Where Life Takes Us

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

W A D E

The thing that's worse than bad days themselves is you never see them coming.

You're so concentrated on something else to even think about the chance that everything could go downhill. When it does, you don't expect it.

Things take a turn for the worst. Suddenly, all you can do is watch as it crashes and burns while you wonder how it got so complicated.

The answer's simple. You were focused on making the most out of something, while another one of life's sick jokes hid without you knowing.

I wouldn't know all this if it wasn't for the day Avery came over for lunch with my family—the calm before the storm.

"It's just lunch, don't worry about it," I reassured her, as we reached the top of the staircase on the floor of our apartment.

The whole ride there, Avery worried about whether or not Grandpa and my sisters would like her. I kept saying all her worrying would get her nowhere.

My family absolutely loved her; why else would they be completely for the idea of getting to know her better?

"I know, but I've never met your grandpa before. First impressions are important," Avery nervously insisted, brushing strands of her hair onto her ear.

Trying to calm her down, I took her right hand in my left hand and rubbed my thumb across the back of her hand. Right away, she slowly calmed down and took in a deep breath. She smiled to herself; I bit back one of my own, seeing how much this meant to her.

When we reached our door, it was my turn to be tense. "Sorry if our pizza lunch date isn't anything fancy like at your place." I sheepishly smiled, talking about the pizzas Grandpa went to go pick up while running errands.

This was the first time I'd brought a girl home to our apartment. Not once did I bring any past girlfriends I had, including Crystal.

Taking somebody to where I lived was scary. Everyone built up their own ideas on who I was. I let them believe whatever they wanted.

The idea of showing somebody who I really was made me think they'd see and treat me differently. It'd just make me one step closer to being a charity case, which I never wanted to be again.

When her eyes perked up and Avery gave me a look like You had me at pizza, I chuckled. I didn't have to worry about anything at all.

As soon as we entered the apartment, Charlie ran towards us. I was about to ruffle her hair, but she frantically pulled at my arm.

"Charlie, are you okay?" I questioned, putting my hands on her shoulders. Immediately, I scanned her body for cuts or scrapes; I couldn't find anything. "What's going on? Where's Audrey?"

In response, Charlie pointed to the bathroom before leading me by the arm into their bedroom. Sometimes, she panicked when she couldn't find us. But why was she shaking even more than usual?

Confused, Avery and I looked at each other when we rushed to Audrey's bed. A big bloodstain on the sheets made me realize why Charlie's eyes were filled with tears.

The first thing going through my head was Audrey might've hurt herself so badly, she locked herself in the bathroom. The second thing was I had to figure out what was going on.

One look at Charlie shaking all over, I knew this whole thing was stressing her out. Therapy helped, but what if this triggered another flashback?