Visions of Fate

THIRTY SIX: UNVEILED MYSTERIES

For two days Ava hadn't talked to me. She stayed away from me like the plague, and acted stranger than unusual when she saw me in the hallways. Abi, Ben and Zara believed it was all thanks to Zara's stern warning, but I was sure that wasn't the case. The look of fear in Ava's eyes on its own spoke volumes.

On the other hand, living in the house without Mom had been the worst days of my life, and I found myself appreciating her existence. The nights were always lonely, and I lived on only scraps of food we had in the house. I contemplated visiting her in the hospital, but I thought twice about using the few bucks I'd found for an unrewarding transport fare.

I had, by myself, learned to live independently, going to school and coming home to meet the house unchanged, devoid of human presence whatsoever. By Thursday, I was seldom familiar with these adjustments, and I prepared for school and locked the door on my way out.

I decided to walk to school, since I already knew my way around town and needed to wisely finance my money, anyways. When I got to school and found, neither of my friends outside waiting for me, I strolled into the building to find Abi and Ben having a discussion near her locker.

"Hey guys," I greeted when I approached them.

"Emily," Abi swung her arms around me. "Just the person we were talking about."

"You guys were talking about me?" I asked, confused.

"Not really," Ben gave Abi a pointed look. "We were talking about Ava's recent behavior. She looks paranoid, and keeps checking her back, as if there'd be a creep behind her. She just doesn't look like herself. It's kinda weird actually, cause she's never been this distraught before. At least not openly."

I nodded in comprehension, having already come to terms with this fact.  But I furrowed my brows almost immediately. "So how does this have anything to do with me?"

"That's the thing," Ben searched around and pulled me closer to him, almost like he was about to tell me a top government secret. "This all started in the bathroom, remember? When Ava saw you and she immediately flanked out as if you'd transformed into a ghost or something."

"I thought you guys thought she was only scared of Zara's warning?" I crossed my arms across my chest.

"That was exactly what we thought. Until the entire school noticed this, too."

"Now there's a rumor that Ava is probably pregnant for Ethan." Abi added.

"What?" I couldn't help the shriek, and Abi and Ben simultaneously shushed me, like I'd shouted out their deepest secret.

"Justin told me it's probably because Ethan doesn't want her to keep it, and she wants otherwise." Ben told me.

"Who's Justin?"

"No one," Ben said, and for the first time since I met him, he almost looked shy.

"Just tell her, Benny," Abi said through a sigh.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He played with something under the sole of his feet.

Abi released a sigh that told me she'd expected this. "Justin is Ben's boyfriend." She told me.

"What?" I beamed at Ben. "How come you never mentioned anything?"

"Because," he explained. "I didn't want to draw too much attention. And we aren't really a thing thing. We're just chatting and chilling and stuff," if his lie wasn't unconvincing enough, then the blush on his cheeks did well to prove him wrong.

"Ooh, Abi," I wiggled my eyebrows. "I think we better start preparing our bridesmaids dresses."

Abi caught on immediately. "I think we should. I wonder what color they should be." She thought out loud.