Look At Me Now

Chapter 25

When I finally made it back home it was eleven. The sky was pitch black and the air was cold. I slipped in my room and shut my window. My light immediately flicked on, making me jump.

"Avia Lilith Jensen, where the hell did you go?" my mother was standing in front of my door like a statue. Her eyes were dark and her demeanor was threatening. Goosebumps arose on my skin as she stared me down. Her dark hair was in a ratty ponytail, tangled and falling out. She was wearing an old faded blue t-shirt that came with a pajama set my Aunt had given her for Christmas years back and the matching pair of flannel blue pinstriped pajama bottoms.

"I-I-Mom-I-" I couldn't get out a proper word.

"I came up here to see if you were feeling up to eating hours ago!" she yelled. "Imagine my surprise to find you gone! How could you be so selfish, Avia? After what I went through the first time, you think you would be a little more considerate." She spared a glance towards my window. "If I hadn't remembered those two coming to the door I would've called the cops. At first I thought they'd taken you again, so I called Mr. Porter. You snuck out. This is all their doing. You used to be a good kid. They've ruined my little girl-"

"Mom, please stop," I said, my voice low and calm. "I was selfish-what I did is unforgivable. But, Mom, you brought me back home and expected things to just be okay. Things aren't okay, Mom. For, like, the past year Kyle was killing innocent girls and I was being trained as an assassin. Now Kyle is dead and I have no clue how to be normal again!"

"Stop it, Avia," her voice was a terrifying level of calm. "You are going to learn. You will learn how to live here. I don't care what you've been learning this past year and a half. You're my daughter and that's the end of it. I'm sorry you're not happy with the situation but there's no other option." She turned to leave but paused. "And you will not be sneaking out again, I'm putting a stop to that now."

I sank down on my bed in defeat. This was it. I reached for my phone when I could no longer hear her receding footsteps.

<Got caught.>

<I thought I taught you better than that Angel>

<Apparently not. She's put her foot down. No more sneaking out>

<Damn>

<Exactly>

<We'll just have to figure something else out>

<Like what>

<Gotta go>

I let out a sigh and dropped my phone on my bed. The picture-covered wall across from me drew me in. I walked to it and my eyes scanned the pictures. They were mostly of me and Heather with Ron sprinkled throughout them. I did miss it. This was my life before. This is the life I can't go back to. Not even if I wanted to.

*

*

*

At ten on Saturday morning there was a knock at my door. "Ron is here," my Mom said, stepping aside to allow him in my room.

"Hey," I said as she closed the door.

"I still can't believe you're back, Ave," he breathed. He pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I just...every time I see you I just want to hug you."

"It's okay," I said with a smile.

He pulled away from me and sat on my bed. "How are you?" He ran a hand through his dark hair.

"I'm good." I gave him a confused look, to which he shrugged in response. "I saw you yesterday."

"It's another day, you could be completely un-good," he replied with ease. Then he was serious. "How are you and Heather getting along?"

"She isn't talking to me too much-just when we have class and stuff. I think she's uncomfortable around me. I can't exactly blame her. For the past year and a half I've been dead-to her at least-now I'm suddenly alive? That's not easy to deal with. Especially not for Heather, you know how she is."

"So that's why you sit with me at lunch?" he asked with a big nod. "And here I was thinking it was because we were friends."

"We are friends," I replied rolling my eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

He nodded. "Of course."

"Why did you and Heather break up?" I asked. "You guys were so great together."

"We stopped being so great after you disappeared. We were constantly fighting and she was being so insane about every little thing. You know how she used to talk about how hot she found other guys-and I was fine with it, I didn't tell her to shut up or anything. I figured if she got it out of her system by just talking then she wouldn't need to go any further. And, in return, she let me compliment other girls-not that I ever really did, I didn't want anyone else.

"When you went missing, at first, she was really quiet and aloof. She wouldn't talk to me about anything. Then she was angry, all the time. She would scream at me over little things and she would flirt with guys left and right-actually flirt with them. She also became really possessive over me, which I thought was absurd. I would never have cheated on her." He stopped for a moment, looking around the room. "I broke up with her. I just couldn't handle it. I was friends with you too, Ave. I needed to deal with it too. Maybe not as much as Heather but I still needed time."

"You don't have to justify your actions with me, Ron," I said putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay."

"I do miss her," he added. "I really do."

"I know," I smiled. "You're pretty obvious."

He grinned up at me. "I doubt she noticed."

"Probably not." She wasn't very observant.

"I think she still has feelings for you, in case you were wondering," I said with a shrug. "She gets all closed up when you're even mentioned."

"Do...do you think we have a chance? A-another chance?"

I bit my inner cheek. "I wouldn't say it's out of the question." I wasn't actually as sure as I sounded. "Just talk to her."

Ron fell back on my bed and let out a loud sigh. "If only she was easy to talk to."

"If she was easy she wouldn't be Heather," I replied lying beside him. "And you're in love with Heather."

"I hate it when you're right," he said.

"I'm always right," I said with a wide smile. "How could you hate it?"

He bumped my arm with his elbow. "You're such a jerk."

I let out a loud laugh that was interrupted by a loud tap tap tap...a knock at my window. Ron and I both sat up, our eyes trained on the window. Ron was looking at the person behind the glass in shock whilst I was a bit on the angrier side.

"Isn't that the guy you were with before?" Ron asked.