Not as it seems

Part 6

      “Hey, Honey how was your mission?” When I walked in the door of our apartment, my mom greeted me with a warm smile while putting down some of her paperwork.

    “It was okay,” I shrugged slightly not really feeling in the mood to tell my mom about the torture Jocelynn put me through. “Where’s Dad?” I asked, attempting to change the subject.

“He left for Milan this morning for an assignment,” my mom walked into the living room and came and sat next to me on the couch. The news was playing on a low volume on the tv which always confuses me as to why my parents even watch the news. Most of the newscasts barely tell half of the stories. “How about you tell me all about your tutoring?” My mom put her arm around me on the couch and I leaned into her. Of course, as I spy, my mom saw right through my facade and could tell that my assignment didn’t exactly end up as some amazing experience.

“Well,” I sighed getting ready to tell the story, “Jocelynn is a spoiled brat first of all. She was completely rude to me the whole time I was there which I don’t understand because its not like I ever did anything to her. Her family was the one that hired me in the first place,” I began to rant on, but my mom listened intently, “Oh, but I’m pretty sure her dad is involved with the drug cartel. I overheard him on the phone discussing a deal that is supposed to be going down during this Gala they are hosting. As a matter of fact, Mr. Rhodes ended up inviting me to the Gala which I should totally go to because of my mission and all, but I’m pretty sure Jocelynn almost killed her dad for inviting me, and I don’t even have anything to wear and-”

“Honey, you are going to that Gala.” My mom cut me off giving me a stern look. “Don’t worry about Jocelynn and don’t worry about finding something to wear. I’ve got you covered.”

“But what about-”

“I’m serious Aves,” my mom looked me right in the eyes, but I couldn’t exactly guess what she was thinking, “You deserve some fun.”

I smiled at this, “Thanks Mom, I love you.”

“Love you too, Aves.”

                                                                            *********

“Hello?” The British man’s voice rang through the intercom once again.

“Hi, it’s Avery again. Here to tutor Jocelynn.”

“You may come in. Jocelynn is in her room.” The doors clicked signaling they were unlocked, and so I pushed open the giant castle-like doors. Even though I spent most of the previous day in this house, I still walked in and my eyes widened and began scanning the room, admiring its beauty. I walked up the spiral staircase for the second time, still nervous about having to tutor Jocelynn. I don’t know what it is about her, but she definitely makes me feel like I’m walking on glass; that if I do something wrong, I could easily upset her. I knocked on the door and waited for her to answer. Same as yesterday, no one came to the door.

“Jocelynn?” I knocked again and tried to see if I could hear anything in her room. There was no music playing this time, just silence. I debated if I should just barge in her room again, considering what happened yesterday. But, I was getting impatient and I didn’t hear anything from the other side anyways, so I decided to just go for it. I opened the door and was welcomed to an empty room. Her room was spotless and there were no signs of life- all clothes were put away, her giant king sized bed was neatly made and her dresser was organized.

Just when I was about to leave and look around to find her, I heard a quiet whimper come from the bathroom, followed by some coughing. Her bathroom door on the opposite side of her room was cracked a little and through it I could see Jocelynn’s blonde hair. I went over to the door and hesitantly, I pushed it open.

“Jocelynn!” I gasped at what I saw. Jocelynn was kneeled over the toilet, trying to make herself throw up. She had tears streaming down her face, with her mascara smeared down her cheeks. Her eyes met mine and at first they were full of shock and guilt, but soon those emotions were replaced with pure rage.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Jocelynn stood up immediately and started rushing towards me which made me cower out of the bathroom.

“Sorry.. I just.. it’s time for your tutor session,” my voice was weak out of fear and my eyes were wide as I stared at Jocelynn.

“That’s no excuse! Do you have no manners?! You can’t just barge in on people!” Jocelynn’s arms were flailing all over the place and her words were sharp while she stared daggers. “Get the hell out of my house!”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. As quickly as I could I ran down the spiral staircase and out the huge front doors. My mind was filled with confusion as I reconsidered what I originally thought about Jocelynn. I wasn’t exactly paying attention to what I was doing so right as I stepped out of the front door, I ran into a hard chest. Out of shock I looked up to meet the face of Luke, Jocelynn’s boyfriend.

"Hey watch where you’re--," when Luke recognized my face his annoyed tone changed, "oh it's you." I wouldn't say he sounded thrilled to see me or even happy. Honestly, I couldn't read the expression on his face.

"Sorry," I mumbled as I tried to push past him, but he caught my arm.

"Is everything okay?" It was weird, I could have sworn I saw some concern in Luke's eyes as he asked this.

"Uh yeah," I sounded confused as I said this, probably because in that moment I felt like I had been thrown in a complete loop. I debated whether or not to tell him about what I just saw with Jocelynn, since he is her boyfriend and all, but decided against it. He gave me a weird look and then shook his head. The concern, if there was ever any at all, disappeared from his eyes and his face hardened.

"K whatever. I get that nerds are usually uncoordinated, but just be careful. I don't want you going around breaking everything in sight." With a final glare, Luke turned towards the door and went inside.

Oh I'll show you a nerd who breaks things. Right when I break every bone in your body. Jerk. I thought to myself while walking way.

I went to my car to leave the Rhodes house, still seething about Luke's comment. If only he knew the truth about me. But soon, my anger was transformed into guilt as I remembered Jocelynn. She seemed like such an annoying spoiled brat, but seeing her in the bathroom, crying and crouched over the toilet, she just seemed... different. Weak and vulnerable. I felt guilty for judging her and thinking she had such a privileged life. Maybe there was more to her than I knew.