Avery Lane

Avery’s phone buzzed against the bedside table, a vibration cutting through the hazy warmth of the morning. Sunlight spilled across {{poss}} semi-curly blonde hair, brushing over her face in lazy waves. Liam, sprawled next to {{sub}}, muttered something incoherent and rolled over, clearly half-asleep but already used to being center stage in every situation—especially hers.

The screen blinked insistently. “Dad.” Avery’s thumb hovered, a flicker of irritation tightening in {{poss}} chest. She didn’t need another distraction, especially not now, tangled up with someone like Liam. But she unlocked the message anyway:

"Pack your things. I lost my job. We’re moving to my new position—it’s in the country. You have to come with me."

Avery blinked at the words, disbelief and frustration curling in her stomach. Moving? To the country? Her city, her life, her routines... everything being ripped away. She pressed the phone to her chest for a heartbeat, letting the absurdity of it sink in.

Liam opened one eye, smirking lazily. “Oh? Trouble at home?” His tone was casual, almost mocking, like he was amused by her discomfort. “Guess that means no one’s stopping me from coming over whenever I feel like it.”

Avery’s jaw tightened. She turned on her side, facing him, green eyes flashing. “You do realize this isn’t about you, right?” she said, voice clipped but controlled. Liam just laughed, stretching and brushing a hand down {{poss}} bare arm with that infuriating sense of entitlement he always carried.

“Relax, babe,” he said. “You love the attention. And honestly? A little country move won’t change that.” His smirk was infuriating, and for a split second Avery wanted to shove him off the bed. Instead, she exhaled, shaking her head, letting the moment pass.

Her thumb hovered over her phone again. “Dad’s making me go because he has no other choice,” she muttered under {{poss}} breath, though the words felt hollow. The city had been her life, and now everything was being packed into cardboard boxes for a place she didn’t know, didn’t want, and probably wouldn’t fit into.

Liam rolled closer anyway, ignoring her annoyance, and whispered, “Don’t get all mopey on me. You’ll miss me too much when you’re stuck with him in the sticks.”

Avery pushed herself upright, running a hand through her hair, trying to steady {{poss}} temper. Green eyes met his, sharp and unyielding. “We’ll see,” she said, her voice low but firm. “Don’t think this move changes anything about me. Or about what you really are.”

Even as Liam smirked back, Avery’s mind was already racing—packing, planning, figuring out how to keep some semblance of control over {{poss}} life before it was completely uprooted. The city was slipping away, but she wasn’t about to go quietly.

The door clicked shut behind Avery with a finality that felt heavier than it should have. The hallway smelled faintly of expensive cologne and stale takeout—Liam’s world, not hers. She didn’t look back. There was no point. Whatever that was had already served its purpose, and overstayed it.

Outside, the city hummed like it always did—car horns, distant sirens, the low murmur of people moving too fast and caring too little. Parked at the curb like a black steel monument to bad decisions and worse timing sat her father’s Rolls-Royce. Polished. Imposing. Impossible to ignore.

Of course.

Avery paused for half a second, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder before approaching. The rear door opened before she could reach it.

“Don’t just stand there,” her father barked from inside. “Get in. You’re late.”

Avery slid into the leather seat, the door closing with a heavy thud. The interior smelled like old money and impatience. Her father didn’t look at her right away—thick hands gripping the steering wheel, jaw set like he was already tired of the conversation they hadn’t started yet.

“You look like hell,” he said finally, eyes flicking to her reflection in the mirror. “And don’t pretend that’s fashion.”

Avery scoffed, crossing her arms. “Good morning to you too.”

“Save it,” he snapped. “I didn’t drive all the way down here to trade pleasantries. We’re leaving tonight. You’ll pack what matters and ditch the rest.”

Her spine stiffened. “Tonight? You didn’t even ask—”

“I’m not asking,” he cut in, pulling the car smoothly into traffic. “I lost my position. Company’s relocating operations, and I don’t get a choice. Neither do you.”

The words landed hard. Avery stared out the window, watching the city blur past, buildings she knew by heart sliding away like they didn’t care she was being dragged from them.

“So that’s it?” she said coolly. “You just decide to uproot my life because your job screwed you over?”

Her father let out a sharp laugh—humorless, rough. “You live under my roof when it suits you, take my money when it benefits you, and now you want independence?” He shook his head. “You can’t have it both ways, Avery.”

Silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable.

“The country isn’t going to kill you,” he continued. “Might actually do you some good. Teach you that life doesn’t revolve around cameras and people who don’t give a damn about you.”

Avery’s jaw tightened. Her reflection stared back at her—green eyes sharp, expression unreadable. “You don’t get to talk about who does or doesn’t care.”

Her father finally glanced at her again, expression hard but not unfeeling. “I get to say whatever I want. I’m the one cleaning up the mess.”

The Rolls-Royce glided forward, swallowing city blocks whole as Avery leaned back into the seat, arms folded, mind racing. Whatever waited for her out there—quiet roads, unfamiliar faces, a life stripped of everything familiar—it wasn’t something she’d asked for.

The road thinned until it stopped pretending to be a road at all.

Avery leaned forward slightly as the Rolls-Royce rolled over gravel, the sound alone making her nose wrinkle. Open fields stretched endlessly on either side, dull greens and browns smeared together beneath a wide, empty sky. No skyline. No noise. No movement beyond a few distant trees bending in the wind.

“This is disgusting,” Avery muttered, barely bothering to lower her voice.

Her father didn’t respond. He slowed the car anyway.

Ahead sat a small two-story farmhouse, weathered wood and a crooked porch that looked like it had survived purely out of spite. A barn leaned nearby, paint peeling, the scent of earth and animals thick enough to seep through the closed windows.

And then Avery saw them.

A man stood near the porch—broad-shouldered, sun-worn, clothes stained with dirt and sweat. A pitchfork rested casually in his grip, like an extension of his arm rather than a tool. Beside him stood his daughter, just as dirty, boots caked in mud, clothes clearly not meant for city eyes.

Avery recoiled instinctively, lips pulling tight. “You have got to be kidding me.”

The car stopped.

Her father stepped out first, unfazed, straightening his jacket like this was any other business meeting. Avery followed more slowly, heels sinking slightly into the ground the moment she stepped down. She visibly grimaced.

The farmer approached without ceremony. “You made good time,” he said, voice rough but steady.

“Didn’t have a choice,” her father replied. He extended a hand without hesitation.

The farmer shifted the pitchfork to his other hand and shook it—firm, no-nonsense. Dirt smeared faintly against the cuff of her father’s sleeve. Avery noticed. He didn’t.

“Aldric Lane,” her father said. “This is my daughter. Avery.”

Avery stiffened at the sound of her full name, green eyes flicking between the farmer and the farmhouse behind him. She didn’t offer a smile.

Aldric continued, tone blunt as ever. “Circumstances changed. We’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future.”

Avery’s head snapped toward him. “We will be doing what?”

Aldric ignored her completely, addressing the farmer instead. “She’ll be helping out around here. Chores, work, whatever needs doing.”

Her stomach dropped.

Avery laughed once—sharp, incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”

Aldric finally turned to her, expression hard, unyielding. “I’m dead serious. You live under this roof now. You eat the food here. You pull your weight.”

He gestured vaguely toward the land, the barn, the dirt. “Whether you like it or not.”

Avery stared at the farmhouse again, at the farmer’s calloused hands, at the dirt-streaked girl standing quietly nearby. Everything about the place felt wrong—too quiet, too real, too grounded.

Her jaw tightened.

“This is temporary,” she said coldly.

Aldric didn’t flinch. “So is your attitude. You’ll adjust.”

The wind swept across the open fields, carrying the smell of soil and labor with it. Avery crossed her arms tightly, heels planted in dirt she already despised.

The house smelled like wood, dust, and something faintly animal.

Avery followed down the narrow hallway, every step measured, eyes cataloging peeling paint and uneven floorboards with open disdain. The door to the guest room creaked open, revealing a small space with a simple bed, thin curtains, and—unmistakably—farm clothes folded neatly at the foot of the mattress.

Her stomach turned.

Denim. Flannel. Boots.

Avery didn’t move at first. She just stared.

Once the presence behind her faded and the door closed, she exhaled sharply and immediately went to work. Disinfectant spray hissed through the room like a warning. She wiped the doorknob. The dresser. The chair. The bedframe. Twice. Then again for good measure. Her hands moved fast, precise—control clawed back inch by inch.

Only then did she sit.

A small leather diary slipped from her bag into her lap. Avery flipped it open, pen scratching viciously across the page.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered under her breath, green eyes burning. “You absolute tyrant.”

Her father’s name was written, crossed out, rewritten. A few very creative insults followed. She snapped the diary shut, pressed it to her forehead for a moment, then inhaled slowly.

In. Out.

Fine.

If she had to survive this place, she wasn’t going to unravel on day one.

Outside, the backyard was worse.

Avery stepped into the open air and immediately froze. Animals lounged everywhere—cows shifting lazily, chickens pecking the ground, pigs rooting noisily in the dirt. The smell hit her like a physical force.

“Oh my—” She stopped herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. “This is a biohazard.”

She stood stiffly near the edge of the yard, arms crossed, trying very hard not to let anything brush against her. Then a pitchfork entered her field of vision, extended toward her.

Avery stared at it.

Then she looked up.

“You cannot be serious,” she said flatly.

The implication was clear enough without words. The nearby ground was... active. Very active. Very filthy.

Her fingers curled away from the wooden handle like it might bite. “Absolutely not. I don’t do... this.” She gestured vaguely toward the animals, the dirt, the unmistakable piles scattered across the yard. “I don’t shovel anything that came out of another living creature.”

The pitchfork remained there, patiently offered.

Avery scoffed, a short, humorless sound. “This is a joke, right? Some kind of hazing ritual?”

Her gaze flicked back down to the pitchfork, then to the ground, her expression twisting in pure, unfiltered disgust.

“You expect me,” she said slowly, incredulously, “to shovel poop?”

She took a step back, hands lifting defensively. “No. No, that’s— I will literally pass out.”

The animals shifted nearby, blissfully unconcerned.

Avery had never felt farther from home.