The Point of No Return {sequel to The Arbitrary life of Avery Blake [teacher]}

The Point of No Return {sequel to The Arbitrary life of Avery Blake [teacher]}20

Chapter 20

Light at the end of the tunnel-Relief overwhelmed me

I was walking unaccompanied around a deserted portion of Northern Bay Academy. I was trying to let peace and goodness seep into me. Silence overrun the Sunday-Monday midnight air as I kept to my walking. I couldn’t sleep; even the idea of sleep seemed farfetched to me. Then, suddenly, I stopped as a vision, a memory…a flashback took over until I couldn’t recognise my surroundings any more before they pieced together and I was nine again.

‘You’re an idiot! I hate you! Why are you doing this to me? Why do you do this to me every night!’ a woman screams as tears make their way down her cheeks. The words are directed at her husband as he holds a bottle in his hand; half of the liquid substance spilling onto the ground as he holds it at a peculiar angle. The man is badly intoxicated, almost to the point of alcohol poisoning.

‘Shut up, wom-an!’ he screams and before she realizes, he throws the bottle towards her head. But luckily he is too drunk to realize which way is up, let alone to hit his target. The bottle smashes at a nearby wall, half a meter away from her head. The sound of the impact makes the house ring with bitterness. The bottle explodes, leaving the glass shards to separate and fly across the room until the whole area is covered in the tiny, hazardous pieces.

Meanwhile, two big, beady, green eyes look from behind a wall, the whole scene exposed to her innocence. It was me…nine years younger.

The fight escalated from there. In that moment, everything was blown out of proportion and I wasn’t sure what I was seeing.

I whimper and cry in fear and shock before backing away and running out the door, unnoticed by my foster parents.

I inhaled sharply as reality had finally found me.

What had just happened? First the bad dreams…and now this?

I fell to the soggy, moist ground and let the dark envelop me.

**

Time had escaped from underneath me as I had sat there, too shocked to move. When I had finally decided to stand up and attempt to go to my room, I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Needless to say, I didn’t get any sleep that night/morning.

When the sun had finally risen, only a few hours after my return, I decided to attempt to get ready for school.

I had taken the longest shower of my life (disregarding the ones I had taken after certain things had happened to me). But I simply stood there, letting the warm water trickle its way down my face. I let the heat engorge me until I felt it no more.

When I had finally gotten out and had changed into some decent clothes, I sat at the edge of my bed; guitar in hand.

I had realized I hadn’t even touched my guitar of late; how could i? You could say I’ve been preoccupied.

I began to gently strum the strings until it began to feel natural again.

An hour later, I placed my guitar back against the wall and went in search for my timetable which was somewhere in the mess I called my room. When my eyes finally found the ruffled sheet of paper, I extended my hands and got the sheet.

…Avery Blake, year 12, Term 3-4 Timetable…

Period 1: English: Miss Fletcher: D2

Period 2: Study/Free

Recess

Period 3: Maths: Mrs Stewart: B11