Ten

AVERY

I recognize where we are as soon as Aiden and I step off the bus. I've been in this area many times before, it's almost like my sanctuary.

This is also the place I consider my first meeting with Aiden. I noticed him the first moment he arrived at school. It was hard not to.

He has a way about him, that seems to draw everyone in the room towards him, without muttering a word. When he first walked into class, my attention was on him, watching the way he walked and the bright smile he had on his face when he saw his friends.

I was so aware of his presence; I felt the instant his eyes had landed on me. I remembered hearing him whisper to his friends, and I had badly wanted to know what they were talking about, but I was too far away. But I had felt his eyes on me every now and then during that class, and for the first time, the attention of a boy thrilled me.

I feel the same excited feeling course through me, causing my heart to race even faster than it already was.

My heart hasn't calmed down since Aiden kissed me in the classroom. I hadn't expected it, but I was more shocked at how much I liked it. His lips were rough, but smooth at the same time.

The small contact was enough to have started a fire in my stomach, quickly burning me from the inside out, but somehow it was a good pain.

Everything about Aiden is good.

No one has shown me this much kindness in a long time.

Why is he so good to me? Is it real? Will it last?

Or will his true colors show, the moment he knows he has me wrapped around his finger? Like all the other men in my life.

I want to believe he isn't like that. That he won't turn his back on me the moment I let my defenses down. I was so close to spilling everything, just from that one kiss.

What does that kiss mean? Does he like me? Did he just do it to get me to stop talking? Are we a thing now?

So many questions swirled my mind, distracting me from Aiden, who is now trying to lift a small window on the side of the building, a window that barely looks big enough to fit him, let alone me, but I already know my small frame will fit through no problem.

I've done it many times before already.

"Why are we at the dance studio?"

Aiden just grins down at me from over his shoulder, his sandy blonde hair falling into soft blue eyes, bringing out the tiny gold flecks.

"Thought you could use a little distraction," he says, crouching down in front of the window. "Here, I'll give you a boost, then unlock the front door for me."

I place my foot in his cupped hands and he lifts me to the window with ease, like I weigh nothing. I grasp the window sill and pull myself through, my butt just grazing the top of the window frame.

As soon as my feet hit the concrete floor of the supply closet I land in, I search the walls for the light and flick it on. The room is medium-sized, with only one window. I always chose this way to get in, because it's the least visible spot on the building, less people to see me from the streets unless they purposely come down the small alley.

I quickly find the door and rush to the front, where Aiden is already waiting, that cute lopsided grin on his face.

"Never really took you for the rebellious kind," I say, not fighting the small smile spreading across my lips. He has a way of maneuvering around some of my walls, pulling a rare real smile out of me.

His smile falters, though it's brief, I see it clearly.

"There is still a lot you don't know about me," he mutters, but keeps the grin in place. I try not to let it get to me and lead him towards the back of the building, where the larger recital rooms are.

"So, this is where you spend most of your time outside of school?" Aiden asks, walking around the room slowly.

I nod, then remember he can't see me, and instantly feel like an idiot.

I always feel nervous and awkward around him.

A guy like Aiden shouldn't be interested in a girl like me.

But yet, here we are. He skipped class because he was worried about me, and now knowing there is something wrong, but I refuse to tell him, instead of turning away angrily like I thought, he is skipping possibly the whole day to try and make me feel better.

I can feel a small part of the wall I keep around my heart, slowly chip away. The least I can do is share my love for dance with him. He is the only person, let alone male, who has shown any interest in me.

"When the school is closed on weekends, and I've completed all my assignments, I usually come here and use my spare time to practice."

He turns and his eyes meet mine, stilling me completely, even from the other side of the room. "What are you practicing for?" he asks.

"I'm not really sure. I guess you can't really call it practice, I just dance because I love it." I shrug, my heart hammering in my chest from how nervous I am right now.

I look up at him again and see him smiling, looking at me as if he is more satisfied with that answer than the other. Suddenly, my heart starts beating rapidly for another feeling other than nerves.

"Can you show me?" he asks, taking a few steps closer.

"W-what?" He wants me to dance, in front of him?

Aiden shrugs, that boyish smile on his face. "It's not like I haven't seen you dance before."

He got me there.

But for some reason, this time is different. He is asking me to dance, like he is asking me to dance for him. I don't know if I can do that. The last time, I was able to lose myself and temporarily forget he was even in the room.

Even with how large this room is, there is no way I will be able to forget his presence. Still, with the large amount of distance between us, I can feel it swirling around me, trying to push me closer to him.

"Or, we can always dance together? If that's better."

No. No, that is not better. That is worse.

Being that close to him, possibly having him pressed up against me, my entire nervous system will shut down.

He steps closer, taking my hand and pulling me into the middle of the room. Before I have the chance to answer, he slips a hand around my back and gently pushes us together, our conjoined hands lifting in the air.

We start off at a slow tempo, shuffling our feet in perfect coordination. His eyes never leaving mine, causing heat to rise on the back of my neck.

"Ever danced with anyone before?" he asks. His breath fans my face lightly, making my head light.

It takes me a second to gather my thoughts and answer. But no words form, so I just shake my head and bite my lip to hopefully contain the nerves breaking down inside me.

"Me either, it feels nice." I feel his lips move against my hair, my mind instantly getting lost with how close he is. I can feel his heart beating through his shirt, the speed almost matching mine.

Is he as nervous as I am?

They say there is never a perfect moment to tell someone how you feel, but everything in me is saying that whatever Aiden and I are sharing together right now, it's more than perfect for me to say something.

Tell him how bad I fell for him since the moment he tried to break down my walls, showing me that I'm not invisible to everyone, no matter how hard I try to be. There have been a few people who approached me when I first moved here, but I turned down there invites to hang out or distanced myself from everyone.

Not long after trying, they all gave up, which I expected they all would. No one ever does anything because they genuinely care, they usually want something. I was the new girl, no one knew anything about me expect my name and where I was from because I had to introduce myself in every class I had first walked into.

But every guy that approached me, even girl, they all had the same look in their eye. The want, the desire to know the mysterious new girl, to break through her icy heart, just to stomp all over it when they saw how damaged and broken my life is.

I never thought anyone could be able to handle my messed-up life, but looking at Aiden, the guy who appeared out of nowhere and for some reason, has refused to leave my side since the instant we met no matter how hard it got or frustrated and abandoned I made him feel before – it gives me hope that maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe not everyone in the world is going to turn their back on me.

Maybe there is someone out there, who can look past my flaws, and see the real me, and still want me.

***

AIDEN

I can't believe this is really happening.

Avery is in my arms, her warmth engulfing me, as we slowly dance around the room together, our hands clasped tightly between us.

I never thought a moment like this would happen, yet here we are. I thought I almost blew it when I kissed her back at school, that it would cause her to run off and there goes our friendship, the only thing I have of her right now.

Though I already know I want so much more, something is holding me back from saying it out loud, even though she didn't push me away.

She kissed me back, and now she is here, dancing with me, letting me hold her so close, I can feel every rapid beat of her heart. That gives me a bit of hope that she returns my feelings.

But if she does, why hasn't she said anything about it?

From the girls I have experienced in the past, I would be bombarded with questions by now, asking me what it meant, what are we now? Hell, I want to ask her those questions, they've been pressing in the back of my mind since we left school, pushing me to get the answers I desperately want.

I can't exactly question why she hasn't said anything. I'm the one who kissed her, and I'm still chickening out from revealing my true feelings.

I try to push my thoughts to the back of my head and just enjoy this moment, making sure to store every memory of it. I don't want it to end.

But the shrill sound of the phone, has everything crashing down. Avery tears away from me and looks towards her backpack on the ground, clearly recognizing the dark sounding ringtone.

I feel her body tense, her eyes going wide. She pulls away from me and runs to her phone, bringing it to her ear with trembling fingers.

"Hello?" she asks and waits as the other person responds.

I see the color drain from her face and she shuts her eyes, biting her lip harder than normal.

Who is she talking to? My guess is that asshole father of hers. From the instant I saw him, he's given me extremely bad vibes. I'm almost certain that he is behind the mysterious injuries that Avery keeps getting.

"I'm sorry, I'll be right there," she mumbles into the phone and hangs up. She stuffs her phone in her bag and swings it over her shoulder, already reaching for the door before I have the chance to move.

"Whoa, hold on, what just happened?" I asked, running over and gently placing my hand on her shoulder, to make sure she doesn't make a run for it.

I see the tears well in her eyes and the fear hiding behind them.

"That was my dad, the school called him and said I was missing from class. He knows I skipped, and he wants me home right away."

Wait, what? Why would the school call her house because she skipped? They never called my dad when I miss class. Maybe that's because it's not out of the ordinary for me to skip class, or even a whole day.

"Why do you look scared? Is everything alright?"

She nods and gives me a tight smile, pulling out of my grasp.

"It's alright, I'll text you when I get home, but it might be after I get a lecture from my parents about skipping school." She waves good-bye and disappears out the door. I have no choice but to watch her retreating figure.

I walk back to the front door, but realize once outside that I can't lock it. Cursing quietly, I walk back through the building, locking the front door, and try to look for another window big enough for me to crawl out of.

I don't care if anyone sees me. It's not like I'm leaving with anything, and they can check the place for any damages. They won't find anything, so screw whoever sees.

I manage to find a decent sized window that leads out through the front of the building, closer to the next one over further down the street. Crawling out with a bit of difficulty, to my surprising luck, there isn't anyone in sight on the street, not even a passing car.

Walking back to the bus stop, I contemplate going home, or returning to school. If I catch the next bus in 10 minutes, I can still make it to second period class. But I don't feel up to going to class, knowing I would just sit there and worry about Avery, wondering what is going on at her house.

Then again, if I went home, I would probably just sit by my phone the entire time, waiting for her texts.

Either way, I will probably be a mess.

School might give me a little bit of a distraction.

Sitting down at the bus bench, my phone vibrates in my pocket and I rip it out, thinking it's Avery.

My face falls when I see a text from Scott, asking me where I am. I send him a quick text back, saying I'm skipping school and going home.

Is your dad home?

No, he should be at the shop till 5.

The bus shows as another text comes in.

Meet you at your place, Tammy and I have something to show you.

That causes me to raise my brows, but I agree and head straight home, my mind now completely made up.

What is it they want to show me? Knowing Tammy, she has more gossip for me, which means this is probably a waste of time.

But having them over might help distract me from Avery, at least until I know she is safe. It's been almost a half hour and she hasn't said anything to me, not a single text to let me know she even made it home safe.

We aren't too far from our general neighborhood, and the buses come pretty frequently at this time for the people who work downtown.

Shouldn't she be home by now?

I shake my head and look out the window, scolding myself for sounding like a clingy boyfriend. Because of my stupid nerves, I haven't even made it to a first date. I have no reason to be freaking out over her like this.

But I can't help it. The tight squeeze around my heart won't go away, no matter how much I try and convince myself I'm just overreacting, I'm letting my thoughts get the better of me.

I all but run off the bus when it pulls up to the corner of my street. I'm relieved to see Scott and Tammy are already waiting for me outside my house, but that relief is short-lived when I see the grim and sour looks on their faces.

"What's going on?" I ask, stepping onto the porch.

Tammy gives me a half smile and walks closer. "I have something I wanted to show you, can we go inside?"

I nod and unlock the door, feeling numb. I lead them up to my bedroom and Tammy goes straight to my laptop, typing in the password I know she learned by heart, since it's the same one I use for everything.

She opens up google and starts typing in a name, leaving me in a haze of confusion; until I see the last name.

Reynolds.

I get a closer look, leaning over Tammy's shoulder. She is googling a man named Dan Reynolds. The face that stares back at me from the image search boils my blood.

"I know that man," I say.

Tammy nods her head. "We figured you would, it's Avery's dad."

I frown. "Why are you showing me her dad?"

She continues scrolled down the searches and clicks on an article. It's dated almost 5 years ago, and the first thing you see is the ugly mug of Avery's dad. It's clear it is a mug shot, the all too familiar height scale behind him.

Tammy moves out of the way and lets me sit in front of the computer, my eyes scanning the article. I can feel her wanting to tell me everything anyway, the tension almost bursting from behind me.

I let out a deep breath, and glance through the article.

March 30th, 2012, Dan Reynolds 46 has been charged with child neglect, and abuse. Middle school teacher, Lois Montgomery, had the school phone police officers to examine one of her students, Avery Reynolds 12, saying she came to school with 'large bruises on her left cheek and right temple'.

Police arrived at the school and questioned Avery, but the child remained silent, refusing to answer any of the officer's questions. They took her to the station and phoned her parents in for questioning as well. Diane Reynolds 43, maintained the same behavior as her daughter, refusing to answer questions, or being vague in her responses to questions of disturbances and abuse at home.

Due to suspicious behavior during the interrogation of Dan Reynolds, police opened an investigation against the parents, pursuing the grant of a warrant to have the environment of the house searched and diagnosed, to deem 'safe'. Before police are able to obtain a warrant, Diane Reynolds came forth and confessed to the beatings she and her daughter, Avery, suffer from Dan while at home. She also details his drinking and controlling behavior, leading into her and her daughter living very sheltered lives in the house.

Her confessions were enough to bring Dan Reynolds to court, where after examining the home and the bruises and other markings found on Diane and Avery Reynolds, he was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison.

Five years in prison? That doesn't make sense, he has been living here with Avery for at least two years, has he not? My confusion now mixing with the growing rage is making my head hurt. I blink my eyes and tear away from the computer, turning to pace my room.

Is this what she is trying to hide from me? The thing that's so hard for her to share with me, to explain where all the bruises and injuries she keeps getting are coming from?

Her father is beating her?

It makes perfect sense. She shows up to school with bruises on her cheeks and cuts on her lip, just like what they found on her five years ago, when she was still just a child. Looking at her now, I can see her confidence and bravery, though she might not see it herself.

But I can also see how small and fragile she is, both physically and emotionally. I can't imagine her at a young age like that, being beat and treated like trash, by your own flesh and blood.

"Aiden, are you okay?" Tammy asks, her voice bringing my back a little.

I shake my head furiously, still pacing my room.

"He's far from okay. I would be too, I was pretty furious when we found this," Scott says, turning the laptop towards him. "This explains why she acts the way she does. If she still lives a sheltered like, like it says here, then I doubt her dad lets her have any friends."

"You're right," I say. "It explains why it was so hard to get her to agree to come over, and I had to use the excuse of doing homework in order to actually get her to agree. I realize now, I wasn't the one who needed and excuse, she was. Her dad wouldn't have let her go to just hangout, he seems to controlling of her for that, but not enough that he doesn't let her have an education."

Tammy rolls her eyes. "How noble of him."

Her comment just adds to my rage. I'm not mad at them, though I'm not sure if I'm happy or not about them showing me this. I wanted Avery to tell me herself, since I'm 99% sure this is what she is trying to work the courage to tell me.

I don't want her to think I tried to go behind her back and find out. She would never trust me, she will probably hate me and push me away for good. If I was her, and she found out I was hiding something too and did the same thing, I would be pretty upset.

I would never want her to find out what I did, what I've been hiding since the day I was released, by reading an article online. I never want her to find out, because it's in the past and something I'm forever going to be ashamed of, and I know it's just going to scare her away.

But if she had to find out, I would want to be the one to tell her, so I can tell her my side of the story, and not some twisted news media story.

"You guys cannot tell Avery you found this, you got it?" I looked between them, pointing my finger at each of them to drive my point. "I don't want her to think we're trying to snoop through her life, which I know is exactly what you were doing when you found this," I add, looking at Tammy now.

She narrows her eyes and props her hand on her hip. "I'll have you know; I was doing nothing of the sort, besides I'm pretty sure the job of Avery's stalker is happily taken by you."

I shake my head, ignoring her jab. "Then how did you know about that article?"

Tammy reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone, scrolling through it before handing it to me. "I got an email a couple days ago, with a link to an article, but it was nothing more than a picture."

I click the link attached to the email; the same dirty mug shot of Dan Reynolds staring back at me.

"When I saw this, I didn't know what to do. I thought the last name might be a coincidence, but I didn't want to show you just in case it wasn't, so I showed Scott first," Tammy says and gestures to him. "Then, that's when we found the article, it was the first thing to pop up as soon as we searched his name. When we saw Avery's name, we had to tell you."

Scott nods and walks over to pat me on the back. "I know you've been worried about her, and even I can see now that there's something not right with the way she behaves. When I finally got to hang out with her a bit, I could see she isn't the quiet, closed off girl she has made herself seem."

"But she made herself like that because she doesn't want anyone to know what's wrong," I mutter through clenched teeth, still bouncing back and forth between being mad at them and understanding their concern for me.

"So, you're saying you are now okay with not knowing anything? You had me break into the school, just to get her god damn home address, instead of just trying to ask her like a normal person," Scott shot at me, pulling back with a slight look of disbelief.

I take a deep breath, keeping my anger in check. He does have a point.

"I talked to Avery today, and she admitted that something is wrong, she is afraid of something and yes, I still want to know what. But she said she will tell me when she is ready, and I told her I would wait until she was. Now–" I break off, shaking my head.

I walk over to my bed and sit down, dropping my head into my hands.

"Now, if she finds out I already know because of an article online, she's going to think I went behind her back."

Tammy comes over and sits next to me. "Then let us tell her. We can tell her that we found out and told you, and we had no idea about the conversation you two had. That's the complete truth, she can't get mad, and if she wants to be mad at someone, she can be mad at Scott and I."

I shake my head again. "That's not the point," I mutter.

"What do you mean?"

I lift my head and look at Tammy.

"If this is really what she wants to tell me, then I wanted to hear it from her. I've worked so hard to try and get through to her, even just the slightest, to break down some of her walls. If she were the one to tell me all of this, that means she trusts me, a sign that I broke through maybe just one of her walls."

Tammy's face falls and she wraps a comforting arm around my shoulders.

"Oh, Aiden, we're so sorry."

I try and offer her a small smile. "It's okay, you guys were just looking out for me, and I hope Avery."

"Of course, we were. Scott and I can see by now how important she is too you, and how much you really like her, no matter how much you don't want to admit it," She narrows her eyes, but smiles softly at me.

I roll my eyes but fiddle with my hands nervously. "To be honest, I think I'm past liking her."

Tammy's eyes widen and she looks towards Scott, as if he has the answers to her probably hundreds of questions, written on his face.

She looks back at me and raises a brow. "What exactly does that mean? Just the other day, you could barely admit you were even attracted to her? Now it sounds like you're saying you might be–"

"In love with her?" I finish, trying to fight the teasing smile. She hates when people do that, especially when she goes on one of her sassy rants, even though she already knows the answers to the questions she is asking.

This time, however, she is too shocked to be irritated.

"Oh, my god. Are you serious? You're in love with Avery Reynolds?"

She grasps my shoulders and shakes me a little, a giddy grin stretching across her face.

"I never thought I would live to see the day when Aiden Thomas said he is in love," Scott says, a small smile on his own face. "Though, I could kind of tell from the start. You've been following her around like a lost puppy since she first gave you the time of day," he adds, dodging the pillow I instantly launch at his head.

We sit and talk for a little more, mostly Tammy teasing me about Avery and questioning me about when I'm going to tell her. I try and dodge her questions, fighting off her hits when she gets irritated at me for it.

They leave when it gets closer to late afternoon, when my dad comes home from work, since he has been known recently for coming home early.

I've been checking my phone the entire time, but I haven't received a single text or call from Avery. It's been quite a few hours since I last saw her, which makes me worry that something happened to her, and she isn't able to reach out to me.

Giving into my thoughts this time, I type out a quick text to her.

Did you get home safe?

I stare at the message for a few minutes. Nothing.

Another few minutes and I toss my phone, rubbing a hand down my face.

I decide to get something to eat, making sure to take my phone with me and turn the sound on. I put in a microwave dinner and through the TV on, trying to distract myself with mindless cartoons, keeping my hand on my phone in my pocket.

An hour goes by, and it's still silent. At this point, I want my dad to come home early, so I can at least have him distract, and bore me, with one of his work stories. He always has some weird or funny story, by his standards, of a customer or colleague at work, and although they never interest my much, they tend to drawl on long enough that I forget the show I'm watching.

But I'm alone with nothing but my overbearing thoughts and urge to run over to her house and make sure for myself that she is safe and sound.

I know I will probably see her at school, but I can't wait that long, not unless she at least lets me know she's alright.

Not being able to take the overthinking, I dump my garbage and return to my room, giving my phone one more glance before gathering stuff for a shower, hoping to try and calm my mind with warm water and a good daydream of back to being with Avery, when it was just us.

I turn the water on and step under, my mind instantly flashing back to Avery and I in the classroom, remembering how close she was, the way her breath fanned my face, her plump lips inches from mine.

Closing my eyes, I remember feeling the way her heart raced against mine as I held her close, swaying together to silent music, a sweet melody meant only for the two of us. I remember the warmth of her hand in mind, her skin so soft, I had to fight the urge to bring her hand to my cheek and experience the sensation of it even more.

My mind wanders to other scenarios, ones I haven't experienced with her, but I would give anything to.

Like having her in my bed, tucked underneath my arm, her head resting on my chest as my hand plays with her hair. Or looking up at the stairs, laying together with our hands clasped between us, pointing out the different systems and star formations.

No cares to give.

Just us against the world.

I take a deep breath, spitting out some water, and shut the shower off.

Drying off, I fight the urge to check my phone, the last of my hope that she responded diminishing. I made sure to turn the sound on max, so I would hear it even in the shower, but I didn't hear anything.

I change into sweats and a t-shirt, finishing up my night routine then grab my phone. I turn it on as I open the door, but a shadow in the hall distracts me from the screen.

Looking up, I see my father hovering by the stairs. I know he isn't waiting for to use the bathroom, because we have another bathroom with at least a sink and toilet in on the main floor.

"Hey dad, how was work?" I ask, reluctantly slipping my phone in my pocket.

He gives me a hesitant smile. "It was good, nothing too excited."

I can tell there is more he wants to say, but it isn't about work.

"How have you been?" he asks.

I note that he doesn't ask how my day was, he is asking how I am.

"I'm great, dad. Just heading to bed, my classes are getting a little heavier now as we get further into the semester," I say, trying to toss out the most believable lie. I never really cared for school, but that was before I was shipped off to juvie for supposedly going ballistic.

He nods, averting his eyes.

"That's good, I hope you're studying hard."

I give him a firm nod. I'm growing tired of this, the constant questions of my well-being and study of my stability, like I'm a science experiment expected to go wrong.

I almost feel like I should have a meltdown, just so he will either leave me alone, or send me to a psych ward.

"Well, sleep well, son." My dad waves awkwardly and turns towards his bedroom. I wait in the hall until his door closes, then let out a deep breath.

If things in my life don't loosen up a little, I might just break down for real.