Ice.

Chapter Seven.

Avery

I have so many feelings and emotions running through me as I step into my house. I feel warmth and butterflies from my night with Finn, but also the emptiness and fear from the situation with my family. My mom's car is in the driveway but my dad's isn't, so I can pretty much guess what that means.

The house is dead quiet. I feel like if I take a step, I'll make too much noise. I walk up stairs and put my backpack in my room, opening my parent's room to see my mom. She's not in here.

I go back downstairs and head to the guest bedroom, finding her curled up in bed. The last time this happened, she didn't sleep in their room when she finally come home from my aunts house. So I'm not surprised that she's in here. We didn't have a guest bedroom back in New York, though, she she slept on the couch no matter how many times I offered my bed.

I close the door behind me and walk up to the bed slowly, sitting on the end. She looks up at me, her eyes red and swollen, but a small smile on her face.

"Where is he?" I say quietly.

She swallows hard, looking away from me. "He left."

"Oh," I choke out, feeling my mouth dry up and my heart fall. Her words have finality to them and I know that I'm no longer in a family with a mom and a dad. I know he's not coming back.

"Did he say where he was going?" I ask, my voice barely audible. She just shakes her head. So that's it? He just abandons his family? In the place he made us go too?

She sits up slowly and holds her arms out, so I let myself fall into her. She hugs me tightly, both of us letting out quiet cries. "Mom, I don't want to leave again."

"I'm sorry, Avery. I don't know what we're going to do. I'm not sure if I can stay here."

Cam and Finn's faces pop into my mind. The thought of leaving them is heart wrenching. Cam is like a brother to me, I can't imagine not being with him. And Finn, God, I don't know. I know we only just met but I have never felt such a quick connection with someone like this before. I don't want to end something that hasn't even started.

"Where would you want to go?" I'm scared of the answer, but I need to know. Maybe it won't be far. Maybe she's looking for a new start somewhere close by.

"Back home. With our family."

I try to swallow the lump in my throat but it doesn't go away. I know it's selfish of me to be upset about going back because after all, my mom has gone through the most with this. We moved here so we could get away from where it happened and so that my mom didn't have to relive it everyday, and now that's what's happening here. It makes sense that she would want to go back home and be with her family. I hate that it makes sense.

"Okay." Is the only thing that I can get out. I chew on my bottom lip as I break away from her. "I'm going to go to Cam's house, is that okay?"

She nods, her sad eyes filling up again. "I'm sorry, Avery. This isn't fair to you."

"It's okay." I try to smile at her, but even faking it is hard. "I'll be fine."

I leave the room as the tears hit my cheeks, not wanting her to see me upset. When I get back to my room, I lay on my bed and let the sobs over take me. I cry hard and for a long time, not being able to stop myself.

I'm crying so much that I feel sick. I feel sick that this is happening again. I feel sick that my dad doesn't love me enough to try and stay in my life. I feel sick that he did this to the woman he is supposed to love. I feel sick that he did it twice. I feel sick that it could of been more than that but I only caught him a couple of times. I feel sick that I had to leave everything, and now I'm gong to have to do it again. I feel sick that right when I feel happiness and belonging, it's being taken from me again. I feel sick thinking about telling Cam. I feel sick about never seeing Finn again. Considering he will be a big time hockey player no doubt, and I'll just be that girl he met in Seattle. I just feel sick.