All Chapters of Dirty Little secrets : Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

Riley “You don’t have to decide everything right now,” I said, slower, trying to make it simple, “just… come sit in the car, okay? We’ll figure it out from there.”Her mom let out a sharp breath. “If she gets in that car, she is no longer my daughter.”“Wow,” I muttered under my breath, “love the emotional support, really top tier parenting.”“Riley,” Ava said, and there was something in it now, something like panic, like she was about to break.“I’m here,” I said immediately, stepping even closer, close enough now that I could see the bruises starting to form on her arm, and yeah, that made me angrier than I was already, which I didn’t think was possible but here we are.She looked down at her arm, then back at me, then at her mom, and for a second I thought she was going to stay, I really did, because fear is a powerful thing and this was her family and walking away from that is not easy, it’s never easy, no matter how bad it gets.Then she moved.It was small at first, just her sh

AvaI woke up disoriented in the guest room with the sunlight hitting me straight in the face. My hand went right to my stomach without me even thinking about it, just this automatic thing now like I had to check if the baby was still there after everything that happened last night. The house smelled like breakfast, eggs or bacon or something normal that made my stomach twist because I did not know how I was supposed to eat after all that yelling and crying and the almost kiss that Riley shut down. Downstairs I could hear the muffled arguing already going, Riley and her mom round two, voices rising and falling through the floor like they had not even waited for me to wake up before starting again.I sat up slowly , my head fuzzy, and rubbed my eyes. My arm still ached where the bruises were turning that ugly purple color. Everything felt heavy like my body knew I was not supposed to be here but my brain had not caught up yet. I pulled on the same clothes from last night because what e

Riley I pushed open the front door with my shoulder, arms full of stupid grocery bags Mom had made me carry like some pack mule. The house felt off right away. Too quiet. No clinking dishes, no TV humming in the background, no Ava shuffling around trying to clean everything like she had to earn oxygen. I dropped the bags on the kitchen counter harder than I needed to. "Ava? You alive up there or what?"Nothing. I yelled again, louder this time. "Ava! Come on, I got those weird healthy crackers you like. The ones that taste bland but apparently won't murder your fetus."Mom walked in behind me, keys jingling, and started unpacking like this was any normal afternoon. I watched her for a second, waiting for her to say something. She didn't."Mom. Where's Ava?" I asked, already feeling that twist in my gut.She shrugged, pulling out a carton of milk. "I haven't seen her since we left. Maybe she's resting upstairs. That girl needs it after everything."I took the stairs two at a time, hea

IvyMy mum's name is Ava. She was young when she ran. Pregnant with me, scared, and convinced everyone back home had turned their backs. That's the story she gave me on her good days. On bad days she didn't talk at all, just drank until she passed out. We moved around a lot in the beginning. Cheap flats, sometimes shelters when things got really tight. I learned early how to stretch a pack of pasta for three days. How to lie to teachers about why Mum wasn't at parents' evening. How to rock Jadenne to sleep while pretending I wasn't terrified.By the time I was fifteen Mum was in and out of institutions. Rehab places that cost money we didn't have. She'd come home clean for a month, all smiles and big plans. "You girls are gonna be doctors. Save lives. Make me proud." Then the cravings would hit and she'd disappear for days. I'd skip school to look after Jadenne when I was only 7, stealing formula from shops when I had to, hating myself but doing it anyway because what choice did I hav

Ivy I stormed out before anyone could say more, heart hammering, throat tight. The walk to the club was a blur. By the time I got there my eyes were burning and I kept wiping them hard like that would fix anything. The dressing room smelled like hairspray and sweat like always. I slapped on the makeup heavier than usual, the glittery stuff that made me look like someone else, and pulled on the tiny outfit Mum had found. Funny how the thing that pays our bills is the same thing that makes her lose her mind.The music was already thumping when I got on stage. I danced harder than normal, flipping and spinning like if I moved fast enough I could outrun the fight. Some creep in the front kept waving money and shouting shit I couldn't hear over the bass but I could guess. I slapped his hand away when he got too close and the bouncer finally moved him. Good. Let them all fuck off tonight.After my set I sat in the back counting my tips, hands still shaking a bit. That's when Kai showed up,