Guessing Game | d.s

thirty one

REAL LIFE

Avery sighed, she couldn't stand E-News anymore. They had been printing lies and gaining money off her suffering for over a week. She was genuinely sick of it. And worst of all, her mother had revealed herself to the world and was coming for her. Avery truly didn't understand why her mother all of a sudden did this, with no explanation.

None of her friends understood either. She couldn't tell them why her mother was spreading so much bullshit about her to the world. She couldn't tell them it was because when she was 18 she left her abusive home and never looked back. That she didn't even spare her mother and father a last glance before leaving and taking all of their saved up money to make a life for herself in California. And she did. She made a life for herself and she sure as hell wasn't going to let her mother destroy it with simple lies.

Avery didn't consider herself a celebrity and she didn't understand how they had to deal with these types of things every single day. She'd never been in scandals before. She had never had this kind of life or pictured she would be anything close to successful with such loving friends and an amazing boyfriend.

And now she was slumped in her bed thinking about how the media was slandering her name and how she could do nothing about it. She didn't know how to address things like these. She never has to deal with this in the first place. Drew didn't even know how to tell her how to proceed. He had gone out to buy them food while Avery sulked in her bed.

She heard the keys jingle and footsteps walk inside their home. She forced herself to get out of the bed and Drew came in hand with sushi, per Avery's requests. Drew wasn't a big fan of raw fish so he got California rolls and eel rolls. They didn't say anything, but sat down and ate their food. The silence was good for them, just allowing them to relish in the presence of each other.

They finished their food, threw away the packaging. Avery didn't even need to say anything for Drew to come up behind her and wrap his arms around her. Avery couldn't help by sigh contented as she felt him hug her. She breathed in sharply, the air around them smelling like strawberry and ocean breeze. Just how they liked it.

Drew lied his head to rest on Avery's shoulder. His presence brought her so much more comfort then she could ever ask for. He always knew when to give her space and when to hug her until she couldn't breathe. This was one of those times. Avery Green truly believed that Drew Starkey was perfect in every way, while she only hoped he saw her as perfect as she saw him. Tammy had found her soulmate in Benjamin and Avery truly hoped that she had found hers in Drew.

"You okay?" Drew murmured, just below her ear quietly.

"Yeah" she sighed vaguely.

That was a lie. They both knew it. Avery wasn't okay and Drew didn't like seeing her suffer mentally and physically. She didn't want get up from bed anymore. Most days she would just play Strawberry Fields Forever on the record that Drew had bought for them and mumble the lyrics over and over again on repeat.

"Are you sure?" He asked, not wanting to push her into speaking when she wasn't ready.

"Yeah."

"Okay," Drew sighed, "Just know, I'm here, alright? I—." He hesitated, unsure if he should tell her. He had chickened out last time, in fear of her not saying it back or leaving him. But all his friends could see that the two loved each other. They told him that she loved him as much as he loved her, so he said it. "I love you."

He could feel her freeze up in his arms and he prayed that he didn't just mess everything up between them. Avery couldn't speak. She couldn't move. She couldn't function. Her mind had drawn a blank. She had never had someone tell her they loved her romantically. None of her relationships had ever lasted that long. More importantly, she had never loved anyone before. Not like she liked Drew.

She wanted to tell him. Scream it out loud to the world, but in his arms she remained frozen and all words that formed in her mind couldn't seem to come out and she could sense that it hurt Drew when she felt him deflate and retreat his arms around her. Avery desperate wanted to grab him and kiss him till their oxygen ran out, but her feet stood frozen and she felt Drew sigh heavily, muttering to himself as he walked into their room and shut the door.

Only when he had left, she could move and breathe again, but somehow she felt that being frozen would be better then facing more problems that she had created.

author speaks
LOOK IM SORRY AGAIN

i need you to understand because of avery's backstory
she doesn't trust people that easily, especially when it
comes to her heart. yes, she 100% loves drew, but she's
afraid to tell him because he thinks that he'll
hurt her like everyone else in her life has