Falling Colors

Chapter Twenty-Two: It's Just Avery

The musty smell of Cleo’s practice filled my nose, and I fidgeted, uncomfortable on the metal folding chair.  Everyone was either standing or pacing around the small room that served as our gathering place.  Cleo was late, which was no surprise, and everyone was edgy because of it. 

      Today was the day we were going to a café and it was the first time Cleo had scheduled a fieldtrip for this group.  Wiley was the only other one sitting.  He was leaned forward in his seat, hunched over his iPhone clicking away impatiently at the screen.

        “When is she going to be here?” Bria asked, shooting a nervous look in Wiley’s direction.  He ignored her question, or didn’t hear her.

         “Wiley,” Avery snapped.  “where the hell is your loco aunt?”

       Wiley glanced up from his phone, and shrugged not caring about the sharp tone Avery had been using.  “I’m not her keeper.  You know how she is.”

       The steam could be seen coming from Avery’s ears.  She gritted her teeth then picked up her speed of pace.  Her stilettos clicked ruthlessly on the wood floor.  Felix and Mason had stopped their own pacing and stood with Bria watching Avery march across the floor, throwing her hands up every now and then and mumbling something under her breath.

       I didn’t bother giving her any more attention, it would just fuel her on.  The few days I’d known Avery I discovered she enjoys having people watch her get angry and look at her nervously.  Everyone tiptoes around her feelings, and she enjoyed it.  It was a sense of power to her, and I couldn’t stand it.  I couldn’t stand the way she walked all over people; I did everything I could to make sure she never walked all over me.

         Wiley kept staring at his phone, not even phased by Avery’s actions.  He was her therapy partner and she went off on him more than she did anyone else.  Wiley didn’t seem to care though.  He’d either just ignore her or laugh it off.  Monday he had laughed her off and she ended up screaming loudly.

        Cleo said, after Avery had stormed out, she was going through withdrawals.  She couldn’t deal with not having drugs in her system for so long, no matter what she did.  She had to find a new addiction, and the addiction she had chosen was anger.  But that wasn’t too far an emotion off from the rest of us.

        “Can you call her or something?” Mason asked calmly, shooting a wary look in Avery’s direction.  Avery returned his look with a glare and opened her mouth to say something but Wiley interrupted her.

      “I’m not going to call her.  She’ll be here when she gets here,” he responded to Mason, sounding edgy. 

        Mason raised his eyebrows at him obviously annoyed and began to pace slowly.  Bria stood in the far corner, where she could see out the window if Cleo pulled in with her car.  She was fidgeting nonstop; it made me want to go up to her and shake her to calm down. 

       Bria was a nervous wreck all the time.  She was insecure about everything, and the two days I had known her I could tell she wasn’t very good at hiding anything about herself.  She blurted out most of her thoughts and feelings right away; she was a therapist’s dream patient, but for group therapy she was a nuisance.  Why she was here, I had no idea. 

        Felix stood biting his lips and his arms folding across his chest, trying to appear calm, but his eyes were wide and scanning around taking in everything, making sure nothing dind’t get past him. 

       I didn’t understand what the big deal was that Cleo wasn’t here.  She didn’t seem reliable to begin with, and these people knew her better than I did.  Wiley wasn’t worried, so I would assume no one else should have been either.  He was her nephew; he probably knew her better than anyone there.