Seasons Change

24.

Chapter 24.
It was two days after Christmas, and I was about ready to murder Avery if I didn't get out of the house without her. Seriously, I knew my dad expected me to be nice to her, but when she was so awful to me, it hardly seemed fair that I was expected to be considerate of her feelings. I had filled Kelsey in on my predicament, and the one time we had hung out at her house with Avery in tow, it had been so miserable, we hadn't attempted it since.

When Dylan texted asking what I was up to, I replied, "Plotting the sudden demise of my evil step-sister." I was only partially joking. If I thought I could get away with it, I would probably have taken drastic action by now.

Unfortunately, anything I did to retaliate against Avery would only make me look bad. Even my dad seemed to think she was a nice girl. Her two-faced personality was really starting to get on my nerves. I needed to prove, once and for all, that Avery was not the girl everyone thought she was. I needed to show my parents how manipulative and evil she was, and reclaim my life back. I just had absolutely no idea how I was going to do that.

"Lilly, you have company," Dad shouted upstairs to me.

I frowned, wondering who it could possibly be, then shrugged and trudged downstairs. I wouldn't be allowed to leave the house unless I brought Avery along anyways, and I would not give her the satisfaction of letting her ruin any outings with my friends.

Downstairs, two handsome guys waited for me, and I froze in surprise. Dylan was one, but the other...was Ben. I hadn't seen Ben since we left for college, and I hadn't talked to him since we had broken up. What was he doing here? It wasn't like we were friends.

"Hi," I said softly, my gaze darting back and forth between Dylan and Ben. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked. "I can't go anywhere. At least, not without Avery, and I refuse to give her the satisfaction."

Dylan grinned. "Yeah, Kelsey told me," he said. "We're here to bust you out of here."

I folded my arms across my chest, looking at them questioningly. "How?"

"Well, you see, Faye, I happen to know Avery pretty well. I had the misfortune of dating her for a couple of months, remember. And if there's one thing that Avery can't resist, it's a handsome, football playing guy."

I rolled my eyes. "So you're going to distract her?"

Ben smiled, stepping forward shyly. "That's why Dylan recruited my help," he explained. "If you want me to."

I frowned. "I don't understand. What exactly are you guys suggesting?"

Dylan smirked. "I thought you could use a break from Avery. And, I know your dad told you that you had to bring her along if you went out. But if Avery has a date with another guy, she won't complain if you go out without her. The trick is, we have to make her think it's her idea."

"You need to spell this out for me, because I'm still not getting it."

Ben shrugged. "Dylan asked me if I would be willing to distract Avery for a while this afternoon so the two of you could hang out together. Avery will probably go for it, because she knows I'm your ex-boyfriend and she'll think she's making you jealous. If you don't want me to, just let me know. I don't want there to be any hard feelings between us."

"You would do that?" I asked. "Spend an entire afternoon with Avery so Dylan and I can spend time together? You do realize she's evil, right?"

Ben smirked. "You may have mentioned that once or twice, yes. But she'll be nice to me, since she's using me to make you jealous. It won't really upset you, will it? Me hanging out with her? I have no real feelings towards her. It's just a favor to Dylan."