Everything That Glitters Ain't Gold by Danielle Martin (sneezy the snowman read aloud .txt) 📖

You got this… You know how to handle yourself… Or at least you know how to pretend…

Ava steadied her shaking hand then slipped her key into the lock of the front door. Blake had given her a key to his condo and told her to use it whenever she needed to. Little did he know, she was furious. Fuming. You could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears as she panted. Ava stuck her key inside the door, pushed it open and stepped inside.

“Blake!” she shouted out his name.

Silence.                                    

Ava stuck her head in first and looked around. The living room and kitchen were empty. She knew he was home. His truck was parked downstairs and his shoes and coat sat at the front door as if he had just arrived not too long ago.

“Blake!” Ava shouted out even louder.

Still no answer.

Immediately, she became infuriated all over again. Ava walked inside and slammed the door shut behind her. The walls shook as she slammed it, making a picture frame come crashing down to the floor. SLAMMMMM! The wooden frame made a large sound as it fell.

“Shit!” Ava cussed and jumped to the side, the frame narrowly missing her feet.

 “Blakeeeeee! What the fuck are you doing???” she screamed out.

Silence once again.

Ava glared. There was no way in hell he didn’t hear that and he should have come up front to investigate. With each second of silence that passed, the more enraged she became. Balling her fist by her side, Ava charged across the living room towards the master bedroom with the veins popping out of her neck. She headed straight for his room where she knew he would be. Surprisingly, the door was closed.

“Blake!” Ava called out again. She forcefully pushed the door open with her hand, being sure to make a lot of noise upon entering. The door went flying open, her eyes landing on Blake’s manly figure laying sprawled out on the bed. He was stretched out over the covers fully dressed as if he had fallen asleep without changing his clothes. Ava rolled her eyes, restraining herself from hopping on top of him and strangling him to death. She could care less if he was sleeping. He was in for a rude awakening.

“Blake!” Ava kicked the foot of the bed to wake him up. To her surprise, he did not budge.

“Oh, your fake sleeping now?” she asked in a sarcastic tone then kicked the foot of the bed a second time. Again, Blake did not budge. She looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. His face was buried in the covers. Typically, he was a light sleeper. She peeped over his shoulder. “Helloooooooooo?” Ava basically screamed at him this time to wake him up.

Silence.

Instantly, her stomach twisted after he did not answer a third time. Her expression melted from angry to worried in a matter of seconds. “Blake…. Blake…. Blake…” Ava began to nervously call his name over and over again. But he did not answer. He did not move. He didn’t do anything.

  “Blake!!!!” Ava shrieked out after immediately sensing something was terribly wrong. She hopped up on the bed and straddled over him. “Baby, what’s happened???!! Are you okay??? Can you hear me???? Wake up!!!” she began to violently shake him by the shoulders. She shook him hard over and over again desperately trying to wake him up. But he would not move.

“Blakeeeeeee! What’s going onnnnnn??? Wake up! Wake up! Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee” she reached for his arm, checking for a pulse.

 “Ahhhh! Oh my god!!!” A frightened Ava immediately jumped back as she felt her fingertips brush against something unfamiliar. She fell off the bed and scrambled away, a petrified and horrid look plastered over her face. “Nooooooooooooo!” she screamed out in shock.

Like a zombie arising from the dead, Blake finally lifted his head. This time, her fall off the bed had awakened him. Slowly, he sleepily looked around the room. “Ava???” he called out, searching for her through his blurry vision.

Ava was quivering in panic. She didn’t answer him. Instead, she numbly backed away into a corner then stared at him as if she were staring at a ghost.

Finally, Blake looked towards her. He noticed her hunched in the corner with a dreadful look on her face. Slowly he sat up as if he hadn’t just awakened from a deep sleep. “Baby…” Blake rubbed his sleepy eyes. “What happened??? Are you okay??? Why are you staring at me like that???” he asked.

Ava could not say a word. She gaped at the man before her, now feeling as if she were staring at a stranger. Her widened eyes shifted from his face to his arm. Back to his face. Then back to his arm… Blake curiously followed her eyes to see what she kept staring at. He looked down at his right side then immediately jumped up upon seeing what was there. “Shit!” he exclaimed.

Ava was at a loss for words. She watched him jump to his feet and begin scrambling to unfasten the black leather belt that was tied tightly around his arm. Ava watched sadly, her heart breaking into a million pieces witnessing everything unfold.

“Ava! Baby! Please let me explain!” Blake attempted to do damage control. It sounded as if he were speaking gibberish. Ava leaned her head back on the wall, easily becoming lightheaded. She watched Blake desperately reach for a long Syringe needle that stuck out of a vein in his right forearm. He yanked it out and tossed the needle across the room as if getting rid of it would undo what she just saw.

“Ava, you have to understand… That stuff does not make me who I am… I’m a good man with bad habits baby…” he began walking towards her. Ava backed away further into the corner wishing she could disappear in it. For the first time in forever, she didn’t want Blake coming anywhere near her. 
“Ava please.” He begged after noticing her cowering away from him. The desperateness in his voice was evident. Ava had slid down the wall to the floor. She drew her legs to her chest and started rocking back and forth. She was beginning to hurt all over.

Blake dropped to his knees, looking at her with pleading eyes. She looked away. “Ava. I swear I am going to quit! I don’t want to lose you behind this! I love you too much!” Hearing him beg was going in one ear and out the other. The dismay from what she just witnessed would not subside. Instead it grew even larger with seemingly increased intensity. Cold shivers shot through Ava’s body. Everything was hitting her like a ton of bricks. The person she thought she knew was not who he claimed to be.

“How long???” Finally, she broke the silence. Ava asked the question in a low tone, staring off into space.

Blake reached forward and grabbed her hand, holding it close to his chest. “How long what, Ava???” he asked her to clarify her question.

She snapped, feeling the anger resurfacing as soon as he touched her. She snatched her hand away “I said how long, Blake???!!!” she shouted back, repeating herself loudly. “How long have you been shooting up fucking heroin???!!! How long have you been lying to meeeee???!!!”

Blake was taken aback by her abrupt questions. “Uhhhh...” He stumbled for an excuse. Clearly, he did know how to tell her the truth. He looked back at her with sorrow in his eyes. “Does that really matter, Ava??? It’s not important all.”

Hearing his response exasperated her. She narrowed her eyes, shooting him a cold glare. If only looks could kill… Sensing her extreme anger, Blake gave in and finally answered her. “Since college.” Shamefully, his head dropped and his shoulders slumped. “I had it really bad back then. But not anymore, Ava. I’ve changed… I’ve got control over my life now…”

Dread filled her heart after hearing his answer. “Oh nooooo!” Ava cried out then buried her face into her hands. She was so foolish. This had been going on for years without her noticing and she had idiotically fallen for his lies.

“Baby, you mean more to me than anything on this planet…” he reached for her a third time. He frowned after she pulled away from him once again. “This is all my fault Ava. I never should have kept this from you... I was afraid you would leave. I didn’t want to lose you…”

Now, everything he had to say seemed like a lie. Nothing sounded honest or genuine anymore.  It was just making her body weaker and the pain was becoming harder and harder to swallow.

“I trusted you…” she didn’t look at him as she spoke. Ava stared blankly at the wall, feeling herself about to lose it all. “I thought I was in love with you…” she whispered. “The real you…The real Blake Weiss… but I guess I wasn’t in love… This was all a lie… I was falling for a fucking dope head!”

Blake gasped. He was ashamed. Embarrassed as she shouted insults at him. Ava had never spoken to him this way.

“I’m not a dope head…” he defended himself weakly. “I haven’t touched a drug in over 6 months! I messed up this time, Ava…. I messed up bad…” He stared at her with those big brown eyes that she had once grown so weak for. Just seeing him staring at her this way brought back so many emotions. Painful emotions from a recent heartbreak that she wanted so badly to forget. That heartbreak was resurfacing, replaying itself over and over again inside her mind. Blake had done what no other man had done… Hurt her in a way she had never been hurt. He lifted her the highest she had ever been just to sit back and watch her fall.

Ava stood up, her knees buckling as she stood. Blake’s kneeled body followed her with his pleading eyes. She looked down at him and took a deep breath, resisting the urge to show her true emotions. She wanted to scream at him. Belittle him. Spat at him. But nothing she could think of satisfied the burning sensation in her chest. She had been lied to. Betrayed. Fooled by a man… Once again…

“I can’t be with you, Blake…” Ava fought back tears as best as she could. He looked up at her with a stunned look on his face. He wasn’t expecting for her to break things off. She sniffled. “I won’t allow you to do what Desean did to me… I’ve come to far… I can’t turn back now…. I just can’t do it…” She didn’t wait to hear his combativeness. She didn’t want to hear any more excuses. Abruptly, Ava brushed past his kneeling body.

“Ava, please wait!” He called after her but she did not listen. Quickly, she ran out of the bedroom and down the hallway towards the living room. She ran fast, desperate to get away before he caught up to her. Ava knew Blake well. There was no way he would allow her to leave without chasing after her.

“Ava!” suddenly she felt a strong hold grab her from behind and pull her back.

“Don’t touch meeeeee!” she shouted over her shoulder. Against her will, Blake had stopped her before she could reach the door, holding her in place. He pulled her back into his arms and pressed her body into his chest. “Ava, please don’t leave me like this!”

She forcefully wiggled around attempting to free herself from his embrace. “Get off of me, Blake!!!” Ava had no desire to be close to him at all. She could smell his intoxicating scent. She could feel the undeniable urge to break down and cry on his chest.  But she refused to give in. “I said get off!!!” Ava shouted a final time. Opening her mouth wide, she dug her teeth into the palm of his hand, clawing his skin as hard as she could with his teeth.

“Owwww!” he shouted out. Blake’s grip around her loosened. He set her free