Chapter 11

Ava stared at herself in the mirror on the third floor's girl's bathroom. Well, more like stared at Eva. Audrey walked up to the sink next to her with a lipstick in hand. She leaned her breasts up against the mirror and uncapped the lipstick. It was an annoying shade of red. Ava peered at her through the mirror when Audrey smacked her lips together.

"So, Eva," Audrey began. She wagged her eyebrows at Ava. Ava arched hers. Or at least she tried to. Eva's eyebrows were not able to move independently from one another. Instead, she only managed a weird wiggle. How embarrassing. Audrey huffed out a confused laugh before going back to applying her lipstick. "How's Lazar?"

"Excuse me?" Ava blurted out. Audrey capped her lipstick and leaned her hip against the sink. She flashed Ava a raunchy sneer.

"Was he that good? That it turned you stupid? Did you forget that you promised to gossip with me about his," she peered under the stalls quickly, "dick."

Whoa. Ava stared. Her mind blank. And her blood running cold. She shivered. Now she remembered what she was forgetting. Scenes of Eva's life flashed back. Quick snippets of insignificant moments. Eva eating breakfast every day. Eva going through her lessons. Eva sneaking out of the house to go to parties. Eva fighting with Carol and her father. Carol and her father fighting one another. An argument. A smack. A punch. Her father getting a glass vase to his head. A hospital visit. Eva drinking heavily night after night after night. Carol grabbing her. A tumble down the stairs. Eva running out of the house. Eva diving into the school's pool. And then… Mr. Lazar. Ava gripped the sink tight as she stared into Eva's eyes in the mirror. The night Eva ran into Mr. Lazar came into focus in her mind.

"You're not supposed to be on school property, miss." Mr. Lazar stood on the edge of the pool. Eva was submerged in the cool water. Her nose blowing bubbles on the surface of the water. Her flat bronze hair floating around her. She lifted her head.

"Good evening, teacher. I don't think we've ever met." She said. Mr. Lazar's lips pulled into a tight line.

"Get out of the pool, miss." He insisted.

"Can't." Eva smirked.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Ever heard of skinny dipping, teacher? I'm sure you've done it in your youth." Eva swept her arms back and forth slowly.

"Skinny dipping in the school's pool isn't exactly a wise idea, miss." Mr. Lazar said. Eva stared at him, not really expecting him to respond like that. He went from rigid and strict to somewhat friendly. Was he trying a new tactic to get her out of the pool?

"Name's Eva." She said instead.

"I don't care what your name is. Just get out of the pool."

"Oh. Back to being a teacher are we? I thought we were warming up to one another."

"Eva, get out of the pool before I call the police. Though, you may be a student here, being here during off hours is strictly prohibited." Mr. Lazar scolded her. She giggled.

"Fine." Eva swam to the edge and pulled herself out of the water. Mr. Lazar backed up when she stood to her full height, unashamed of her nakedness. She squeezed excess water out of her hair and shook it a bit with her fingers to loosen the strands. "Pass me my T-shirt?" She asked him. He turned around, ignoring her request.

"Get dressed, Eva." He said.

"What's wrong teacher? Don't like what you see?" She slithered up behind him and grabbed his chest. He jerked and tried to pull away but she slipped her leg around his pelvis. She rubbed her knee on his dick. He whimpered. Eva slipped a hand down his left arm and felt along his fingers. "No ring. No wife. No girlfriend, either? You seem a bit wound up. Shall we loosen up together? You see, my parents ran me out of the house. I got no where to go. And I'm feeling… well, let's just have some fun." She kissed his neck.

Ava awoke on a fluffy bed. She was no longer in the bathroom with Audrey. She sat up and searched for a clock or a calendar. How long had it been since she was in the bathroom? Was she back in the real world now? Where was she? Ava swung her legs off the side of the bed and moved to get up.

"You're awake! Good!" Audrey came charging out of the bathroom. She had a curler in her hair and was holding a tube of mascara. She was dressed in a tiny dress with killer black stilettos on. She waved the mascara at Ava. "Come on. We're gonna be late."

"Late? What for?" Ava asked. Audrey chuckled.

"What for? What, were you dreaming of being a princess or something? What for? Ha!" She threw the tube of mascara at Ava. "Nice one. Get dressed. We leave in an hour."

Ava twirled the mascara around in her hands as she stood up. Her legs were a bit unsteady and she swayed heavily to her right. She gripped onto the dresser and closed her eyes as a wave of dizziness hit her. When it subsided, she opened her eyes to flashing lights and blaring music. Ava grabbed her ears on instinct. She was hovering over a white sheeted table with a bunch of alcohol bottles on it and discarded red cups. In her hands was a cup filled with what smelled like coke and rum. She set it down and turned around to face the room. She swayed once more, her feet doing a small figure eight dance as she tired to catch her balance.

Great. Eva's drunk. It had to be when she's drunk. Ava cursed. The constant shifting in time was really wearing her out. Every few minutes, she was somewhere else. It was like remembering pieces of a dream while she was still sleeping. But it wasn't a dream. It felt real. Too real. Like reliving a life. Ava groaned as she clutched her head. A headache was quickly building up behind her skulls, sitting heavily on her third eye. She wasn't sure if it was because Eva was drunk or if she was feeling the effects of losing time and shifting through memories.

She grabbed the table behind her. Her eyes scanned the room. Fuzzy images of the party flashed in her mind. Bodies pushed together dancing to a music none of them had heard before that night. Drinks splashing to the floor, cups flying across feet like a soccer ball as they dropped to the ground. Eva. Eva was by the drink's table, swaying and drinking the last of the bottle of rum. Ava turned around, searching for the bottle. It was empty.Her arm gave out and she dropped. Fuck!

Two arms grabbed her around her shoulders and midsection. They pulled her close to a muscled chest. Ava attempted to peer behind her but instead, she ended up flinging her head back into someone's shoulders. She squinted at the person.

"Mr. Lazar?" Her words came out slurred. What is he doing here?

Mr. Lazar smiled at her. He held her tight and leaned in close. "You called me, Eva." He whispered. Ava furrowed her eyebrows. She tried to think in the haze of alcohol coursing through her mind. What was he doing here? A fuzzy image flashed through her mind. But she couldn't see it very well. Mr. Lazar picked her up bridal style and turned around. He navigated them through the crowd and out the front door. Ava tried to squirm out of his hold but his fingers gripped tight onto the underside of her thighs. She hissed at the pain. His hold loosened. "Not yet, my dear. We'll have some fun soon. After we sober you up a bit. I'm not into drunk people." Ava groaned as her head rolled back to hang over his arm. Her eyes fluttered wildly before she closed them.

Oh. I remember. He…

-BREAK-

Ava opened her eyes to a blindingly white ceiling and sunlight licking her eyelids. She reached up with her arm. Something bent inside her elbow. She peered down at it, an oxygen mask knocked into the dip of her nose between her eyes. She flopped back down onto the bed with a sigh. She was in a hospital. With her other arm, she reached up to grab at the oxygen mask. Another hand grabbed onto hers suddenly. Then wavy red strands fell against her face as Janice peered down at her.

"Don't." Janice said. Her voice held no malice. It was soft and neutral. Ava arched a brow at her. Janice rolled her eyes. "Who pushed you?" She asked. Ava cocked her head. "I asked you a question, bitch. Who pushed you?" Ava glared at her. Janice returned it. Then she was suddenly pulled back. Ava turned her head to see who else was in the room. Daniel pushed Janice into a chair and after ensuring she was going to stay put, turned back around. He smiled softly at Ava. He was always the nicer and calmer one of the two. He reached around Ava's head and pressed the button for the nurse.

"Don't talk." He said to her. "We'll talk once the doctor gives you the ok." He said. Ava stared at him as the nurse came in. The nurse looked at her and then headed off to call for the doctor. Daniel escorted Janice out while the doctor pulled the oxygen mask off Ava's face and sat her up.

"How do you feel, Ms. Derricks?" He asked her. Ava moved her neck about, stretching it.

"A bit of a headache and pain everywhere. How long was I out?" She asked him.

"Months, almost a year." The doctor said slowly, observing her. Ava stared at him. Her hands bunched up shakily before letting go. She had no energy. Her muscles limp after months of lying down. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Where's Priscilla Collins?" She asked.