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

saw in her. The pain and hurt in this woman’s eyes was undeniable. Tears were forming but she blinked them away before they could fall again. Ava had no idea what Blake had done to this woman, but she could tell he had broken her in ways unexplainable. Madison turned up her nose after staring too long then turned back to Blake. “Just be honest…. Answer me truthfully, for once…” she walked to where Blake stood positioning herself in front of him to the point he had no other choice but to look her in the eye. “I don’t want to hear anymore fabrications. I just want the truth… Tell me, Blake…. Do you love her???”

 Silence.

Ava’s heart rate quickened, the topic of the conversation now being redirected on her. She backed even further in the corner, the question terrifying her before she could hear his answer. Blake did not respond immediately. His shoulders slumped and his head dropped. The silence was intense. He was ashamed to answer, which instantly broke Ava’s heart into a million pieces. For the first time since Madison had arrived, he slowly looked across the room in her direction finally acknowledging her presence. Ava flinched as soon as his eyes landed on her. She was sure he had forgotten about her. Blake sighed upon seeing her huddled in the corner almost as if he just realized she was standing there watching the entire thing happen. His expression was broken. Discombobulated. But she could not read him.  She did not have the same confidence in him that she once had. She had no confidence in his answer.

Slowly, Blake turned back to Madison with his head still hung low. He took another deep breath before parting his lips to respond. Slowly but surely, he nodded his head. “Yes…” he answered. “Yes I do… I do love her…” what felt like an eternity only lasted a couple of seconds. Finally, he answered without looking her in the eye. Ava’s gut wrenched and heart twisted a million different ways upon hearing his response.

Madison backed away. “Wow…” her tone had softened as she reached the door. “I see…” she spoke numbly.

Surprisingly, Blake reached for her attempting to stop her before she backed away. “Madison, please forgive me… I never meant to hurt you… I always loved you…” he called out to her in a pleading tone.

 Quickly, she snatched away before he could make contact. “Get away! Get away! Get away!” she clamped her eyes shut and flailed her arms around crazily. “Don’t touch me! Don’t come near me!!! I hate you!!!!!” Her screams were loud this time. She shouted a bunch of words that were unintelligible and hard to understand.

 “MADISON! MADISON! WHAT IS GOING ON???!!!”

Suddenly, Ava could hear another female voice loudly calling out to Madison from around the corner of the house. She paused, listening to someone shouting from the driveway. “Madison! I’m on my way!” The unfamiliar voice was growing closer. Ava could hear running footsteps running up the sidewalk heading to the door. She had no idea who the unfamiliar voice belonged to, but clearly, Madison has not shown up alone. Seconds later, a young petite woman that Ava never seen before came flying around the corner. The strange woman ran fast and was already panting by the time she reached the porch. “Madison!” she shouted her name again slightly out of breath. “Girl, I heard you screaming all the way from the car. Are you okay???” she frantically tied her long hair up into a pony tail then walked over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Madison timidly nodded her head, signaling she was okay. Ava examined the woman, her sudden appearance taking her by surprise. The woman was tall and slim and looked eerily similar to Madison almost as if they had the same face plastered on two separate bodies.

“Really, Madison. You brought your sister???” Blake questioned her while pointing at the woman. “Why did you bring her??? You know she’s nothing but drama!”

She turned to him with an evil glare, clearly not taking well to his insults.  “I got a name asshole!” she shouted at him. “My name is Aubrey! And anything that involves her involves me!” she leaned over and wiped the tears out of Madison eyes and fixed her hair. She then turned back to Blake and glared a second time. “You mother fucker! I’m sick of you making my sister cry! She does not need to get upset. It could hurt the baby!”

Silence.

All activity in the room suddenly ceased.

Ava instantly sunk to the floor, dramatically sliding down the wall with her hands covering her mouth. “Noooooo…” she whispered underneath her breath, barely making a sound. But no one heard her. She does not need to get upset. It could hurt the baby… Baby… Baby…. What baby???? 

Blake took two steps back. He was blown away by what he just heard. He stuttered over his words. “Madi-Madison--- What is she talking about???” he asked slowly.

Aubrey butted in once again and spoke in her place. “Yeah fool! You heard what I just said. She’s pregnant!” she reached over and placed a protective hand on Madison’s belly. Ava’s widened eyes, shifting down to her abdomen which was surprisingly now bulging out in front of her. The large trench coat Madison was wearing had masked her large belly very well.

“Madison, answer me!” Blake’s voice turned demanding. “You’re pregnant??? How??? When??? How far along are you???” he berated her with questions.

Madison had grown nervous now. She blushed than turned away. “7 months.” She answered.

Ava’s chest twisted once again. 7 months. Another significant unrepairable blow to the heart.

Blake’s breathing was heavy as he stared off into space. Visibly, you could tell he was doing the math inside his head. “7 months??? What does that mean, Madison??? Is it mines???” he asked her.

Hesitantly, Madison shrugged her shoulders. Based upon the look on her face, it hurt her to answer. “I don’t know.” She responded.

Blake’s jaw dropped.

Madison smacked her lips at his surprise then continued before he flipped out. “Yes! I did start dating someone after I moved out.” she confessed. Blake’s jaw dropped open even wider. Apparently, that was the last thing he expected to hear. She continued. “It was supposed to be a fling. But it got serious. A month later, I found out I was pregnant. After I told him I didn’t know if the baby was his or my ex-husbands, he left me.”  

Blake huffed. Ava watched him closely, attempting to determine if the expression on his face was surprised or disappointed. As usual, he was extremely hard to read. He had grown eerily quiet.

Ava stepped forward, feeling as if her presence had gone unnoticed long enough. “That’s it! I’ve heard enough!” she snapped loudly then resurfaced from the corner.

Aubrey looked over, Ava’s sudden appearance startling her. She hadn’t seen her standing in the corner. “Who the fuck is this bitch???” she cussed at them both.

Ava rolled her eyes and turned to Blake, feeling herself about to lose her patience. “She’s pregnant…” she stated what he apparently already heard. “What are you going to do, Blake??? Do you want to fix things with your wife??? Should I just leave???”

Silence.

Blake did not respond almost as if he didn’t even hear her. He continued to stare at Madison, paying no attention to her at all.

“You got another woman in my sister house????!!! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND???!!!” Quickly, Aubrey charged right past Blake and straight across the room towards Ava. “Who the fuck do you think you are, bitch????” Aubrey walked fast towards her with a strange object in the center of her hand.  Ava jumped back. “Watch it girl.” She held up her hand. “You better not touch me! This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

Before she could say another word, a spray of room temperature liquid instantly splashed right in the center of her face.

“Ahhhhhh!” Ava screamed out and staggered back, the sudden splash taking her by surprise. She clamped her eyes shut and almost stumbled on the recliner sofa that sat directly behind her. “Ahhhhhh!” she screamed again as the liquid began to creep past her eyelids and settle into the corner of her eyes. Desperately, she began wiping her face and rubbing her eyes. Within a matter of seconds, the liquid began to burn her skin profusely.

“Ahhhhhh! “ she screamed loudly, flailing her arms in the air. “Oh my God! She PEPPER SPRAYED ME!!!” Ava hunched over and screamed after realizing what was in her eyes. She coughed. Gagged. The liquid was strong, practically clogging her airway. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t do anything but scream out loud.

“What the fuck??!! Why did you do spray her Aubrey???” Ava could hear Madison in the background yelling at her sister for bringing out the pepper spray. Ava continued to cough while feeling as if her chest was about to collapse.

“Come on we have to go!” Aubrey’s voice resurfaced again. “Let’s go before that bitch calls the cops.”

Ava dropped to her knees and continued to cry out. “Ahhhh!” she screamed to the top of her lungs. “Blake! Blake help me!!!” she screamed in an angry voice while wandering why he had yet to come to her aid.

Before turning to leave, Madison made one last remark. “I’m selling the house, Blake. You have 3 days to get everything out of here and 2 days to bring down the balance on that credit card bill.” She spoke firmly. Officially. As if she were done with him for good. “You will be hearing from my lawyer and I will also be reaching out to you in 2 months for a DNA test. I think it’s time to end this marriage once and for all.” Ava could hear shuffling as both ladies prepared to exit. “Have a nice life Mr. Weiss. Oh and by the way, get your girl some water for her eyes. It looks like she’s dying over there.”

“Ahhhhhhh!” Ava screamed another helpless cry. Her eyes were burning. She couldn’t breathe through her nostrils. It felt as if her entire face was melting away. Instantly, she heard the door slam shut. They were gone.

“Ava!”  Blake’s voice shrieked out suddenly as if he were finally realizing her huddled on the floor. She could hear his footsteps dashing over to where she sat hunched over. She continued to cough and wheeze, hoping to catch a good breath. Suddenly, she could feel Blake scooping her up in his arms. Ava didn’t resist. She couldn’t see and needed the extra pair of eyes to lead her to water. Cradling her into his strong arms, Blake picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. “Hold on baby.”

Ava wanted to shout and scream that she had no other choice but to hold on. But she didn’t. She allowed Blake to carry her through the living room past the dining room and towards the guest bathroom. Kicking the door open with his feet, he flicked the lights on and carried her over to the shower. With her eyes still closed, Blake placed her inside with all of her clothes on and turned on the shower head. In an instant, Ava could feel the cold water come crashing down on the top of her body. An immediate relief spread through her chest as the water cascaded down her face. She sunk to the shower floor. “I can’t see… I still can’t see…”

Ava couldn’t cry. Her clothes were now soaking wet. She sat on the floor of the shower emotionless. The betrayal had immobilized her.

“Ava…” Blake whispered her name. She didn’t answer him. Instead, she rested her head against the shower wall and continued to allow the water to soak her skin.  Ava couldn’t believe she had just been pepper sprayed. She couldn’t believe Madison was actually real.

 “Ava I’m so sorry.” Blake apologized with his head hung low. “I can’t keep doing this to you. I don’t want to keep disappointing you.” He looked at her