Chapter One
Dear Readers, I would love to thank each and every one of you for following me and reading my books and, I would personally love to thank those that have been giving me support during this tough time. You see, you may have noticed that this story I had worked so hard on to write had not been updated in a very long time and that is because of an error from not only the app but also my phone updating software. I had written 38-41 Chapters before I had signed my story and I continued to write while I waited for my story to be published on to dreame. Unfortunately, my phone software and the app crashed on me and I had lost all my hard work (as I write and publish, using the easy writing method app). Which also meant none of my work was backed up and that was my error too. Once the error was fixed by the stary tech team, I had tried my best to re-write what I could remember but each sentence I typed caused me to break down. I did not like how the story started and I sure didn't like how it was going to end. It had gotten to the point that I had lost all motivation for writing, stressed out til my hair fell out for weeks and I was three seconds away from deleting all my books off this app. I have two children under the age 8. So with my family life too, it was extremely hard. Until two days ago, I received a lot of love and messages from you guys on here and f*******:. Which has helped me so much to gather my strength to carry on. So to all of you asking. Yes! I am currently working on finishing this book (hopefully before feb) and I really hope you enjoy this book. I do, want to apologise for any spelling mistakes you may see. I don't have an editor and I personally have to go through each chapter to fix each errors. Which takes a lot of time. There is a possibility that this story may change from chapter one onwards. So, just giving you all a quick heads up. THANK YOU ALL again and I hope you enjoy this story. -MsBlack.
Warning! This story is not suitable for readers under the age of 14. This story holds very strong content.
Chapter One: I Quit.
AVA (Avery) RODGERS P.O.V:
Do you know what sucks more than waking up with a hangover? It's waking up naked with a hangover. Waking up naked, hungover in an unfamiliar room, covered in a blanket that smells a lot like piss. Actually, as a matter of fact, it smelt EXACTLY like piss, and I am pretty sure it's now seeped into my skin. It's cold and I don't know where I am. And the street lights shining through the window above me aren't helping much either. I can't see a thing. Not even a little bit. But the one thing I really couldn't stop noticing was the smell. I just couldn't get my mind off it. What was it? How can something smell so bad? The pungent smells of the accumulated gunk within these four walls were hitting my nose like a runaway freight train. Just the thought of what I was inhaling caused me to stifle a low groan in disgust and as if my stomach wasn't turned already. It was putrid. It was horrible.
Well, all I know is that I have to get out of here. I place my hands on the mattress to feel exactly where I am. I pat my sides and all around me to see if I could find something. Anything. Maybe a piece of clothing. Hopefully my phone. I turn to the side and in the dim light, just beside the bed on the bedside table, hanging by the drawer, I'm able to make out what looks like my handbag. And it is! Just hanging there. Yes! I reach out and grab my bag. I quickly sit up in bed to look for my phone, but just as I do that I feel a limp, boney, hairy masculine arm and hand slither down the back of my neck and slide down my spine. I was already cold, but feeling that arm glide down my back sent my shivers into overdrive. And the cold I was feeling was no longer from the temperature. But from the realisation of the situation, I had got myself into. Like a flick of a switch, I begin to piece together the faint memories of what had led me to this moment. The last thing I remember was celebrating my best friends birthday. It was at an Irish pub not far from home. There was so much beer, so many drinks. So many laughs over some Vodka shots. It must have been a hell of a night. Now, I had no clue where I was or who I just slept with. I just happened to wake up butt naked in some stranger's bed, in a room filled with darkness and regret. "Just great!" I thought to myself.
"Uh-Hey!" I muttered, trying to wake the stranger up. Unfortunately, he let out a slight grunt, yanked on my body, then he cuddled into me deeper. His hot breath, raked over the flesh of my neck, reeking like beer and cigarettes. "Excuse me!" I spat out; while poking his arm that wrapped across my body. He grumbled, released his arm from over me and turned to sleep the other way. A sigh of relief slipped through my lips as I sat up, pulled the covers down to my knees and slowly made my way out of bed.
I was hoping that the light that shined through the glass window would magically create a path for me to the light switch but it didn't. Instead, I'd been crawling on my hands and knees trying to make sense of where any of my stuff was. After, what felt like forever; I managed to find not only my bra and panties in the dark but also a phone. "Thank God!" I whispered into the darkness whilst pushing the power button on the side of the phone. A bright light appeared across the screen before a photo of Groot from the Marvel film came into sight. I love every Marvel series and movies there is. So, it wasn't hard for me to recognise the character.
Switching on the phone's torch, I managed to find my dark green mid dress and black heels, and also my cell phone. Which was sitting on a stained white dresser next to the door of the room. After putting on my clothes, I took one last look at the stranger's room and bed; with him tucked in under the covers and made my way out the room, leaving his phone switched off on his dresser.
I was sitting on his couch, about to phone a cab to pick me up. When I heard the sound of beer bottles clanging around in the room I just left. I jerked up from off the couch whilst looking at the room door then set off towards the front door with my bag and heels in one hand. Reaching the front door, my free hand clutch tightly over the doorknob. I let out a breath (I didn't know I was holding), took one last look at the room door before running out into the cold, closing the door behind me.
I managed to get a good distance between me and the stranger's house before phoning a cab again. I found a spot near a bush, just in case I had to jump in and hide.
"Hello, you called 215-Cabs, can I have you read out your address for me and where you would like to go?" the operator questioned. "Uh yeah, I don't know where I am at the moment but I live in Unit 3, 4208 New York Ave, Brooklyn," I whispered into the phone. The phone line fell silent then I could hear a loud sigh from the operator before I heard the keys being taped away on her keyboard. "Ok mam, I pulled up your location and you are not within our zone. Would you like me to call the taxi service in Philadelphia and send them to your location?" she replied. "Yes! Yes, please!" I mumbled, feeling comfortable that I was going to get home safely. "Ok mam, all done. A taxi is on its way. Thank you for calling 215-Cabs" she said before hanging up.
I stood there looking at my phone for a good, long minute whilst my brain tried to analyze the call. Then, it dawned on me, I was no longer in New York but in Philadelphia. How on earth did I manage to get so drunk, that I ended up sleeping with a stranger who lived more than an hour away from where I lived. "Great one Ava!" I said to myself. Scrolling through my phone's notifications; I received a lot of missed calls and messages from my best friends Lachlan and Lana. It was their 30th birthday we celebrated last night and I had to leave them at a pub whilst I got my v****a fix. A fix from a man who probably had STD's. I let out a slight groan just thinking about it. Knowing Lana, she would be pissed. Piss probably wasn't the right word to use but you get the point, she would be fuming.
You see; Lana has always been very overprotective of me since the day we first met. We were both nine years old at the time and we became two peas in a pod not long after. When they moved in next door, I thought she had a major crush on me but it turns out, her mother was in an abusive relationship and she got it in her head that all women needed saving. So, I let her save me. Lachlan, on the other hand, was different from his sister. Though he was born one minute and thirty seconds apart from her (making him the oldest), he was the shy and quiet one. Lana would blame him for anything that went wrong and Lachlan just took it like a champion.
Apart from sharing the same womb, they both looked alike, nearly identical but you could tell them apart. They both have hazel green eyes, honey-brown hair, olive coloured skin and a body to die for. They both reached a height of 6.2 and the only thing they had in common with each other, was the love for the gym. These two were like thing one and thing two from the cat and the hat, twins but totally the opposite. Lana was the loud one: who loved listening to music at high volumes at times, love watching movies and was completely obsessed with eating junk food. I am pretty sure, she eats cake for breakfast.
Lachlan though enjoyed reading and writing, outdoor adventures, going shopping but most of all, he loved to take late-night drives. He would take me for a ride with him sometimes but most times he went by himself. We never asked him where he was going but we always told him to be safe. Lana has a GPS tracker installed on his phone anyway. So, she knew he would be OK. I sent them both a quick 'I am ok, be home soon' text, then checked the time before powering off my phone to save my batteries life. Not long after, my taxi driver pulled up to the curb beside me.
I opened the door to the cab, took one last look at my surroundings and slid into the back of the cab. "Where to miss?" he asked, looking at me through his re-view mirror. "Uh... Unit 3, 4208 New York Ave, Brooklyn please" I replied. He gave me a quick nod through his review and we were on our way. We formulated small conversations here and there but there were times I wasn't paying attention. I did not mean to pay any attention, just my mind was too tired to focus. After a long one hour drive home, the cab driver finally pulled up to my stop. "Here we are mam." he smiled, giving me a wink through his review. I gave him a quick nod, paid him the cab fee and politely smiled before sliding out of the cab into the cold night. I watched the cab driver pull away from the curb and into the night before I took the six steps up, that leads to our apartment complex.
Entering the front entrance of my apartment building, I gazed up at the flight of stairs that leads to other apartments in this building including mine. I forgot that I had to take twelve flights of stairs to get to my home but it was the only way to get up there since I can't take the elevator, plus it broke three years ago. I was almost out of breath when I made it to my apartment door. I almost gave myself over to the devil himself after walking up the fifth flight of stairs. However, I made it and I couldn't wait to take a long hot shower before laying my head on a clean, soft bed. Slipping the key into the keyhole, I could hear voices coming from the other side of the door. I put my hand over the doorknob, let out a small breath and opened up my front door.
"CHLOE ANDERSON MITCHELL! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" Lana yelled as tears pooled in her eyes. Chloe was my name we had to use whenever people were around. Lana said it was for my safety that no knew I was still alive and she made sure of it too. "I am here sister, what is going on?" I questioned as she threw her hands over my shoulder, pulling me into a tight hug. "I'm sorry" she whispered, for only I could hear before pulling away. "I was worried sick!" she growled. Stepping further away from me.
Suddenly, a tall handsome man came into sight, looking like he was in his late fifties, striding towards me. He was taller than the twins by a couple of centimetres but he looked a bit old too. He had dark brown eyes, black-grey hair, muscles bulging out of his shirt and a beard to match. "Uh... who is thi- " I pointed before my words got cut short. "This here is officer Randell, we called him because we were worried about you. The guy at the club said you left with some skinny dude and we had him call the cops" she ramble on.
"But I texted you!" I replied. "Chloe, we didn't get a text," she said, holding out her phone for me to see. "What?" I mumbled, whilst pulling out my phone and powering it on. A few minutes later, my lock screen came into sight. I swiped left to unlock my phone and went to my messages. That's when I noticed that I must have turned off my phone before the text could get sent out. "I am so sorry guys, I must have turned off my phone before the message was sent" I muttered. "It's OK Chloe. Just make sure next time you tell us OK" she said sternly, narrowing her eyes on me.
I nodded then gazed up at the police officer who wasn't wearing his police uniform. "Uh sorry sir, for the, uh, trouble" I muttered. He just said it was OK, took my details down and left with Lana closing the door behind him. "Strange..." I uttered to myself. Big, warm long arms enveloped me from behind while a small peek was present on my cheek. I smiled, knowing very well who that may be.
"Yoki!" I grinned as I fell deeper into his hug. Yoki was my nickname for Lachlan and Lana's nickname from me is mom because she acted like a mom and every other nickname I named her, she hated including asshole. "You two finished!" Lana snapped causing yoki and I to separate. She took a step towards me with both her hands on her hips, gazed at me from head to toe then dropped her hands to her sides. "Good! because it is my turn" she announced as her arms embraced me in a long warm hug too.
"Geez, Ava we were worried sick about you. You know, I thought. I thought Angelo-" I cut her off. "It's OK mom. I am home now and safe, you don't have to worry OK?" I replied. She pulled away from me, gazed into my eyes and then pulled me back in for an even tighter hug. "OK... but next time, I am going to strangle you!" she replied before squeezing me tighter. So tight, I thought I was about to faint. "We are just glad your home Ava." Lachlan smiled as he hovered over us hugging.
Suddenly, Lana pulled away from me hastily that I almost lost my footing. "And you!' she pointed. This is all your fault! If you had kept an eye on her, this wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have got that poor man out of bed in his pj's." she spat, charging in on Lachlan. I rolled my eyes, while he laughed. "I don't know what it is with you two!" she went on. Until her voice began to fade as she headed towards the kitchen.
Lachlan and I stared at each other, then we looked in the direction of the kitchen, then back at each other before we started laughing out loud. We were almost in fits because we both knew if anything could calm the dragon down, is a piece of rich chocolate cake and since it was their birthday last night. There would be plenty.
"Oh yeah,' I wondered. Who is that guy yoki? " I asked. Pointing my eyes and finger towards the door. Lachlan stared at the door then back to me. "It's just... I didn't see him have his police outfit on or saw a cop car outside?" I questioned. A slight smile began tugging at his lips "Oh that man that just left. His names Randall. A retired cop who lives about four doors down. Don't ask me how the whale knows him but yeah. When she was worried about you, she called him to come" he retorted.
I nodded, gave him a quick hug and kiss, then made my way towards my bedroom. As I pulled out my pj's from my top drawer, I could hear birds chirping outside my window. I completely forgot that I arrived home about twenty minutes ago and now I had to get ready for work. I can't call in sick because I am on my last warning but I do wish I could curl up and die right about now.
I freaking hate my job, working as a waitress at Easey's diner not from here but it's the only job that pays well and would hire me. My boss is such an ass. Ever since I rejected him, not once but four times. He has been treating me like a piece of gum under his shoe and it frustrates me. So, every time I know he would be in, I would call up sick or fake an injury just to avoid being at work with him. It worked for a while but he started catching on to my plan a month ago and has been giving me warnings to fire me since.
After scrubbing myself clean and soaking up most of the hot water, I put on my uniform, took two tablets of Advil to cure my headache and set off to work with a cup of coffee in one hand. Thirty minutes later and I was now standing outside the diner, peeking through the glass window before finishing the last bit of my coffee. I did a couple of jumping jacks, to hype myself up before letting out a deep breath before strolling in through the entrance door.
The bell chimed above my head as I entered the diner. "Your Late!" Maria smirked from behind the counter as she stood at the cash register. I rolled my eyes and proceeded towards the back, where our lockers were. Maria has always had it in for me since the first day I set foot in here and thought I tried my best to be friends with her. Nothing seemed to work. So, I just ignore her.
As I stood in front of my locker and opened it. I placed my empty coffee cup inside before pulling out my skates from my locker then slammed the metal door shut. "CHLOE! IN MY OFFICE NOW!" Jack yelled out. I blew out a long sigh, threw down the pair of skates on the concrete floor and walked towards Jack's office.
"Yes, Jack?" I questioned, as I leaned on his office's door frame. "In here I said Chloe!" he snapped. I crept in slowly, making my way towards a chair that sat in front of his desk. "The door Chloe!" he muttered, pointing towards the door. I stood up from the chair, turned around, slammed the door shut then sat back down. His jaw began ticking, while his eyebrows pinched together "Thanks!" he exhaled, placing both his hands under his chin.
"Why are you late?" he questioned, leaning onto his desk. I glanced around the room trying to look anywhere else but at him. He then placed both his palms on to his desk. "I hardly think I'm late!" I retorted. He stood up from his chair and made his way over to me, standing just an inch away from me. I looked up at him and saw what I wish I didn't see in his eyes, pure lust. I snapped my head down to my lap. "I was only two minutes late" I murmured. He dragged his hands across my lap, gently but softly until he reached my hand. "You know, you don't have to work a day in your life if we were together," He said, circling his index finger over my hands. I shoot up from out my chair, scaring him in the process. "WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING JACK!" I snapped, stepping away from him. Through each step I took back, he took one forward. Until my back hit the wall. He leaned in closer, the smell of cigarettes and old men's cologne invaded my nostrils. The blood in my veins began to boil. "JACK-" I said before my words got cut short. "SHhHh" he replied, placing a finger onto my lips. My blood began to boil again and this time I had enough. I mustered up every ounce of strength I had left in me, pushed him off of me then threw my right arm back before flinging it right into his face. He let out a loud scream and I let out a loud laugh. "That's what you get Jackass!" I exclaimed. Both his hands clasped his nose then he yelled "YOU STUPID b***h!" before lifting his head up to the ceiling.
"You deserve so much more than a punch in the face!" I replied, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, and by the way!, 'I smiled. I f*****g QUIT!" I said proudly as I made my way out of his office. Once I was out, I took my things from out the locker, gave Maria the middle finger and walked all the way home. Though I don't have a job anymore, I am just glad I can finally get home and get some sleep.