A Quarter Mile Away

22 - Crazy

Please listen to Crazy - Kat Dahlia for this chapter.

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After my emotional breakdown, Isaac was beyond concerned and didn't want to leave me alone, after much convincing he left to go run whatever errands he had and I had to go pick up Alena from her little sleep over.

As soon as I arrived I was greeted by Penelope's mum who welcomed me into her house. When I walked in, I saw all five kids; Alena, Penelope, Sarah, Michael and Jonathan still in their PJ's lounging on the couches watching Hotel Transylvania.

That made me miss the days when you were oblivious to what was going on around you, the days when you had no responsibilities, no care in the world. I wish being an adult was an option, because I would have gladly not accepted.

"Avery!" To my surprise it was Jonathan's voice that screamed in joy and I couldn't help but smile. He reminded me so much of Jaxon and that thought had me smiling like an idiot.

"Hey guys! Have fun?" they all nodded in pure excitement and then went back to their movie.

"Would you like a coffee?" It was my turn to nod in excitement. Letting them enjoy their movie, I walked with Penelope's mum into the kitchen. I pulled up a chair and sat at her dining table which was across the kitchen.

When she placed the coffee cup in front of me, the coffee smell instantly hit me and that's all it took for me to relax "Thank you Mrs. Ashton."

"Call me Melissa" I had to smile at how warming she was. I was truly grateful for her hospitality.

"Thank you again for allowing Alena to sleep over. She talks so highly of her friends, she has grown so attached to them" the smile was on my face as I thought about all the nights Alena would babble on about how awesome her friends were, as long as Alena was happy, free from drama and pain, that was all I cared about.

"Honey, it was no big deal. She's more than welcome to come again, any time you need" Melissa placed a hand over mine and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

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Walking back into the lounge room with her little sleep over carry bag, "We gotta go Alena." Those were the words that caused everything to come to an abrupt stop with all eyes on me, all puppy eyes I should say. Literally looking at me like I just told them that Santa wasn't not real.

"Can't I just stay, Jonathan is staying, no one is picking him up!?" Alena complains. Her words caught my attention though, what does she mean by the fact that no one is picking him up?

"Jonathan, why is no one picking you up?" Curiosity getting the best of me. He let out a tired sigh as he blurted the words out in one long sentence, "Well my mum was originally picking me up but she said that she had to go to work so she'd get Jaxon to pick me up but he hasn't yet so I don't know what's happening."

I looked at him with confused eyes, this didn't sound right. I may not know Jaxon that well but from what I've seen, he loves his brother and is very protective over him. Something is definitely not right. With that in mind I grabbed my phone to call Bianca and find out what happened.

"Oh no! I totally forgot to tell Jaxon! How can I be so silly! I'm such a terrible mother!" You can hear the stress in her voice. It's amusing that she thinks she is a terrible mother. If only she knew.