Chapter 6 ***
Avery Rose
The shock that courses through my body doesn’t let me feel the sting on my cheek. I stare at the wall for a few seconds, trying to process what just happened.
“You’re an embarrassment.” Oh right. My own mother slaps me right after my life falls apart.“You broke up with Caleb?” she spits.
I furrow my brows in confusion, wondering how she gets the information so fast. As if she reads my mind, she shoves her phone in my face, and I see a text from her asking where I am and Caleb’s reply about our relationship status.
I almost scoff at how fast he tells my mom that we broke up, even before we have a proper conversation.“He… he cheated,” I stutter, waiting for a reaction, but I get nothing. “With Melody!” I add, but she only rolls her eyes.“So..? Where do you think you will find a man like Caleb again?” She rolls her eyes again.
“I am even surprised you two date at all. ”Mom…” My voice is barely above a whisper at this point. If I hadn’t cried earlier, I would be bawling my eyes out. I can’t believe my own mother is spewing words like this.
I know she is always up to something I won’t support, but this is over the top.“And the affair. ”About that. It’s not—” How could you get caught? What do I expect? It’s your first rodeo. You could have asked for advice from me.” She shakes her head.
My own mother is disappointed that I got caught in an affair. All my life, I believed she couldn’t get worse than she already is, but she proves me wrong.“There is no point in explaining myself to you,” I say before walking past her to my room.
I have already had enough of everyone at this point to start explaining to my mother, who is obviously not going to believe me.“I’ll be heading out later today,” I hear her say. “How do I face my friends?” she mumbles.
I slam the door shut before she says something else that makes me feel even worse. I know I should have gotten used to her remarks by now, but somehow she finds a new way to drive the knife deeper.I lie down on my bed, and a sense of comfort covers me.
Thoughts spiral around my head, but before I know it, my eyes grow heavy and I fall into a deep slumber. Maybe I have direction when I wake up.
The news will die down, and I will probably start dusting my CV all over again. Although I doubt any company will look at me twice after the news of the affair, I am not giving up.
I wake up to the loud sound of my ringtone. At first, confusion sets in but I slowly recall that I am back home and not kidnapped in a strange place. I grab my phone from the nightstand and answer the call without checking the caller.
“Avery you dumb bitch!!” I wince in pain and almost throw my phone across the room.
The Caller ID is unfamiliar and my mind starts racing. Who is it this time? Mr Rashford’s wife? That is not possible. Even she knows that the leaked messages are for her, not me. Maybe an angry internet user.
“Sorry, you got the wrong number.”
I quickly say before ending the call. I wonder how many other people have my personal phone number. It is already dark out and I know my mother would rather sell her designer bags than make dinner especially with the whole situation now so I just ordered Chinese takeout.
I take a quick shower and hold my hair up. At least the nap made me look less like an insane person.
A loud bang on the door shakes the entire house. It can’t be my food yet, can it?I head downstairs and the entire house is pitch black.
My mom was probably not back yet. I switch on the lights and it takes me a moment to process what I am looking at. The first thing I notice is that the huge television I had gotten less than a year ago is missing.
I had initially gotten it for Caleb and me as an anniversary present but he was not a fan of large screens apparently so I just had to bring it here. Now, it is nowhere to be found.
The vintage artworks I warned my mom against getting were also missing.How did I not know that someone was breaking in?
Did I pass out completely?I am about to call the police when a loud knock almost knocks the front door out of its hinges. “She’s in there. I’m sure she is.
”Open up you thief!”Another loud knock follows. An unknown number calls again and I shakily answer the call.“Avery Rose, give me my money!”
The caller screams into the phone.“What are you talking about?” I ask.“Nice play. Wait till I get my hands on you.
”The call ends abruptly. I look through the window and see about four women waiting furiously behind the door. It didn’t look like any of them was ready to give me a breakdown of what was actually going on.
I quickly dial my mother’s number but it goes straight to voicemail. For someone who has been calling me nonstop the entire day, it is strange.
Deciding to get it over with, I swing the front door open equally shocking the women. It only takes them a few seconds to recover before they pull me out of the house.
“There she is!”“It’s always the young ones. Looking for older ones to scam.”I try pulling myself out of their grip but they are already hitting me all over.
“How dare you?” One burly woman screams and her large hand goes straight to my bun and almost pulls my hair out of my scalp.
At this point, I can barely cry and I await my fate. A few minutes later, the sound of sirens brings me instant relief as the women finally let go of me.
I thank the heavens for whoever the Good Samaritan was who called the police.A male and female officer march up to the front door.
The female officer grimaces as she looks at me. I can only imagine how messed up I look. “Officers, thank God you’re here.” I finally say. I lean against the front door, steadying myself.
“These women..”“Avery Rose, you’re under arrest for internet fraud. You have the right to remain silent for anything you say or do will be used against you.”What?
