Chapter 7 Avalon
seven
Avalon
October
Imight have to give up sex. Don’t get me wrong, Tucker’s been doing a great job, I’ve gotten closer to an orgasm tonight than I have since the semester started, but all he does is talk about chemistry.
And I don’t mean about us having chemistry; I mean actual chemistry. I should’ve known that sleeping with someone I met because of our major was a bad idea, but with how hectic classes have been, I haven’t had time to meet guys at the bar.
I swear he’s doing it on purpose. Like he feels me reaching my climax and then decides to ask me my thoughts on an upcoming test or if I understood today’s lesson—
It totally kills the mood.
I think he’s getting close, though, because he’s finally shut his fucking mouth and is picking up his rhythm.
My toes curl from the pressure building in my core, tugging the sheets as they do. His breathing starts to match the speed of his thrusts, pulling me with him to a sweet, sweet climax—
“Oh my—”
“I totally think Mr. Stanson hates me.”
And it’s gone. Fuck me.
“You have a class with him this semester, right?”
“Hey, Tucker, do you think we could not talk about school right now?” I wonder. “You’re literally inside of me, and the last thing I want to think about right now is Mr. Stanson and his toupee.”
“Sorry.” I feel his body get tense. “I guess I’m just not used to not kissing a girl while we—”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah. I guess I just talk when I want to kiss you.”
“Lips are off limits, but the rest of my body is free reign. Kiss me somewhere else and shut the fuck up.”
He takes instructions well; his lips find the crook of my neck while he returns to his steady movement.
I take it back… giving up sex would be the worst possible decision I could make.
Maybe I just need to find guys that are willing to take instructions.
I shouldn’t expect them to know exactly what I need and how I like it.
After all, we typically meet, or at least talk, for the first time right before we tear each other’s clothes off.
I’m hitting my peak for the thousandth time tonight, but I think I might actually fly over it this time. As long as his lips stay attached to my body and his hips keep picking up the pace, there’s no reason I shouldn’t—
The front door slams.
I jump up, knocking Tucker off of me and onto the floor.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I look at the clock, and it’s only 11:30; she shouldn’t be home yet.
“What was that?”
“You need to get dressed.”
“What?! Now?”
“Yes. Get up, get dressed, and stay here until I tell you to come out. Got it?”
I put on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt from a pile of clothes in the corner of my room. They could be dirty… they could be clean. I don’t really care right now.
I walk into the living room to see my mom wasted on the couch. I don’t even know how she got home in this condition.
“God, how much did you drink?” I grip her chin, moving her head side to side. I don’t expect her to respond, but she reeks.
“Found her in the alley behind Smitty’s Pub.” The voice comes from the kitchen, and once the fridge closes, I see Jay.
“Thanks for bringing her home,” I sigh. “She hasn’t gotten this bad in a while. I guess that’s not true, but she usually isn’t this plastered until well past two in the morning.”
“Avalon, you’re supposed to tell me when things get bad.”
“They haven’t been bad,” I lie. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“I know you’re paying the bills.” He sits on the couch beside my mom and tries to give her water. She doesn’t drink it.
“How?” Even though I know the reason doesn’t matter. He knows, and I’m gonna hear how stupid it is for me to step up because then she’ll take advantage of it.
“Your mom talks when she’s drunk,” he replies. “I think you should come stay with me. I have plenty of space, and you’d still be close enough to campus to make it to class on time. I think it would really benefit you to—”
My bedroom door opens, and Tucker steps out.
“Who’s that?” Jay asks, shooting darts at Tucker with his eyes.
“Tucker.” We say it simultaneously, and I feel my cheeks turn red.
I don’t know why; it’s not weird for a teenager to be having sex, but Jay’s known me since I was a kid.
He worked with my mom until her accident, and even after that, he continued to look out for me.
In some ways, I’m the kid he never had, so the thought of him seeing a booty call sneak out makes me feel uneasy.
“Sorry, I know you asked me to wait, but some of my friends are meeting for a drink, and well, I assumed we were… finished.”
“Right, sorry. No problem. I’ll see you around.”
Tucker looks at me, then at my mom and Jay on the couch, and smiles. “See you around.”
“Who was that?” Jay repeats as the door closes.
“Tucker. We already covered that.”
“And who’s Tucker?”
“A guy in my class.”
“So, you guys were just studying in your room?”
I roll my eyes.
“Well, we were actually having a great time together before you showed up.” I cross my arms. “But I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
“Alright, alright.” He laughs. “Tucker is not my business unless you live under my roof, and then there’d be some rules.”
“I appreciate the offer, Jay, but I’m not moving in with you,” I continue. “I can’t. I can’t leave her here alone. I’d never forgive myself if I left, and then she…”
“But you shouldn’t have to worry about her, Avalon. That’s my point. She should be taking care of you, not the other way around.”
“I’m fine, really, Jay. I’ve got a handle on things.”
“If you need anything, anything at all, you know you can call me, right? It doesn’t matter what happened or what time it is; I will be there.”
“I know.” I smile. “Thank you.”
“Do you need money?” he wonders. “For school or groceries or anything?”
“No.” I shake my head. “School is all paid for, and I have a ton of savings from high school. I’m good. I promise.”
“Okay. I’ll bring your mom to bed and sleep on the couch tonight. Just so if she gets up in the middle of the night for any reason, you don’t have to deal with it.”
“Thanks.” I stand up. “I don’t know what we’d do without you, Jay. You’re a good guy.”
He doesn’t say anything; he just smiles as he picks her up and brings her to bed.
I go to my room, but I don’t go to sleep. I do the one thing no child should ever have to do for their parent—
I look at rehab clinics.
You’d think everyone on campus just won the lottery with the amount of excitement over the first hockey game of the season.
Personally, I don’t get it, not just with hockey but with any sport. And don’t even get me started on how small the puck is. How does anyone in the crowd even see it?
But I guess it’s a big deal here because it’s all I’ve heard about all day. And the library’s pretty much deserted now because everyone is at the game. I guess that’s one perk of sports, a quiet section of the library all to myself.
“Should we have gone to the game?” I hear the voice before the three girls walk past me.
“I don’t need to go to the game to get into Declan Sanderson’s bed. We went to the banquet together last year; it’s pretty much a sealed deal.” They sit in the corner with the couches.
“I don’t know, he’s seemed awfully chummy with scar-face,” one of the other girls replies.
Scarface? What kind of fucked up nickname is that?
“He’s just being nice. Trust me. I think he’s just hesitating because Brinley’s in our Sorority. I think he wants to avoid making things awkward.”
I laugh. Their eyes dart toward me, but I play it off as if something on my computer is funny. I don’t know the whole story between her and this Declan dude, but it doesn’t seem like he’s interested. From what I've heard, it just seems like he’s trying to be nice.
The second they get back on the topic of another girl he may actually be interested in, which, according to them, is not possible at all, I decide I’ve heard enough.
I pack up my things and head to the coffee shop inside the library.
“Hi,” I begin once I get to the front of the line. “Could I do a large, iced vanilla coffee, please?”
“Can I get you anything else?”
“That’ll be all.” I reach inside my bag for my wallet and nearly have a heart attack when I don’t see my card, but then I find it in the bottom of my bag. I must’ve forgotten to put it away the last time I used it.
“Your total is $6.87.” I hand the barista my card while the barista behind her makes my coffee. I rarely treat myself to a coffee on campus because the cost is outrageous. But I’ve been on campus for over fifteen hours. I deserve it. “I’m sorry, your card was declined.”
“What?” I wonder. “Can you try it again?”
“I tried it twice.”
“Can you try it a third?”
She reruns the card, but the machine beeps and declines the card again.
“Do you have another form of payment?”
I rummage through my bag, find a crumpled ten-dollar bill, and hand it to her. She hands me my coffee, along with my change, and gives me a sad smile.
The kind of smile that makes me feel pathetic that I can’t even afford a coffee from the campus library.
Something must be wrong with my account. Aside from paying bills and getting groceries or ordering food, I rarely use the money.
When my grandparents died, they left money to use for school, but it’s in a monitored account to make sure I can’t blow through it.
Money is transferred at the beginning of each semester so I can take care of school expenses, but I’ve been saving up money since middle school.
I got a bank account just to keep track of all my money.
And I had over thirty thousand dollars.
So, there’s no way that my card is declining.
I sit my coffee down, grab my laptop from my bag, and log into my bank account. My heart sinks into my chest.
Zero. Zero dollars in both my checking account and my savings.
“What the fuck?” The words come out almost in a laugh because I know I didn’t burn through my whole life savings.
And then I see it.
All the nightly withdrawals. The money transfers. I don’t know how, but she figured out my password and PIN and took everything from me.
My own mom.