Everything That Glitters Ain't Gold - Danielle Martin (the snowy day read aloud .txt) 📗

Ghost sighed and shook his head as if he felt sorry for her. “I’ve checked, Hazel. Several times…”

Ava stared at him with a dumbfounded look on her face. She knew Ghost was just doing his job, but she could not comprehend why her name was not on the list. She glared, feeling her patience wearing thin. “Well somebody needs to do some explaining!” Her voice was growing loud. Everyone was staring. Surprisingly, the embarrassment did not stop her.   “I have to work the bar tonight, Ghost! Why would I pay 15 dollars if I never paid before???”  Ava threw her hands up in the air like a crazed woman. She was completely baffled and could not believe Ghost was charging her an entry fee to go inside Whiskeys, which was something he had never done before. Suddenly, interrupting her thoughts, a familiar face appeared behind Ghost on the other side of the door. “Heyyyyy Hazel!” the person greeted Ava upon seeing her face.

Ava looked up, locking eyes with Sweet Pea, one of the bartenders at the club. Sweet pea had changed her hair to a different color. It was now light blue and extremely vibrant and bright which was typical of her. That woman insisted on changing her hair into extremely outrageous colors. Ava waved at her, thankful to see someone coming to her rescue.

“Sweet Pea, can you please tell Ghost my name is supposed to be on the list???” she extended her arm towards him, desperately pleading for Sweet Pea to back her up. Instead, she nervously bit her lip and looked in a different direction. Her sudden change of expression made Ava’s heart sink into her stomach.

“Come on girl, let’s talk.” Sweet Pea stepped down from the entrance and walked around Ghost. Ava stood shocked, knowing immediately something fishy was going on around here. Sweet Pea grabbed a hold of her arm and began to pull her away from the door and away from the crowd. Unwillingly, Ava fell into step behind her wandering what the hell she needed to talk to her about. Indeed, they worked alongside each other. But they were not close friends and did not engage in much conversation outside of work. After walking out of ear shot, Sweet Pea turned to face her. Her expression was now serious.

“Look, Hazel… I hate to break it to you like this… but you no longer work here…”

The words hit her like a dagger to the chest. Immediately, Ava’s jaw dropped to the floor. Her eyes widened in bafflement. “Whattttt???” she screamed back at her, her loud tone echoing through the night.

“Shhhhhh…” Sweet Pea put her finger to her lips shushing her.  “Not so loud!”

Ava gasped, feeling herself a few minutes away from hyperventilating. “Whattttt???” she repeated herself again. “Are you fucking kidding me??? What the hell is going on Sweet Pea???!! What do you mean I don’t work here????”

Sweet Pea shook her head disappointedly. She sighed. “Can’t say I agree, Hazel. You’re a bomb ass bartender and you’re good at what you do… This is coming straight from the boss. I’m just the messenger.”

Again, Ava gasped in disbelief as Sweet Pea referenced the boss, the owner of Club Whiskeys. Ava had never met him before nor did she know him by name. He usually stayed locked up in his office and only came downstairs when it was time to sign checks. Ava was shocked to find out it was the him that wanted her out of here.

“But--- But---“she stammered, feeling her tough demeanor weakening. “But why??? What did I do??? I haven’t done anything wrong.” Ava swayed, feeling herself become weak. This was all too much and hitting her like a bus upon impact. None of this made sense. Ava had done everything right. She showed up early for her shifts and constantly stayed late whenever they needed help closing the bar. Ava had learned her job immaculately and did everything underneath the sun to create a good name for herself here. Obviously, her hard work meant nothing at all.

Sweet Pea sighed again. “Word got back to the boss about what happened the other night with you and your friend…...”

Immediately, Ava’s body tensed. The dagger inside her chest twisted even deeper.

“He wasn’t happy to hear about the little altercation you had.” Sweet pea continued. “He’s very serious about eliminating physical violence inside his club. No one is exempt. Not even his employees.”

The more she spoke, the more Ava’s body quivered. Her mind unwillingly revisited that night. She could still see Jade swinging her hand back as far as she could and slapping the hell out of her with all the strength she could muster. She could still see those faces standing around watching them.

“That wasn’t supposed to go down like that…” Ava gave a poor excuse with her shoulders slumped low. Sweet Pea sincerely nodded her head. She was on her side but there was nothing she could do to help. She did not call the shots.

“I know you didn’t mean for it to happen that way. I tried to tell him, but he said he wants you out… I’m really sorry, Hazel…”

Ava fell quiet, a dark feeling of depression suddenly invading her body. Her sanity was slipping and she could not pull it together. Ava had never been fired from a job. Ever. Her life was spiraling out of control and she could not regain control of the wheel. Slowly but surely, Ava was losing everything she had worked so hard for.

“Will you be okay?” Sweet Pea asked, noticing her mind had drifted off.

Ava looked up, snapping herself out of a daze. She wanted to scream that she wouldn’t be alright, but none of that mattered. Her body could not show any emotions. She was numb. “I’m so shocked. I can’t believe this…” Ava was no longer shaking. No longer hurting. She could no longer feel anything.

“You will be fine girl.” Sweet Pea offered her words of encouragement and a pat on the shoulder.  “You’re smart, you’re talented and you’re beautiful. You don’t need this place!” Sweet Pea’s words were sincere but gave her no comfort. This woman had no idea what she been through. A lot had gone wrong in Ava’s life. A lot that was possibly unfixable. She began to back away.

“Thanks Sweet Pea…” Ava hurried to thank her while backing away towards the parking lot. “Look, I got to go. Thanks for the heads up.” She threw her hand up and waved. She was now desperate to get the hell away from this place.

Sweet pea watched her walking away with a raised eyebrow. “You sure you going to be alright?” she called after her.

Ava didn’t have the strength to answer. Instead, she shot her a thumbs up, waved again, and turned on her heel to walk away towards her car which was parked around the corner. Ava walked fast. Her heels were practically burning underneath her feet as she skipped through the dirt. She needed to get back to her car before she had a panic attack. She didn’t want anyone else around to witness her demise.  

Reaching her car, she hurried to click the lock, swung open the door and hopped inside, safely shutting herself away from the world. Ava was out of breath and mentally frantic.  She quickly dug into her purse to retrieve her cellphone. Her hands were shaky. She couldn’t control them as they trembled on top of her phone screen. She scrolled through her recent call list and located the phone number she needed. Pressing dial, she pressed the phone to her ear and impatiently waited while it rung.

“Hello???” A deep voice answered the phone.

“Blake!” Ava shrieked out as soon as she heard his voice on the line.

“Baby???” he answered back in an alert tone. He could hear the panic in her voice. “Baby, what’s wrong???? Where are you??? Are you okay???”

Hearing the concern in his voice made Ava immediately burst into tears. She hunched over the wheel and began to bawl crying out loud. Ava hadn’t cried in weeks. Taking away her self-independence was the key to breaking her down. “They fired me, Blake! They fired me! They fired me!” she shouted it over and over again, the harsh reality of the situation hitting her hard.

“What???!!!” he shouted back. He too sounded shocked.

She choked on her cries while explaining what happened. “My boss found out about the argument I had with Jade… I can’t believe I lost my job behind this! What do I dooooo Blake? I feel like I’m losing everything!” Tears ran down her cheeks hitting the top of her lips as she cried to him. She felt defeated. No matter how hard she fought, it’s like she couldn’t win.

“You haven’t lost everything Ava… You still have me… Stop crying baby…” Blake’s deep soft voice soothed her on the other end. Surprisingly, she stopped crying. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and cleared her runny nose.  Something about his voice put a calm over. Ava could hear him sighing on the other line. He fell silent for a few moments before finally opening his mouth to speak.

“I wanted to save this surprise for you… But I guess this cannot wait…”

He referenced the surprise he mentioned yesterday at the mall. Although she had been excited initially to find out what it was, she was less than enthusiastic now. “What’s the surprise Blake?” she asked unexcitedly.

“I’m going to send an address in a text message. Can you meet me there in 15 minutes?” he asked.

An address? Ava sat up in her seat. “Blake, what’s going on????” she asked nervously. She was now fully attentive. He did not provide her with any additional answers.

“Just meet me there in 15.” He gave her no reassurance. Ava silently nodded her head as if he could see her.

“Okay, babe…” she answered. Ava did not question him any further. Truth be told, whatever he had up his sleeve, she trusted it. She trusted Blake with all of her heart. Although she did not believe this surprise would ultimately solve her problems, it was worth a try. Things could only get better before they got any worse. After saying her goodbyes, Ava hung up the cellphone and crunk up the engine. Surprisingly, she felt a small sort of relief. Blake was right. She may have lost a lot in such a short amount of time, but she still had him by her side. Ava took one last look at Club Whiskeys, taking a long deep breath. This would be her last night ever stepping foot in this place. She never imagined things to end this way but everything happens for a reason. Now Ava had become desperate on finding out exactly what that reason was. Placing the car in reverse, she quickly backed out of the parking space, sped out of the parking lot and pulled out into the street racing away from the club.

Chapter 19.

“Keep your eyes closed, Ava. Do not peek… Whatever you do… Don’t open your eyes…”

Hesitantly and nervously, Ava nodded her head, agreeing not to peek. Blake stood close behind her directing her where to go. Her eyes were shaded by the palm of his hands. She couldn’t sneak a peek even if she