The following morning , Ava was up late. She lazily strode to the bathroom to quickly shower and go to class. She stopped by her bathroom mirror and checked out her reflection. Goodness, she looked like shit. She rubbed her palms on her face and washed her skin longer than usual. She couldn't help but feel weird and that bloody shootout is refusing to get out of her head.
Never in her life did she think she would see someone kill someone. But then someone that she truly liked shot someone in her presence and he's not willing to talk about it.
Getting ready for class , she walked out of her hostel fully dressed for class. One of her classmates who saw her was the first person who saw her when she stepped into her class. He flashed her his boyish grin exposing his dimpled cheek.
'I think it's time I forget Zachary if I want to live" she sighed, her hand placed on her bag handle slung across her shoulder.
"Hi." Ava greeted Hazel with a smile.
"Hey, sis. You're looking pretty than usual. What's the secret?" Hazel teased, beaming with a sweet smile.
"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment even though I know what you mean by saying that." replied, Ava.
"Want to have some burger?" Hazel offered, heading for the restaurant.
"You don't really have to. I mean it's like stressing you out. Moreover, the next class begins anytime soon."
"That's not a good excuse, Ava. You know me too well than to do this."
"Alright, thanks. I think I have no choice here."
The two got to the snack store and asked for what they wanted. While their order was on its way, they both got lost in their different interests. Hazel was literally drooling at a guy who just entered the restaurant, while Ava was thinking of Zachary. The whole kisses and snuggles of her fellow teens got on her nerves and reminded her of the past day's incident.
"Oh Lord.... He's so damn cute!" Hazel complimented out loud to Ava but the latter was lost in her thoughts as tears brimmed in her eyes.
Hazel noticed that she got no reply and looked back only to see that Ava wasn't listening to her at all. Tapping her on the shoulder, Ava looked back at her.
"Were you saying something?"
"The hell, Ava. What happened to you? You just zoned out.
"Nothing much, Hazel. I was just carried away by a movie I watched recently. You know, the scenes were all smutty."
"Really? Ok! If you say so." Hazel didn't push it, though a part of her knew that it wasn't all true.
Just then, their much awaited snack arrived and they left bidding themselves goodbye as they headed separately to their respective classes. The bell rang already indicating it's time for another class.
Unfortunately, Hazel and Ava the same class next and sat opposite each other in class. Class began and she placed her notepad on the desk to begin writing. Hazel flashed smile at her and she smiled back, half-heartedly though. Really ? Is she over my lies already? If so, that's much of a relief.
Gosh, it's over some twenty minutes for he next class and Ava couldn't concentrate. Thoughts about the incident kept recurring in her mind at intervals. What a mess kinda life she lived. From one shit to another.
"Hey guys. Damn it's so hot out there." Freya sat in between Hazel and Ava. smiles at me before sitting next to me. Caleb sat across them grinning like a kid who won a lottery to visit chocolate factory.
"Guys,..." Hazel began, looking keenly at Ava.
"Damn!, I know what you're talking about. You want to speak about Ava right?" Caleb interrupted with a snap of his finger.
"What's going with you? I noticed your change as well." Freya asked immediately.
"Well... You won't believe my life had been more dramatic than i could ever imagine. I'm going through a lot at the moment. No, a lot is going through me. Gosh! I have no idea how to explain it."
"Girl, come off it. What could probably be worrying you? You got into a fight with that bitchy sister of yours?" Freya asked sipping on a drink.
"You have Zachary, girl. You're like the hottest girl in New York right now. You're stunning." Hazel blabbered, winking at her.
"Yeah. What's up with you guys? You don't look bad. With the look on her face, could it be that he did a really super hot magic on you. How did it even happened ?" Freya asked with full focus on her.
"Guys we're not In love. We're not dating. We're not even in a relationship." I sigh.
"Then what? Friends with benefits? No offense boo, but you can't lie about your relationship. It's so obvious. Zachary doesn't keep a girl for this long. You said you guys have been hanging out with each other for over weeks now. Damn girl , that's like forever."
"So who else perceives the chemistry between Ava and Zachary." Caleb asked with a grin and the four of them exchange a sort of confused glances between each other.
"There's no stupid chemistry. Just a naive me who doesn't know what I want." Ava said sharply.
"You don't know what you want?" Hazel couldn't help but ask.
"What do you mean by that? Aren't you steering things straight already?"
"Yes, no, I thought we were but...." She trailed off.
".... I'm confused about what to do right now, you won't believe I saw another part of him yesterday. Like the fuck, he uses a damn gun to shoot someone in my presence." She sighed frustratedly.
"Well, if you're saying it like that, then I don't see it as a big deal."
"Damn! You don't get it. We went out and we experienced a bloodbath, all of a sudden, out of nowhere,......." Ava explained the situation in details to them. After her narration, they were all speechless.
"Well, it's not a strange thing." Freya cleared her throat. "You know, Zachary is a businessman. He could have a license to a gun. I mean, you know a gun won't just be issued anyhow right?"
"Girl, you're not getting my point here. I mean if I'm with him, I'm not safe. You have to see the number of guys who were after us yesterday. Goad! I was so freaked out that my heart nearly stopped. In fact, I had a sleepless night due to the incident. If care is not taken, I might as well just develop a trauma."
Silence ensued immediately as everyone knew no matter what they say, it won't change Ava's mind. Save my the developing tension, Mason, entered the living room.
"Hi guys," he waved at them, sitting on a vacant spot.
"Hi" their reply was Curt and sounded less vibrant. He took the clue of the situation and gently kept quiet. Inferring from the depressing atmosphere, he could effortlessly detect that something was going on.
"Can someone shed light on what's going on here? Don't leave me in the dark." He said, talking to no one in particular. Caleb spoke up, surmarising the incident to him.
"What the hell? How could he do that? I said it earlier, he's a wolf in sheep's clothing, but you won't listen. I warned you enough to stay away from him, but you were hell bent on staying with him. I knew it, I always knew it!" he became more enraged.
"Can you just shut it, what are you talking about? You're here shouting that you told her not to move closer to him but she didn't listen. If you were told such, would you just follow without a reason like a guard dog? If you have a reason for warning her, why don't you just go ahead and spill it." Hazel bashed at Mason. His yell really angered her.
"Hazel's right, Mason. There should be a radon for your insistence." Caleb chipped in. Mason sighed, clearing his throat.
"The truth is that?...." He began.
"What truth do you know that I don't?" Ava interrupted angrily.
"You should calm down, Ava. It's possible that he has something else to say."
"Zachary is a mafia boss!..."
"What? What the hell! How come?" Everyone of them couldn't contain their surprise.
"I guess you must be lying. The Zachary I know is not some mafia member or sort. He's a businessman. A popular one at that." Ava found it hard to believe.
"Exactly, he might be a leading business icon in the eyes of the whole world but that is who he really is." Mason explained.
"Why didn't you say anything about it then?" Asked Hazel.
"What do you expect me to say? Ava, your boyfriend is a mafia and you shouldn't be with him? That's going to earn me a yell. I needed to find evidence to prove it to you."
"Since you said it now, what exactly is this whole mafia thing about?"
"It's like this......" He began explaining to them everything he knows about the mafia. Ava couldn't help but cry as she listened to her cousin's words of enlightenment while Freya patted her back continuously.
"This is so much to take in all at once."
"I agree with that. I guess the best thing to do now is to avoid him if you need your dear life."
"Sure, I would surely not see him again." Ava concluded with tears.
"So, enough of this whole heartbreaking shit. Let's go get ourselves busy." Freya said with the aim of making Ava cheer up. Though it would be difficult.
*
*
However, some part of Ava wasn't in support with the idea of leaving Zach. Every now and then, she was reminded of him by one thing or the other. He was always on her mind at any free time she has. She always checked her phone to see if she would see a call from him.
From two days to five days, there was no call from Zac and she became more aggrieved and angry especially when she looks down at her wrist and see the tiny and beautiful bracelet he gave her.
"Damn! I'm so tired. It's been a long day." Ava spoke to herself as she walked in the lawn with a placid look. It was the fifth night after the shooting incident. She plugged an earphone into her ears as she sang along, heading for her hostel. She was all alone on the less busy street.
Just when she was about to make a turn, she had a feeling of being watched. She stopped at intervals to look behind her for the possibility of finding the person who it might be, but there was no one. Concluding that it was just paranoia, she walked ahead, singing continuously her tune.
Before she finally shaked the feeling off her mind, she felt more and more awkward. Scared, Ava broke into a run. She slipped before completing a long distance and fell on her arms. Then the person chasing her came into view. She saw a shadow on the floor ahead of her. Still on the floor, she turned to take a look at who it was.
She tried searching her memory for any sign of remembrance, but didn't recognize the person. After all, he turned out to be a total stranger to her. The guy was so tall that he could put off any confidence she might have tried building in her.
"You should be punished for stressing me so much and making me come this far." Said the strange guy who leaned in to reach out to her. Amidst whispers, Ava already accepted her fate. It seems as though there was no other choice for her that day. An escape would cost a lot, thus she didn't bother thinking about it. With her eyes closed, she expected the worst but didn't feel anything after a while. Opening her eyes, she was shocked to see someone else battling with the guy.