Ride or Die

Part 1

The air hangs dense and warm below a velvet blanketed sky as Ava draws her knees beneath her chin. She admires the twinkling lights of a far off city stretched into the distance.
The destination for decadence.
She wouldn't have to stay trapped in her house, she wouldn't have to laugh at her friends' cruel jokes and most of all, she could be anyone she likes out there.

Her boyfriend, as he likes to call himself, lives in the city. He rents a grimy box apartment with what he can be bothered to earn. If he decided to move from the sofa every once in a while, he may be living somewhere more glamorous. But Ava envies him nonetheless, because at least he's there. At least he's doing something.
She doesn't have the same freedoms.

Her parents, of devout Christian beliefs, would rather she stay hidden away from the world. 
They'd like her to take care of them when they grow old. How will she do that if she runs to the city?
Jamie, her boyfriend, they believe began the silly thoughts in her head. She began saying ignorant things like:
"I'm twenty-two, let me discover the world for myself!"
So, to stop the itch of temptation, her parents placed firm rules. If she wasn't to follow them, dire consequences awaited. One rule, is never communicating with Jamie again.
Ava doesn't love Jamie. And she knows that Jamie doesn't love her. They'd started dating purely out of spite for their parents. The difference was that he had gotten kicked out and began a new life, and she remained at home, to be punished.

Tonight, Ava has decided to escape the claustrophobic confines of her own home. Tonight will be the last she stays.
She breathes a sigh of longing towards her escape and hauls herself up. With luck, she'll never see this view again.

Ava wanders back along the streets, kicking small pebbles as she goes. Leaves skitter across the asphalt in the warm breeze, blowing her yellow hair about. She turns over phrase after phrase in her head but she can't string the right words together.

"Mom, dad, I'm going to go out and live. See ya?"
Hardly likely.
All to quickly, the house looks in front of her, cloaked in darkness by an old oak. The warmth seems to drain from her body as she walks up the shadowy garden path.
Ava glances at the stars, asking them to favour her tonight.

The heavy front door is still unlocked, how she'd left it earlier. She pushes it open quietly, feet as light as a hare's. TV static plays in the living room, giving Ava an opportunity to creep in the direction of the stairs. After two steps, a floorboard creaks.
She flinches, cursing herself.
She knows every single floorboard and how to step on it, but she'd forgotten about this newly noisy one.

"Ava?" Her mother's voice trills out.
She always had terrifyingly good hearing.
Before she can storm up something to call back, her mother is standing directly in front of her, as if she'd flown from the sofa.
For a woman of unimpressive height, she manages to look down her nose at everybody who stands before her, thin brows pinched.

"Where were you?"
Ava swallows, straightening herself as she is addressed before her mother can correct her posture.
"I went to clear my head, I'm sorry. I was just going back to bed now."

Mrs Johnson's lips clamp shut, forming a thin white line.
"Don't you dare lie to me, Ava. I know you better than anyone. You went to see Jamie, didn't you?"
She advances with short, birdlike movement, the flare of her nostrils enough to make Ava retreat.
She wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans, mind whirring for an excuse.

"It wasn't Jamie, mom. But I do have something to tell you."
Without logic, Ava has decided that now is the moment she tells her mother her intentions to leave.
"I've been thinking. Aren't I old enough to clear my head at night if I want to? Aren't I old enough to get a job and earn my money? Aren't I old enough to move out?"
She sighs, glad she'd gotten it off her chest.
"You're going to have to let me go sometime."
There is a moment's silence, where a disgraced mother stares at her daughter. Whom in her eyes, is rebellious and difficult to tame. So, of course, she calls in assistance.