“I pay the bills, and I don’t even get dinner?” he asks, his voice low and dangerous. When he starts stalking toward me, I back up a step. “Elsie doesn’t need that much food, Ava. Where’s the rest of the money?”
“You only gave us a hundred dollars,” I rasp, shaking when my back hits the wall and he cages me in. “It wasn’t enough for?—”
His fist slams into the wall beside my head, denting it. There’s a matching mark only a foot over where he’d gotten angry because of the thermostat setting a week prior.
“Excuses,” he snarls in my face before grabbing my jaw roughly and squeezing hard enough to bruise. I cry out and he squeezes tighter until I stop, until I’m whimpering, my fists clenched tight against the pain. “No more excuses, Ava.”
He shoves back from me and scowls around at the house. Then he turns and grabs his keys.
“Where are you going?” I whisper, watching him move toward the door.
“To get something to eat,” he spits. “Since apparently my own wife can’t feed me.”
And then he leaves me there, the slamming door my only company. My stomach grumbles in protest. It’s been three days since I’ve had more than a few crackers, the same pack I’ve been rationing. I slide down the wall, tears streaming from my eyes before I’m even conscious of crying.
“Mommy,” a tiny voice whispers. “Don’t be sad, Mommy. I’m here.”
I wrap my arms around Elsie. She’s so small at five years old, but she’s well-fed. Oh god, at least she’s not hungry like me.
My stomach grumbles so loudly, it echoes in my ears.
Fourteen
Ava
Dagen’s driver, John, picks me up the next day and takes me to work. The security guy, who I’ve learned is named Larry, walks me to the building and makes sure I’m safely inside past security before he waves and heads back to the car. Larry can’t come to work with me because it would raise too many questions, but he’s becoming a normal part of my life. I’d made him coffee this morning, a cup he’d taken gratefully when he knocked on my door and said the car was ready. He’s a nice guy.
Kevin, Julie, and Marie are prepared with innovative ideas for the marketing plan that we haven’t tackled yet and have already started making moves. My morning starts with a PowerPoint about the ideas the graphics teams have pitched along with Kevin’s plan for a video we could show to potential corporate clients. Julie and Marie pitched a trade show booth set up idea to Fox Industries and it’s already been approved. They really are a talented team.
“Long story short, I think if we attack it from this angle, we’ll really make more of an impact,” Kevin says. He looks at his smart watch. “But we can talk about this more after lunch. I’m starving.”
“Is it lunchtime already?” I ask, looking at the time and blinking in surprise. “Oh, it is.”
“We should go grab burritos,” Marie declares. “That new place down the street just opened up and I’ve been wanting to try it. You guys wanna go?”
“Hell yeah, I do,” Kevin says the same time as Julie nods and grabs her purse. “Come on, Ava.”
“Oh,” I glance at the doors. I’m supposed to call Larry if I go anywhere, but that’ll be weird to explain. “It’s just up the street?”
“Two blocks, max,” Marie nods.
Two blocks isn’t anything at all. And I won’t be alone. It should be fine.
“Yeah, okay,” I say, grabbing my own bag. “Let’s go.”
While I joined Goliath because I needed a job, the longer I work here, the more I enjoy my coworkers. I’m definitely the oldest, but my team doesn’t treat me like the dinosaur I probably am to them. Instead, they’ve accepted me into their fold as if I’m one of their own. That also means I’m constantly trying to catch up with the slang they use.
“I don’t understand a word that just came out of your mouth,” I laugh as we walk.
“What do you mean?” Kevin teases. “You don’t know what rizz is?”
“No,” I reply, shaking my head. “No idea.”
“We’re gonna have to get you up to speed,” Julie laughs as she turns to walk backward so she can face me. “Seriously, Ava. I don’t know how?—”
Her eyes flick over my shoulder and widen just as someone grabs my wrist from behind, stopping me. Their fingers are smooth and thick, and their hold is brutal. I don’t even get time to turn in surprise before they speak.
“Ava. It’s been a long time,” an all too familiar voice says.
