Help Me Pick Up The Pieces {Completed} (GirlXGirl) [TeacherXStudent]

Chapter 66

Chapter 66

I need some space. I need time away from you.

That's what Avery said to me and that's why I find myself walking into my apartment building alone for the first time in weeks.

I open my mailbox to find it stuffed full with weeks worth of junk mail and a few Christmas cards that failed to get here on time.

With a sigh I lock my mailbox and get on the elevator. The second I get into my apartment I toss the mail onto the counter while I kick off my shoes and dump my purse on the ground. I go into the kitchen and open the fridge. All I find is a few beers and a carton of milk that is well beyond its use by date.

I have spent so much time at Avery's that I haven't gone grocery shopping in I don't know how long.

I close the fridge and go through the cabinets only finding some stale crackers and a half bottle of vodka. I grab the bottle and leave the crackers and collapse on the couch.

I try and pace myself so I don't down the entire bottle but it's New Year's Eve, so why not let loose a little?

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~ A few hours ago

"So I was thinking, maybe we could go out and see the fireworks tonight," I say as I watch Avery silently flip through the TV channels.

"Why? It's always incredibly crowded and the traffic coming back is a bitch," she says without even looking at me.

"I know, but I know this spot that no one else knows about. It's private and you can see the fireworks even better than where everyone else is, it's perfect."

"No," she says flatly as she continues to stare at the TV. I pout and snatch the remote out of her hand causing her to turn towards me and glare.

"Come on, Avery," I say with a warm smile. "It will be fun. We can all go. I'm sure Liam will love it."

"Liam hates fireworks. The loud noise scares him," she says and I nod in understanding.

"Okay then just me and you then. We can take some pillows and blankets and cuddle up under them as we watch the fireworks go off, what do you say?"

"No," she says again as she takes the remote back from me.

I sigh as I move on the bed so I'm in front of her, blocking her view of the TV. "Come on. It will be nice to get out and do something just the two of us," I say with a small smile. She groans in frustration and she pushes me aside as she attempts to get out of the bed.

"I said no. If you want to go so badly you can go alone," she says before walking off towards the bathroom and quietly slamming the door behind her.

I sigh as I lay back on the bed. I hear the water in the shower start running and close my eyes.

At least 20 minutes pass before Avery emerges from the bathroom towel drying her hair. As Avery passes by me to go to the closet, I can't help but to look at her legs for any signs of fresh cuts.

I have found myself doing this a lot ever since the night of her father's Christmas party. I remember seeing the bloody scratch marks on her legs that night where she dug her nails into her skin so hard that the skin broke and she started bleeding, it took them a few days to heal. Ever since then I have been worried that she might start hurting herself again which is why I'm always incredibly relieved when I see no fresh marks on her beautiful body.