Wrapping his hands around her hips, Logan pulls her even closer and places his lips right below her ear, kissing her softly before nibbling on her skin. Luckily, her blonde hair had been pulled to the opposite side while they played the game.
"You ready to get out of here?" Logan asks her, rubbing his hands back and forth along her hips.
Turning in his arms, she licks her lips before grabbing his hand.
"Like you wouldn't believe."
Following Nikki back to her place, they pounce on each other once she closes her front door and the two topple over the edge of her couch. Without taking a moment to check out her apartment, her dress finds its way to the floor and they become a tangled mass of arms and legs on her furniture.
Before they have a chance to take it to their desired point, Nikki’s phone rings. At first they ignore it, but then it begins ringing persistently again and she apologizes before answering. She moves into the kitchen to take the call and Logan finds himself looking around her apartment and taking note of the mess that she has laying around.
Seriously?
Logan’s not OCD, but he likes things to be in their rightful place and the sight of Nikki's apartment instantly removes the hard-on he was sporting. He can't help but wonder how someone can live in this filth.
Nikki wanders back in moments later and begins apologizing profusely, explaining that they're going to have to end the night early since her cousin is on her way. She pouts through the entire statement, which isn't nearly as attractive as she assumes it is. Logan can’t decide if it's the mess or if it's the outside-of-work meet-up, but he finds himself less and less attracted to Nikki the longer he stays in her apartment.
"It's alright, babe," he tells her. "I don't think this was a good idea."
"Yeah," she replies, grabbing an oversized shirt from the floor and tuggingit over her head. "You’re probably right." After a deep breath she asks timidly, "It's not going to be weird at work is it?"
Logan shakes his head.
"Am I going to get fired?"
Approaching her slowly and placing his hands gently on her shoulders, Logan looks down into her eyes and shakes his head.
"Don't be silly, Nikki. We couldn't replace you if we tried. You're a great receptionist. We'd be lost without you."
Releasing a deep breath, she seems to relax under his hands before leaning her head against his chest.
"Thanks for tonight, Logan. Sorry I'm kicking you out."
"No sweat. I'll let myself out while you wait for your cousin."
As he descends the steps outside Nikki’s apartment, Logan notices a large moving truck pulling into the complex. He takes a second to watch the new tenants pull into a spot before he sees Melanie – whom he has met a couple of times during her visits to Nikki - jump out of the passenger seat. Waving his hand as he walks in her direction, not wanting to frighten her in the dark at this late hour, she startles at first, then relaxes and rushes towards Logan upon recognizing him.
“Logan, it’s so good to see you. I feel like it’s been ages.”
Returning her hug, Logan smiles broadly and returns the greeting.
“Sorry to rush off, but we have a lot to do. I’m sure I’ll see you soon,” she says.
Moving towards the driver’s side of an older sedan that Logan hadn’t noticed, he sees her bend down to talk to a man whom Logan assumes is her husband, before looking towards something in the backseat. Before he heads off, Logan offers to help them move whatever they need, but she tells him that they have it taken care of and advises him to drive safely. Taking them at their word, Logan turns back towards his car and heads off into the night.
Stopped at a traffic light outside their complex, he steals a glance back at Nikki’s apartment and watches them move around inside, feeling like he’s some sort of creeper. But what gains his attention first is watching Nikki gasp, then bring her small hand to her mouth, looking completely shocked at whatever she’s being told by Melanie. The second thing Logan notices is a dark swash of wavy brown hair. Even from this distance, he can see it shining like a beacon from the light in Nikki’s apartment. The captivating hair is attached to a petite frame being carried by a large man.
A boisterous car horn alerts him to the light’s change and Logan moves forward, whizzing past the sparse traffic in their tired little town.
ONCE AVERY MADE THE decision to leave and head to North Carolina, everything seemed to happen at lightning speed. One day she was at work, the next she was turning in her resignation (much to the disappointment of her supervisor) and packing up her tiny dwelling. Melanie has been by her side since Avery decided to take this journey, counseling her through all of her breakdowns while she packs.
“Who did all this stuff belong to?” Melanie asked when she walked into the guest room that is stacked full of boxes.
With a deep sigh, Avery responded, “Everyone that I ever loved.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
After taking a moment to study Melanie, Avery decided that she needed to tell someone – that she couldn’t keep the grief in and let it continue to suffocate her.
“You may want to get comfortable, it may take a while.”
“I’ve got nothing but time,” Melanie replies gently.
How little did she know that time was never on Avery’s side.
“I remember…I remember how the sheets of paper rattled within their tight grasp in my trembling hands,” Avery begins as the memories play in her mind.
As she closes her eyes, she continues to relay the visions verbally to Melanie, but Avery is so lost in the recollections that she finds her consciousness transported back to the moment.
The thick, cream-colored cardstock sat heavily in her palm. The papers have finally been signed: it felt like she has been waiting forever for this moment. It had taken eighteen years to get to this point.. well, really six considering the age difference, but now Avery felt like her life had a purpose and she couldn’t begin to fathom how their lives would change.
She would be hers to take care of – fully; not that Avery hadn’t been taking care of her already, but her life would now rely solely on her.
In Avery’s eyes, her six year old sister was utter perfection – could do no wrong. The deep red of her auburn hair starkly contrasted the blue of her eyes; eyes that captivated and pronounced her innocence at first glance. She was wise beyond her years, already coming to terms with the vile hatred their family felt towards them.
Growing up, Avery was treated as utter scum and filth since her mother had shown up pregnant at the age of fifteen. Her grandparents’ wealth masked the shame they felt, and they hid her mother away until Avery was born: an unexpected surprise by one of the staff, Avery’s mother claimed.
Yes, staff. The mansion, which sat atop a hill, looked out over eighty acres of land and the city below, and housed at least fifty employees.
Three stories of brick and mortar, grandiose columns, and wraparound porch were all it took to fool everyone.
This façade of a home was nothing but lies. From the time Avery turned two and could push a broom and pan, she was made to work the grounds. Ignored by her actual family, she tried clinging to anyone that showed her maternal care. All of the servants ignored her out of fear from their employer and shoved Avery out of their way most days - except for one, Mila. A Slavic immigrant, Mila came to work for Avery’s grandmother as a caretaker to her dying husband, Avery’s grandfather. She made sure Avery always had food to eat, clothes to wear, and a warm bed in which to sleep. She was also the one who disclosed, in secret, Avery’s placement in the family: she was not a slave, but a child of old money.
Avery’s grandfather died when she was twelve, right around the same time her mother announced another pregnancy and engagement.
When baby Aria was born, their mother and grandmother took pleasure in her arrival. It was like night and day to how Avery had been treated, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be jealous. She lov
ed Aria. She was the most beautiful little baby Avery had ever seen; pale skin, eyes that matched the sky at mid-day, and a swatch of red hair. Unfortunately, at her grandmother’s insistence, Avery wasn’t allowed to be near Aria. Her grandmother claimed that her shallow soul would taint the child. But Mila, who then became Aria’s nanny, made sure to sneak Avery into the baby’s room daily during the early morning light.
When Aria turned three, Avery’s grandmother found a note from their mother saying she was running off with her second husband and her trust fund, planning to never return again. Her grandmother, whom Avery guessed was disgusted by this, turned against Aria. The abuse became both mental and physical. The staff seemed to always turn a blind eye to the beatings so Avery took it upon herself to try and contact local help. The police laughed in her face the day she snuck away and went to the police station. They couldn’t seem to fathom that a sixty year-old woman of her social stature could raise a fist. Dejected, Avery dove head first into research regarding child abuse and child turnover.
She knew that if she could get her grandmother to sign over the parental rights to Aria, which their mother had given to her own mom upon her disappearance, then Avery could become her legal guardian. With this in mind, she pushed along for the next three years until her eighteenth birthday. Avery prayed that one day her grandmother would decide to ignore Aria, as she had her, but it seemed the longer their mother stayed away the more furious their grandmother turned. There were weeks at a time when Aria would have to miss preschool due to bruises on her face or arms.
Mila did her best to keep them upbeat and to keep the girls from their grandmother’s wrath, but one person could only do so much against a self-proclaimed goddess.
Yet, even as Aria took beating after beating, she still remained this cheerful beacon of light in Avery’s life. Love wasn’t strong enough a word for what she felt for Aria. She was unaware that we were sisters, but she knew that Avery helped take care of her. At the time, it had been enough for Avery.
On Avery’s graduation day she also turned eighteen, double the reason for her joyous outlook. No genetic family was in attendance, for obvious reasons, but Mila had come along with Aria to watch her cross the stage. Tears sparkling in her kind eyes, Mila proclaimed that she couldn’t have been more proud of her. Avery’s mind reeled and couldn’t even settle on the achievements of the day. No, she was completely sidetracked by what she had planned for the following morning.
The next day, Avery stood in front of the cold dark room that was her grandmother’s office. The papers from the attorney shook in her hand; a pro-bono case she was lucky enough to receive from a school-mate’s mother. The knock on her grandmother’s door echoed in the hall like a taunting laugh. She entered when commanded, but Avery didn’t utter a word, just laid the papers in front of her grandmother.
“What’s this?” her grandmother asked harshly, the wrinkles on her face scrunching closer together and resembling crepe paper.
“I want Aria. Please. I’ll take her away from here and you won’t ever hear from us again. I swear,” Avery pleaded.
The pounding of her heart raised her body’s temperature, staving off the chill of the dungeon-like room
“You’ll never return? You’ll take yourself and that bastard sister away?”
Avery cringes as the word “bastard” floats through the air - a term she has become far too familiar with.
“Yes, I promise. Please,” she begs again.
Without any further argument, her grandmother signed the papers beside the noted tabs and handed them back to Avery.
“Good riddance,” she proclaimed as Avery rushed to leave, closing the door behind her and resting against its cool wooden details.
Avery sighed deeply and shut her eyes as triumph and adrenaline coursed through her veins.
A rapid succession of coughs from inside the room jolted her back into reality. Avery turned on her heel, heading down the hall and then up the stairway.
Shoving the papers into a manila envelope that Avery left resting on her bed, she rushes to find Mila and Aria in the cavernous home.
Locating them in the garden, Avery wraps her arms around Mila excitedly as she rushes to tell her that they need to leave as soon as possible. Mila, the guardian angel that she is, decided that she was joining the sisters in their escape.
Mila is able to find them a small apartment in Savannah, Georgia, close to the community college that Avery received a scholarship to attend. The gratefulness pours from Avery in the knowledge that Mila is joining her on this journey - not because she can’t take care of Aria, but because Mila had stowed away her earnings from Avery’s grandmother, thus allowing them a nice financial cushion.
Avery began school immediately, taking summer courses towards her career choice as a medical assistant. Mila and Avery also located jobs as housekeepers for a local motel. Mila opted to work the night shift, allowing Avery to work the early morning shift. This gave her time to get one or two classes in a day.
In the blink of an eye, two years whizzed by. Avery and Mila were celebrating her adorable sister's eighth birthday. Seated at a local pizza place, on the rare occasion that both Mila and Avery were free from work, Aria looked blissful as she blows out the candles on her small pink cake. A smile grew on Avery’s face as she gazed at Aria, whose hands were working happily to remove the wrapping paper on the present Mila handed to her. The package of books under the cheap paper sent joy through Aria and though she didn’t think it was possible, Aria’s smile grew wider as she read through the titles of the newest sorcery novels.
Avery startled when a large hand came to rest on her shoulder.
"Avery, right? I think you're in my anatomy course."
Shocked, she turned to look into the chocolate brown eyes set on a boyishly handsome face. His eyes remain locked with hers, waiting, and then Avery remembers that he asked her a question.
"Uh, I’m sorry, what?" she replied shyly.
Smirking, he repeated himself with his hand still gently resting on her shoulder, "You're Avery, right? I think we're in anatomy together."
"Um, yes. I think so," she murmured hesitantly.
Unsure what this handsome man's name is, Avery searched her mind for a hint, but came up empty. She pays notoriously little attention to people outside her tiny circle.
"Nick," he said, answering her unspoken question and finally removing the hand that had sent small sparks tingling through her shoulder.
"Nick, that’s right. You sit at the lab table across from me. This is Mila and my sister Aria. We're here for her birthday. Would you like to join us?" she inquired while extending pleasantries, noticing the boyish face was actively seeking her attention.
"That's ok, I'm just here to grab a pizza before heading to a study group," Nick replied nervously, shuffling his feet. "Actually, since you're here, do you think you'd like to go out sometime? Maybe dinner?"
Blushing profusely, Avery turned away and glanced toward Mila, who sat with her hand over her heart and a smile on her face, gazing in Avery’s direction. She nodded her head upon seeing the question in Avery’s eyes.
Looking back in Nick's direction, he graced her with a small smile and Avery responded with a tiny grin of her own.
"Sure, that would be nice. What did you have in mind?"
"Are you free tomorrow?"
"I usually work in the early morning, but maybe we could do something earlier in the evening?"
"Why don't you give me your number and we can get together around three?"
"That sounds perfect," Avery answered, a smile still plastered to her face as she repeats her home phone number. "Thank you, Nick."
"No, Avery. Thank you," he delightedly replied. Nodding towards Avery’s sister, he said, "Happy birthday. You all enjoy your night. Bye, Avery."
Waving back as he turned around, she mirrored his expression, "Bye."
As soon as their impromptu visitor had left, Mila gushed about Nick while Aria divulged
her appetite on the cake. Both excited and nervous about this pending date, Avery is flooded with emotions. She’s had a boyfriend, been on a date and shared a few kisses with boys she went to high school with, but nothing she would consider meaningful. At this point in her life, she couldn’t help but think that those romances she had read in the fairytales when she was little were just that: fairytales. Avery had no desire to find love, but something meaningful that would fill her heart with joy. And Avery could already tell by the nervous flutters in her stomach that any relationship with Nick would be meaningful.
Nick and Avery met at a local diner the next day and after just an hour’s conversation, she found herself completely taken by him. He was charming and sweet, a boy any mother would be proud to call her son. They had similar interests in music and movies, literature, and hobbies. He is someone that, in her past, she had never expected to find. But in that moment, sitting across from him and feeling this mutual attraction, Avery felt that the possibilities were endless.
She never expected to fall so hard or so fast. Avery could tell that Mila was worried. She was afraid that Avery was completely wrapped up in her first real relationship and unable to understand her feelings. But Avery knew. She knew after two months of dating Nick that she was in love with him. He was exactly what she had expected for herself, nothing more, and nothing less.
A year after Nick and Avery began dating, Mila became very ill. Avery often found herself waking in the morning to her incessant coughing fits. Avery begged Mila to see a doctor for three weeks straight before Nick finally carried and strapped her into the barely running car so they could take her themselves.
Aria was in school when they finally got Mila to a physician and learned the terrible truth. Mila had stage four lung cancer and severe heart disease, due to years of smoking and undiagnosed high cholesterol. It was a hard fate to swallow. To add fuel to the roaring fire of pain, the doctor announced that he doesn't even know how she has made it this long. With a sorrowful glance, he informed them that he didn't think she had much time left, then discharged her back to their home.
Coming Alive: Welcome to Carson, Book One Page 2
