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So Gullible

It was sunset. The daylight had faded, the sun had gone down, and the night was ready to begin. Ava was seen strutting to her neighborhood. She was earlier than usual today, and that was because Mrs. Perez had compelled her to start going home. Ava had made an effort by hiding her red cheek from Mrs. Perez, but eventually, Mrs. Perez saw the printed fingers on Ava's cheek. Stunned, she asked, “Who did this to you, Ava?” Afraid that Mrs. Perez had probably seen her cheek, Ava reached out in an attempt to cover her cheek, but Mrs. Perez grasped her wrist with her palm and confined her movement. “Answer me, Ava, who did this?” Seeing how furious and angered Mrs. Perez was, Ava knew there was no need to lie to her, and thus she explained how the entire event had transpired, leaving the part that a strange man had come into the shop and somehow retaliated for her too. As soon as Ava finished her words, Mrs. Perez couldn't conceal how frantic she was at that moment. She knew Ava very well just like the back of her hand, she knew Ava would never have knowingly spilled water on a customer's stuff. Mrs. Perez felt so sorry for Ava at the same time, she was so mad at herself for not being around when the incident had occurred, she thought in her mind that she would have taught that little rascal a severe lesson.

Getting to her residence, Ava stared intently at the red sports car which was parking in front of the house. And as soon as she recalled the car possessor, a delighted smile flashed across her face as she dashed to the entrance door. Like a flash, Ava reached inside the relatively living room and saw a lady sitting on a single settee. Her black silky hair was tied up in a ponytail, the blue strapless body-con dress she was wearing barely covers her butt. Her legs were crossed, and it seemed she was so engrossed in the cellphone in her hands. “Hazel!” Ava called out with enthusiasm, beaming with smiles. Raising her head with a wide smile on her lips, it appeared that she knew who just called her name. She got on her feet and ran to meet Ava at the door, pulling her in her embrace. “My sweet cousin” Hazel whispered, reaching out her palm and caressing Ava's hair. Ava only chuckled, enjoying Hazel's warm fingers against her hair. Tears had clouded her vision as she stays in Hazel's warm embrace, not willing to break the embrace anytime soon. However, Hazel finally disengaged from the long moment embrace. Ava felt out of place immediately, as she would love to remain in Hazel's arms forever. In her opinion, Hazel's embrace was the only safest place for her in the whole world. Lifting her brows with a soft smile illustrating on her lips, Hazel wiped off the tears that had fallen from Ava's eyes with her thumb. Of course, she knew how emotional her cousin could be. “Come on now, Ava. You know how much I hate to see your tears” Hearing this from Hazel only caused more tears to spill uncontrollably from Ava's eyes as she shoved herself into Hazel's chest once again. “I miss you so much, Hazel” She choked on her words, cuddling Hazel as though she was going to run away. Seeing how hysterical Ava was sobbing, the smile on Hazel's face gradually faded away, she knew that something was wrong somewhere. She had known Ava since when they were both in diapers, so she knew Ava even more than Ava knew herself. And without a moment's hesitation, she pulled away from Ava then held her chin tenderly. “Tell me, Ava, what happened? Why are you crying so much?” asked Hazel, concern laced in her voice as she looked intently into Ava's eyes as if she wanted to find out something. It was at that moment Ava realized she had cried so much and apparently, it wasn't because she missed Hazel so badly but because she couldn't bring herself to open up and tell Hazel everything.

Hazel was still looking at Ava in anticipation, framing her face in her slender palms Suddenly, weirdly, Hazel felt one of Ava's cheeks was not as steady as the other. Subconsciously, she tilted Ava's head, and she was now staring at her reddened cheek with a trace of fingers on it. Ava noticed her movement and tried to discard her hands from her cheeks, but Hazel didn't budge as her eyes had widened in disbelief at the prospect that someone had slapped Ava at her working place. Suddenly, she screamed, “Who did this to you, Ava?!” She had become so enraged that the veins on her forehead became exposed. Ava became highly strung up as she reached out to cover Hazel's mouth with her palm, but Hazel had dodged out her hand in time. “Tell me now, Ava, who slapped you? Was it your boss? Was it a client? Tell me now, otherwise, I'm heading straight to that fucking coffee shop now, and I'm going to burn it to ashes, I promise” The more Hazel shouted, the more her neck tensed up with blue veins standing out. “Hazel…” Ava called softly, attempting to reach out to Hazel's hand, but it seemed Hazel wouldn't allow her to touch her until she heard the truth from her. By this time, Emma, Dylan, and Charlotte had rushed into the living room with worried expressions on their faces. “What's wrong Hazel? Is there a problem?” Emma asked in a soft tone, looking from Hazel's face to Ava's. “Everything is wrong, Aunt Emma, in fact, there's a big problem!” Hazel shouted, glaring at her Aunt. “In the first place, why would you permit Ava to work?” Hazel queried in a high-pitched voice, like she was talking to her mate. Realizing that all this chaos was about Ava, Charlotte couldn't help but glare hard at Ava. “Even if she had insisted, why would you allow that, Aunt Emma? Is it because she's an introvert?” The more Hazel yell, the angrier Emma became. “Look now, look at it” Hazel moved closer to Ava and pointed a finger to her cheek, then turned her head to the whole member. “Someone had slapped her so badly, take a look at how swollen her cheek is, and we all know how gullible Ava can be. She wouldn't say a thing!” Hazel continued to rant, leaving no chance for any of them to say anything. Well, they had no choice but to listen to her majesty. Hazel Scott was the only daughter of Scott's family. Her family was pretty prosperous and which Hazel flaunt about. In the past, Hazel's mother, Camila Scott and Emma Taylor used to be best of friends but then, things were moving smoothly with Taylor's contrary to the present. They were just struggling to meet their daily life and sponsored Charlotte's education.

So, both families had grown fond of each other, and they both conducted as one family. “Well it's fine now, it's really fine” Hazel concluded then turned to face Ava, who had been forcing her tears not to fall. “Ava, you're coming to the college. All the preparations are ready and all you need now is to move in” Hazel announced the news, causing everyone to gasp, including Ava herself. Ava's eyes twitched as well as her lips, she opened her mouth to say something but couldn't utter a single word. “But Hazel, Ava is only Twenty years old, remember?” Charlotte, whose heart had been messed up after the sudden news had been proclaimed, managed to speak up with a conniving smile touching her lips. “And so what, Charlotte? I'm also Twenty, remember?” Hazel scowled, glaring ferociously at Charlotte. Emma and Dylan exchanged a glance then Emma spoke up, “But Hazel, we don't have enough to sponsor two children's education. How about…” Emma was trying to express her thought, “I didn't ask you for anything, Aunt. Don't worry, my mom and I will handle it” Hazel interrupted Emma's sentence without looking at her, she then put her arm around Ava's shoulder and led her to a seat in the living room. “Get me an ice bag, Charlotte” Hazel ordered, Charlotte frowned but wouldn't dare say no to Hazel's order. She stomped on her feet, then stormed into the kitchen. Emma and Dylan stared at each other, with a mix of different thoughts running through their minds. Shortly thereafter, Emma walked off in the direction of the kitchen, leaving her husband on that spot.

Charlotte paced back and forth in the kitchen, with a gleam flashing across her sharp eyes. 'No, I'll never allow this. Ava mustn't go to the college' She thought in her mind while she trembled violently because of anger. Soon, she noticed a movement at the entrance, she raised her chin to the door and saw that it was Emma. She quickly stopped her pace then rushed to her. “Mom, you won't allow this, will you? Ava isn't coming to the college yet, isn't it?” Emma didn't reply her immediately, she passed by Charlotte and began to bring out some ingredients from the cupboard. “There's nothing your dad and I can do about it, Charlotte. The decision is made. Ava is also coming to the college” Emma noted, bringing out more ingredients. Hazel was in their house, so she needed to prepare something more scrumptious. By this time, Charlotte's eyes had turned to a bright shade of red. 'If Ava eventually comes to the college, then what will be of me?'

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