Chapter Three

EncoreDeZiza

All Rights Reserved

2013

 

Chapter Three

 

Before I start this book, I just wanna  say I’m so sorry for not updating sooner, all of you want this book badly & I love writing it but I’ve let my focus drift lately to New Book # two, The Art of Arrogance. Which reminds me, if you haven’t read, go do so. It’s an action-comedy & it’s hilarious. You’re very welcome.

 

            Alright, I think that’s it for my morning announcements, I just wanna leave you with one thought before I return to my breakfast:

              Hehehehehehehehehehehehehe………..

 

 

Before her brain had even caught up from the last five seconds, she dodged, listening to the wind as his fist sailed just to the left of her head. Someone in the back ground let out a low whistle but her eyes were on her opponent. The rise and fall of his chest was dramatically slower than before, his mouth open, nostrils flaring. He was nearly done, and she knew just the way to knock him from his feet- again.

            Standing to her full height, she lead with her left, hitting hard on his chest, his breath caught, but it was only a distraction as her body swooped down into a crouch, her right arm swinging out to the side, gaining momentum and sped as it collided with his weak knees. Back up within seconds, she let her left lose, a perfect hit right under the jaw.

            He reacted, his head moving with the blow, his body going limp as his lights finally go out. “One,” Someone counted, moving her fists back up to shield her face; she took a few steps back, her eyes never leaving the opponent. ”Two, three, four, five,” Her heart beat accelerated, waiting. “Six, seven,” And waiting, “Eight, nine,” She tensed now, her entire being a solid brick, if he got up, if he actually got up, she didn’t know that she could beat him. “Ten- knock out!” And finally, her shoulders sagged as the small group around her cheered at the victory. Her eyes lifted, watching the black-haired boy who was currently collecting their winnings.

            Turning her head, she noticed her opponent’s party, each and every one starring openly at her. She hated attention, but what the hell. Still high from the fight, she flashed a cunning smirk before taking her time in walking over, staring each one down as she took long, graceful strides. To anyone other than the people involved, it looked like a friendly approach, carefree and heart-warming, but to the defensive group before her, it looked like a predator stalking its prey and she could hear their rapidly pounding hearts from where she stood. “Hey guys,” she chirped, she could feel it, in her eyes. They were dancing with absolute mischief, with the thrill of her new-found cat VS mouse. “Great fight.” An awkward silence fell over them and it was all she could do to keep that smug smirk off her face. She tried to look award, like she wanted to talk to them, wanted to walk away if no one said anything. But her façade wasn’t getting her anywhere, and she mentally praised them. Good job, she coaxed, you aren’t as stupid and ignorant as you look. That was, until a short, bald man spoke, effectively breaking the ice, although it was undoubtedly better off if he hadn’t. “How do you do it- how do you keep going?”

She flashed her award-winning trademark grin, “I can’t let him break my face,” She replied, wiping it all from her face and leaving only huge, innocent brown eyes and a solemn innocent face, “I’m a model on the weekends.”

Their mouths dropped and she was beyond disappointed when a familiar hand pressed lightly into her back, “I thought we discussed this, Miss Cole, do not play with your food.” He scolded, leading her away from the people as she threw her head back and laughed. In all reality, she didn’t have to go over there. She’d gotten what she wanted, she knew their names, faces, address, phone numbers, everything. She could rob them, stalk them, taunt them, but she had no interest in that. Oh no, she was going to murder them. Quick and easy, like ripping off a band aid- only, it wouldn’t hurt.

            She stopped then, her mind flashing at speeds she couldn’t even begin to comprehend, she shoved a hand in his chest before falling into step at his side. They both froze, inches from his car. “We need to talk.” He stiffened, his brown, almost black, eyes bore into hers, “About what you saw.”

His jaw flexed, locking and unlocking briefly but it was enough. She’d seen it and it’d made her stomach turn, “It’s fine,” Oh how easily he could lie through his teeth, “We’ve been over for a year now, it’s not like I wanted you to stay single forever.”

“No,” She agreed, never lifting her gaze from his, “You wanted me to come crawling back to you on my hands and knees. Correct?” The slight flare in his nostrils and tension that consumed his body told her she was dead on. Dead on. “And for that, I’m sorry.”

He took a deep breath, finally letting down his walls and she cringed at the amount of pain within those dark eyes. She spared her a sad, half-smile, “Is he good for you?”

“Very.” She replied without thinking. But he was, it was true in every way. She’d been letting go of her life, what little of it remained, slowly pushing everyone away so it wouldn’t hurt as bad when she left. She didn’t’ see a point in staying, not when all she ever got was pain. Pain, pain, pain. Pain. That was, until she met Ezra. He saved her. And he didn’t even know it.

“Good,” Jacobs dismissed, tossing an arm over her shoulder, “Pizza, then?”

 

 

Avery groaned, rubbing her tired, sweaty face. She was beginning to hate sleeping- a lot. Throwing her legs over the side of her bed, she snatched up her phone, confusion setting in at the email she’d received. Without hesitation, she opened it. The subject was one word: Her. From [email protected] She blinked as her tired, weary eyes slid down the screen, finding a single attachment- an audio clip. Ezra, her brain finally connected. She rolled her eyes at her severely delayed reaction, stupid sleep deprivation.

                Without even thinking, she plugged the phone into the speakers, making her bed, before clicking on the file and falling back. Letting her worries, cares and thought fade as she lost herself in that wonderfully sexy voice of his.

 

                “First of all, I wanted to say hi. And I’m sorry about the way things ended, I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I wish I could be saying this in person, but I’m slightly out of reach at the moment.  I should be back by next week at the latest, and um, I racked my memory for a while, until I was fairly certain we left off at lunch, day two, am I right? I hope so, cause here it goes.

            Evelyn was never home until around eight. I swear she never even considered it. So when I drove Cole back to mine, I wasn’t surprised to find all the lights off and one car in the drive way- mine. I brought Cole in and gave her a brief tour before I got started on dinner; I’d known she’d gone to the restroom so I was prepared to hear the soft, gentle flush followed by a steady stream of running water. I wasn’t, however, expecting the high-pitched scream that penetrated my ears, dropping the pan, I ran after it.

            I stopped when I got to the wide-open bathroom door. Evelyn was in the shower, the curtains had been drawn revealing her thigh-length grey towel and wide, terrified eyes that were stuck, frozen. Moving further into the bathroom to follow her gaze, I found Cole, frozen in place, a fresh roll of toilet paper hanging loosely in her hands. Her dark brown eyes shifted into mine and I forced myself to look back at Evelyn, who as now watching me, wordlessly, “Let’s- um- give her some time…” I suggested awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. Cole gave a short, brisk nod before soundlessly following me out. Giving Evelyn an awkward, apologetic smile, I closed the door behind me.

 

            “Well that was a lovely first impression,” Cole whispered around her apple.

“Relax, if anything, I’ll take the hit.” I promised, shrugging. We were in the kitchen, her leaning against the counter while I used the sink to hold myself up.

She sighed, “I don’t want you to.”

“I don’t care.” The timing was perfect as Evelyn walked into the kitchen, effectively ending the conversation. Her silver-white-white hair pulled into a bun, matching those soft grey eyes. I’d gotten my color from her but mine weren’t soft and lovely. Mine were hard, intense, just as my fathers were.

            “Hello dear, I’m Evelyn, I’m Ezra’s aunt. I don’t’ know what you’ve heard of me, but it’s probably true. Ezra didn’t tell me he had a girl friend, especially one as lovely as yourself. What’s your name, darling?”

“She’s not-“

“Autumn,” Cole introduced, ignoring me all together as she flashed my aunt a smile that was nothing short of stunning, it seemed effortless on her part while I was stuck, wishing she’d leave so I could remember what room I was in.

“Oh Autumn!” Evelyn gushed, taking both Autumn’s hands in hers, “That’s such a beautiful name, isn’t that a beautiful name, Era? Tell her she has a lovely name!”

Smiling at Evelyn’s Evelyn-ness, I let my eyes fall into hers, “You have a lovely name,” I complimented, crossing my arms casually across my chest.

 

            Something flashed in those deep eyes of hers, pushing more purple specks to the surface, “Why thank you.” She replied gracefully giving me a genuine, warm smile.

“There’s so much we have to do!” Evelyn squealed, squeezing her hands before leading her into the living room, “Do you watch the Bachelor?”

“The what?”

“Don’t poison her!” I yelled after them. But naturally, they ignored me, continuing on their way and leaving me to fix dinner- alone.”

 

To say she was jealous of the natural fluidity of his voice was an understatement and she found herself groaning in frustration.  Reaching over to grab a pillow conviently placed within arms reach, she pulled it dramatically over her face and let lose another groan. Damn boys any- her phone buzzed, pausing that glorious voice and leaving an annoying ringing in her ears. How loud was that speaker?

                Slowly, her stomach contrasted, lifting her as she glared at the text from Skyler. Of course. Still, she opened it: Come over.  With another groan, she pulled up, pocketing the phone and heading for the bathroom.

 

 

                Autumn was such a beautiful time of year, when the rain drizzles faithfully and the leaves dye to all sorts of reds, yellows, and oranges. It was lovely and undoubtedly her favorite time of the year. And as she drove through the old, vacant dirt road, lined with trees, she couldn’t help but let off the gas, allowing her eyes to stray from their path, taking in every detail of nature’s effortless beauty. She could only hope was committing it all to memory as her eyes traced the tops of the trees, admiring every leaf, not at all surprised when a light rain began to drop delicately from the grey balls of fluff that aligned the sky. She watched, transfixed, as a single drop of dew fell from a lovely orange leaf that was slowly, but surely, wrinkling and withering, reminding her of its pending fate.

 

“Ah, don’t be like that, mate.” One of them taunted, taking an arrogant step forward. His eyes narrowed in response before flashing to the rest of the group.

“Yah, I thought we were friends,” Claimed a second.

“You still looking for your dead girl friend?” A third snickered. He couldn’t help it, he couldn’t stop it, not fast enough. His body stiffened, jaw flexing, trigger finger pulling- and before he knew it, one of the three was down, dead. He’d just killed a man.

He found himself against a brick wall, being held in place by a blade, the second guy gleaming down at him, Excitement and thrill dancing in his eyes, “Ah, so you’ve found her then.”

“Mind sharing Miss Cole’s whereabouts?” Asked the first. Without thinking, he lifted the gun, pressing it into the second’s chest.

“Drop the gun, son, you’ll regret it.”

“Miss Cole will pay for that mistake,” And again he couldn’t stop it, he couldn’t control it, so after the second gun shot was fired, he ran, shoving the gun into the hem of his jeans.

 

                He’d gotten far, much to his surprise, before the familiar sound of a rapidly approaching engine momentarily stole his thoughts. And for a split second he made the worst mistake he could possibly ever make, he stopped. His idiocy was proven as a sharp, unexpected, searing pain shot up his spine. It was all he could do not to crumble, not to fall in on himself. But Autumn- if Autumn were here, she wouldn’t dare show weakness, so he wouldn’t either. Without missing a beat, he took off again, ignoring the mocking laughter that eerily kept pace with him.

Where he went, it followed.

 

                He was too caught up in the act of running, not noticing the road until he stumbled from the trees, nearly face-planting in the dirt. With his heart drumming in his ears, he didn’t hesitate before running again. His first mistake was not looking where he was going. This was proven as his legs were yanked out from under him, he tucked into himself instinctively as he rolled over the hood of the oncoming car before dropping to the dirt. He fell on his back, shoving what he could assume was a knife further into his back. Immediately he coughed, cursing the skies for the rain that slowly turning the ground below him into mud. If he got infected, he swore…

                Breaks squealed in protest, the only warning Ezra received before a soft, feminine voice rang through the night, cutting through the gentle, kissing winds and soft, steady rain. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry, sir! Sir, are you alright? S- Ezra?” She kneeled next to him and could hear her heart pumping frantically as her breath came in quick, shallow pants, forming little puffs of air, visible in the brisk autumn night. “We’re gonna get you to a hospital.” She rushed, sliding an arm under him, resulting in twisting the blade, dragging it down his spine and earning a short, desperate cry of pain. She froze, her eyes scanning his for a brief moment, “Let me help you.” She finally spoke and when she did, he wished she hadn’t. It rang with pain, remorse and empathy.

“N-no,” He pushed, forcing himself to say something, do something, “No Hospitals.” He finished, relieved when he didn’t choke or stutter. He was already starting to heal. And that was a problem, he needed the knife to be jerked out and his wound cleaned before he could let it heal. To top it all off, her heart was racing faster now and he was beginning to go mad.

“Okay, okay,” She agreed, frantic now. Under any other circumstance, he would’ve smirked. She thought he was dying. It was cute, really, how innocent she was. “No hospitals, I can do that.” Avoiding his back and abdomen in general, she managed to get him on his feet, although he was entirely supported by her, and into the car.

                He grunted pain…. Pain…. So much pain.

 

 

Although her mind hadn’t been on Skyler and her random, abrupt invitation, she’d expected it to be a party. And as she approached the house she found the lights on, stereo pumping, front yard littered and what seemed like eons of cars parked wherever the driver saw fit, In short, Avery’s suspicions were confirmed, which only meant one thing- the band was back.

                Not wasting time, Avery drove through the yard, jerking the car to a rough stop before the basement doors. Ezra moaned in pain and she winced, focusing her energy on not bursting into tears at the state he was in. On the drive here, he seemed to be getting worse. His face was warped into one of dread, his eyes burning in pain. She hated this. Still, she was quick to jump from the car, practically running over to reach him in time. He fell limply from the car and she barely caught him at all, awkwardly half-caring, half-dragging him down the basement steps. It was, obviously, occupied. And she ground her jaw before ordering the young couple out of the room and heaving Ezra onto a counter.

 

                Instinctively, she wet a clean rag and then dropped it to the counter before biting her lip, “I’m so sorry,” She gushed, “But I have to…” After briefly gazing into his rapidly dulling eyes, she tore off his bloodied shirt, cringing with it fell to the ground with a repulsive squish. She shivered, knowing it was blood before turning him around. A decent sized butchers knife had been thrust into his back, inches from his spine, although with as much blood as he’d lost, it was hard to tell just where exactly this had gone in and where it had moved to, which she was guessing, by the amount of blood he’d lost, it had, in fact, moved. She couldn’t move it, not without causing a lot of destruction and he’d already lost so much… He needed to be at a hospital.

“Avery,”

That got her attention, “yes?”

“I think imma ta-ake a nap.” Losing all interest in his wound, she grabbed his face in her hands.

“No! Ezra, listen to me, okay? Just listen. You cannot go to sleep, do you underst…” She dropped the sentence, it dangling in the air as her vulnerable, pleading eyes watched in completely and utter horror as his drifted closed. She stood frozen before it sank in, hot, salty tears dripping painfully from her eyes, “Ezra,” She called, smacking his stone-hard face. Btu to no avail. She brought her fingers to his neck, shaking, her entire being stiffening as her gut plummeted. Nothing. Nothing. He was gone, gone.

 

                Desperately, she brought her lips to his. It was irrational and stupid, she didn’t know hwy she thought it’d help. It had been a childish and foolish hope. And, of course, it didn’t work. He remained unresponsive. He remained dead. Because this wasn’t Sleeping Beauty, it wasn’t some random fairy tale. This was reality. And the dead, still body before her was fate. Vicious, victorious, and inevitable. Fate.

 

No. Part of her rejected. No, it’s not. I can do something, I have to do something. She brought her lips to his again, and again, and again. Desperate, so desperate. And again, and again, and again. It hit unwelcome and hard, she stumbled backwards at the mental blow before the entire scene changed. A pair of familiar lips against hers, warm, soft, responsive as they moved with hers. She let out a low chuckle as something  crashed to the ground. “You better pay for that.” Came a deep, raspy, hushed voice lined with something she registered all too quickly- lust.

Her lips twisted into a playful smirk, “Make me,” The room was completely black, void of light, but she could faintly make out his arrogant smirk as his teeth tugged lightly on her bottom lip. The grip she held of his tussled and greatly disturbed hair tightened as she dipped her head, a content moan escaping her lips not even caring she was giving him exactly what he wanted. He’d won.

 

She stumbled back, clutching her throbbing head, “STOP!” She yelled out loud, gritting her teeth. She wanted it all gone. She wanted to start again, be back in her bed, listening to the tape sent last night, she wanted Ezra to return to whatever classified as ‘out-of-reach’ and stay indoors. She wanted the day to start over. They’d do it again and they’d do it right. And they’d do it now.

 

                Avery sat up in bed, her old black Nirvana shirt clinging to her sweating fame. She pealed it off, heart drumming in her chest as she glanced over, her eyes settling on the speakers plugged into her phone, Ezra’s raspy voice flooding the room effortlessly.

“Smiling at Evelyn’s Evelyn-ness, I let my eyes fall into hers, “You have a lovely name.” I complimented, crossing my arms casually over my chest.”

 

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo….. I have one answer to one of your many questions, No. This entire chapter was not a dream. It happened. She wasn’t asleep, nope, nope, nope.

 

           Considering doing the repeat morning from Ezra’s POV, but since he’d be ranting on and on about why he was still at the one night stand’s house and why he couldn’t bring himself to leave, I left it alone. If you want one, go ahead and comment below that you do, and I’ll get right on it. Otherwise, sorry. 

Author's Note

Okay, so this chapter is REALLY, REALLY fudged up, and I apologize for that. It's supposed to be confusing and slightly frustrating. If you NEED answers (lol) then you're free to message me and I'll explain it to my best ability. I've already had to explain it twice, so, nothing wrong with a third. Lol. Thank you for reading<333

Reviews

[Skye Sparks]

Amazing, and, of course, confusing! I can't wait to read the next chapter!

Love it!