Strings

Chapter 24

Avery

All my life I've been too ready to accept everything and anything that's been handed down to me.
I've not once questioned it, opposed it, contested it.

I was handed out something so I've always decided to work my way around it. And it's cost me nearly everything.

I pace rapidly to and fro trying to come up with what I am to do next.
How to deal with the situation that presented itself to me.

There's a web of lies and deceit strung carefully right in front of me and it remains intact depending on a singular factor: me having no knowledge about it whatsoever.

The gist of the web is this; Olivia messed up. She messed up BIG TIME. And for some reason to take care of her mess, to sweep it out all under the rug, Dad thought it would be justifiable to throw me under the bus.
And as long as no one would find out it would all be good.
The longer I stayed oblivious, the longer Dad had  time to clear out Olivia's mess. But things started to get out of control.
And by things, I mean Olivia; who just couldn't for the life of her, stop gambling.
Even after her pile of mess started hiking up all the way to the skies, Olivia didn't stop. She didn't. Not that she couldn't or can't. She didn't. She refused to. She made a conscious choice to keep doing what she was doing, to keep messing up and to keep moving around like nothing was happening whatsoever. And for that I don't think I can ever forgive her.

As long as someone else was taking the fall of her push, was facing the consequences of her actions, Olivia could go around doing exactly what she has been doing all this while. Boldly, confidently and unbelievably selfishly.
Lucky for me, that 'someone' just so happened to be me.

You spend all your life looking up to your older sister and it turns out the only reason she's even keeping you around is so she can use you in any and every way she could.

It hit me like a truck to find out, Olivia had been gambling.
And it completely sucked the air out of my lungs to find out she had been doing so in my name.
And because of it, I was now in millions and millions of dollars in debt since she went crazy in casinos and underground clubs all over the world right under my name.
For years. She had a problem. Addiction, if I'd let myself see it for what it is.

I couldn't believe my eyes when Hayden showed me the receipts, the amount of money Olivia had been gambling, the huge amounts of money she had lost doing so, the heaps and heaps of dollars she owed to some of the most dangerous underworld gangs, the accounts that had to be sealed because of her, the amount of times I was nearly taken away because she did it all in my name.
The people who were responsible for attacking me the other day and other extremely dangerous groups of people and community's whom Olivia hadn't repaid to now made an easy and available target out of Avery Marshall and didn't even know about the existence of the older sister who was responsible for taking away their money.
The thought made me sick to my stomach.
My life was in literal danger and my family was the one who set it up to that.

I was in a debt beyond my comprehension and I didn't even know about it!
I couldn't believe that Olivia could do this to me, would continue doing this to me and that my parents instead of putting an immediate stop at my literal destruction just stayed mum about it.

Dad's plan to keep it all out of my touch nearly worked, until Hayden decided otherwise. Until I was attacked, facing the consequences of all of Olivia's bad decisions and found myself beaten up in a darkened alley.
And whatever I have to do next, it'll be a whole lot easier with Hayden by my side.

Hayden.

I find the intense need to be around him and I dare myself to go to him.
We've gotten closer lately, right? I am sure he wouldn't mind. right?