Avery all the way to her home cried that her vision blurred and her eyes were bloodshot red. Danni's words hurt her badly and scarred her heart. She lied to her by pretending to be together no matter what but it turned out quite the opposite. Danni played her and that's what she thought, but what she really didn't know was Danni's real intention behind all this mess. Danni knew that she hurt Avery but she did it to protect her from being in the same situation as Danni herself, being poor and uneducated, having a hard life to earn the living. As much as she knew there were other solutions like Avery getting a part time job, Danni didn't want her to lose her family in the process, so she had to do what Meredith wanted all alone. To stay away from her lover.
Avery parked the car outside her house and sniffled. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying and she looked pale, not to mention the wet stains on her shirt. She entered her house and found her mom sitting with her glasses up to her nose, reading an article on her laptop. Once she saw Avery, she stood up from her place and walked over to her and hugged her daughter.
"It's okay" said Meredith rubbing her back.
"...You were right, mom. She doesn't love me" After ranting to her mom and crying for what felt like forever, Avery pulled away once her cries subsided and her mom wiped away her tears and caressed her auburn locks. "Can I go to my room?" She sniffled. "I feel tired"
"Of course, dear" She grabbed her face and pecked her daughter's forehead, wishing her goodnight.
Avery left her and went upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her and felt her heart break again.
Meredith was looking up at her room wondering if she did the right thing for her daughter. Part of her was relieved that they broke up but the other part showed concern and guilt that was eating her up inside because her daughter got heartbroken not because of Danni but because of her mother.
As for Danni after Avery's departure from her house and from her life, she was sitting hiding her face in her palms and tears already were filling her eyes and her face. She couldn't move from her place. Her body was paralyzed from the events that broke her heart and every bone in her body. She heard a knock on the door and she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand then headed to the door. She opened it and found Julie smiling at her but her smile dropped when she saw Danni's painful eyes that were glassy and tired.
"Danni" she said softly. "What happened?"
She looked down and couldn't speak, so Julie gave her a hug and rubbed her back.
"Tell me what happened"
She took her hand and sat on the couch beside Danni, with her hand stroking her back. Danni wiped her tears again and began to speak.
"I broke up with Avery"
"... Why?"
"It's... It's complicated. I don't wanna talk about it now" She buried her face in her palms again and Julie leaned her chin on her shoulder giving Danni a light squeeze.
**************************
In the morning, Avery woke up, feeling tired from crying last night. She sat on her bed feeling depressed and she checked her phone, hoping that it was just a nightmare and none of it was true but to her misfortune she had to live with the bitter truth. She found April text message from last night, around the time she went to bed.
~Why didn't you come over to my house last night? Did you change your mind?~
She looked at the text for a while contemplating whether to text or not. If she texted, her best friend would get worried about her state of mind but at the same time Avery knew she needed April, so she texted back.
~I'm sorry... Something happened last night... I couldn't come over~
She put the phone on the nightstand and there was a buzzing sound and she grabbed it again.
~Where are you now? Are you at Danni's?~
~... No. I'm at my mom's. Danni and I broke up yesterday~
~Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Ave... You know what, I'm coming right now~
30 Minutes later, April arrived and headed upstairs after greeting Meredith before she headed out. She knocked on Avery's door and let herself enter. She saw Avery lying on the bed, looking depressed with exhausted eyes. She went over to her side and wrapped her in a tight hug and Avery began to sob.
"I'm here now, it's okay" She stroked her hair and shushed the sobbing girl.
"... She broke up with me and I don't understand why. We were... together in it and the next thing I know she broke up with me and I don't know why or what I did wrong"
"Why? Did she say the reason?"
"... No, she only said that this was the only way I won't lose my family and... she doesn't love me" A set of fresh tears ran down her face. "If she really loved me like she said, she wouldn't have left me. We would have fought this together"
"Calm down, okay? It's going to be okay. I'll call Steve and understand everything from him. He is with her now, I guess"
"No!" She semi-shouted at her friend. "I don't want anything to do with her. It's over..." She wiped her tears and looked at April. "The finals are coming and I need to focus on my studies now. I don't care about her"
Meanwhile Danni was at the garage, trying to focus on her job but it was hard. Last night, Julie called Josh and he came and stayed the night at Danni's because she was a wreck and this morning she insisted on going to work while he thought it was a bad idea but she told him that she needed something to distract her from her despair but it wasn't working clearly with her.
"Danni, take a break" he said.
"No, I need to finish"
He grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him. "Take a break. You need it. You can't work like that"
She stared at his stern yet concerned face and nodded and went to sit at the back with the others. Steve came over asking about her and her uncle pointed at her at the back. He went over to her and she didn't notice him when he sat beside her.
"Hey, mate" he said softly and she looked at him.
"...Hey"
"Heard about what happened... You okay?" She shook her head and he put an arm around her. "I'm sorry, Danni. I knew how much you love her" She stared blankly at the ground. "Wanna talk about it?"
She clenched her jaws and balled her fists for a second before loosening them and taking a deep breath. "... Steve, I... I'm gonna tell you something but promise you won't tell anyone about this" She looked him dead in the eyes.
He frowned. "What?... What is it about?"
"Promise me first"
He sighed. "...I promise"
"Okay. The night I broke up with Avery... it was because of her mother"
"What do you mean by it was Meredith?"
"She came over to my house that night and... She threatened me that if I don't break up with Avery, she is gonna cut her off of college and also her money"
"What?!" He raised her voice. "Why did you break up with her? You could've worked this out together, Danni. And... and she can't do that to her daughter!"
"That's what I said but she seemed like she would do anything in her power to keep me and Avery apart and I don't want Avery to suffer from poverty and ignorance like me! And honestly I don't know what her mother is capable of. Robert, the butler warned me about this but I brushed his warnings off"
"Danni, what you are telling me is real shit. You should tell Avery the truth. She deserves to know that! Her mother is planning something!"
She shook her head. "No. If I do that she will lose her parents and I don't want that too. I don't want her to be disowned because of me. I don't want her to lose her family. I'd rather lose her than she loses her own family, Steve. Family is what she needs and her relationships with them both got mended and I don't wanna break that for her"
"Danni, no, I can't accept that. Avery deserves to know the truth"
"You promised you won't say anything, Steve. So keep that promise" She said sternly and he pursed his lips nodding.
****************************
Meredith and Carter were sitting together in her study. She put a hand on her head and sighed heavily. She told Carter about Avery's coming home and he felt happy for a second but when she told him that Avery took the initiative and broke up with Danni, he knew what would the young red head would feel.
"She didn't come out of her room since the morning, Carter, and I'm worried about her"
"It's hard for her, honey. Give her some time"
"I'm worried about her." She repeated. "April is upstairs with her. I hope she can help her" She covered her face and he rubbed her back soothingly.
"I'm gonna go upstairs and check on her, okay?"
"Okay" He kissed her forehead before heading out of the study room.
He went upstairs to her room and knocked lightly on the door.
"Come in" said April instead of Avery.
"Hey, girls" he said. "Can I have a word with Avery?" He looked back and forth between the two girls and April gave him a warm smile.
"Uh, sure" said April. "I'm gonna wait outside, okay?"
She nodded and Carter entered the room and sat beside Avery, holding her hand.
"Come on, Avery. You have to get out of your room. What you're doing isn't good for you. You need to step out and get some fresh air"
"I'm not in the mood to do anything actually"
"Your mom is worried sick about you. She wants to see you smile again and so do I"
"... It's... hard" Her voice cracked for a moment but she pulled herself together the last minute.
"I know, honey. I know"
She looked at her hands with watery eyes and a lump formed in her throat. "Is it wrong to say that I miss her?"
He shook his head and gave her a sympathy smile. "No"
"It hurts so bad" She swallowed and covered her face and he hugged her patting her back. "I can't believe she broke up with me. It's so hard to believe this. I thought... she was the one for me, Carter"
He frowned a bit "Wait... I thought you broke up with her not the opposite"
She raised her head with a few tears rolling down her cheek. "No, she did. She's the one who said she doesn't want to be with me"
"... That's weird" He looked away frowning deeper.
"Why is it weird?" She looked at him quizzically.
"Uh... It's because I thought that she wanted to be with you"
"That's what I thought too" She said with a shrug.
"You know what... I remembered something I need to do" He lied to her and got up from the bed. "I'll see you later. Everything is going to be okay. I promise"
He got out of the room with a deep frown on his face. Meredith told him that Avery was the one who broke up with Danni because she cheated on her but Avery told him the opposite which means that there is a contradiction and contrast in their words and one of them is right.
********************************
Danni returned home late and Ben was already asleep. Julie was babysitting him until Danni's arrival.
"Where is Ben?" she asked.
"He is asleep"
"Good. Thank you, Julie"
"Yeah, sure. Anytime" she said as she was gathering her stuff. "See you around" She gave her a hug then left.
Danni went to her room and changed into her PJs. She lied on the bed, looking up at the ceiling and she began to cry silently. Ben couldn't sleep that night and went to get himself a glass of water. On his way back to his room, he saw Danni's bedroom door opened and he saw Danni hiding her face with her body shaking with sobs. He went over to her with his light soundless footsteps and stood by the edge of the bed, looking at her.
"Danni" He called her name softly as he went to her side.
She wiped her tears and looked at him with her watery eyes.
She gave him a fake smile because she didn't want her little brother to get worried. "Hey, buddy. What are you doing here?"
"I can't sleep" he said. He frowned sadly at her when he saw a single tear reaching down her face, so he wiped it with his little thumb. "Don't cry, Danni. It's okay" He patted her back and she smiled at him.
"Wanna sleep here tonight?" she asked him with a genuine smile.
He nodded. "But please don't cry. I wanna see you smile" he said sweetly and she hugged him ruffling his hair.
He crawled into bed beside her and she pulled the covers over them both and he rested his head on her shoulder and she held him before they both drifted off to sleep.