Strings

Chapter 22

Hayden

There is something unexplainable about the feeling of raw anger. The way it consumes you, clouds your judgement, makes it seem impossible to process anything or anyone beyond damage and destruction.

One can never truly explain or put into words when consumed by angst so powerful it radiates off of your body in waves. Destroying things before you can even touch them and leaving a trail of destructing with every step you take.

It is beyond reasoning, beyond rationality, beyond any thinking or processing.
It is only hard raw rage. And all that it brings along with it.
I should know, since that is exactly how I felt.

And as impossible as it seemed, I had to rise above it. The danger I had tried to keep at bay for so long had now resurfaced and touched Avery before I could stop it. And that made me furious beyond belief.

Things were slipping and unwinding and although I am prepared, Avery isn't. The fuckers who call themselves Avery's family have messed up big time, stringing us along with them.

Keeping Avery in the dark was never my choice of approach. Nothing good ever comes from half-assed knowledge or even worse, no knowledge at all, but her father insisted. He was willing to keep one of his daughters in utter and complete darkness, so long as the other one keeps shining and doing whatever the fuck she wanted. And that made me lose all respect for the man who claims to be a father.

I knew Avery wasn't a dimwit like her sister. She may be soft and hesitant but her mind's as sharp as nails. I wasn't surprised in the least when my informants presented me with her grades and achievements from her university. Albeit her business school was just an above average one, Avery was beyond exceptional and the part that did surprise me was her agreeing to settle down so early with me.

But boy her sister. Sometimes I wondered how could two people who were so different from each other actually be related.
I had come across Olivia long before the 'merger' was brought into action, and the very site of her revolted me.

Ridden with ignorance and narcissism Olivia didn't have the ability to look beyond herself in any given situation. She was the definition of being shallow and standing next to her in those god-awful business dinners and functions, with everyone sucking up to me was sweet and beautiful Avery, keeping to herself and looking breathtaking in every move she ever made.

I have never known myself to actually fall for someone, to think about them or to even associate myself romantically with them for that matter, but at that charity event hosted by the Marshall's, about a year ago from now, when the girl who's name I didn't even know then, had a drink too many, sat down beside me and said the most hilarious things about the people there and what they wore, god I came close. So fucking close.

Never before had I met someone who was so free beside me, and ideally I should've been annoyed beyond belief but it was like a breath of fresh air with her sitting next to me. Cracking the lamest of puns she'd erupt in fits of laughter, so contagious I couldn't help but smile. And it didn't help that she was completely oblivious to the fact that she was breathtaking. All the fuckers who had nothing better to do with their limp fucking dicks would stare at her, not taking their eyes off of her and Avery would just sit there laughing about the fact that there was a very good chance they didn't even know how to tie there own ties.

I wasn't able to wrap my head around it then. How could anyone be this beautiful and this pure in this world anymore. I didn't buy it then. It had to be an act. Plus, the fact that Olivia was her sister didn't help my judgement at all. There was a very good chance she'd be just like her and I kept telling that to myself to steer clear of her way.