somewhere only we know || grayson hawthorne x oc

chapter twelve (avery)

After finding the Davenport clue, Avery was restless. Powerless. She was afraid to go into the woods again, so that wasn't an option. And she couldn't do anything about the whole assassination attempt thing. Therefore, there was only one mystery that she could try and figure out. Izzy. Was this a good idea? No. Was she going to do it anyway? Absolutely. After all, she didn't really have much to lose.

Finding out which room was Izzy's was easy enough. Oren volunteered the information, although warning her after he did. "You should know, this is a terrible idea."

But she ignored it. Luckily, Izzy didn't seem to be inside. But she wouldn't be far, so she had to work quickly. She didn't have time to admire the architecture, something which would have taken up way too much time. Instead, she went into the small study. On the desk, she found a bunch of awards and trophies. It was not dissimilar to the shrine that Tobias Hawthorne had kept. Basketball. Archery. Swimming. Piano. Ballet. Chess. All in her name. Avery thought back to the first meeting, when Izzy had commented on how remarkable the boys were, failing to mention that she was remarkable in herself. There was now no doubt in her mind that Izzy was just a random stranger. She knew these people, and she knew them well.

Avery was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard someone breathing behind her. And it wasn't Oren. She turned around to see Izzy leaning on the doorway with her arms crossed, looking rather bored with the situation.

"Note to self, Avery Kylie Grambs is prone to breaking-and-entering." Sarcasm dripped from the words, especially at the mention of her full name.

An edge found its way into Avery's voice. "Can you blame me? It's slightly suspicious, don't you think? You come here without any friends or family, and you keep to yourself the entire time."

"Well, in all fairness, you only have your sister, and not everyone has one of those. Plus, I've been forced to live with strangers. Some of us don't want to spend quality time with them." So she knew about the kiss, too. Great.

"But they're not strangers, are they? The Hawthornes, you know them." Avery couldn't stop now, even when it was good for her.

"Not anymore." This was the first 'answer' Avery had managed to get out of Izzy, and it was most likely going to be the last. She let the subject drop with new interests in mind.

If Izzy knew about the kiss, that also meant that she most likely knew about someone trying to kill her.

"Where were you when the shots rang out?" She should have stayed quiet. She should have taken what she had gotten and left the room.

Izzy sighed in disbelief. "What, you think it was me? Listen, Avery, you are way out of your depth here. Making accusations isn't going to help you."

Avery recalled something Thea had mentioned before. "But you do archery and rifle shooting, right? Thea told me that you're a perfect shot."

"Yeah, and I wouldn't have missed."

The words shocked Avery into silence. Izzy's tone was dangerously low, reminding Avery of the way Grayson had spoken to her when the will was newly read.

She didn't get a chance to even fathom a reply when Izzy took a few slow paces up to her until she was too close. "Listen, Avery. I don't want to fight. We're stuck in the House together for a year. The least we can do is not kill each other in the process." She stepped back before speaking to Oren, her eyes still on Avery. "Oren, please escort Avery out."

The order was final, and Avery found herself wanting answers more than ever before.