The Promise Path

~ Chapter Four ~

"No thank you Lucy, I can heat it up myself just fine." To demonstrate, Avery makes a small flame appear in the palm of her dominant hand, her right. Looking unsure, Lucy reluctantly nods in agreement and sits at the end of Avery's bed. Avery carefully reaches over and grabs the tray, sending some heat into it. The food and hot cocoa soon warm up and Avery stops, placing the tray on her lap. Lucy makes a sound of protest, causing Avery's head to fly up from the tray to catch Lucy's green eyes with her own brown ones.

"Won't the tray be too warm to put on your lap?" Lucy questions, obviously concerned about her friend's wellbeing. It makes Avery feel warm inside, knowing that there is someone out there who cares about her and doesn't see her as half-breed Fire Witch scum. Avery lightly laughs at Lucy's ignorance, reminding her friend,

"I'm a Fire Witch. High temperatures don't affect me like they do you. I'll be fine." A bolt of pain goes through Avery's heart as she realizes that Lucy is probably only so concerned because of what she tried to do last night. Avery resists the urge to sigh and make Lucy worry even more, if that's even possible. Instead, she decides to start eating her breakfast, even though she doesn't want to. Avery constantly feels like there's something wrong with her body, she just doesn't know what. It bugs her, which is why she doesn't eat much. However, Avery also knows that for a while, she will have to eat regularly. Her father, Jason, and Lucy will be watching her like a hawk.

As Avery eats her breakfast and Lucy sits on Avery's bed watching her, they hear the front door open. Avery's eyes widen in fear, which Lucy immediately notices, even though Avery disguises it well. Lucy smiles nervously at Avery and goes downstairs, where she is greeted with an unwelcome sight.

Her parents.

Avery finishes the little part of her breakfast that was left while Lucy is downstairs, all the while wondering what is going on. A few moments later, she hears Lucy yelling and immediately gets out of bed and rushes downstairs, ignoring her dizziness and weakened state. She struggles down the stairs as she hears Lucy's voice becoming louder and louder.

"I won't leave! Avery needs me!" Lucy shouts at the visitor.

"You are leaving with us right now Lucinda, this is not up for debate!" Lucy's mother screams back, making Avery realize why there is so much yelling. Lucy doesn't really get along with her parents, since they are both very discriminatory towards others, especially half-breeds and Fire Witches and Warlocks. Since Avery is both, Lucy's parents despise her. When Avery finally gets to the bottom of the stairs, she tries to yell over the arguing,

"Lucy!" The first few times Avery calls out for Lucy, she isn't heard. Finally, Jason turns and notices his daughter on the verge of collapsing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Avery, why are you down here? You should be in bed!" Jason exclaims, running over to Avery to support her. She wraps her arm around her father's shoulders and leans against him, fighting the exhaustion that threatens to drag her into sleep.

"Lucy..." Avery murmurs, her eyes dropping slightly. Lucy immediately rushes over to Avery and grasps her friend's hand in her own, staring into Avery's eyes worriedly.

"I'm here, what do you need Avery?" Lucy asks in a concerned tone.

"Go with your parents." Avery tells her, hurting her heart in the process. She doesn't want Lucy to leave, but she doesn't want Lucy and her parents to fight over her either. "It's for the best. I'll see you later." Lucy's eyes become sad, but she respects Avery's wishes and releases her hand. As Lucy backs away from Avery, she vows,