Chapter 5 Breakfast
The next morning arrived far more peacefully than the night before, and for the first time since leaving the Davisons, the apartment no longer felt heavy with panic and fear. Warm sunlight filtered gently through the curtains, spreading pale golden light across the small living room while the distant noise of the city drifted faintly through the windows. The atmosphere felt calm, almost comforting, and the rich smell of food floating through the apartment slowly pulled Alice awake from sleep.
For several long moments, she remained lying quietly beneath the blanket, too exhausted to move immediately while her body still ached faintly whenever she shifted, reminding her far too quickly of everything she desperately wanted to stop thinking about.
Then the smell reached her again, stronger this time, carrying the scent of something fried, perhaps sweet, and something that smelled slightly burnt.
Alice frowned faintly against her pillow while staring blankly toward the ceiling.
“….. Something’s burning?”
Curiosity eventually pushed aside her exhaustion, and slowly she sat upright before rubbing her sleepy eyes while messy strands of hair fell around her face and the oversized hung loosely over her small frame. She listened quietly for a moment, only to hear music blasting loudly from somewhere inside the apartment.
Alice blinked in confusion.
“…What’s going on?”
A second later, an even louder sound followed.
Singing.
Very terrible singing.
“Oh baby don’t cryyyy for meeee—”
Alice froze completely while staring toward the bedroom door in disbelief.
“…Is that Ava?”
Another horrifying note followed immediately afterward.
“CAUSE I AM YOUR DESTINYYYYYY—”
Alice continued staring blankly ahead.
That could not legally qualify as singing.
Slowly, she climbed out of bed before following the noise toward the kitchen, and the closer she got, the more chaotic everything sounded. Music blasted loudly from Ava’s phone while pots clanged against the counter, oil sizzled aggressively on the stove, and over all of it Ava continued singing with frightening confidence and absolutely no sense of rhythm.
Alice finally reached the kitchen doorway.
Then stopped completely.
For several long seconds, she simply stared at the scene unfolding before her while trying to process what exactly she was witnessing.
Ava was dancing wildly around the kitchen while cooking breakfast, one will assume she was performing on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans instead of standing alone inside a tiny apartment wearing oversized pajamas and fluffy socks. One hand held a spatula dramatically in the air while the other pointed toward absolutely nothing as she spun carelessly between the stove and counter with complete commitment to whatever performance she believed she was giving.
And somehow, despite all her confidence, she had absolutely no rhythm whatsoever.
Alice watched silently as Ava nearly slammed directly into the refrigerator before awkwardly recovering and continuing her dramatic performance like nothing had happened.
Then Ava sang again.
Loudly.
And incorrectly.
“YOU ARE THE SUNLIGHT IN MY FEET—”
Alice blinked slowly.
“…Feet?”
Ava twirled dramatically while waving the spatula through the air like a dangerous weapon.
“AND I WILL NEVER LET YOU GOOOOO—”
Alice continued staring in complete disbelief while trying to understand how one person could simultaneously cook, dance terribly, and sing the wrong lyrics with such confidence.
Honestly, the entire thing looked less like breakfast preparation and more like a public mental breakdown happening inside a kitchen.
“…What am I watching?” she finally asked flatly.
Ava screamed instantly.
The spatula flew straight out of her hand before crashing loudly against the counter while Ava spun around in horror after realizing someone had witnessed everything.
“Alice!” she shouted dramatically while clutching her chest. “Don’t sneak up on people like that!”
Alice remained entirely unimpressed while calmly walking further into the kitchen.
“You were literally dancing like a maniac,” she replied with a tired sigh.
Ava gasped loudly in offense.
“That is not the point!”
“It should be.”
“You almost killed me from shock!”
“You almost killed me with your singing.”
Ava narrowed her eyes immediately.
“My voice is beautiful.”
Alice calmly lifted the pot lid before peering inside.
“No.”
Ava placed a hand dramatically over her heart.
“You’re hurting me emotionally.”
“You were hurting my ears emotionally.”
Ava pointed accusingly toward her.
“You’re jealous of my talent.”
Alice glanced toward the stove again.
“You almost burned the eggs.”
“That was intentional flavor.”
“The toast is black.”
“Extra crunch.”
Alice’s gaze shifted toward the trash bin nearby where several failed pancakes sat stacked together sadly.
“Why are there three dead pancakes in the trash?”
Ava immediately looked away.
“We don’t talk about those.”
Alice almost smiled.
Almost.
For the first time since the previous night, the crushing heaviness sitting inside her chest loosened slightly because the apartment felt warm, safe, and strangely normal, and after everything that had happened, normal suddenly felt precious.
Ava continued moving proudly around the kitchen while humming loudly to herself again, though this time she attempted quieter dancing while making coffee, and somehow it looked even worse than before.
Alice watched silently while eating.
“You seriously dance like your bones are fighting each other,” she said suddenly.
Ava nearly dropped the spoon from pure betrayal.
“Excuse me?!”
“I’m serious.”
“I dance beautifully.”
“You dance violently.”
Ava pointed the spoon threateningly toward her.
“You’re jealous.”
“Of what exactly?”
“My talent.”
Alice looked directly at her.
“You almost elbowed the microwave.”
“That microwave attacked me first.”
A quiet laugh escaped Alice before she could stop it, soft and brief but completely genuine.
Ava froze dramatically.
“Oh my God.”
Alice immediately looked away.
“What?”
“You laughed.”
“I did not.”
“You did!” Ava shouted excitedly while pointing accusingly at her. “I saw it happen!”
“You imagined it.”
“Nope. It definitely happened.”
Alice focused carefully on her food again while pretending not to notice Ava staring suspiciously at her with narrowed eyes.
Then suddenly, Ava’s phone began ringing loudly across the counter, interrupting the moment instantly.
Ava glanced toward the screen casually at first while reaching for the coffee mugs, but the second she saw the caller ID, her expression changed immediately. The warmth vanished from her face almost instantly and was replaced entirely by irritation.
Alice noticed the shift right away.
Ava grabbed the phone roughly before answering coldly.
“She’s not here,” she said without greeting. “You sent her away, so go and look for her yourself, you asshole!”
Then she ended the call immediately.
The kitchen fell silent for several seconds before the phone started ringing again.
Ava glanced toward it once before deliberately ignoring it this time.
Alice slowly lowered her fork while studying her friend carefully.
“Who was that?” she asked.
Ava forced a quick smile that looked painfully fake.
“Nobody.”
Alice narrowed her eyes immediately.
“Ava.”
“I said it’s nobody.”
“That didn’t sound like a nobody conversation.”
Ava grabbed the coffee mugs aggressively.
“Drink your coffee.”
Alice continued staring quietly while the phone rang again.
And again.
And again.
Finally, Ava snatched it up before muting the device entirely with visible annoyance, and afterward the apartment became quiet again even though the earlier warmth no longer felt quite the same.
Alice watched her carefully.
Something was wrong.
Ava never acted this awkward unless she genuinely believed something would upset her.
“Ava.”
Ava sighed dramatically before waving the question away again.
“It’s nothing, Ally,” she said quickly. “Eat.”
Alice remained unconvinced.
“You called someone an asshole.”
“That narrows absolutely nothing down.”
Alice continued staring silently until eventually Ava sighed again before dropping into the chair opposite her while her expression softened slightly this time.
“I just don’t want you stressing yourself again this morning,” she admitted quietly. “You barely slept.”
Alice looked down slowly at her plate, the appetite she had moments ago faded slightly as reality settled back over her thoughts again.
Ava noticed immediately.
And instantly regretted it.
“Hey,” she said quickly. “Don’t start thinking too much again.”
“I’m trying not to.”
“Good. Continue doing that.”
Alice nodded faintly, though her fingers quietly tightened around the fork resting in her hands because despite the peaceful morning, despite the food, and despite Ava acting ridiculous enough to distract her for a while, none of it truly erased what happened.
It only covered it briefly.
And somewhere deep inside her chest, fear still remained waiting beneath everything else.
