Ava Braxton - Unthinkable

Chapter 1

For the third time in the past month, I had run away from Cheryl Braxton, my mother and escaped to Summer Bay where my four brothers, Brax, Heath, Kyle and Casey, lived.

I usually alternated between staying at home with mum and lodging with my brothers at their house. Mum always ended up having a go at me if I didn't spend enough time with her, but she was so hard to be around that over the past few months I'd ended up spending way more time in Summer Bay than I had been in Mangrove River. At least there I wasn't being constantly hounded by mum and having to put up with her alcoholic babble after she'd had a few glasses more than she should do after a shift at the Fish Co-op. She wasn't as bad as when me and my brothers were kids, but she was still pretty intolerable. When I was with my brothers, there was always the promise of food that was actually edible. Mum couldn't cook to save her life – I usually ended up choking down her burnt concoctions. On top of that, I got a decent night's sleep that wasn't interrupted by the sound of police sirens, shouting or banging from the neighbors. Mangrove River was not the most relaxing place to live - Summer Bay, on the other hand, was a completely different story.

After a lot of nagging from mum to go and stay with her, I had eventually obliged. Well, more specifically, Brax had forced me into it. He told me that one full week with mum would make her happy and that all I had to do was hold out for that long. I couldn't do it. I'd only reached the third night when the need to get away became unbearable.

I got back from school late again. I'd been given extra revision tutorials to prepare me for my upcoming exams. My teachers told me that this year, my last year of school, was crucial. I was eighteen and if I wanted to leave home and go to university or get a fulltime job, than I'd have to put in the extra effort and get good grades. Anyway, by the time I got back from my after-school revision session, mum was already back from work, drink in hand and an almost empty bottle of wine in front of her.

Like Casey, I was dyslexic - which mum thought was code for 'just-plain-stupid'. She figured school was a waste of time for someone with problems like me. In her worked-up, alcoholic state, she made sure to let me know that. Her intoxicated ranting drove me from the house quicker than a nuclear explosion might have done. I was out of the door and on the first bus headed to Summer Bay before she could even finish slurring her first insult.

My brothers lived at 31 Saxon Avenue. I strode up the drive and knocked first at the apartment where Heath and Bianca where staying. When I got no reply, I guessed they weren't at home and moved on into the main house. It was just as empty inside. All the lights were off and it was as silent as the grave, which meant everyone must be out. They were probably still at Angelo's or at the gym. I had barely walked through the door when I became aware of the fact that someone was behind me. I turned to see who it was and my heart skipped a beat when recognition dawned on me.

Ash was Brax's old cellmate. They'd been to prison together and he'd been accepted into the family with open arms as soon as he'd rocked up to the Bay. I'd had a soft spot for him as soon as we'd met. Ash had a kind heart under that tough exterior and the poor guy had had it hard. In my eyes, he was no criminal, just someone who had been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and been framed for assault by his sister's boyfriend, Dean. Ash was a nice, funny bloke. I couldn't help liking him even more than my brother's did. Ash and I got along like a house on fire.

When I saw him, I automatically forgot all my problems with mum and having to face Brax when he got back home. Smiling, I ran my gaze over him. He was dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt which implied he'd just got home from a shift at work. Over it, he was wearing his famous leather jacket. I couldn't help noticing how well it suited him, especially contrasting to the whiteness of his teeth when he flashed me his most handsome smile.