I wake up thanks, or because of my alarm clock, it's already 8 a.m. I have to get ready for my Sunday jog. These last weeks, I did it with Elias. Well, I mean that Nala always finds a way to reach him, so we decided, in some way, to run together, much to Nala's delight.
It's peaceful, we run alongside, each with our music. We just appreciate the other's presence, I guess. I think that's a good thing, it pushes me to run at a better pace to match his. It's like a little challenge, and Nala really enjoys it too, I believe it's a win-win situation.
"What are you listening to?" He asks me as we stretch out on the grass, Nala playing with his shoelaces.
I give him my phone while I start playing with Nala, he's probably digging through my playlists. It's a moment that I always feel uncomfortable with, I don't know why, but showing someone your playlist is a bit private, and I'm a coward.
"You have good taste, you know, much better than Jason, for sure. It's nice to hear those in French and Spanish." He hands me his phone as I raise an eyebrow, puzzled, while Nala jumps on him, knocking him back onto the grass, making him laugh as she licks his face.
"It's only fair if I show you mine too, and maybe you'll leave me yours for next time since it's better than mine." He laughs again and begins to playfully fight with Nala, while I go into his phone, seeing a photo of the boys and him on the home screen. I could do whatever I want right now, but I'm not a freak, so I go straight to his playlists, seeing that he has great tastes too.
Maybe I could use his phone while he uses mine, only because he asked of course, not because I want to.
"You're not too bad yourself," I say, handing him the phone back as he dusts off, trying to get the grass off him and in his hair. It's probably time to go home, I'm so hungry.
"Thank you." I help him get the grass out of his hair while he lets me do it, just looking at me. He's sitting on the grass while I'm squatting in front of him, letting me reach for his head, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to see the top.
I can feel Nala playing with my legs, he tries to stop her, laughing and tickling my legs unknowingly. I'm struggling with a piece of wood stuck in one of his curls when suddenly I loose my balance because Nala jumps behind me. On top of that, I fall, and he catches me, obviously since I'm falling on him. I bet he's as red as me, knowing his head wasn't really in the right place. He helps me up, asking if I'm okay as I nod and start to laugh in embarrassment. He scratches the back of his head and avoids my eyes, while Nala barks as if enjoying the scene.
"That little prick, she'll be the death of me," I say trying to ease the embarrassment. He chuckles awkwardly, while I pat Nala, sighing as she barks happily at me.
"Guess it's time to go home, thanks for today. See you later, maybe Monday or anytime." We go our separate ways and I start a little breakdown when he's out of sight, asking Nala why she's doing this to me. I sob dramatically, letting myself fall onto the grass, my arms outstretched, growling in exasperation and tearing the grass out as she comes next to me and snuggles up to me, barking and banging my head affectionately, like every time I have a crisis.
****
Later, Camila and Peter came over to the house, we chilled with Noah, Jason, and Diego, and watched a horror movie, eating like we haven't eaten for eight days in a row. We chatted and just enjoyed our last day of the weekend, doing everything but our homework.
After dinner with dad and the boys, we watched a movie and then went straight to bed because there is school tomorrow. Obviously, I fell asleep late because, as always, I have a hard time having good thoughts and decreasing my anxiety which keeps me awake for most of my nights.
"Ava?" Dad shakes me as I regain my composure after, once again, having a nightmare.
"Ava, please? Breathe in and out. Noah, can you bring me some water please," he says as I break down into his arms, while he gets into the blanket with me and hugs me, feeling him tense.
"It's okay, I'm here now," he whispers, stroking my hair as I shake and sob uncontrollably again, Noah giving him a glass of water and sitting on the end of the bed.
"I'm sorry," I cry as he hugs me tighter, while Noah apologizes to walk out of the room, making me feel guilty, knowing that he is probably trying to erase that memory of my breakdown again.
"I love you, Ava, I really love you, with all that I have. You, all of you, and your mother are the best things that have happened to me. I can't stand you like this. I don't want you to suffer like this. I wish I could do something, I really do."
"You're doing enough daddy, I love you too. I love you, I'm sorry." He hugs me again as I wipe away my tears. "Can you... stay with me tonight?" He sighs and nods, adjusting himself on my bed and kissing me on the forehead before waiting for me to fall asleep again.
****
"Come on, shake your ass, Ava. You'll be late if you don't get up right away." I growl as my dad removes the sheets from my head, causing me to bury myself under my pillow.
I still feel tired and have a slight headache, but I'm fine, even more so when I see the grimace on Mackenzie's face that reminds me of the events of last week.
She's been glaring at me all morning, but every time Jay appeared next to me, she rolled her eyes and looked away, making me smile. Mia, Camila, and Lucy spent the morning smiling broadly when they saw how angry she was with me. They were proud of me for having stood up for myself last week, and happy because Mackenzie was put in her place for once.
Frankly, I like to make her angry and yell at her, but now I don't care. I just don't want her to bother me or make me angry anymore, I hope she will definitely stop now, that's all.
"I don't believe it!" Mia and Nina arrive in the bathroom, joining me and Camila doing makeup while Lucy does her hair.
"What happened?" I ask them as Mia grunts and frowns, sighing and looking quite pissed off.
"Roberts is what happened!" Lucy raises an eyebrow as Cami and I share a puzzled look.
"Please elaborate, we don't understand what the problem is," Camila says as Nina glares into space and Mia sighs.
"I was supposed to partner up with Elias, but that stupid, freaking girl. Argh, I hate her!" I frown upon hearing his name, finding myself wanting to know more about it.
"Of course, he agreed! He's as stupid as her, maybe they're perfect for each other," she says, gritting her teeth, as I try to stay as stoic as possible.
"I'm not sure that I understand everything." Camila nods at Lucy as I just look at Mia, she already looks at me suspiciously, making me look at her curiously.
"Elias and Mia were supposed to do Mr. Carman's project together, but Mackenzie decided she wanted to be with Elias. So Elias changed partners without really telling Mia." I frown and grit my teeth as Mia sighs and folds her arms.
"It's not really his habit to act like that, especially with someone Jason had an argument with a few days ago. Besides, he likes you, Mia. I don't know why he wouldn't want to do it with you and choose her instead?" Cami wanders about it as the girls nod and start to think about it, while I excuse myself and start to leave the bathroom.
"Ava, where are you going? We're supposed to eat together!" I don't listen to Camila as I close the door and make my way to the cafeteria.
I walk in and spot the boys, but surprisingly he's not with them. I sigh and walk over to their table. "Where is he ?" Noah looks at me strangely and Jared raises an eyebrow, the others stopping doing what they are doing to look at me.
"Who ?" I sigh, but suddenly see him eating with none other than Mackenzie in person, making me snort and roll my eyes.
"Nevermind." They all stare at me in bewilderment as I leave and walk over to the table, staring at Mackenzie as she smirks when she spots me.
"Well, hello there. Sorry to disturb your nice little lunch, but I need to talk to you." I try to avoid her spiteful smile as I look at him with a blank face, his brow furrowed as if trying to decipher something about my behavior.
"Can't you say it now?" I snicker and shake my head as he looks at me puzzled, Mackenzie sighs and repeatedly pats the table with her perfect manicure. But he then gets up and follows me to an empty table away from the others. I spot the guys looking at us strangely as I just walk with a blank face, hearing him sigh behind me.
"So, what's up?" He asks casually, dropping down on the chair as I do the same.
"You know."
"Enlighten me," he says playfully, boiling me inside. The thing is, I don't know why it matters that much.
"Why her?"
"Are you really doing that? What are we, three?" I roll my eyes and cross my arms as he simply looks at me.
"It's a rather simple question, just answer me."
"And why not her?"
"Because Mia is your friend, and she was supposed to be the one with you, not this little piece of-"
"So, it's only because you don't like her?" I glare at him but say nothing. "And why are you the one confronting me?"
"She didn't ask me to come!" He scoffs and then smirks, making me even angrier.
"So why are you doing this if she hasn't asked?" I grit my teeth and don't respond because I know I don't have a valid excuse except that I blame Mackenzie more than anything and don't want her to get what she wants every time.
"I'm all ears, Avalon."
"You know what, do whatever you want. I don't care anyway." I start to get up and leave but he grabs my wrist causing me to turn around to face him.
"Why are you so triggered by this? You are not the person concerned right now, are you? So tell me, why are you reacting like this?"
"I'm not-"
"Yes, you are." I release myself from his grip and leave him, spotting the girls joining the boys and all staring at us, then go grab something to eat and go to their table still fuming with anger.
"What was that all about?" Jason asks me worriedly as I sit next to him.
"He's a piece of shit, that's it and it's nothing new at all. It has always been like that." Everyone looks at me questioned or surprised as Jay frowns.
"I'm confused."
"Hi confused, nice to meet you, I'm lost," James answers Marco, making me crack a smile, causing him to wink at me as I roll my eyes at them. The rest of lunch is quiet for me, I'm just busy eating and wandering my thoughts, blocking out all other sounds.
After that, he glanced at me and stared at me all day. I did my best to avoid him but to no avail. The girls questioned me but I just said it wasn't Mia's story and it was normal for us to fight and I was angry with him. They didn't seem to believe it, but they let me go anyway.
I quickly explained to my brothers that I was just defending Mia and they bought the story, well I guess. I didn't try to respond to Mia's requests and avoided telling Emma about it even though I know Jay probably spilled the tea anyway.
𝟸:𝟶𝟽 / 𝙴𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚜 : 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚒𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛.
I left him on read.
Yes, I appreciate that he did this, although I don't know why or if he's telling me the truth. But deep down, even though I don't want to admit it to myself, I appreciated it.
But why did I really react like this, and why did he feel the need to justify himself?