To Caress My Day

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Williams. How are you and Mr. Williams?” A voice called from down the hall. Avery looked up to see Simone and Twigs with four other young ladies. She was quick to wipe her tears before they could see her face. She didn’t want any nosy questions about why she was crying and if it had anything to do with Mr. Williams. The last thing she wanted to do was to spill her heart out to these destitute group of girls.

“Oh we’re fine, thank you for asking. How are you ladies?” Avery asked politely, turning around and smiling brightly at the young and casually dressed girls.

“We’re cool. Just getting together to make this chickadee here feel better.” A tall young lady with long black braids said, as she put her arms around a glum Twigs, giving her a kiss on her temple, leaving behind a deep red lipstick kissy mark. The other ladies were rubbing Twig’s back or holding her hands.

“Oh, are you alright, Twigs?” Avery leaned down to get a better look at her. Twigs did look pretty depressed and didn’t really say anything in response except giving Avery a small nod assurance. Twigs was makeup free except for her signature red lips and her long dark hair was plopped on her head in a messy unkempt bun. Even without the makeup, the dancer had natural beauty; something Avery envied.

“She’ll be ok. It’s just boy troubles.” A blonde lady with curly hair reassured Avery, making a nasty face when she mentioned the opposite sex. Avery couldn’t agree more. Men can be so nasty and unfair at times such as Clinten giving her no choice but to break it off with Seth so they could be together, and Seth for expecting her to spend some quality time with him instead of going off to have an affair with her lover. Men are clearly irrational beings.

“Yeah, they’re no good.” Asami shared, shaking her head in playful disgust. Avery couldn’t help but nod to that too. If only I were a lesbian, Avery complained thoughtfully. Shaking the inappropriate thought away, Avery knew it was about time she headed on home to Seth. She had a lot of thinking to do.

“Awe, I hope it gets better for you, dear.” Avery said, sincerely gave Twig’s shoulder a gentle pat that she could barely feel it. Still, Twigs managed a strained smile in gratitude.

“Well, I better be off. Nice to see you all and I hope you have a positive night.” Avery said, waving goodbye as she left to return to her other life as Avery Jenkins.

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As soon as Avery got home, she went on a hunt for Seth’s whereabouts. After her morning with Clinten and his unfair behavior, Avery just needed a break from all the drama that was asphyxiating her. She needed someone to take her mind off her ungrateful lover by distracting her off of Clinten’s face. Seth always knew how to make her laugh and that had always use to distract her from her stress from work… but he could never be Clinten, the man she really needed. Despite that, Avery found Seth in his office working on an upcoming episode, exactly where she knew he’d be. She loudly knocked on the already open door, getting his attention instantly.

“Great, I’m glad you’re here.” Seth said, coming out from behind his laptop, rubbing his hands together. Avery took note that his once perfect hair was a bedhead mess, his clean shaven face was darken due to a five o clock shadow, and his shirt was wrongly buttoned. Avery had never seen her boyfriend in this kind of state before. Has he been drinking, Avery wondered in surprised. Yes, Seth drank occasionally but not like constantly. Seth didn’t get drunk every time he drank. Either way, drunk or sober, he looked awful.

“Have you been drinking? You look terrible.” Avery informed him, a little concerned. Seth frowned before stepping over to his office mirror on the wall and checking himself over. He did indeed look terrible.

Seth let out a disappointed sigh and before groaning out the word ‘pixie’ under his breath.

“What pixie?” Avery asked, stepping over to his desk and leaning against it, her eyes still watching him.

Seth eyes widen in fear as he paled and turned around. “What did you say?” He demanded, looking like a frantic crack head that couldn’t find his last stash.

Avery looked taken aback by the volume in his tone. “Calm yourself down, Seth! All I said was pixie.”

“But why did you say that?!” Seth demanded, his voice rising and sounding urgent.

“Because that’s what you just said when you were looking in the mirror. You said pixie for some reason.” Avery defended herself, her hands on her hips. What on earth was wrong with him?

Seth sighed before taking a seat. He rubbed his face with exhaustion before laying his head down on his desk.

“Are you alright, Seth? How long have you been working this time? You need to stop before you end up back in the hospital again for severe exhaustion again” Avery warned him, reaching over to place a cold comforting hand on Seth’s forehead. He wasn’t sweating or anything, so Avery dismissed the fact that he could be overworking again. The man was serious about his work.

“Yeah I’m fine. It’s just…great to see you.” Seth forced out the last part in relief, closing his eyes and praying that Avery would stay and not leave him alone again with his insanity.

“Really? Why?” Avery asked, raising a perfectly thin eyebrow in curiosity, tilting her head to one side. Seth sat up and leaned back in his chair slowly, before flashing her a forced smile.

“Because I wanted to know if you wanted to go out tonight to a lovely restaurant in town.” Seth offered, not expecting her to agree to his invitation since she’s been busy for weeks already and barely had time to shower at home before springing off somewhere else again. Seth decided to take a chance anyway just in case God might be watching him from heaven right now and is deciding to take pity on him. Seth MacFarlane did NOT want to be alone tonight, or he’ll end up drowning himself in either one of his three pools.

Avery didn’t have think about it for a long time since she’s already had a bad morning with Clinten, and for some reason felt like she could forget about him by accepting Seth’s offer to dinner. Or maybe tonight she can relax before she has to come up with any life changing decision instead of rushing to make one now. Hell, maybe this dinner will help her make up her mind in the end, so she can FINALLY figure out what the hell she really want.

“Sure, why not.” Avery accepted, watching a shock look spread across his face.

“No way did you just say yes. It’s been hell to get you to do anything for the past few weeks! What’s changed your mind?” Seth wondered, leaning his elbow on his desk and resting his chin on his fist, suddenly intrigued that the workaholic fashion designer would rather dine with the likes of him than work.

Avery shrugged, walking around his office, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t know. There’s just been so much pressure going on at work that…I’m not sure what decisions I can make at this point that will end happily for everyone. Either way, someone will get hurt when this is over.”

Seth gave her a weird comical look. “At the…charity ball?”

Avery stiffened before letting out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. Sorry to be overdramatic about it.”

Seth shared her laughter, standing up. “You love your job, its fine. Any career can be just as dramatic as the careers in the movies too.”

Avery nodded, before turning around to smile at him. “So, how fancy is this restaurant?”

Seth shrugged nonchalantly with a teasing smirk. “I would say it’s pretty fancy, just like all the normal joints we go to that literally smell like wealth.”

“Mmmm.” Avery visibly shivered in delight. Seth knew that Avery loved everything expensive. When it comes to dating Avery, you always know when you’re on the right path at winning her heart the quicker your wallet ends up empty after every meal.

“I love eating where the street scum can’t afford to go.” Avery reminded him before hurrying upstairs to change. Her statement left Seth shaking his head. He loved Avery dearly but he didn’t share her dislike for the common people. Everyone bleeds same, rich or poor. To Seth, it didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, anyone a fan of his work was treated with appreciation and gratitude. If it wasn’t for his fans, rich or poor, he wouldn’t be where he is right now, living his dream. He owed his fans everything…rich or poor.

Unfortunately for Avery, once she started to make the big bucks, she began to look down at the people that once helped her get to where she was today. You would never ever catch her saying anything to your face, only behind your back with your fellow coworkers. Not a lot of her friends or family could value up to her high standard when she became successful so they simply turned their backs on her. Seth was the only one from her past that stayed…or so he thought.