Mystic Falls

Ava 4

For the past three months, I have been helping Sheryl around the house. Gardening, cleaning, cooking, and running errands but today the guys have decided to let me work with them. Caleb told me to meet him at the barn at five in the morning so here I am walking to the barn. I have a pair of black leggings and a pale green shirt on that says "I live and breath on coffee" and of course I have a coffee in my hand. 

Since I am five minutes early I sit next to the barn door and begin to play on my phone while drinking my coffee. Soon I can hear the sound of a vehicle approaching and when I look up I can see the headlights so I stand up. I check the time on my phone and see that Caleb is ten minutes late but when the truck stops it is not Caleb who comes out but Tyler. I already know it is going to be a bad day. 

Tyler and I seem to have bad blood between us. He avoids me at all costs and when we are together he treats me like crap. The eggs have gone cold even though I just put them on his plate, I'm not pulling the weeds right, stop making googly eyes at him, I'm not doing this or that right. I mean come on. Caleb thinks he has a crush on me because Tyler is never like this but I honestly think he hates me. 

"Let's go." He says in a deep voice as he walks towards me.

"Good morning to you too. Where is Caleb?" I ask as I stood up. 

He stops walking and looks at me. "You can live without the love of your life for five dang minutes." He says.

"First off I don't love Caleb and secondly you don't have to be a butt hole," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Oh for crying out loud I know you like Caleb and I will not allow you two to have a relationship. He is too good for you." 

"Are you kidding me. I have zero romantic feelings for him. I told you before and I will tell you again I am not here to look for a relationship." I yell.

"Could have fooled me, sweetheart." 

"You know what screw you." And I started to walk away.

"Thought I wanted to learn how to be a ranch hand."

"If you're the teacher hell no," I yelled back. 

I walked back to my grandpa's cabin and went straight to my room. "Who the hell does he think he is?" I said out loud and collapsed on my bed. I closed my eyes and let sleep take over. 

I woke to someone pounding on the front door. I sat up, wiped the sleep from my eyes, and looked at the clock. It was ten in the morning. I got out of bed and walked to the front door. There must be a fire because the person pounding was just hitting the door harder and harder. Hell, they might even bust the door. 

"What the hell," I said as I opened the open. 

There stood Tyler and he looked mad. "What took so long?" 

"I was sleeping and was rudely woken up." 

"Well, you weren't answering the door. We need to go."

"You couldn't pay me enough to go anywhere with you." 

"Well good thing I'm not paying you. Now get let's go." 

"And why the heck would I go anywhere with you?" 

He just smiled at me and I felt my knees go weak. He had the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. "Well, sugarplum you have work to do."

I rolled my eyes. "Sugarplum really?" 

"I don't have all day." 

I sighed. "Fine."

I closed the door, put my shoes on, and locked up before heading to his truck. As I walking towards the truck he began to honk the horn. 

"Im coming." 

Tyler drove us to one of the fields filled with heifers as he called them and parked the truck. "That fence over there," he pointed to the broken fence. "Needs to get fixed. Unload the material from the back of the truck. I have a call to make." He said as he picked up the phone.

I got out of the truck and walked around to the bed of the truck and opened it. There was wood, tools, and even wire. I began to unload it. It took twenty minutes of walking back and forth and I struggled to carry the wood. Some of it was heavy and I even dropped some of it. Tyler didn't care he just stayed on the phone and watched me. He even laughed when I dropped a piece of the wood on my foot. I screamed out in pain and began to yell at the wood. Yes, I yelled at it. 

When I was done unloading everything I stood there and waited for Tyler to get off the phone but instead he rolled down the window and set his phone down. "Since you skipped out on chores today you need to fix the fence. I have a lunch date." 

"I have no clue what I am doing," I said in disbelief. 

"Not my problem. Maybe if you stuck around and helped this morning I would have helped you with this," he said as he rolled the window back up and began to drive away. 

"A**hole I screamed as he drove away," I didn't have my phone with me nor did I know how to get back to the cabin. I sighed and walked over to the broken fence. I knew if it didn't get fixed the cattle would get out but as for fixing it I had zero clue what to do so I sat down.

I had nothing with me. No water, phone, or food. I figured Tyler would come back but he never did. I waited and waited for someone to come find me but no one came. As the sun began to set I started to get nervous and began to think of another time something similar happened to me. 

I was maybe three or four and my mother and I lived in an apartment building with her boyfriend. He hated me but my mother trusted him. She left for work and he approached me, "I don't want you here go outside and play," he said. Being a child I grabbed some of my toys and went outside. 

I played for hours and soon my tummy began to rumble so I decided to go inside and get some food but when I went to open the door it was locked. I knocked on the door but no one answered. I sat on the stairs and waited but my tummy was really hungry and I remembered that the apartments next door had an apple tree. I walked over there and found an apple on the ground and took a bite. As I began to eat the apple I noticed a bug in it, screamed, and threw it on the ground. I ran back home and banged on the door but no one answered. 

I watched as the school kids came home from school and adults come home from work but no one came for me. I was alone. As the sun began to set my mom walked up and asked why I was outside and I told her I couldn't get in the house and that I was hungry. She unlocked the door and there was her boyfriend sitting down watching tv. My mom prepared my food and got me ready for bed. 

I began to cry because she didn't care that I was left outside for a full day all alone having to fend for myself and just like today no one cared. Sat there on the ground and watched the cattle. I was afraid one of them would step on me but they stayed away from me. 

Once the sunset and it was dark outside I slowly began to shut my eyes but quickly became alert when I heard a vehicle driving quickly my way. I could see the headlights and decided to stand up. My muscles were sore but I was happy to see someone coming for me but it wasn't Drew, Caleb, or my grandpa but instead, it was Tyler who came out of the truck. 

"Oh my God Ava are you okay? Why are you still here? Why didn't you call anyone?" He yelled as he ran up to me. He tried to pick me up but I pushed him away. 

"Never touch me again. Take me home now." I said as I slowly walked over to the truck. 

He looked at me like I slapped him in the face but I didn't care. I got in the truck, buckled up, and just waited for him to get in. When he got in he looked at me. "I'm sorry " 

"I don't care. You're just like her and I never want to see you again. Just take me home." I said as I looked out the window. 

"You will never know how sorry I am Ava." He said with emotion lacing his voice but I did not care. I was too busy thinking about my birth mother and all the horrible memories I had. 

"Dad I have her." I heard Tyler say. 

"Ya I'm taking her to Jimmy's place " 

"No, she does not need medical attention. A good meal, shower, and sleep probably " 

"I know. See you in a few minutes."  

Tyler began to drive and soon I could see the cabins and when he parked outside my grandfather's cabin I got out and walked up to him. I was trying not to cry but once I saw my grandpa the damn broke. "It's okay honey I have you," Grandpa said as he hugged me. 

Drew was standing next to my grandpa and I heard him say, "why was she left alone out there Tyler?" 

"I was angry with her for how she acted this morning since I finished the morning chores I showered and went to find her. Since I needed to fix the fence I figured she could do it. It was more of a lesson to teach how that we work together. I figured she would have a phone on her and call someone." 

"And while she was sitting there all alone what the hell were you doing?" My grandfather asked. He let me go and whispered in my ear, "Go inside and get some water and food baby."

"I was out with Shelby." 

I have never seen my grandfather move so fast. He was right in front of Tyler and punched him in the face causing him to fall to the ground. "You will never be near her again." He yelled. 

I just looked at Tyler and he looked at me with sorrow but I turned away. I walked into the house and that was the first time in years the night terrors returned.