𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐄𝐖, ʲʲ ᵐᵃʸᵇᵃⁿᵏ

xxxiii. unwanted surprises

Chapter Thirty-Three: Unwanted Surprises

AVA FELT BEYOND exhausted as she entered her home. All the lights were off as she stood in her kitchen, the living room empty, except for the girl's dog, who jumped up from the couch and padded over to Ava. A smile was brought to her face at the german shepherd. "Hey girl." She pet Cammy, before walking into her room, caught by surprise at the figure slumped over on her bed. "What the hell?" She flicked on the light switch. Ava's mother sat there, staring at the dog tags dangling from her hands. "Mom?"

Corrine looked up at her daughter, a distraught look on her face. "Where the hell did you get these, Avani Blake?" The woman's face became more serious. "Don't even think about lying to me."

"Mom-" Ava looked down at the tags then back to her mother. "I-" What had gone down at the pink house now felt like it had happened ages ago. "I found them-"

"Where?!" Corrine shouted.

"At the Grubbs'." Ava wanted to take them from her mother's hands. The woman stood, wrapping the tags in her hand tightly. "Give them back."

"He was buried in these-"

"Are you fucking high?" Ava shook her head in disbelief. There was no possible way, unless someone had gone through the process of digging the man up from six feet of dirt, opening the casket, removing the chain from her dead father's decomposed body, closing it back up then  burying him again. It seemed to be a ridiculous idea to her, an idea she wouldn't believe. "Do you even realize how insane that sounds?"

"I had him buried in his dog tags, that's what he always said he wanted." Corrine stood up, moving towards the door when Ava blocked her way.

"Where are you going?" She demanded, anger bubbling up in her chest, everything was crumbling at her fingertips.

"First, I'm gonna pay a visit to Mrs. Grubbs, then I'm going to Peterkin, get the hell out of my way Avani." Corrine stepped forward but Ava stood her ground.

"I found them. They were my Dad's, I want them back."

"They were my husband's, Avani, your dad was the love of my life." Corrine's eyes teared up. "Someone defiled him, he was already dead and someone was still after him, his dog tags were something he never, ever, took off. We were lucky that they didn't come off in the ocean when he drowned." Her speech faltered, tears falling down her face. "Tell me, if something happened to JJ, if he lost something he really loved-"

"Don't bring him into this." Ava snapped. "He's fine, okay? Don't fucking say that! He's alive and he's here- he's.." Ava looked at her mom, her heart slightly breaking at the sad face staring back at her.

"Wouldn't you want him to have it back?" Corrine hugged her daughter, something she hadn't done since Andrew's funeral. "I love you Avani." She pulled away, unclasped the chain and took off one of the tags, she slipped it into Ava's hand. "Don't lose it." With that, Corrine left the house, Ava crumpled to the ground.

A million different thoughts raced through her mind, everything was blowing up in her face. She stood, grabbing her phone, she dialed the number she knew by heart and pressed call. It rang and rang until an automated voicemail message sounded. "Come on." She pleaded, dialing again. No answer. Ava called again. "Please answer your fucking phone." She whispered, her eyes shutting tightly when it went to voicemail again. "Fuck."