Innocence Auction (Book 1)

Chapter 6

Amabella

Waking the next morning, my head hurts and I just want to stay curled up in a ball. Apparently though, that was not to be. "Good morning sunshine" Emilia says, as she breezes into my room. I groan and bury my head under the pillow, in hopes she would disappear. I did not even know how she could be so chipper. She had not gotten in until gone 3am and she was wasted. I heard her telling everything to be quiet as she crashed into it. Her attempts to be silent last night were nothing but a failure. I had heard everything. "I have put a pot of coffee on" she says a moment, causing me to bring my head out from under the pillow. "Yeah, I thought the idea of coffee would make you move" Emilia says with a laugh. I groan and force myself to sit up. "How are you so happy" I mutter and Emilia offers me an oversized smile. "Admittedly I have had copious amounts of coffee and sugary treats" she says happily. I groan. Great she was on a sugar high. When she crashed later, she was going to suffer. I got out of bed and headed to the kitchen in search of the coffee I could smell. Pouring myself a large cup, I inhaled the scent of the coffee while I waited for it to cool down. "What are you doing today?" Emilia asks. "Nursing coffee and a hangover and catching up on emails" I say simply. Emilia shakes her head. "Wrong answer" she says and I groan. "Then why did you ask, if you already had plans for us" I say and she grins. "Just wanted to see if your plans were going to be anymore exciting. Apparently not. Go and get ready, we are off to the beach" Emilia says and I groan again before heading back towards my room with my coffee.

I loaded my emails up on my phone while I drank the rest of my coffee. 'A few moments to check my emails won't hurt' I thought as the screen came to life. I set about deleting irrelevant emails and then my eyes landed upon the one from last night. I groaned. There was no way I was working for him. It just was not happening. I did not care how good an opportunity it may or may not be. I could not bring myself to do it. Could not stomach the thought of being around him all day. Being made to do everything he asks of me. I just did not want to relinquish that much control to him. I wanted nothing to do with him. My sole purpose for having anything to do with that man had been achieved. I needed nothing more from him. My only plan now was to stay as far away from Abel Jaxx as humanly possible. So with that in mind, I quickly wrote an email back stating my gratitude but polite decline of their offer. I then set about getting ready for my day at the beach before Emilia came in and started shouting that I was not ready.

Getting to the beach, I spotted Raven sat with a group of guys I did not recognise. As I scanned the area, I noticed that Haiden was noticeably absent. "Hey girls, glad you could make it" Raven said, running over and giving us both an awkward hug. I was glad when the hug ended. I was not big on close contact. "Hey Raven. No Haiden?" I questioned and she offered me a sad smile. "He said after last night, he just couldn't face it" she says sadly and I cannot help but to feel guilt. He was not coming because of me. Because of what I had said. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "We will just have to have lots of fun without him" Emilia said trying to lighten the mood. I nodded but I really was not feeling it. I wished I had just stayed back at the dorms. Wallowing in my own misery and watching re-runs of my favourite shows on Netflix. But Emilia would never have allowed it. So here I was, being forced to sunbathe, swim, and socialise. The three S's I did not really like that much. I sighed and laid down on a sun lounger. "Can you rub Sun lotion on my back please" Emilia asked, holding out the bottle to me. "I'll do it for you Emilia" one of the guys said with a wink. Emilia rolled her eyes and I took the bottle from her. I then rubbed in the sun lotion, before wiping my hands clean on the towel. "Cheer up Amabella. The day is what you make it" Emilia says and I nod.

Several hours later and I was more than ready to be finished with the beach. I had sand in all the places sand should not be. My hair was matted and dry from all the saltwater and I was just miserable. I watched as Emilia jumped on the back of a guy she had been flirting with. I sighed and shook my head as I started to pack my things away. I actually could not wait for summer to be over. I did not want to lounge around and spend my time drinking the day away. I wanted to learn and get college out of the way, so then I could move on to getting the job I have always wanted. I sighed. I knew I was not a regular college student, as much as Emilia tried to ensure I had a regular college experience. Emilia emerged a moment later in fits of laughter. I envied a little how easy things seemed for her. She did not have a complicated home life or past, she did not have money worries and she was confident enough to throw herself into any social situation. I on the other hand, hated social interaction, had a complicated home life, and just did not seem to fit in. in all honesty I did not even know why Emilia and I were friends. I often think that if we had not been made roommates on the first day of college, then we would not even have become friends. I think the forced living arrangements formed out friendship. Not that I do not love her to bits as a friend, because I did. And I could not imagine doing college without her now. I just think, if circumstances had been different, we would not be friends. Our personalities and likes and dislikes were just polar opposites to each other. "We will binge watch Netflix when we get back and eat our body weight in ice cream. I promise" Emilia says softly to me as we pack up the last of our things. And just like that, I remember why we work so well as friends. She just gets me and she does not expect me to be something I am not.