Avery Scarlett's world changed when her parents passed in a horrible car crash. She is sent away to live with her cousin, Seth, who doesn't care about anyone but himself. But, one day, when they make their usual stop at the gas station to buy some s...
Seth waved, his brand new Lamborghini keys dangling in his hand as he walked off.
If looks could kill, I'd be at Seth's funeral instead of the filthy airport. After winning five million dollars from the stupid scratch-off, Seth decided he didn't want to take care of me anymore. So, he bought a one-way cruise ticket and gave it to me. He said it would ship me off to some foreign country, but I didn't believe him one bit. I was too busy worrying about how I would survive. The whole thing seemed really suspicious.
"Seth! You can't just abandon me like this! Are you crazy?"I shouted across the airport. I ran after him through the automatic doors, waving my arms around like a crazy person. He ignored me and hopped into his sport car.
Tears obscured my vision. I dropped my duffel bag at the airport entrance. My knees gave out, and I collapsed. I sobbed loud enough for people inside to hear me. I didn't care.
I just wish my mom and dad were here.
I heard the automatic doors open, so I looked up, wiping my eyes. A pretty girl with bouncy red hair rounded the corner, looking in all directions until she spotted me on the ground, sitting against the wall. She ran over and wrapped her arms around me. I didn't know who this girl was, but I was thankful for her comfort.
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She released me after a while, and sat down next to me. I noticed she was crying too. The same thing probably happened to her. I rested my arm on her shoulder.
"Thank you, whoever you are." I let out a shaky laugh.
"Mae Honeylark. I heard someone crying outside and ran out here to see if I could help them." She returned the laugh.
"Thank you so much. I'm Avery Scarlett. Nice to meet you."
"I'm guessing you're here for the Sunset Cruise?" Mae wiped her eyes.
"Yeah — how did you know?"
"I'm here for the same thing." Mae said.
"Oh." I wiped my nose with the sleeve of my hoodie. "Well, at least I have someone to talk to on the plane ride."
She laughed. "We probably need to hurry up if we want to make it on time."
"Oh, shoot!" I grabbed my duffel bag and Mae grabbed my hand. We bolted through the airport, my new friend grabbing her suitcase from a chair mid-stride. We gave our tickets to the desk lady and lept through the barrier.
This cruise might not be the worst thing, after all . . .
