Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Ava POV

What was going to happen?

I got the answer to that question soon enough. As soon as the cab driver pulled over to my house, I knew something was off. I had a really, Really bad feeling about this. I did not know what it was but something seemed off.

I paid the cab driver but stayed inside for more than a second, just staring at my parent's house.

"Is something wrong madam?" He asked. I swallowed hard and shook my head in No.

"No. Everything is fine." I replied.

"Thank you for the ride." I told him. He stared at me strangely.

"Madam if there is a problem then you can tell me." He said. I realized that he noticed the way I looked at my parent's house.

I gave him a small smile and shook my head.

"No. There is no problem here. Everything is fine." I said. He shrugged.

"Okay." He said before turning away. I stepped outside the car and straightened to my full height.

Very slowly, I walked towards the door of the house. The cab sped away from behind me. Hesitantly, I knocked on the door twice.

Nothing. Nobody answered it.

I tried again but again there was nothing. No footsteps or any movements. My stomach churned. This quietness was giving me the vibes that I did not want to face.

"Ava?" A voice called out my name from behind me. I tensed but then relaxed when I realised whose voice it was.

I spun around to find my parents' neighbor, Mister Williams, standing at the entrance of the house. He was a forty - five year old man who always walks his dogs in the neighbourhood. He came to live in the house next door when I was sixteen years old, and lived here from then on.

I gave him a hesitant smile and walked back to him.

"Hello. Mister Williams." I greeted him. He tried to force a smile. No, not a good sign at all.

"How are you?" I asked him. To be very honest, I was not all feeling like pleasantries but if I got straight down to questions then it would be considered rude so I went on with it.

Mister WIlliam gave me an awkward smile in return. I wondered if they knew about my pregnancy.

"I'm good." He replied to my questions.

"How are you doing?" He asked in response.

"I'm going great too." I gave him the same answer as he gave him.

"Umm ..." I started but was stopped because I had no idea how to ask the question.

"Your parents left your stuff with us when they left.  They told me and my wife that they were in a hurry and thus could not give it to you in time." He told me. I stared at him in shock and his face turned in confusion. Unable to believe what he told me, thinking that my ears might be mistaking what they just heard.

Both of us spoke at the same time.

"Didn't your parents inform you?" He asked me.

"They left?" I questioned.

Both of us stared at each other, stunned by the information we got in exchange.

"Yes. They left yesterday. Didn't they tell you?" He asked me. I was so struck by the information that I almost became incapable of listening and less than able to grasp the meaning of his words.

"Emily, you didn't know? Your parents didn't tell you? Did they leave without telling you anything about it?" He showered me with his questions but I just stood there like a statue.

Unable to move or speak anything.

What?

My parents left?

MY PARENTS LEFT?

They left this house without telling me? Where did they go?

"Where did they go?" I asked him. trying to force down my paranoia. Maybe I was overthinking the whole thing.

"Yeah. They left this house. Three days ago, they told me that they were going to try to sell this house and move, since it has been a long time and they should move on. Yesterday night they informed me that they met a real estate agent for the selling of the property. So, well, now they are gone." He informed me.

I stood fixtaded in my place. My thoughts swirling inside my head as I tried my best to understand the situation.

My parents left me. They just left me alone. They decided to leave this house three days ago so that meant they made the decision after they heard about my situation. They made this decision Because of my pregnancy. They wanted to get away from me and my baby. Most importantly, they wanted to get away from the embarrassment of being the parent of an unwanted baby's mom.

I could not believe it when I realised what had happened and for what reason. All there 'Moving on' was an excuse just so that nobody can know the reason behind leaving this place.

And then it came.

The hurt, the pain.

I felt an ache in my heart that was so unbearable that my hand twitched to touch my heart and feel if there was any invisible wound there.

How could somebody's parents leave someone in this sort of situation? Especially when they were so vulnerable and alone and at a time when they were needed the most. How could be they so selfish?

"Ava?" A cheerful and light voice of a female entered the heavy tension around us.

I glanced behind Mister Williams and saw that Miss Williams was here.

"Hello honey, how are you?" She asked me as she walked towards me and embraced me for a hug. She was a petite lady so practically engulfed in my waist. I managed to pet her back a little but could not go all out for the hug. She pulled back when she did not get the same enthusiastic response from me as the one she gave me.

Her face searched my face and her face turned in a frown. Maybe she even noticed my expressions. Her face turned into a worried expression.

"What's wrong honey?" She asked.

"You look like you might cry anytime soon." She commented. I realised that I actually felt like crying. I swallowed hard and shook my head.

Instead of letting my tears drop, I smiled.

"Nothing. Something got in my eyes." I replied to her.

Suddenly, it hit me. If my parents wanted to keep my pregnancy secret so badly then it also meant that mister Williams did not know about my pregnancy. My parents would never mention something like this to a neighbour. So, they were oblivious about the real situation.

Miss Williams smiled broadly at my answer. Very unaware about her husband's expressions.

"Oh! I thought that something happened. You're here to gather your stuff right?" She questioned. I merely nodded my head in a Yes. Then she practically dragged me to her house.

"You can gather your stuff before trying my handmade chocolate cake." She told me. I stopped her in front of her house.

I shook my head.

"I would be glad to taste your handmade chocolate cake but not now. I had to go. I just got here to grab my stuff and then I have to go back to my office for work." I told her, in an attempt to shrug her off. She was a sweet lady but she would not be able to express my emotions at the moment. So it was better for me to leave.

"But ..." She began to argue but Mister Williams chimed in our conversation and saved me.

"Do as she says honey. You do know that she won't deny your offer until she has to. If she is saying that she has to go for work then it must be important." He told her.

This must have made sense to Miss Williams because she agreed and went inside her house to grab my stuff. All the while neither Mister Williams nor I spoke. Finally , Miss Williams brought me my stuff and handed it to me.

"Thank you for keeping my stuff for me, Miss Williams." I thanked her. She nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Of course. But next time you have to eat at our place." She said,

"Absolutely." I reassured her. With that, I turned around and left.