Bon Appétit!

Chapter (51): Fresh Tears

Avery all the way to her home cried that her vision blurred and her eyes were bloodshot red. Danni's words hurt her badly and scarred her heart. She lied to her by pretending to be together no matter what but it turned out quite the opposite. Danni played her and that's what she thought, but what she really didn't know was Danni's real intention behind all this mess. Danni knew that she hurt Avery but she did it to protect her from being in the same situation as Danni herself, being poor and uneducated, having a hard life to earn the living. As much as she knew there were other solutions like Avery getting a part time job, Danni didn't want her to lose her family in the process, so she had to do what Meredith wanted all alone. To stay away from her lover.

Avery parked the car outside her house and sniffled. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying and she looked pale, not to mention the wet stains on her shirt. She entered her house and found her mom sitting with her glasses up to her nose, reading an article on her laptop. Once she saw Avery, she stood up from her place and walked over to her and hugged her daughter.

"It's okay" said Meredith rubbing her back.

"...You were right, mom. She doesn't love me" After ranting to her mom and crying for what felt like forever, Avery pulled away once her cries subsided and her mom wiped away her tears and caressed her auburn locks. "Can I go to my room?" She sniffled. "I feel tired"

"Of course, dear" She grabbed her face and pecked her daughter's forehead, wishing her goodnight.

Avery left her and went upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her and felt her heart break again.

Meredith was looking up at her room wondering if she did the right thing for her daughter. Part of her was relieved that they broke up but the other part showed concern and guilt that was eating her up inside because her daughter got heartbroken not because of Danni but because of her mother.

As for Danni after Avery's departure from her house and from her life, she was sitting hiding her face in her palms and tears already were filling her eyes and her face. She couldn't move from her place. Her body was paralyzed from the events that broke her heart and every bone in her body. She heard a knock on the door and she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand then headed to the door. She opened it and found Julie smiling at her but her smile dropped when she saw Danni's painful eyes that were glassy and tired.

"Danni" she said softly. "What happened?"

She looked down and couldn't speak, so Julie gave her a hug and rubbed her back.

"Tell me what happened"

She took her hand and sat on the couch beside Danni, with her hand stroking her back. Danni wiped her tears again and began to speak.

"I broke up with Avery"

"... Why?"

"It's... It's complicated. I don't wanna talk about it now" She buried her face in her palms again and Julie leaned her chin on her shoulder giving Danni a light squeeze.

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In the morning, Avery woke up, feeling tired from crying last night. She sat on her bed feeling depressed and she checked her phone, hoping that it was just a nightmare and none of it was true but to her misfortune she had to live with the bitter truth. She found April text message from last night, around the time she went to bed.

~Why didn't you come over to my house last night? Did you change your mind?~

She looked at the text for a while contemplating whether to text or not. If she texted, her best friend would get worried about her state of mind but at the same time Avery knew she needed April, so she texted back.