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

for her to instruct her on what to do next. But she knew the truth. Her next move was not up to Susan. It wasn’t up to anyone but herself.

Ring Ring.

Ava jumped in her seat as she felt her phone ring in her back pocket. Snapping herself out her confusing daze, Ava reached into her purse and retrieved her cellphone. Without checking the caller id, she swiped the talk button and pressed the phone to her ear. “I’m in a meeting. Is it an emergency???” she quickly sputtered into the phone hoping to rush the caller off quickly. In return, a female voice invaded the other line.

“Code red! Code red!” The voice frantically shouted on the other end. “Get here now Hazel! Come now now NOW! Code red!!!!!”

Ava knew those words well. Code red. She gasped and immediately hopped up from her seat. A startled Susan followed her with her eyes watching as Ava abruptly began to gather her belongings. “Don’t do anything else. I am on my way.” Ava didn’t ask what was going on. She spoke quickly then clicked the end button and disconnected the call. She turned back to Susan who stared at her waiting for her to explain.
“Sorry, I know this session is nonrefundable. But I have to run. It’s an emergency.”

Susan acceptingly nodded her head. She did not give her the third degree. “Give my receptionist a call tomorrow after 3 p.m. I will see what I can do about getting you rescheduled at no charge.”

Ava couldn’t help but smile at her. She was surprised Susan wanted to see her again and was willing to make an exception. “Will do. Thanks for listening Susan…”

In response, she smiled and winked at her. “Get out of here and go take care of your business sweetheart.”

Ava smiled at her one last time. Although they weren’t able to get the bottom of her dilemma, it was a start and she felt a lot better walking out then she did walking in. Strapping her purse over her shoulder, Ava waved goodbye one last time, trailed across the room and exited out of the door hurrying down the hall to exit the building.

Chapter 4.

 Chapter 4.

 

"Fuck you, you bastard!!! You're a filthy piece of shit! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!!!" The voice was loud as it aggressively shouted from across the room. "You are never welcome back here! Ever! Fuck you! You lying son of a bitch!"
Ava stood by with wide eyes while witnessing the chaotic scene unfold in front of her eyes. A young petite woman stood before her highly irate screaming to the top of her lungs. A cellphone was cradled in her left hand, a butcher knife in the other. "Get the hell out of here! Get out right now before I call the police on you!" the woman continued to shout, the veins practically popping out of her neck. Ava stood by silently staring at the two figures before her. They were both firm, challenging each other with neither one willing to fold. The person on the other side of the room laughed a taunting laugh, completely making a mock of the situation.
"Go ahead and call the cops, Jade. You're the crazy woman wielding a knife. I just came to get my things." the deep, masculine voice ridiculed the woman across the living room. Ava pressed her lips together remaining silent while looking back and forth between the two. She was afraid to say something but secretly felt as if she should intervene. She was hesitant. Especially if there was a weapon involved.
"Why the fuck did you marry me, Theo?" Ava watched Jade step forward, inching towards him. The closer she got with the knife, the more nervous Ava became. "Six months!!! Why would you marry me if you were if you going to cheat in six months???!!! You're really fucking pathetic!!!!" 
Ava watched Jade closely making sure to keep a close eye on her. She had an evil glare in the corner of her eyes as she irately shouted at the man.  Finally it was happening. Finally, her best friend of 9 years was putting her foot down and kicking Theodore Atkinson's no good cheating ass to the curb. Truth be told, his departure had been highly anticipated and should have happened a long time ago. In such a short amount of time, Theo had completely sucked the life out of her friend physically and emotionally. Jade was a good woman. A financially stable woman. She was an entrepreneur who successfully started her own catering business at the young age of 23. Growing up, Jade had a strong family unit, a great household income and an overall great life. Only thing she was missing in life was a real man. A man who was going to care and love her. Instead, she ended up with a scumbag who cheated on her with a girl almost half his age.

 Ava glanced over at Theodore, who stared back at his wife with a blank expression. He appeared unbothered, as if he didn't care that he had been caught. 
"Go ahead!" Jade pointed at the door. "Go ahead and go be with that bitch that gave you chlamydia!" she shouted at him.
Again, Theo shook his head in response. Ava couldn’t help but stare at him with a crazy look on her face, wandering what the hell Jade saw in him. He wasn't very attractive and his clothes were extremely too big for his body. Theodore was short and pudgy with old school cornrows and tattoos covered over every inch of his body. Jade on the other hand was the complete opposite. She was drop dead gorgeous. Her hair was long, her light caramel skin was smooth and her teeth were clean. Jade would constantly be mistaken as a fashion model because her figure was slim and petite but extremely curvy and shapely in the right places. She was every man's dream. Someway, somehow, she ended up with a dirt bag like Theo.
"Woman, you believe anything." he spoke over his shoulder while turning his back and heading towards the door. "I don't have no damn chlamydia! You're out of your mind!" he walked away without giving her an explanation. He didn’t apologize or show remorse. He didn’t make any attempts to fight for his marriage. Instead he turned his back to her and began heading towards the door.  "I'm gone Jade! You can have the house. The cars. I don’t want any of it. You can have everything but my last name!" he hit her with an extremely low blow as he opened the door, preparing to step out.
Ava glanced over, noticing Jade had immediately become enraged by his comment. "What???!!!" she shouted at him with his back turned. "What did you say, mother fucker???" Suddenly, Jade rushed forward and began to dash across the room like a mad woman charging right for him with the knife raised. "What did you say???" she shouted at him. 
Ava's heart dropped into her stomach as soon as she witnessed her suddenly rush after him. She gasped. "Jade! Stop!" Ava shouted after her. Acting quickly, she jumped up and raced after her. "What the hell are you doing???" Ava shouted behind her, chasing her towards the door. She was close on her heel. Extending her arm as far as she could, Ava managed to jump forward and grab Jade by the arm, snatching her back before she could get any closer to him. Immediately, Jade began to wiggle to free herself. “Don’t touch me, Hazel!” she shouted at her. She was combative, flailing her arms around in the air as if she had forgotten she was holding a knife in her right hand. Ava’s heart was racing. Her breathing was heavy. "Be careful with that thing!!!” she ducked and weaved while shouting. “What the fuck is wrong with you, girl???!!! Have you lost your mind????" Ava restrained her and pushed her against the wall before Jade could make another mood. She quickly glanced over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of Theo who had already made his way out the door.

 Jade successfully wiggled herself free, becoming defensive. "I wasn't going to touch him! You didn’t have to hold me back!"

Ava stared at her in shock. "Jade, you got to get yourself together girl!” Ava reached forward and put her hands on her shoulders practically shaking her. “What the fuck is wrong with you??? What are you doing with yourself??? This is not you!!!" Ava stood staring at her with wide eyes. This was not the Jade she had met 9 years ago. Jade did not have the same charisma and spunk Ava was used to. Theodore had changed her in ways unimaginable.

Shaking herself out of a surprised daze, Ava dashed across the living room towards the front window. She tossed the curtains back and stuck her head out to check if the coast was clear. To her relief, she spotted Theodores black Expedition backing out of the driveway. Ava let out a relieving breath as she watched him place the truck in drive and speed down the street, disappearing around the block. Secretly, she was happy he was gone. If she hadn’t ditched her therapy session and rushed to accompany Jade in kicking him out… Lord knows what would have happened... 
Buzz Buzz Buzz
Suddenly, Ava's cellphone began to vibrate in her back pocket. Drawing the curtains back in place, she took a step back, dug into her pocket and retrieved her cell to glance at the screen. My Baby Sean. Immediately, Ava’s heart dropped into her stomach upon seeing Desean’s name pop up on the caller ID. Her brow furrowed as she stared at the vibrating cellphone in the palm of her hand. Everything in the room stood still for a moment. She contemplated whether she should take the call or continue to let it ring. Nervously, Ava looked over at Jade who wasn’t paying any attention to her at all. Jade was now huddled in a corner with her face buried in her hands bawling crying. Ava knew that was coming next. She took a deep breath, knowing very well her friend was in desperate need of consoling. Now was not an appropriate time to accept a phone call in the midst of the chaos. But at the same time, she was afraid Desean would grow suspicious if she didn't answer. She began to think about last night. She thought about how quickly everything escalated. She thought about her questionable session with Susan. Holding her breath, Ava turned her back and slid her finger across the screen to answer the phone. "Hello." she placed the phone to her right ear.
"Baby..." Desean’s deep, sexy voice greeted her on the other line in a warm and soft tone. A completely different tone than last night. Ava kept a straight face.

"Desean, I'm with Jade. Now really isn't a good time to talk. What's up???" she quickly rushed to the topic of the conversation, hoping it were not important so they could talk later.

“Oh…” he sounded taken aback by her hurriedness to get him off the phone. “Sorry bae, I didn’t mean