Page 40 of Care: Part 1

Her shoulders fell as she gazed into his silver eyes, which used to be her sun that seeped through on a rainy day. Even with the droplets of water falling from the sky, she could look up into those silver eyes as if the rain didn't exist at all.

"It's your job. You did it, so leave,” Adrik commanded.

Letting out a sigh, she turned around and began to make her way back to the party.

Due to the dark lights, no one noticed any changes in her appearance. Her makeup probably looked a mess, and her dress a disaster. She was thankful for the darkness that helped hide it all.

Anastasia spotted the girl immediately and walked over to her. Bella made sure to follow right behind her—curiosity as clear as day on her face.

"Avelina, are you okay?" Anastasia asked the moment she caught up to her.

Avelina felt the need to break down and cry, but she had always been strong, especially in front of others. So, instead, she plastered a fake smile onto her face and nodded her head.

"Adrik is fine. Your husband and some men took care of him," Avelina smiled.

The girls both nodded their heads. Bella was the first to notice the red stain on the dress and all the rips that ruined the once beautiful gown.

"Come with me. I brought an extra dress just in case because my son still doesn't know how to keep his food in his mouth," Bella chuckled.

Avelina followed behind Bella as Bella latched onto her arm and dragged her through the party. They walked inside of some building and into a room. Bella then grabbed the dress from a rack.

"Here. You can change in the restroom, and I'll be waiting out here for you to come back.”

Avelina smiled in response before she nodded her head.

She took the dress into the adjoining bathroom and locked the door behind her. The second she was inside of the restroom, Avelina made sure to turn on the water from the sink just to drown out any noises she was preparing herself to make.

Her eyes found her own in the mirror while Adrik's words replayed themselves in her head.

It is your job. You did it, so leave.

Tears were falling from her eyes as she held onto her mouth to keep from making any loud sobs. The grip she had on the countertop had begun to turn her knuckles white.

Avelina’s mind was racing a mile a minute. She couldn't believe she just saw Adrik, someone she cared so much about, with so much blood around him and a face full of hate.

Her thoughts were also replaying the gun Adrik had in his hand. Aside from nursing, she never would've guessed she'd see someone die in front of her like it was nothing. Adrik shot a man, and she never had ever witnessed someone's death in that way before, aside from her grandmother.

The way her grandma passed away was tragic.

She had come home from school to see her grandmother in a chair. At first, little Avelina believed she was sleeping. When she shook her grandmother, and no sound escaped her—she freaked out. Her mind tried to grasp what was happening. Then, she saw the empty pill bottle by her grandmother's corpse.

Her grandma often talked about what life was like for her. How she wished she had someone to care for her the way she cared for everyone else. She spoke as if she were tired of being the one who did the protecting, and she wanted to be the one who had the protection.

Avelina sat there by her grandmother and waited for her to wake up. She sat there for days and sang her granny her favorite songs because her grandmother always loved to hear her grandbaby’s sweet little voice.

"Like a caterpillar to a butterfly," she would sing.

It was a song her grandmother had created with the passion she had for the ukulele. Her grandma always had this love for music, and she dreamt that the world would know her name. All too fast, time moved too quickly, and her dreams became only that, dreams.

Avelina looked into her own eyes through the reflection of the mirror. Her mind had this pitiful war. When her heart slashed, her thoughts would shoot.

Harshly, she wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. Her mascara had gotten slightly smeared, but she managed to fix it with her finger by just simply wiping it off. She then took off her dress and put on the one Bella had given her.

After turning off the water faucet, she stepped out of the restroom.

A bright smile carried itself so naturally on her face as if the tears never rooted themselves within the soil of her skin.

"It looks better on you than it does on me," Bella spoke out enviously.