Embracing Trouble (Trouble Series) (40 page)

I grabbed a few things and put them in my bag as I stopped to look at the photo of my mother. It was the beach photo where she was smiling, looking happily into the camera. I wondered if she had been unhappy at that moment and was doing everything in her power to hide it. Had she been smiling for the world to see, but quietly dying inside? I picked up the photo in its frame and opened the back up to slide the picture out. I put the empty frame back and then put the photo in my bag. It was all I had left of her.

I heard my father call my name from downstairs and scanned the room once more before I left it. There was nothing left here for me anymore, and I closed the door with a resounding click. I headed downstairs to where he was waiting for me, seeming happy but nervous as I braced myself for what was to come next.

“Can you come in here for a moment?” he asked looking at my bag. “Before you go.”

I followed him into the kitchen where I found Sarah happily perched on a kitchen stool, looking like she was going to burst. I braced myself further. Something big was happening, and it was going to swallow me up if I didn’t turn and leave immediately.

I think my father felt that I was about to run and touched my arm.

“Ava, we have some news that we would like to share.”

I swallowed a lump of emotion, knowing what was coming. It was like a sudden freight train, coming at me with full speed and I couldn’t move from the tracks.

“Sarah is pregnant,” he said with a nervous smile, warily looking at me for my reaction.

The freight train blared its horn at me, and I felt the collective wind hit my face.

“She is twelve weeks and will be due in July,” he said quietly, his smile starting to disappear.

I felt the train as my body shuddered and I was seconds from impact.

“We are going to get married next month and would like you to be a part of the ceremony,” he continued.

The buzzing in my ears intensified until it all just stopped. All I could hear was my breathing. In and out. In and out.

“You lied to me about my mother,” I whispered, my eyes focused on the table in front of me.

My father put his hands on the table in front of him, like he suddenly needed the support.

“Ava.”

“She disappeared and I spent five years hoping she would come back,” I whispered, still focusing on the marble table in front of me.

It was the marble table that my mother would have wiped and prepared dinner on, all the while being desperately unhappy.

“I didn’t-”

“You lied to me about her, about the police, about everything,” I whispered.

The buzzing in my ears returned and I felt something strangle my chest.

“It was for your own good, Ava. You were so young and I couldn’t…”

“I hate you,” I said louder, turning my face to look at him. “I fucking hate you for that.”

He looked to me, and his eyes were full of hurt and regret.

“I’m sorry, Ava.”

“I don’t care,” I said, throwing his apology back at him. “Both of my parents are dead to me now.”

“Oh, Ava!” said Sarah.

“Shut up,” I snarled, turning to her in anger. “You don’t get to talk right now.”

Sarah pulled back at my anger and looked to my father for support.

“Ava,” he warned.

It only fuelled my anger further. I had been a ticking time bomb, since my eyes had set upon the death certificate all those months ago. My anger-bomb exploded.

“Does she know?” I shouted, looking to my father. “Does she know that your wife killed herself? From being fucking unhappy? With you?”

Sarah gasped.

“That’s enough, Ava,” he said angrily.

“Does she know that the bathroom she uses every fucking day, the one where she fucking pleasures you in, is the one that my mother spent her last dying minutes in?” I screamed.

Sarah moved from the stool and covered her mouth, stepping away from me.

“Enough!” shouted my father.

“It’s not enough!” I screamed. “She’s gone and will never come back. It was because of you, you piece of shit.”

He angrily moved toward me and grabbed my arms.

“Stop, Ava!”

I shoved him back with all my strength.

“Go to hell,” I howled.

He dropped his arms and leaned against the table, breathing heavy.

I moved away toward the doorway and picked up my bag. I put it over my shoulder and turned back to Sarah to see her crying.

“Hope you get everything you wish for,” I muttered, turning away and leaving the room.

This was it. I would never come back here again. I left the house and didn’t look back. I just kept walking.

I walked to Noah’s, hoping Zac would be back, because I needed his strength right now. But there was no answer and I went back down the stairs in frustration. I sat on the end one and promptly burst into tears, feeling empty and raw now that I had released all of my pent-up anger. My phone rang and I pulled it out to see it was Zac calling. I laughed amongst my tears. He was so tuned into me.

“Hey,” I said in relief.

“What’s the matter?” he asked instantly, hearing the emotion in my one word.

“Just need you,” I smiled, my tears blurring my vision.

“Ava, what’s going on?”

“I just had a fight with my father and it’s all over now. I’m upset, but I’m okay. Everything that needed to be said has been said. I’m at Noah’s but no one is here.”

“I’m about fifteen minutes away,” he said. “Wait for me.”

“Okay,” I sighed happily.

“Guess this means you have to live somewhere permanently, huh?” he said next.

I took a sharp intake of breath as my heart pounded at the meaning of his words. He chuckled at my silence.

“See you soon,” he said ending the call.

I smiled happily through my tears as I looked down at my phone screen. I was going to move in with him permanently, and I couldn’t be happier. I put my phone in my bag near my feet and looked up as I heard a car.

It wasn’t a car I recognized and as soon as it parked near me, I saw Max climbing out. My happiness instantly disappeared. I quickly wiped my tears off my face and braced myself. Uneasiness was already spreading through me.

“Beautiful Ava,” he greeted me smugly. “Aren’t they home?” he asked coming over to me and leaning against the railing.

His feet were nearly touching mine, and I tried not to show any facial expression.

“Zac will be here any minute.”

He looked amused.

“So how’s things?”

“Okay,” I said with a pretend quick smile.

“I hear you and Zac are going pretty strong,” he said lighting up a cigarette and then sitting down beside me.

It was a tight squeeze and I tried to move away so we wouldn’t touch, but I was already pushed up against the wall. The last thing I needed was for Zac to come here and see us squashed on the step together. So, I started to stand up, because Max was making my skin crawl.

His hand grabbed my arm.

“Relax,” he said with a laugh.

I pulled my arm from his grasp and kept sitting, while warning bells went off in my head. I didn’t buy his chilled attitude and fake laugh. We were in broad daylight and I was sure he wouldn’t try anything, but I took in my surroundings and tried to remember my self-defense moves, just in case. The point was to defend, and then be able to run away and run away fast.

Hurry up, Zac. He was fifteen minutes away and it was going to feel like an hour. I needed my phone. I went to lean over to get it from my bag when something suddenly burned my arm. I flinched in excruciating pain.

“Oww,” I wailed.

“Shit, sorry,” he said throwing his burning cigarette on the driveway. “My bad.”

I looked at him in disbelief and touched my stinging arm.

“Let me take a look,” he said taking my sore arm and pulling it toward him.

He pried my other hand off it and looked down at it. I didn’t like his hands on me, but I was still trying to work out how he had even burned me when his cigarette was in his right hand.

Then he was suddenly pushing me down on the step, still holding my arms.

“Maybe I can kiss it better,” he said with a maniacal smile.

I went to scream and he covered my mouth with his. I tried to move from him, but he was too strong. He tasted horrible and his mouth was hard. I screamed into his mouth and he laughed. I tried to bite him and he laughed more.

My knee went up but he was too quick. He pushed my legs apart, his knee crushing into my thigh to keep me in place. I hoped that Noah’s Mum might be home, or someone would hear me.

Something snapped inside me and I was no longer going to be the victim. Clarity in my head let me think of my self-defense moves. His right hand let my arm go, so he could put it under my top and I used that split-second opportunity to do the move. I made my hand into a fist and then struck as hard as I could into his neck and windpipe.

He made a surprised gurgling sound and stopped, gasping for air.

I kneed him between the legs and then shoved him off me with a grunt. He was choking now and I ran for my life.

Zac

I pulled into the driveway and skidded to a stop as Ava ran blindly towards me. For a split second, she stopped at the hood of my car and looked at me through the windshield with fear in her eyes, breathing heavy.

Seeing her like that made the blood drain from my face and I jumped out. She was crying and holding her arm.

“What the fuck happened?” I shouted, looking at her and then further down the driveway, seeing Max getting up from the ground.

Pure blinding anger exploded in me.

“Did he fucking hurt you?”

She nodded as she cried.

“Get in the car,” I roared, heading straight for him.

“She came on to me,” gasped Max holding his neck and coughing.

I slammed my fist into his face and blood sprayed out of his nose as his head shot back with the force. He stumbled back and tried to right himself as I went in again with my fist, smashing his jaw.

Max hollered in pain and fell back, hitting the ground. I went for him again, picking him up by his T-shirt and shaking him.

“You stupid motherfucker, I’m going to kill you,” I roared as I reared back and punched him in the ribs.

Every punch was delivered with fighting accuracy, making sure I broke ribs and his nose. No one touched the most precious thing in my life. No one.

Max scrambled up to his car.

“Stop!” he screamed, blood gurgling out of his mouth.

“You have a fucking death wish,” I growled, preparing for the next punch with my fist clenched.

“I’m sorry! I kissed her, that’s fucking it,” he choked spitting blood. “Let me go. You’ll never see me again.”

I grabbed him again and threw him against his car, grabbing his neck hard with my hand.

“You fucking go near her ever again, I will finish you off. We’re fucking done, you hear me? You’re over.”

He gurgled something and I shoved him back hard. His body slipped down the car to a heap onto the ground. I turned back to Ava and strode over to the car where she was waiting. Her eyes were wide and she was still panting as pain smacked me in the chest.

“Are you okay?” I asked, cupping her cheek and focusing on her intently.

I saw the cigarette burn on her arm and swore angrily, needing to go back for one more hit, just for that burn.

Max reversed quickly in his car, nearly hitting the fence as he tried to drive with two swollen eyes. He was going to need a hospital very soon.

I pulled her into me and held her tight, kissing the top of her head to soothe her.

“I’m sorry,” I said with anger still pounding through my veins. “He won’t come near you ever again. He will disappear now if he knows what’s good for him.”

She nodded into my chest and held onto me tightly.

I kissed her head again, my jaw clenched tightly, wanting to roar in anger before it strangled me.

“I fought back this time,” she mumbled into my chest. “I hurt him.”

I cupped her cheek and looked at her, in total admiration.

“My little wild cat,” I whispered.

She smiled slightly.

“You’re my strength. I don’t have to be afraid. I don’t have to be a victim anymore.”

“I will never let anyone touch you again. I’ll organize twenty-four hour security if I have to.”

She smiled, and said, “I have you and that’s enough.”

“I told you, my world is fucked up. You sure you still want to be part of it?” I asked with a wince.

“There is nothing on this earth that I want more,” she replied. “I…I love you, Zac.”

What?
I pulled back slowly, staring at her.

She gulped.

“Too soon? You can pretend I didn’t say that yet.”

I didn’t know if I was ready to declare that out loud just yet, but a part of me filled with warmth that she had said it. I answered her with a kiss, taking my time to tease her lips and cherishing what I had in my arms. I knew right then that my world finally felt complete.

Epilogue: A few months later

Ava

The morning sun sent little flicks of light through the moving drapes and I opened my eyes and smiled. It was going to be a beautiful day. I felt the warm breeze from the balcony and quickly got out of bed.

I slipped into Zac’s T-shirt and flung the drapes back, gasping at the view and blue skies. I stepped out onto the balcony and laughed excitedly at the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I was here.

I looked at the street below me, seeing people walking purposefully along the sidewalks, weaving in between cars. I looked at the balconies across from me, full of greenery and I giggled to myself again. I was here in Paris, and he had made it all happen.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned back to see Zac leaning against the bathroom door, watching me. I gazed with longing, seeing him with wet hair and freshly out of the shower. He gave me a knowing smile, one that I felt all over my body, starting from my toes.

I couldn’t help but drink him in, knowing I would never tire of exploring him. His eyes lit with desire, reminding me of the pleasurable dizzying heights he had taken me only an hour ago.