AVA
“Ava?” I slowly open my eyes and shift. My neck hurts badly because I fell asleep in my seat. I rub it and turn my head to look at Ms. Lewis. “Is this your house?”
I groan, squaring my shoulders slightly, looking out the window. The corners of my mouth lift, and a very familiar feeling forms in my chest. I’m home. I will be alright. My dad always knows what to say to me, and he will know what to do.
“Well, based on the smile on your face, this is your house.”
“Yeah, it is.” I unbuckle my seat belt and reach for the door handle. “Thank you so much, Ms. Lewis.”
“Penelope,” she says, and my eyebrows pinch together. “My name is Penelope. You can call me that—when we’re not in the library, of course.”
“Of course,” I laugh, opening the door and climbing out of the car. Penelope helps me collect my stuff from the backseat. “Won’t you be in trouble? The library—”
“I called my friend Lena when you fell asleep. Everything is okay,” Ms. Lewis says as I take a step back. Suddenly, her eyes go wide as she gawks at something behind me. “Is that your father?”
I look over my shoulder and see Dad strolling in our direction. My whole body warms up with tenderness just from the sight of him. He’s my rock, through thick and thin. “Yeah.”
“Ava…” she mumbles as her cheeks fire up. Oh my freaking God. This is so adorable, I even forget about my own problems for a moment. Some women in town call him a dilf, and I think my nice librarian is crushing on him hard. And that’s just because of his looks. What would happen if she knew what a gem he is? “I didn’t—”
“I know how my dad looks, Penelope. I’m not judging.” I turn around to face him but lean into her ear. “And he’s single.”
She sucks in a breath, and I can barely stop myself from laughing. All the shit that has happened to me is worth it just for this situation.
“Hey, kid. I didn’t expect you home so early. Don’t you have class?” Dad’s eyes are on me.
“Something came up, and I decided to skip.” I hand him my huge backpack. “I have perfect grades. One day won’t change that.”
“I have no doubt.” He cracks a smile and then shifts his gaze to Penelope. “Thank you for giving my daughter a ride. I’m Dax.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, D-Dax,” she stutters, becoming even more flushed than she already is.
“Dad, this is Ms. Lewis. She works at the library.” I decide to take matters into my own hands, noticing as Dad checks her out. “You can call her Penelope. She’s incredible.”
With that, I head into the house. The only thing I want right now is to go to my room, take Smokey with me, and sleep. I’m drained, and considering the talk I’m about to have with Dad, I need to recharge my batteries.
“So…” Dad trails off, sitting on my bed a few hours later. He let me sleep without trying to wake me up for answers. “What happened? I didn’t think you would be home until tomorrow morning.”
“What do you think about Penelope? She’s cute, isn’t she?” I wink at him, and Dad shakes his head with a smile.
“She’s cute, yes. What’s more, she helped you when she felt you needed it. She wasn’t obligated to do that. We exchanged numbers, and I promised to invite her to dinner. As a thank you.”
“Definitely as a thank you,” I tell him with a meaningful look on my face, and he hits me with my pillow. “Dad.”
“Stop making fun of me.” He narrows his eyes, trying to look strict. “Start talking. What happened?”
I pull my legs into my chest, wrapping my arms around them and putting my chin on my knees. Then I sigh and lower my face into the blanket that covers them. “I’m pregnant.”
“Um, Ava, if you want me to hear you, please stop talking to your legs.”
I sigh and look up into my father’s face. “I’m pregnant.”
His expression doesn’t change. He continues to look at me calmly. I want a reaction. Anything. Total silence is the worst. “Did you take a test?”
“Three. They were all positive.”
“Did you see a doctor?” I shake my head no and hug myself tighter. “Well, we need to get to the doctor, kid. It’s rare, but it could be a false positive.”
“Okay.” I cried so much yesterday that now it feels as if I don’t have even a single tear to shed.
“I’ll call Andrea. She might be able to help.”
“Dad. She’s your ex. I don’t want her to look at my lady parts.” I probably look like a little bird with its feathers ruffled, but I don’t care anymore.
“She’s my ex, but she’s a great doctor. I don’t know anyone better than her in town.” He taps on my nose, laughing wholeheartedly. He’s so calm and collected, it flows to me too, slipping under my skin and cooling my nerves. “I’ll make a call while you get dressed.”
Dad stands up from my bed and ambles to the door. Then he turns around and bores his gaze into my face. I grab Smokey as if he’s my shield, because I instantly know what my father is going to ask. And I’m not fucking ready to answer. “Have you talked to Colton about it?”
I purse my lips, slide down onto my back, and hide under the blanket. “No.”
“Ava,” Dad warns, but I stay hidden. Please, Dad, don’t ask me anything about him right now. “Get dressed.”
With that, he closes the door behind him. The only sound I hear is my cat purring, cuddling close to my belly. I dig my fingers into his fur and shut my eyes. Seeing the doctor is the only thing I should focus on.
Layla and I are in my room, watching Frozen II together. She’s lying on her belly, while I sit with my back pressed to my headboard. My best friend has stayed with me since the moment she walked into my house around ten p.m. on Friday, and it’s already lunchtime on Saturday. She refuses to leave, treating me as if I’m a fucking crystal vessel of holy water. I’m just pregnant. Five weeks along, which aligns perfectly with our sex in the penalty box.
“Do you want something to eat?” Layla catches my gaze over her shoulder, and I shake my head. We ate an hour ago, and I’m full. “What about some water?”
“Apple juice,” I tell her, and she hops off my bed. “You’re the best.”
“It’s the least I can do to support you.” My best friend edges to the door and leaves my room.
I turn the volume up and try to focus on the screen, but it’s hard.
All of a sudden, the door opens, and Layla bursts back into my room. “Thompson is here.”
“What?” My heartbeat accelerates, and my palms start sweating. I don’t want to see him right now, and truthfully I don’t understand why my dad let him in. I told him everything once we returned from the doctor, and he said he understood my reaction. So why is Colton in my house?
“Yeah, he’s downstairs, talking to your dad.”
“I don’t care.” I lift my shoulder, playing it cool until I hear a knock on my door.
“Can I come in?” His voice sounds quiet, and a million different emotions swim around in me. The biggest one is anger.
Layla rakes her gaze over my face, expecting my decision. I can’t hide from him forever. So why not deal with this shit once and for all? I can always cry later.
“Can you please wait downstairs?” I whisper, and she nods, steps close, and hugs me tightly.
“Stay strong, babe.” She kisses my cheek, steps back, and opens the door. She strides past him, bumping into his shoulder on her way out and hissing something under her breath.
Thompson saunters into my room and closes the door behind him. I center my attention on the wall, refusing to even look at him. Yet it’s impossible. I don’t need eyes to feel him. His presence makes my room incredibly small. I feel him move, even if I keep my gaze glued to anything but him.
“Your phone is off. Coming here was the best shot I had.”
“A very bad decision. I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Ava, I’m sorry. I know I let you down—”
“You know nothing, Colton.” My stress level is through the roof, and holding myself back is definitely not what I have in mind. I jump to my feet, meeting his gaze and seething. “I thought my life was falling apart when I saw the test results. I spent almost two fucking hours crying on my bed. For two fucking hours, I was pitying my own existence. Then I thought, Colt and I are in this together. We will figure it out. We will talk, and we will decide what to do.”
“I just got back from San Jose; I signed the contract—” he blurts, the words rushing out of his mouth.
“I don’t fucking care.” I shriek, bursting into tears. “When Jordan told me you knew about my pregnancy, I was ready to fucking kill her. It was my secret, and I wanted to tell you myself. I went to your place. I hoped to talk to you so we could figure out our decision together. I was so blinded by my fury, I didn’t even realize you knew until I was already in your apartment. My boyfriend knew I was pregnant, and he did nothing. He didn’t call me. He didn’t text me. I’m eighteen. I’m a freshman with no future, and you left me when I needed you.”
“Ava, Thursday was crazy. I went to see my dad before my flight, then I went to the airport. I landed in San Jose around one a.m. on Friday. I talked with my agent for a few hours, and I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the hotel pillow. Yesterday wasn’t any different. I tried to call you when I got home, but your phone was off—”
I cut him off. There’s only one question burning the tip of my tongue. “When did you know about the contract?”
“On Tuesday morning.”
“And you couldn’t find a single moment to let me know?” My voice trembles, and my tears are suffocating me. “Not even when I came to tell you about my news?”
“You were so excited about your job, about your bookstagram, and I didn’t want to ruin the moment for you. I was going to tell you before, but things were hectic. We haven’t spent more than twenty minutes together since—”
“Go away,” I mutter, staring him right in the eyes.
“Ava, please—”
“Go the fuck away.”
“Babe, please, this isn’t us. Let’s talk—”
“There is no fucking us, Colton. You left me when I was scared. You disappeared when I needed you. So please, do me a fucking favor and see yourself out.”
“I wanted to secure my future, so I could take care of you. Of our baby. I wanted to give you the life you deserve.”
“I don’t need anything from you, Colton. I will figure everything out on my own.” I wipe away my angry, disappointed, sad tears. I’m struggling for breath; my vision blurs, and my heart breaks into a thousand pieces. “There is no need to pretend like you care, like you’ll give a damn about me once you graduate and leave the state. You can carry on with your life as if we never happened.”
He clenches his jaw hard. His deep brown eyes are stormy, like a night cloud ready to downpour.
“G-go away,” I stutter. He twirls around, opens the door wide, and takes a step further, glancing at me over his shoulder.
“I don’t care what you say, Ava. You’re mine. And soon enough, you will be proudly flashing a ring on your finger so the whole fucking world—so every single person on this planet—will know you’re Colton Thompson’s wife.”
The sound of the door slamming is all I’m able to register. I’m too stunned to speak, and I’m too exhausted. I lower myself onto my bed, pull the blanket over my head, and close my eyes. Layla joins me a few minutes later, not saying a word, not asking a question. She just wraps herself around me and holds me close. It’s exactly what I need right now.
