Breathe In (gxg)

Chapter Three

"No way," Avery gawked. The house she saw approaching went up into the heavens. She slowed her pace at the driveway, getting a better view of the home that took up a reasonable portion of the property. Marilyn's front porch alone was bigger in comparison to her entire apartment, it went on and on forever. She was obsessed, the countless fixtures and water fountains and neatly trimmed trees that decorated the property were impeccable.

At the sight of everything, Avery panicked. She had no clue the woman was wealthy but in retrospect, she saw it. It wasn't overtly obvious but she was too absentminded to pay much attention to that piece of information. How Marilyn carried herself, with such grace and poise should've been a dead give away, but the girl was a noodlehead to have noticed.

Checking her watch once she'd seen enough of the yard and the expensive things that sat on it, she noted there were only two minutes left to spare. Reaching out, the girl rang the doorbell at the front door, waiting with her hands clasped in front of her body. She fiddled with her fingers, looking down at the ground in an attempt to distract herself. Several seconds went by before the door swings open, and Avery stared at a pair of naked feet.

"Barely on time," Marilyn points, glancing at her watch.

Scratch thinking the woman's house was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, the girl completely forgot how beautiful Marilyn was. The sight of her in those ripped skinny jeans and plain white T-shirt brought out a glow in supple skin. Silky black hair sat on top of her head in a bun, a few strands falling against her face and nape. How could she forget that beautiful face?

"Like what you see?" Marilyn questioned flirtatiously and she snapped from her reverie.

"No... Yes, yes, I think you look beautiful." The girl wanted to facepalm at her stupidity. Why was she so tongue-tied, what changed?

"You look beautiful too, please come in."

Marilyn led the way, cognizant of the blushing girl who quietly followed behind. The more she interacted with Avery, it became clear as day that she was always having moments of inner conflicts and for what reason, only God knew. She only hoped it wasn't her presence that made the girl uncomfortable, it's the last thing she wanted.

The outside of the mansion was far beyond spectacular, there was no lie in that but the interior of the house? Jaw-dropping. Unlike anything, Avery had ever stepped foot in. The inside was massive, beautiful chandeliers hung from the ceiling, expensive carpets laid against the polished floor, furniture worth more than her yearly salary, it was like a palace, or so the girl thought.

"Your home is amazing," she said, twirling around to get a three-sixty view of it.

"Thank you. You should come this way, let me show you around."

She followed Marilyn as she led the way, her eyes fixated on everything during the tour.

At the end up of it, the girl learned the history behind the house. It now belonged to the hostess. The woman received the property from her husband, John due to a divorce settlement and Avery had to admit, that was some home to settle for.

The two women talked most of the tour and even after, they lingered in the kitchen, the girl assisting with dinner as best as she could. Marilyn asked her about her family, where they were from, and everything else one would ask to become familiar with someone.

"Tell me about you Ave, where's your family?"

The girl slowed her pace, she was cutting tomatoes and listening to the woman share anecdotes about her life. Now it was her turn to share.

"Well, there isn't much to say. My father lives abroad ever since he remarried, my mom's a bit of an itinerant, she's here then everywhere. And lastly, my older brother Nathan's married and is probably the only person I speak to regularly and if twice a year counts as regularly you can only imagine how often the others keep in touch,"

The woman was saddened by the response. She turned to Avery with a pitiful expression that made the girl aware that those were traumatic things to say.

"That's a lot sweetheart, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I've had a few years to come to terms with everything."

"You shouldn't have gone through whatever that was, let alone come to terms with it,"

"I shouldn't have, but I did," Avery replied, and unexpectedly, Marilyn reached out and stroked her cheek with a thumb. The way she gently cupped the girl's face sent shivers through her body. She tried to act nonchalant, feigning her calmed disposition when truly the woman's tender touch corrupted her breathing and her trail of thoughts. The poor girl had no clue why she was so affected by someone's touch but she was.

"What about you, why did you and your husband have a divorce? Hope I'm not being personal." The girl swallowed harshly, hoping to quell her anxiety by focusing on cutting the vegetables.

"Please, there's nothing personal about the divorce, almost everyone knows. It's why that still has people guessing."

"Okay. Why?"

"It's because John and I are two different people with different needs. We managed to stay together all those years because of business, but that business didn't last long. He grew jealous of some things I engaged in only because he couldn't have it too. So he filed for divorce." Marilyn replied and for a moment Avery thought she saw a hint sadness in her eyes while she spoke about her divorce but it dissipates, leaving behind an aloofness.

"Was that him the other day at the diner?"

"Oh god no, that was my lawyer, Paul."

"Oh. I'm sorry though, for everything."

"Don't be silly, none of it was your fault."

"I know, but I'm sorry you had to go through that. Having a divorce is a very nasty thing, I can tell you that." Avery reflected on her parent's separation.

"You're right,"

After a moment, silence occupied the space between them. Avery felt a slight tension and the reason behind it was somewhat inexplicable.
But she felt like she shouldn't have asked certain questions despite how curious she was. She wanted to know and now she did, only to regret being inquisitive. She only hoped they wouldn't let the awkwardness ruin the mood.