Dangerous Love

01.

University. The place I had been dreaming to go all my life. The place where you could express who you really were without your parents peering over your shoulder every minute of the day. The place that could give you a sense of freedom. The place I was supposed to be going to tomorrow.

Well, that was of course until we turned on the news. Out of all the places in the country, why did that stupid, idiotic gang start a riot in Brighton. Why not Liverpool? Or Bristol? Why did it have to be in the city I was attending university in?

"THAT'S IT" my mother screeched, rapidly standing up from the sofa and making her way over to my suitcase.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING, END OF DISCUSSION!" She screeched again, the sound nearly bursting my eardrum.

I sighed deeply, knowing this would happen. Lately she was finding any excuse to insure I didn't go to university. My mother began unpacking all the clothes out of my suitcase until I quickly ran over and stopped what she was doing. 

"Mum please" I whispered, while rubbing my hand on her back, trying to calm her down. I knew she was close to a breakdown as I could see the tears building up in her eyes.

She turned to me and let the tears stream down her face. "I can't let you go Ava!" She sobbed. "It's too dangerous over there! How can I protect my baby girl when you are a 5 hour drive away from here? You know perfectly well what that gang is capable of, and I can't send you to Brighton now they are there."

I nodded, agreeing with her reasoning but she wasn't going to stop me from going. I had been dreaming of this since I was a little girl, and I wasn't going to let some pathetic gang get in the way of that.

"Mum, I understand you are scared but I'm going to be fine. First of all, the riot won't go on forever and I bet you they have already left the city." I stated. "And secondly, I'm not going to be on my own over there. I have Evie, who is going to be attached to my hip like she always is. And don't forget Dan and Phil are going to be there with us as well!"

"Ava, don't you understand!? I am not taking the risk because if anything happens to you, I will never forgive myself!" She took a deep breath before continuing. "I have to live a life of regret because of what happened to your brother, I'm not making the same mistake with you" she cried, whilst tears continued to stream down her face. She quickly exited the room, unable to look at me.

My breath hitched at the mention of my brother. No matter how long it had been, the thought of him still made it a little harder to breathe. It had almost been 2 years since his death yet the subject was still raw, and was untalked about throughout the family. I was shocked that she even brought the matter up, since she had done her best to avoid the topic over the last couple of years.

There isn't a day that goes by were I don't think of him. However thinking of him isn't always a good thing. You have no idea how easy it is to fall back into darkness, and sometimes the mere thought of him could do this. When my brother died, as cliche as it sounds, a bit of me died with him. I was no longer the same person after his death; I had changed without even realising.

Of course I understood why she didn't want me to go. Gang violence took my brothers life, and she didn't want it to take mine. But I wouldn't be stupid enough to involve myself in that kind of lifestyle, because the consequences were something I would not wish to face.

"What's up kiddo?" A familiar voice interrupted my trail of thought.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, whilst hugging him. He looked at me with concern when noticing my teary eyes, but chose to ignore it and hug me tighter. After our embrace I proceeded to briefly tell him what had happened, purposely leaving out the mention of my brother. His death had been tough on all of us, but it had been especially tough on my dad due to the closeness the two had.