All the things happening as fast as they were happening, didn't give Aveline enough time to process some of the grief she felt deep inside of her.
When she had a tiny moment in the bathtub, she closed her eyes briefly. The corner of her eyes watered, as a memory flickered in her head.
FLASH BACK
"Why is your box so tiny, Ave?" Laura laughed as they stood in front of the community college, waiting for the car to take them to their dorms.
Aveline's chest tightened, but she kept her usually bubbly smile outwardly. "I don't need much," she replied.
"Yeah sure, that's it!" Laura continued to laugh, knowing fully well Aveline was lying.
The truth was, that bag contained all she could afford. She never expected she would even get the opportunity to go to college, given the circumstances of her parents financial situation.
"Yeah," she muttered, and joined Laura in laughing.
Just then, a car stopped in front of them. It was a dirty Honda, with scratches that turned the colour from black to brown.
A head popped out of the window. They were the curliest hair Aveline had ever seen. "Going to the dorms?" A dorky voice belonging to curly hair asked.
Aveline looked at Laura, but she was already walking to the car.
"Are you coming or not Ave?" She called at the top of her voice, as she slid into the front seat of the car.
"Uhmmm–" she wanted to be security conscious, until memories of her ugly time in high school popped up in her head. "Sure," she said.
Even though safety was supposed to be a priority, she didn't want to be the same lame high school girl in college.
"My bag?" She said softly.
Laura hissed. "This is why I told you we needed to send our bags to our rooms first. Do you see me struggling?" She asked in an irritated tone.
"That's okay. I'll just open the trunk for you," curly hair said.
He jumped out of the car right after, and grabbed Aveline's bag.
Their hands made brief contact, making Aveline jolt away.
Curtly hair cheesed, as he placed the bag inside the trunk and shut it.
"Craig." He stretched out his hand to her.
She looked down at his hand, and then back up into his nerdy face. "Aveline," she replied, and quickly ran into the car without shaking him.
He laughed, and entered the car too. Right after, he drove off.
Aveline's eyes twitched, and she opened them.
That had been the beginning of doom for her. If only she could have predicted that six years later, she would catch her boyfriend and best friend riding each other.
She sniffled, as the pain stabbed her in her heart anew.
Dragging her body out of the tub, she rinsed off. She grabbed a towel, and tied it around chest.
Her movements took her back into the room, and she headed straight for the closet.
Mimicking Atlas' earlier hand movement, she waited as the closet doors opened, revealing all of these other buttons she needed to press to switch to what she wanted.
Since her clothes were still in the box, she just crouched, and began to search for nightwear.
Finally, she found one modest enough to see her through the night, if she would be sleeping on the same bed with Atlas.
Her heart doubled at that thought. "Oh no!" She blurted, recalling it was the same thought she had before that made her head a little dizzy.
Speedily, she slid the nightgown, and its robe on her body, before walking straight to the mirror.
Standing in front of the mirror, she proceeded to loosen her hair from the ponytail she had earlier packed it into.
As soon as the long hair descended down her back, she felt relief not only in her scalp, but all over her body.
"Finally," she thought, running a hand through her soft, luscious hair.
A knock sounded on the door, as her hand moved to grab a hand cream she spotted on the dressing table.
Her heart jumped immediately, and right after, she froze.
A second knock followed, causing her to hold her breath.
It couldn't be Atlas. He would have just come in already if it was.
She opened her mouth to ask who it was when a third knock followed.
Confused on what to do now, she switched directions to the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.
The first thing her eyes fell on were lips spread into a charming smile. Her head trailed up, and her eyes widened when she fully saw who it was.
"Hey." The words slipped out of her mouth.
"Hello, Aveline. Can I come in?" He lifted an inquisitory brow.
"Sure. Please come in." She stepped away from the door, giving him the freedom to walk in.
Theo closed the door behind him with his free hand. Looking up, he saw Aveline had already returned to the side of the bed.
He could tell from just a brief glance her way, she was nervous.
"I brought you this. I was supposed to give it to you tomorrow, but I think you should familiarise yourself with it from tonight," he said, drawing closer to her.
Her eyes bulged with hefty curiosity, wondering what it was that couldn't wait until the morning.
He got to her, and stretched the small fancy bag in his hand towards her.
Aveline's shaky fingers accepted the bag, but not even holding it gave her an idea of what it could be.
"It's a new phone. I assume everyone would be hounding you for your number? Atlas wants you to have that," he said.
"Atlas," she murmured as if the name sounded foreign to her.
"Yes, Atlas," he replied, hearing her despite the softness of her voice.
She raised her head. "Thank you," she said.
He shrugged. "Don't thank me. Thank him."
Aveline nodded slowly, waiting for him to leave before she fully let out her excitement at finally having a new phone.
The phone she used in college, was the phone she used until it was stolen a few nights ago. She had never had the luxury of a new phone before, having just inherited one from her father before his death.
"Well, I guess this is goodnight," Theo said.
However, he didn't turn to leave, which made Aveline even more nervous.
"Aveline?" He called.
"Yes?" She answered a little too hastily.
"Are you still pretending you don't know me?"
Her heart skipped a beat, but her eyes went instantly blank. She didn't respond. Not even her throat made a sound.
Theo chuckled, whilst bobbing his head. "I get it. Let's keep up the pretense then. Looks like you grew up well. Well-done Aveline," he said, and turned to leave.
Again, he stopped by the door. Without turning to look at her, he spoke. "Just a friendly advice, Aveline. If you want to survive in the world of the Sinclair's, you'd have to learn to not be like your father. Speak up for yourself. Don't fold under pressure. Move like you know your rights, and with your shoulders high. If you don't, you will meet a fate worse than his in the hands of Nadia Sinclair. Goodnight." He walked out of the door, and shut it behind him.
Aveline finally released the breath she was holding, as she plopped to the bed.
She blinked multiple times, clutching her chest pounding loudly in her ear.
"Theo Charming," she whispered, and it echoed round the room like an ominous secret.