Chapter 4 A Place To Stay

“I was thrown out of the Davison mansion,” Alice said quietly, the words leaving her mouth with a heaviness that made the entire room feel different almost instantly.

Ava blinked slowly, her mind refusing to process what she had just heard, her expression frozen somewhere between confusion and disbelief while silence stretched heavily between them for several long seconds.

“Thrown out?” she finally repeated, her voice slower this time, as though saying the words aloud might somehow make them easier to understand.

Alice nodded faintly.

“Yes,” she replied, exhaustion threading through every syllable as she lowered her gaze briefly before continuing. “They accused me of sleeping with Linda’s fiancé.”

The effect those words had on Ava was immediate.

She shot up from the couch so suddenly that the cushion beneath her shifted violently, outrage exploding across her face without warning while disbelief flashed through her eyes with almost frightening intensity.

“What?” she exclaimed loudly, already beginning to pace across the room before Alice could even continue properly. “That disgusting excuse for a man? Your foolish ex? They accused you of sleeping with him?”

Her voice rose higher with every sentence until pure fury overtook disbelief entirely.

Alice sat quietly for a moment, her hands tightening together while the memory replayed vividly inside her mind. Even now, speaking about it aloud made the humiliation feel fresh all over again.

“They showed me pictures,” she continued slowly, her voice tightening painfully as she forced herself to relive the events again. “Someone who looks exactly like me with Matthew in a bed, but I swear I didn’t…”

Her voice faltered.

The weight of everything that had happened finally began pressing against her chest again now that she had stopped running from it long enough to explain it aloud.

Ava immediately stopped pacing and turned toward her fully, her anger momentarily replaced by concern as she listened carefully.

Alice inhaled shakily before continuing.

“They wouldn’t listen to me no matter how much I tried explaining,” she said softly. “Dad slapped me before I could even defend myself properly. Then Nina…” She paused briefly, swallowing hard before forcing herself onward. “She told me the truth.”

Ava frowned instantly.

“What truth?”

Alice laughed bitterly, though no real amusement existed within the sound.

“That she isn’t my mother,” she answered quietly. “Apparently my real mother had an affair with Mr. Davison years ago and died giving birth to me.”

The room went completely silent.

Ava stared at her without blinking as if the words themselves had physically stunned her.

Alice lowered her eyes again, unable to hold her gaze for too long while shame, grief, and confusion twisted painfully together inside her chest.

“She said she only raised me because she had no choice,” Alice continued, her voice quieter now. “And Linda…” A bitter smile touched her lips briefly before disappearing again. “Linda looked almost happy while all of it was happening.”

The silence that followed felt unbearably heavy.

Ava’s breathing became visibly uneven as she processed every word slowly, and for one terrifying second, she became so still that Alice almost preferred the pacing and shouting from earlier.

“I will kill them.” She said calmly, too calmly.

The words exploded from Ava with such a calm fury that Alice physically flinched.

Ava resumed pacing immediately, her movements sharp and agitated while outrage consumed every part of her expression.

“I swear I will actually kill them,” she continued furiously, running both hands through her hair while trying and failing to contain her anger. “What kind of monsters behave like that? Are they insane? Are they completely out of their foolish minds?”

Her voice echoed through the apartment, her agitation grew stronger with every passing second.

“They throw you out in the middle of the night over fake pictures? That idiot Matthew couldn’t even survive ten minutes around you without acting like a lovesick fool and somehow they believed you wanted him?” she snapped angrily. “I knew Linda was wicked, but this? This is evil!”

Alice watched her quietly from the couch, exhaustion preventing her from reacting much beyond a tired sigh.

Meanwhile, Ava’s fury continued escalating rapidly.

“No, Ally, this cannot end like this,” she said heatedly, already moving toward the door as though she genuinely intended to storm back to the Davison mansion immediately. “I am serious. Hold me back before I commit murder tonight!”

Alice grabbed her arm quickly before she could take another step.

“Ava, calm down,” she said sharply, tightening her grip.

Ava turned back instantly, still visibly furious.

“No!” she argued, struggling dramatically against Alice’s hold despite not actually trying very hard to escape. “Do not calm me down! I know you love me, so naturally you’ll help me hide their bodies afterward!”

“Ava.”

“I’m serious!” she continued loudly. “I can already see the headlines. Mysterious disappearance of one terrible family. No suspects found.”

“Ava, sit down!”

Alice’s voice became firmer this time, finally forcing Ava to stop moving long enough for exhaustion and frustration to collide together inside her.

With an aggravated sound beneath her breath, Ava finally dropped back onto the couch heavily before dragging a hand through her hair again.

“This is madness,” she muttered bitterly while staring at the floor. “Absolute madness.”

Alice leaned back against the couch slowly, the earlier exhaustion returning all at once now that the emotions had settled slightly.

“Just let it go for now,” she said quietly, though even she knew the words sounded fragile.

Ava immediately looked up again.

“Let it go?” she repeated incredulously before forcing herself to exhale deeply through her nose. “Fine. Fine. I will sit here peacefully like a responsible citizen.”

Her narrowed eyes suggested otherwise entirely.

“But I am not letting this go,” she added firmly.

The determination in her voice made Alice almost smile despite herself.

After a brief silence, Ava’s expression softened slightly as something else occurred to her.

“You are staying here,” she said suddenly, her tone leaving absolutely no room for argument. “No discussion, stubbornness and no pretending you’ll figure things out alone.”

Alice hesitated instinctively.

Even after everything that had happened, accepting help still felt strangely difficult for her.

“Ava…”

“No,” Ava interrupted immediately while pointing at her dramatically. “Do not start. You are staying here and that is final.”

Alice looked at her quietly.

Despite the dramatics, despite the chaos, despite the ridiculous misunderstanding with the sandals earlier, there was something deeply comforting about the certainty in Ava’s voice.

For the first time that night, Alice felt something inside her loosen slightly.

“…Okay,” she said softly.

The change in Ava’s expression happened immediately.

The tension left her shoulders almost at once as though Alice agreeing had solved the most important problem in the world.

“Good,” she replied quickly, already standing again with renewed purpose. “I’ll set up the spare room.”

Alice watched silently while Ava moved around the apartment with surprising efficiency, gathering blankets, fixing pillows, and muttering complaints beneath her breath about terrible families and useless men the entire time.

The sight stirred something warm and painful inside Alice simultaneously.

Because for all Ava’s dramatic behavior, everything she did came from genuine care and love.

Later that night, after the room had been prepared and the earlier chaos finally settled into quiet exhaustion, the atmosphere inside the apartment softened completely.

They sat together sharing food while conversation drifted naturally between anger, jokes, and silence. Occasionally Ava would begin ranting about Linda again before stopping herself halfway through after catching Alice’s expression.

At some point, exhaustion overtook even anger.

The heaviness weighing against Alice’s chest remained, but it no longer felt quite as unbearable sitting there beside someone who cared whether she existed or not.

Eventually, Ava leaned back against the couch and glanced toward her again.

“You can stay as long as you want,” she said more gently this time, sincerity settling quietly beneath her usual attitude. “And don’t think about that place again tonight.”

Alice looked at her for a moment before a small genuine smile finally appeared across her face.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

Ava shrugged immediately as though uncomfortable with emotional sincerity lasting too long.

“Just don’t drag me into more family drama,” she replied casually.

Alice laughed quietly for what felt like the first time in forever.

“I’ll try.”

The rest of the night passed slowly between shared food, tired conversations, scattered jokes, and moments of silence that no longer felt lonely.

And when exhaustion finally overtook them completely, they stood outside their rooms exchanging tired goodnights beneath the dim apartment lighting.

“Sleep well, Ally,” Ava said softly, warmth slipping naturally into her voice despite her attempts to sound casual.

“You too, Bubble,” Alice replied gently.

Then, for the first time in years, Alice fell asleep without fear tightening around her chest.