chapter 4
1162 Words
Ava could hardly recall ever leaving Blackwood Tower. The whole way home, she held the contract tightly in her hands.MARRIAGE. The word kept repeating itself in her thoughts.. A union with Damian Blackwood, a man she had met less than an hour ago., a man who scared her.
By the time she reached her flat, her headache was severe. The building looked precisely as it always had. Old, Cramped and Forgettable. Yet tonight, it felt different. In some way, smaller, As if the walls were closing in around her. After unlocking the door, Ava entered, There was silence in the flat.
She breathed unevenly and slowly, as though even her lungs had lost their ability to function. Her gaze then strayed to the kitchen counter. There was still the stack of outstanding invoices. Electricity. rent. The unpaid hospital bill that had followed her mother's passing like a vicious ghost that wouldn't go away.
They hadn't just happened to be there., she had placed them where she could see them every single day, In the hopes that staring at them would somehow make them vanish. Instead, they had simply multiplied, each envelope yet another reminder that life had never ceased demanding more from her.
Her fingers clenched into shaky fists. She recalled repeatedly assuring her mother that everything will be alright while sitting next to her hospital bed.
“I’ll take care of everything, Mum.”
When she had whispered those words, she had believed them, Now they seemed like another promise she had failed to uphold. She nearly let out a bitter laugh, but it died in her throat.
She couldn’t save her mother. Now she was about to lose her brother too.
The thought tore through her chest so viciously that she had to place a hand against it, as though she could literally stop her heart from bursting apart.
Ethan.
She imagined his weak face behind the station's bars, the way he had attempted to grin at her in spite of the handcuffs on his wrists.
"Ava, it will be alright."
He had been consoling her. Even so. even though he was the one whose future was in jeopardy. Her vision was clouded by new tears, if she was unable to save her one remaining family, what kind of sister was she?
Slowly, her gaze returned to the contract laying on the coffee table. Now, the heavy pile of papers appeared to be practically alive, waiting for her in silence.. Waiting for her to surrender. Her gaze returned to the contract.
"No."
She flung it upon the sofa, Absolutely not. There had to be a different approach, There must have been. Suddenly, her phone rang, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the caller ID.
Ethan.
Ava responded right away.
“Ethan?”
"Ava." He sounded worn out. Broken.
She shut her eyes. "How are you doing?"
He let out a sardonic laugh. “Fantastic. Jail is exactly what I had imagined it would be.”
Ava felt her chest constrict.
"Ethan..."
“I’m kidding.”
More painful than the joke was the stillness that followed. She took a slow seat. "They said a plea deal is being offered to you." There was silence in the queue. Too quiet. “Ethan?”
"They did."
Ava felt sick to her stomach. “And?”
One more pause. This time it's longer.
"I'm considering taking it."
"No." She blurted out the answer.
"What option do I have?" His voice broke and Something inside her was broken by the sound.
"They have proof, Ava."
“They don’t have enough.”
"They do."
"No."
"They do."
She was taken aback by the fury in his words.
"They've already determined that I'm guilty."
Ava tightened her hold on the phone. "You swore not to have done it."
"I didn't."
"Then start a fight."
Ethan was filled with a cold sour laugh. "With what funds? What grounds do we have?
Her throat shut. They didn't say anything, since they were both aware of the solution.. There was a long period of stillness. At last, Ethan spoke once more. Softly. "I'm afraid."
Ava closed her eyes tightly. Those two words hurt more than anything else, Not because of what they meant it was because Ethan never acknowledged being afraid. Never, Not after their parents passed away, Not after they lost their home, Not when life beat them down time and time again.
Now, though? He sounded scared now.
"A?..." he called out
She forcefully swallowed. "I am aware."
"I want to avoid being imprisoned for the rest of my life."
Her eyes were full with tears. "I am aware."
"I have to be courageous."
The first tear trickled down her cheek. "I know."
"But I'm not sure if I can pull this off."
Ava broke out completely. Because she couldn’t assure him everything would be okay. She was unable to save him.. No more.
After an hour since the call ended, She sat there on the couch, gazing at the contract, gazing at the name.
Blackwood, Damian.
TThe man having her brother’s future in his hands. Suddenly, her phone vibrated. A text.
The number was unknown, as Ava stared at it and eventually opened it.
There was just one sentence.
TOMORROW IS THE LAST OFFER..
Her heartbeat accelerated. There was another message.
AVA, TICK-TOK.
She leaped to her feet, becoming enraged. Who did this man think he was?!.. dominating her, Watching her, putting pressure on her.
She looked at the contract once more. Then the bills. Next, the family portrait next to the TV. Ethan and her.. grinning. Joyful. Before things got complicated in life. Before jail, Prior to Damian. A sob escaped her lips.
Because she finally realised what she had been denying. Damian was correct. When someone you loved was drowning… You stopped caring whose hand was pulling them out. even if the devil himself owned it.
** * *
The next morning, Ava returned to the police station. She could tell something wasn't right as soon as she walked into the visitation room. Ethan refused to give her a glance. Fear rushed across her chest.
“What happened?”
Ethan said nothing. Ava's heart was pounding. "Ethan."
He moved a document across the table slowly. Her blood was icy, it was a Plea Deal.
"No."
Shame filled his eyes. "This afternoon, I'm signing it."
Ava gazed at the document. The space appeared to tilt. Everything was going just as Damian had anticipated. As though he was already aware of it, It seemed as though he had planned it. A terrible sensation took hold of her gut. But it was accompanied by another emotion. desperation…
The kind that can force people to do things they vowed they would never do. Ava gave Ethan a look, at the terror in his eyes. At the hopelessness in being taken from him in the future.
And at that precise moment...She knew what she had to do.
- Writer
