30 Slowly Changing

A heavy silence settled over them, thicker than the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. Unsettled eyes glanced unceremoniously around and tried to avoid catching other glances that passed by. Noah still doubting something was odd about him as he curiously eyed him once in a while. The door suddenly unlocks, and Ava walks in, facing the wall. As she turns around with a cheerful smile, her mood suddenly changes to a glare at the sight of her Dad. She drops her bag and hangs her coat as her temper started rising by the minute. Her hatred towards her father grew larger as he kept appearing and disappearing. Ava looked at Noah who sat there uncomfortably, knowing what was going to happen next.

"Ava-" Mat begun.

"What are you doing here, and how did you come in?" she interrupted.

"I came here to get some things, and I have the keys to the house. Your Mom gave them to me," he answered.

Ava squinted her eyes to check if he was lying, but he seemed sincere. She looked back at Noah, who patiently waited for his question.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Mat made a stinging sound at Ava's question. He couldn't believe his own daughter would think he was capable of hurting someone. Ava scowled at him, waiting for Noah's response.

"Yes, I'm okay, and he didn't hurt me."

"Wow. Is that who you think I am?" he mockingly asked.

"No, it's who I know you are," she proudly stated "now leave."

Mat smiled to himself and started chuckling. Both the teenagers looked at him with terrifying faces. His laugh wasn't a soft and whole-hearted laugh; it was more of a menacing laugh.

"Care to explain why you're laughing?"

Another minute passed with Mat laughing until he abruptly stopped, which startled Noah and Ava.

"Ahh. Ava, Ava, Ava. Sweetie, you try too hard."

His face suddenly turned sinister and serious.

"You don't know who you're talking to. I own this house. Do you think you can boss me around? No, no, no. That's not how it's going to work."

He stepped towards Ava and stood a few centimetres away from her. Her jaw was roughly clutched and squeezed as he vigorously aligned her face with his so that they were making eye contact.

"I think you need to be hit back to reality," Ava's body tensed as she heard that expression. Noah was standing up at the edge of the sofa, wary of Mat's every move.

"The night I left your Mom, it was all her fault. She cheated on me with another man a few months back, and I was furious because of it, so I started sleeping with many women. A day after we split, I told her that I would be taking this house because it's under my name. She came to me begging to let you guys live in this house. I accepted because I didn't want my children living in the streets. We've been keeping in contact since 3 years ago, and you probably didn't know about that, did you? Well anyway, I have all the right to kick you out of this house, and I will do it with pleasure," he spat.

He looked back to Noah and smirked, "If you ever disrespect me again, I will make your life a living hell, so watch your back. And that's a warning for you too boy. Do you understand me?"

They both nodded as Ava's jaw was visibly getting bruised. He pushed her away, letting go of her jaw. He ran upstairs and grabbed Lucas' clothes and left the house. Ava stood there with her fists clenched, her jaw bruising and her breathing getting heavier by the minute. Her eyes flashed with indignance and anger, much like lightning on a pitch-black night. Noah couldn't recognize her anymore, the girl he used to know was gone. It felt like all her emotions were flowing out of her body. Noticeable tears overflowed her eyes as the iris slowly changed to a soulless ebony black.

He tried walking to her, but a force was stopping him from getting to her. An invisible bubble protected Ava from anyone who approached her. Suddenly the house began shaking; chairs moved from their places, items on tables fell to the ground. Noah held on to the sofa as he yelled Ava's name to snap her out of it. He picked up a vase that was next to him and threw it towards Ava, but it just bounced back from the large bubble. Ava stared straight into Noah's eyes. Her eyes were a bottomless pool of darkness, he knew, but he could not help trying to find the bottom.

A few seconds after they made eye contact, the room stopped moving, and Ava plummeted to the floor. Noah staggered towards her and held her head in his arms, as he felt her body relaxing once again. A few minutes later, Ava opened her weak eyes to see herself laying on top of Noah on the sofa. She quickly spun around to look for her Dad, but he was no longer there. Her head pounded from the over-concentration.

"Ava, are you okay?" Noah asked.

"What happened?"

"Your Dad said things about your mom and the house. He left, and you were extremely angry, and your eyes turned black. It seemed like you were controlling the room, it was shaking a whole lot, and you also had this protecting barrier around you, and I couldn't get past it."

"Right...I remember. Yea it felt like I was in control of something, but I didn't know what."

A loud groan left her mouth as she laid back down from fatigue.

"Do you want me to get you some painkillers?" he suggested.

Ava simply nodded as she rested her arm over her eyes, not trying to think of anything. But her father's words and actions kept playing over and over again in her head like a broken record. Noah came with a glass of water and some painkillers, resting on the table in front of her.

"Do you want to talk about what happened with your Dad after you get rest?"

No response came. Ava didn't know what she wanted anymore. She was confused from what was the truth and what was a lie. She believed her Mom, but her Dad seemed pretty serious. She had so many unanswered questions.

"He's not the same person, he's changed."