Unconditional (Sequel to Senior Year - jb)

17. Bad Feeling

babies if you ever need someone to talk to or need help with anything SEND ME A DM

im gonna answer you :)

~

Ava's POV

I used my own key to open the front door to my childhood home. Yes, childhood. I had flown back to Graham for the weekend since it was my moms birthday. The flight was felt long due to the fact that I was alone. There was an empty seat next to me, haunting me almost, the whole way back to North Carolina.

It had been a week since the life-changing thing happened. And a week since the magazine was published with Scheana's and Justin's interview in it. Oh, how badly I wished I had known what was going to happen then. It would've helped me a lot to get ready for the impact. But of course, that would've not been possible. You can't get ready for the things life has in the stores for you. Every day is a surprise, a happy one or a sad one. Sad one's were just the only things I've been experienced ever since.

I grabbed my one small suitcase and carried it inside. I was met with a nice smell of lasagna and talking was heard in the backyard of the huge house. I left my suitcases there and strolled through the living room and straight to the back door. I peeked my head out of it to see my parents, Alexis, Abbie, Chad and Brielle having fun and conversing on the lawn, around a picnic basket. Brielle lifted her gaze up as I stepped down the two stairs.

"Auntie Ava!" she squealed and started running towards me with a smile on her face.

"Hi, baby."

She brought a smile on my face too. Which was a miracle. The last time I smiled honestly was just a day before Justin hit me up with the most heartbreaking news. I felt like I was 15 again, suffering a great heartbreak and again because of Justin.

I picked Brielle up as soon as she reached me. My family had stood up from the blanket on the lawn and were slowly walking to me.

"You made it on time." Alex giggled, but I could sense some carefulness in her voice.

"Yup." I responded and put Bri back down.

"How was the flight?" mom asked me, carefully also.

I guess everyone thought they were walking on very thin ice. But the funny thing was that I had only told Abbie about what had happened. That was when she came to my apartment just a half an hour later, after I had screamed and cried at Justin and kicked him out the door. I glanced at Abbie before clearing my throat.

"It was fine." I flashed a fake smile.

"There's some snacks in the picnic basket if you're hungry." Abbie pointed at it.

"I'm fine. I'll just take my suitcase to my room. I'll be right back."

"Sure, sweetie." mom hummed.

Very mom-like.

I turned around on my heels and went back inside. I walked across the living room and grabbed my suitcase from the foyer and went up the stairs. My room was still there where it was the day I left. Mom and dad didn't dare to change it or make it into a small library or anything. They wanted to remain it as my room.

I opened the door to the familiar smell. Everything was still in their original places from my previous stay. There were still pictures of me and Casey on my desk and nightstand. My high school books were still next to my bed in a neat stack.

God, how I missed this room.

Living alone did get rough sometimes, especially when now I basically had no one to sleep over, besides Laura.