons." Just like Ava suspects, Amber crosses her arms in front of her chest and pouts. "No fair! All of my friends can go and I can't!" Yup, this happens every single time. As in right now, Ava doesn't have the patience to please her caprice. "Amber." Ava warns. Amber not picking up the signal, continues her ranting "Why can't I have a home & a father like everyone else?" This question, leads Ava to slap her daughter accross the face. Amber places her hand on the pink spot and quivers her lips, while Ava looks dumbfondly at Amber. "You are so mean!" Amber starts to cry. Nothing, though, could stop Ava's anger over nothing. "And you are such a pain!" Realizing what she just did, Ava takes a few deep breaths to calm down & offers a small smile. "You got this character from me." Amber sniffles before answering, "Or from my daddy." Ava doesn't have the time to reply since there's a knock on the door. Ava's smile, all of the sudden, becomes force. "Honey, you stay here and eat. Mommy will check what's going on." Amber nods & picks up her bagel sandwich.