#18: When Will You Leave

Ava:

“Uhm…why are you smiling?” Amelia asked when she noticed the amused look on my face.

I shrugged before putting my phone back in my purse.

“My favorite page just posted,” I lied. “How long till this party is over by the way?”

“Well it’s pretty much over at this point, unless you still want to socialize.”

My lips pursed. Socialize? Who would I even socialize with? The wealthy stuck-ups who wouldn’t talk to me because of my father’s reputation or my former acquaintances whose minds had been tainted by Scott and now had nothing but ignorant lies to spew against me?

“No thanks. I’ve completely exhausted my social battery, and after everything that’s happened today, I just want to go home and watch a movie or something.”

“Are you sure?” Chantel asked only out of courtesy. Leila had already been dragged away from the group and now, someone else, the daughter of a man who used to work for my father was trying to bring Chantel and Amelia over to their group.

It was funny how only my dad had gotten the heat for the embezzlement, but his other workers had gone not just Scot free, but with their reputations intact.

“I’m sure.”

As much as I knew they all wanted to help me, there was no way I’d willingly let myself be the permanent deadweight, always pulling the group down. If I wanted to get back into society and be able to hold my head high, I’d have to go about it myself. Being forced into groups of people who clearly didn’t want me there would only make me look pathetic.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Amelia asked, catching up to me.

“Home,” I answered matter-of-factly.

Her lips pressed into a straight line.

“Home, as in…?”

“Where I’ve been living in for years now. That home.”

I should have known Amelia wouldn’t just leave me by myself. After all, she’d brought me here. The others didn’t owe me any responsibility as we’d only met that day, but Amelia would definitely be on my case unless I explicitly shut her out, and I wasn’t making that mistake in this lifetime.

She blinked, once, then twice as she tried to process the piece of information I’d just given her.

“You’re going back to Scott. After everything. He’s the one that texted you, isn’t he?”

I sighed. There was no way to make her see things from my perspective, at least not yet. I could have easily lied and told her I was going to a hotel or taken her offer to stay at her place, but then I’d have to rely on her once again for everything. While that wasn’t such a bad thing, I still wanted to deal with my issues first. I wasn’t granted a second chance just to waste it out hiding from the people who’d taken my first.

“I’m going back to my house, Amelia. My whole life is still there. I know I can’t make you understand, but there are things I have to do. I can’t just run away forever. I can’t just lose everything now.”

The more I explained, the angrier she got.

“I thought you’d changed…”

“I have. I promise.”

“Can you imagine what he’ll do to you after tonight?”

I smiled warmly, even though I knew she still wouldn’t understand.

“When I tell you I’ve changed Amelia, I need you to believe me. I still have a lot to figure out. It’ll make sense in the end, I promise.”

“Well I’m not taking you.”

I shrugged.

“That’s fine. I’ll find my way anyhow.”

I started to leave when she caught up with me again. For a long moment, she did nothing but glare at me, judgment and confusion at my state of mind clearly written on her face. I knew she wanted nothing more than to talk me out of it, or for me to chuckle and tell her of course I was joking, but the set look on my face told her otherwise. Finally, she sighed.

“If he tries anything stupid, make sure you call me,” she said and I nodded. “Your mind is clearly made up, but just know I don’t support this…”

***

Amelia drove me home soon enough after stalling unsuccessfully in an attempt to get me change my mind. I assured her everything was fine, but didn’t let her come into the house because I didn’t want it to seem like she was the only source of my newfound power.

Gemma unlocked the door in less than a minute, her features coated in fear. I immediately noticed the small swell on her eyes that looked like they were only going to get worse in time. I rolled my eyes.

Scott had beaten her up because he couldn’t fight his fellow men. What a loser behavior.

Her expression hardened when she saw me, obviously taking this as an excuse to get even with me just like before. I almost burst out laughing. The old me had really taken a lot of shit.

“What are you doing here by this time? The master didn’t even permit you to go out and you think you can just waltz in reeking of…”

“Treat your pus-filled eye first. You look disgusting.”

Her eyes widened at my statement but she caught herself in time. She was still blocking the entryway, clearly not done. I really didn’t have the time for this.

“Who do you think you are?”

Without warning, I pushed her forward and slithered behind her before she could regain her balance. I quickly put her arms together behind her back and lifted them above her head right away, knowing how much that had to hurt. She whelped in pain, confirming my thoughts.

“Now next time you see me, you treat me with respect, as the mistress of this house and not ask me stupid questions. Got it?”

She hesitated, shooting me a look that was a mix between hatred and fear. I stretched her arms forward, almost retching when I heard the sound of a bone crack.

“Yes! I’ve heard you please,” she cried.

I didn’t stop.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” I taunted her before letting her arms free.

I stood there for a while longer, waiting to see if she’d fight back again, but she didn’t. She only wrapped her arms around her body and practically ran away from the living room.

I couldn’t stop grinning. I’d enjoyed that way too much and a part of me felt uncomfortable that I had. How different was I from Scott if I was so powerful in front of the defenseless but timid in front of the actually powerful?

It was a start, I assured myself with a shrug. I just had to complete my list of things to do and soon, everyone who had ever wronged me would pay.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Belle standing at the staircase with a petrified look on her face. I turned to fully face her. She must have witnessed what’s I’d done to the maid. Great. It wasn’t a waste after all.

“I can see you’ve made yourself comfortable, bestie,” I said drily, taking in the shorts she was wearing which belonged to Scott. She actually had the decency to look startled and try to hide it when she saw me looking at it.

“So tell me,” I continued. “It’s almost midnight. When do you plan on leaving my house exactly?”