When His Eyes Opened novel by Simple Silence novel Chapter 17

The car sped past Avery, leaving a trail of dust.

She lifted her head and saw the blurry tail lights of the Rolls-Roice in the darkness.

Was that Elliot’s car?

She wiped the tears off her face, calmed herself down, and walked toward the house.

She saw the car parked in the courtyard when she arrived.

She waited outside in hopes of going in after Elliot had gone to his room.

Her eyes stung. She looked up at the stars shining brightly in the night sky.

It was a beautiful spring night.

Before she knew it, she had been standing outside for an hour.

The driver had already moved the car into the garage.

The lights in the living room were still on, but there was nobody in sight.

Avery felt normal, so she walked slowly into the house.

On the veranda on the second floor, Elliot, dressed in a grey robe, was sitting in his wheelchair. The last dregs of wine sat at the bottom of his wine glass.

He had watched Avery the entire hour that she had stood outside in the cold.

He could not figure out the thoughts that would lead her to spend an entire hour out in the cold. She was so still that she could have easily blended in with the trees that stood next to her.

Elliot had met countless intelligent minds in his lifetime because they were the only people worthy enough to stand by his side.

However, Avery was an exception.

He did not consider her bright because she had provoked him despite knowing what kind of man he was.

She was an extremely foolish woman.

Seeing her miserable, however, affected his mood in a peculiar way.

It was a feeling that he had never felt before.

……

Maybe it was because of the cold wind, but Avery’s head felt heavy by the time she got to her room.

She took out a thick blanket from the closet, wrapped herself in it, and fell into a deep slumber.

She sweated all night, ridding herself of the chill from the night wind.

When Avery woke up the next morning, aside from feeling a little sticky, she was in relatively good spirits.

She took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and went downstairs.

She followed the smell of food to the dining room, and Mrs. Cooper immediately served her breakfast.

“Has he had breakfast?” Avery asked.

“No, Master Elliot hasn’t come down yet.”

Hearing this, Avery picked up her glass of milk and a piece of toast, then began to wolf down her breakfast.

She was done eating in under five minutes.

“Are you that afraid of him, Madam?” Mrs. Cooper teased.

“I’m not afraid… I just don’t want to see him,” Avery said, then lifted her chin slightly and added, “Seeing him makes me uncomfortable.”

“You’ll be fine after spending a little more time together,” said Mrs. Cooper. “Will you be coming home for lunch?”

“I won’t. I have something to do on campus today, so I won’t be having dinner at home either.”

“Alright. I’ll go get the driver to take you there,” Mrs. Cooper said. She left, intending to inform the driver of his duty.

Avery immediately stopped her and said, “It’s fine. I’ll just take a cab. He can have the driver.”

“We have two drivers at home. One for Master Elliot and one for the odd jobs. I’ll get the other one to take you,” said Mrs. Cooper.

Avery could not win against her.

Once they had arrived on campus, Avery turned to the driver and said, “Thank you. You can head back now. I’ll find my own way home later.”

After the driver drove off, a young woman ran up to Avery, tapped her on the shoulder, and said, “Avery! Who was that Portia cutie?”

Avery did not expect to bump in her best friend Tammy Lynch to be at the campus entrance.

“He’s not a cutie. It’s ‘Mr. Portia’ to you,” Avery said as they walked into campus together. “Tammy, I don’t think I can go to graduate school with you.”