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CHAPTER FORTY SIX Gone ‿︵‿︵‿︵
(FOUR YEARS AGO)
It was a normal Thursday.
The sun peeked through the slim gap in the light blue curtains that blew lightly in cool breeze. Casting over her closed eyes, the light caused the young girl to stir and gradually wake from her slumber. Avery let out a quiet groan and lazily rubbed her eyes, rolling over to face away from the sunlight.
After another few minutes, she managed to force herself to move again. Her blonde hair was extra wavy than usual due to the saltwater she spent all on the evening in. Stray pieces stuck up in different directions and fell into her face, occasionally tickling her. Avery sat up and stretched her arms before wiggling out from under the covers and draping her legs over the edge of her bed.
Last night she snuck out to see JJ to escape her parents arguing. He was also having trouble at home, hence the fresh purple bruise on his cheekbone and split lip that Avery aided as best as she could for him. They fled to the beach to surf, to forget about reality for a some time. It was enough to get her mind off of things.
Reluctantly, she shuffled across her bedroom and opened the door. The smell of burning filled her senses, immediately notifying her that her father had chose to cook breakfast. She rolled her eyes with a smile and followed the smell down to the kitchen, where her father was darting around.
"You know you can't make pancakes," She voiced with a chuckle. Her smile faltered a little, "and you only make pancakes if there's something wrong"
"That is not true" Noah puffed and peered over his shoulder to see his daughter point a look at him.
"You tried to make me pancakes on my tenth birthday because you forgot to buy me that book you promised me. And when you forgot yours and Mom's anniversary last year. It is true" She pointed out and raised her eyebrows, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
"Well, nothing is wrong. I woke up in the mood for everything-is-alright pancakes" He shrugged. A muttered curse fell from his lips as he failed to flip another pancake.
Avery chuckled and shook it off. Her eyes glanced down at the unlaid table and noticed her mother's paintbrushes. She reached over to grab them, "oh, Mom's left her paintbrushes behind today"
"I'm sure she will be fine without them for today" Noah quickly dismissed and shrugged, avoiding his daughter's questioning glance.
"But these are her favourite, and her best. She never leaves them behind" Avery frowned softly as she fiddled with the brushes in her hands. Then it clicked and her lips parted, "What's happened?"
"You and your mind. So creative and overthinking, Aves–"
"Stop that," Avery snapped and looked up at her father. The man was walking over with two plates of pancakes, awkwardly holding onto cutlery too. He paused and stared down at her. "What happened, Dad?"
He slowly placed the plates down on the table and lowered himself into the seat next to her. Noah avoided her eyes, making her stomach knot. He spoke quietly, "your mom, uh, she left in the night. I don't know a lot and I wish I did so I could tell you everything but that's all I know, Avery"
"Is she coming back?" She blurted out, desperate to hear the answer she wanted.
Her father's eyes met hers and that was enough to give her the answer. He solemnly said, "I don't know"
It felt like everything around her had started to fall apart. All the emotions flooded through her, mangling together. Her body suddenly felt warm and her tanned cheeks had started to flush. Avery heard what he had said but it took her a long second to comprehend.
As soon as it sunk in, her eyes glossed over with thick tears and she bit on her bottom, trying to prevent it from trembling. Her body was still but her mind was moving fast. She rapidly blinked, making her vision more blurry, and shook her head.
"No, no, she– she can't leave. She has to come back" She chocked out, pushing herself back from the table. Her chair snatched across the floor and the noise caused her to cringe.
A hand clasped hers before she could rise to her feet. Noah pleaded, "Avery, hey, kid. It's okay, look at me. Please, Aves–"
Before he knew it, Avery sprung up from her seat and launched herself to the back door. His voice calling after her muffled. The girl couldn't stop, she didn't want to. It felt like she was drowning, she needed to get away. There was no way this is happening. It couldn't be true, surely, she will wake up in a minute and everything will be okay.
A squeaky yelp left her mouth as she pinched herself hard, feeling it and realising it wasn't a dream. She let her leg take her, pushing them to carry on running even though they were beginning to ache. Her chest heaved and she struggled to catch her breathe.
Eventually, Avery came to a stop on the dock. As soon as her legs stopped moving, they buckled and sent her crumpling to the ground. Her exposed knees scrapped against the wood planks. A sob escaped, causing her to quickly cover her mouth with her hand as she couldn't hold them back any longer.
Her mother was gone, without a reason. Never had Avery thought that she would leave them, no matter how complicated things were. Turns out she was naive.
