HOME, IS WHERE THE HEART IS

er the more.

Ava felt the overpowering urge to smack the smile off his face.

Tony straightened and got closer to her. Leaning forward he whispered into her ear that she could smell the strong alcohol in his breath. Avas stomach grumbled from the upsetting smell.

”Im sure you want to make me fight for it. Is that what gets you all wet and hor_ ”

Avas right arm flew up, still fisted and connected with his nose. She didn know for the life of her that she packed such power in her muscle because she felt it shatter beneath her fist, and then it spurted blood.

Knowing she had got the chance to escape, she shoved him him really hard to the side and ran while Tony held his nose and cursed at her, whimpering like a cat as he did.

At least, that would take stitches and if hes unlucky, hed live the rest of his life with a broken nose.

Gotcha!

*****

For every action, theres a reaction. The reaction for Avas action had gotten her fired, the moment Tony came back out with his green shirt drenched in his nose bleed.

”All I wanted was a break and he ruined it! ” Throwing open her locker in the changing room they all shared, she started to shove things into her small black backpack.

”Really? You just got fired and all you care about is that he ruined your break? ” Nicole fired at Ava as she had followed her into the locker room from the Managers office.

”Ill find something. Don worry. ” She didn say those words with the hope of anything. She had said it more to herself than to Nicole who was breathing down her neck.

Nicole wasn even buying that. ”Find something? I shouldn worry? ”

Stopping for a minute, Ava looked at Nicole who seemed really upset.

”Ill figure something out. Ill be fine Nicole. ”

”You can figure shit out Ava! ” Nicole had called her name as a way of reminding her who she was. But Ava doesn need a reminder.

Shes the girl from Salta. The wide eyed naive girl that just broke someones- a mans- nose.

Girls like us.

Turning away from Ava briefly, Nicole clamped a palm over her mouth and breathed heavily. She was really affected by that.

Calming down, Nicole turned back to Ava who was pulling her jeans up her legs, the shorts flung into a corner.

”I could ask the Manager to pardon you. You have hospital bills to pay. We need to get your job back. ”

”I don need it back. Im not going to beg when I know I didn do anything wrong. ” Avas voice rang higher than she had intended. She was really trying to keep it all in.

She pulled off the flimsy top, flinging it to a different corner this time. There was no point in taking care of the stupid outfit.

”But you didn have to hit him! You could have_ have_ ”

Pulling the oversized black cardigan over her head and arms, Ava shoved her hair off her face. ”I could have done what? Let him get his filthy hands on me because I want to keep this stupid job. No can do! ”

Nicole nodded, feeling defeated although they were never competing.

”You
e so naive, Ava! I just pray that this city doesn swallow you up! ”

Without a word, Ava hung the backpack on her shoulder and slammed the locker shut, then bent to shove her feet into the well-worn but cheap sneakers.

Straightening herself, she shoved back her hair and looked squarely at Nicole.

”You
e so wrong Nicole. Im not naive, ” scoffing sadly, she ran her tongue idly over her lips. ”I might be a virgin but Im far from stupid and naive. ”

Tears threatened to fall as Ava pushed open the doors and let herself out. She wasn going to let herself shed tears in that place.

Shed caught Jasmins concerned gaze as she walked past the bar to the exit. Her lips thinned as she forced a smile at her.

She told herself as she went further away from the club and down the street, that she would figure out something.

Something would turn up. Something just had to.

There was an urge to hit something. Anything. Ava had never been a violent person but maybe thats what Bellamy does to people.

It brings out the other you. The you you never knew was there. Ava had never hit anyone in her life and now there was the urge to hit something. Again.

Stuffing her fists into her cardigan pockets in a bid to calm her nerves, she realized she was now in the very busy streets of Bellamy.

Without any idea how she got there, she stood briefly at a spot and watched how people breezed past.

The honk of cars, the blinding lights, the people that went on their way without so much as a glance at her shadow.

Breathing in the clean air and drifting whiff of scents, Ava dragged her weak limbs to the bus stop.

Getting lost might be a good thing, since she could hardly tell where she was. Sitting at the bus stop, she looked down to her open palm and felt the tears again.

Her head bent forward and her heart started thumping, she bit down hard on her lower lip and shivered all over.

While she fought within her, a man stuck in traffic idly let his eyes wander and fell on the girl.

He didn think much about it but his eyes never left her shadowed face. It stirred something in him even as the driver stepped on the pedal.