Chapter 2| Aftermath

Her entire body ached, especially the part between her thighs. It was five in the morning when he left her alone, or rather, her body alone. Very slowly, Ava picked her clothes and her shoes from the floor, tiptoed, and left the suite in haste.

I did it! Well, this is definitely not a moment to be proud of, but I did it! Oh, Benny. This one is for you! Ava fought bravely not to cry.

As much as possible, she didn’t want people to see her leaving the prestigious hotel, so she kept her head low. At that moment, all Ava wanted to do was take a shower to rub off the memories of her first time. She checked her phone while she waited for a cab on the street. Her inbox was filled with text messages from Helga. With each text message came a threat that became more disturbing.

Ava decided to ignore it and went home.

When she arrived at the Priestly house, Helga welcomed her with a slap. Smack! “You! You have one job, Ava! One f*cking job and you screwed it up!”

Confused, Ava faced her stepmother with the same level of intensity, her one hand cupping her heated cheek. “What was that for? I spent the whole night wh*ring to pay that f*cking debt and that’s what I get? A slap? Really, Helga?”

“Save your excuses. Mr. Walton called, he’s furious. You stood him up!”

“I did not!”

And then it hit her, Ava quickly fished her phone from her purse to check for one small detail she might have overlooked last night. With trembling hands, she blocked out Helga’s irritating voice from her head to focus on one thing.

“Sh*t. Sh*t! It’s Room 210 and not 201!” A crippling fear crawled on Ava’s skin realizing she was at fault there. “No.” She mumbled. “No, no, no.”

Helga had her hands on her waist and she was glaring at Ava. Beatriz joined her mother in the foyer, all glammed up. Her jubilant expression became gloomy as soon as she saw Ava.

“Mommy, I’m meeting an agent…oh, she’s here. Where did she spend the whole night if she’s not with that old grease ball Walton?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, Beatriz.” Helga snapped.

Beatriz faked the worried voice, “Mommy, if she wasn’t with Mr. Walton---that means, our debts aren’t paid at all, and Benny, oh, poor Benny, will not have his treatments and therapy after all? That’s unfortunate…the boy would never have the chance to live a normal life, would he, Ava?”

“Not necessarily.” Helga turned to Ava again. Her eyes assessed her from head to foot. “Mr. Walton decided to give us one more chance provided that he will personally pick Ava here tonight so there will be no little accidents along the way. You’re very lucky, I appreciate this family. I’m doing this to keep the family afloat, Ava.”

Ava wanted to shoot back but bit her inner lip instead. Her voice was low and unsure. “This means Benny can still get his treatment and therapy, right?”

“Yes.” Helga smiled warmly and pushed Ava gently. “Now, be a darling and get ready. We want Mr. Walton to be pleased and satisfied tonight.” She then exchanged knowing glances with her daughter.

As soon as Ava was out of earshot, the smile disappeared, and in its place was a sneer. Helga has only been married to Charles Priestly for two years but she made changes in the living situation in the townhouse. Ava was against their marriage but Charles begged her for her blessing. She loves her father and wants him to be happy although it was too soon. Her daughter Beatriz, who was an aspiring actress was a year younger than Ava.

“Mommy, where do you think she was last night? Ava doesn’t have a boyfriend. I am sure of that.”

Helga scoffed, “Really? Do I look like I want to know? All I care about is Mr. Walton. The old man likes her and he’s going to erase all our debts to him if we give him what he wanted. You’re fortunate he did not fancy you.”

Hearing this, Beatriz scoffed, “Are you saying, she’s prettier?”

“Of course not, sweetie.” Helga apologized. “No one is prettier than you, my little princess. That’s why mommy is taking care of you. All I’m saying is, you’re lucky you are not in Ava’s shoes.”

“Speaking of shoes…”

“Not now, Beatriz. For now, we have to make sure that Ava holds her end of the bargain. After that, we have enough funds to travel and buy whatever we want.” Helga dismissed her daughters upcoming whim.

Confusion fell on Beatriz’s heavily made-up face. “I don’t follow.”

“Well,” Helga’s smile grew wider as she turned away. “Let’s just say mommy made a deal with Mr. Walton. Ava will never know what she signed up for.”

Beatriz tried to keep up with Helga, “Hmm. What did you do?”

“If she pays the debt alone, what good is that for us? That’s why I sold her to the man. We got a few million more. I’m a businesswoman, child. I never fail to make a profit.” Helga looked around to make sure that no one heard her. “Besides, I have Charles wrapped around my finger. He already agreed to make Ava spend a night with the man, what’s a few more years? If she behaves, Mr. Walton will make her his what, third, fourth wife?”

“What about Benny?”

“We’ll pay the first two weeks, after that, Ava can figure it out by herself.”

“And Uncle Charles?”

Helga blew raspberries and waved her hand in dismissal, “that man will never believe his own daughter. It’s my word versus hers. You know how it usually goes.”

The mother and daughter chuckled together. They were always a team.

Since day one, Beatriz and Ava never hit it off. Beatriz was just like her mother. They were both nice when Charles was home and would quickly ditch their halos and wings for horns as soon as he stepped outside the door.

It was easy to say that in such a short period, Helga and Beatriz managed to make both Ava’s and the young boy’s lives a living hell. If it’s any consolation for Ava, Benny has been in the hospital for several months now. He’s spared, for now. The boy needs special care and Ava will do anything to get it. Her father had already given up Benny’s welfare since Helga said it was a waste of money. Even if it means she has to spend another night with a stranger, Ava will do it for her brother. There’s nothing she can do about her father’s disappointing decision---but Benny still got her, and she will not let her brother down.

After their mother’s tragic death three years ago, Charles was never the same and Ava hoped that one day he would eventually come around. The only reason she was choosing to stay at home was to keep tabs on her father. Her instincts tell her that Helga and Beatriz aren’t the type of people to be entrusted with Charles’ care even if he’s in optimal health to date.

Ava immediately ran a hot bath as soon as she was in her bedroom. She shared a room with Benny and somehow, she’s thankful that the boy was not present to see her distraught state. She could still smell the unknown man’s cologne from last night, reeking from her pores.

“Oh, my God, Ava. What have you done? You slept with some random guy and now you have to do it all over again! No wonder he was nimble! He wasn’t old!” She hit the tiled wall over and over again to release her frustration.

The water coming from the hot shower masked the tears from her, “Mom, I miss you. But Dad won’t listen to me anymore.”