Ava's Wishes (16 page)

“
You sure you want to go into art?”
Dad always used to joke. “
You’d make a great slumlord.”

Ava took the dice in her hands and put them down without rolling. “I think I hear my phone. You play without me.” She raced up the stairs, cursing herself for not keeping her phone in her pocket like she normally did. She answered so quickly that she didn’t have time to notice who was calling.

“Hello?”

“Remember me?” the British accent asked.

Ava’s heart raced as she pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the caller ID.
Private Number.

“Where are you?” she whispered, sinking down onto her bed. She knew she should just hang up, and yet she continued to listen.

“The better question is where are you?” he replied. “I was just by your apartment, but apparently you’re not there.”

“I thought you were in jail,” Ava said.
Hang up, Ava! Hang up.

“I was, and now I’m not. So I’d thought I’d stop by your place for a little chat. I never did get to finish thanking you. Are you at your family’s house in Forest Hills?” Ava hung up the phone. Her hands trembled so much she could barely hold them still as she dialed Max’s number.

“He called me,” she blurted out as soon as Max answered.

“Who?”

“Thomas!” Ava shrieked. “Said he was out of jail, and that he went by my apartment to
finish thanking me,
but I wasn’t there. Then he asked if I was here. He knows where I am, Max! What if he shows up here?”

“I’m on my way. I was just packing to head back to school anyway. I’ll come to your house instead. Tomorrow, I’ll follow you back to school to make sure you’re okay. In the meantime, call the police.”

“But you’re four hours away!”

“Three and half … under three if I speed. Go make that call, Ava. Now. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Be careful.” Still trembling, Ava walked out of the bedroom. She barely made it to the top of the stairs without passing out.

“Ava!” Holly yelled from the living room where they were still playing Monopoly. “Dad just scored Boardwalk. You’d better hurry. I think he’s getting ready to trade with Tessa. Hey, are you okay?”

“No,” Ava cried. With one hand on her phone and the other on the railing, she tried to make it down. She stumbled on the first step. Running up to catch her, Mr. Haines helped her down the rest of the way to the couch.

~~~

“Max,” Ava’s mom said, coming down the stairs. “I’ve got the guest bed all made up for you. Are you sure I can’t get you anything to drink?”

“No, thank you, Mrs. Haines,” he replied.

Ava was curled in Max’s arm as they sat on the couch. Tessa sat next to them on the floor, while Holly and Mr. Haines sat on the opposite loveseat.

“It’s so wonderful to finally meet you, Max, although I’m sorry that we’re meeting like this,” Mrs. Haines continued, sitting in the rocker. She looked over to her husband. “I sure wish we had known earlier. We could have helped.”

“I didn’t know either,” Tessa stated, sounding hurt.

“I’m sorry,” Ava said. “We just didn’t want anyone to worry. We thought he was getting shipped out of the country, and we’d never have to worry about him again.”

“I apologize, too,” Max said. “I probably should have insisted Ava call or something. It’s like Ava said. At the time we thought it was over.”

“What’s done is done,” Mr. Haines commented. “The important thing is that the police in two towns are now on the case. We’ve already filled out the paperwork for the temporary restraining order, so if that monster comes within a hundred yards of you, Ava, he can be arrested.”

Ava nodded, unable to speak. Just the thought of Thomas coming within a hundred yards of her made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Ava, honey, why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest? You looked wiped out. Dinner won’t be ready for another couple of hours.”

“I don’t want to leave Max,” she replied. “I can rest here.” She adjusted her body into a reclining position, still leaning into the warmth of Max’s body.

Mrs. Haines pulled the quilt off the back of the couch and spread it over her daughter. “Girls!” she snapped. “Come on, let’s give them a little privacy now.”

Tessa and Holly groaned and followed Mrs. Haines out of the room. Mr. Haines also got up, but stopped to give Ava a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Ava murmured, taking Max’s hand and bringing it to her lips.

“Ava,” he said, pushing her hair out of her eyes, “I called the admissions people at my flight school on my way over. I told them I had a family emergency, and they said I could hold off on starting until next year.”

Ava sat up and stared at Max. “Absolutely not!” she said firmly. “No way.”

“But … I thought you didn’t want to be apart to begin with, and now this! I won’t be able to concentrate on anything out there if I’m worried about you.”

“And I would feel guilty everyday if you stayed behind because of me! I’ll be fine, honest. I’ve got the restraining order, and well, maybe I’ll get a dog or something. One with big teeth.” Ava showed her teeth, giving her best imitation of a dog while growling.

She knew she’d rather have Max stay back with her, but she could never forgive herself if he did. It’s not like he’d be able to watch her 24/7 anyway. She’d figure out a way to manage. She could always move back on campus and get a roommate or two. Plus, there were campus police all over the place.

Max smiled. “We’ll talk about it later. You really do look tired,” he said, “and now that I think about it, I am a little thirsty. I’m going to take your mom up on that drink. You want anything?”

Ava shook her head.

Max kissed her lips, then her forehead, before stroking her hair tenderly. “Okay, try not to worry, babe.” He kissed her again and headed toward the kitchen.

Chapter 35

Ava was completely out of sorts when the phone rang. She reached in the air for it while half asleep, wondering why it was she was on the couch in her parent’s living room in the pitch dark. She suddenly remembered.
Max.
He was there in the house with her, telling her to get some rest. Where did he go? Where was everyone? What time was it?

Ava pushed the quilt off of her and sat up. She inhaled deeply, relishing the aroma that brought back so many memories of her childhood.
It must be close to dinnertime.
There was no mistaking the smell of her mom’s pot roast. Ava reached for the wall to guide her out of the living room and into the hallway.
A small light shone through the kitchen door, and she could hear her father’s hushed voice coming from inside.

“I see,” he said. “Well, it’s never good news to get, but it’s definitely a relief … yes, sir, you have a good night as well. Thank you for calling.”

“So what did he say?” Ava heard her mom ask.

All eyes turned to Ava as she walked in the room. Her father was just hanging up the phone.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“You’re awake!” Max got out of his seat and offered it to her. She gladly took it, still feeling groggy.

“How was your nap, sweetie?” Ava’s mom asked. “You slept for a long time. Over two hours.”

Ava looked around the table. “I hope you weren’t holding up dinner on my account. Sorry about that. You should have woken me up.”

“Don’t be silly, Ava,” her mom said. “I’m just heating the leftovers from last night. They can wait.”

Max put his hands on Ava’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “You obviously needed your sleep. I came right back out to the living room after I’d gotten a drink, but you were already fast asleep. I didn’t want to wake you. Your family was all hanging out in the kitchen, so I thought I’d get to know them while you were sleeping. We’ve been talking this entire time, actually.”

Ava cringed. “Oh,” she said, looking up to Max. “Sorry.”

There wasn’t anything
wrong
with Ava’s family per se. It’s just that this was
the first meeting of the boyfriend
. True, it wasn’t the ideal situation. Normally Mrs. Haines made a big dinner, a minimum of three courses with extensive menu planning, whenever one of her girls invited a boy over for the initial meeting/interrogation. There was much stress, plenty of nervous laughter, and usually a few kicks under the dinner table. It all went smoothly as long as nobody broke the rule: under no circumstance were you to leave said boyfriend unattended with said family for more than three minutes.

Holly nudged Ava. “Now stop, you know we are all perfect hosts. Well, everyone except Tessa. She got bored after fifteen minutes and went over to her friend Emily’s house.”

“That sounds about right.” Ava laughed, but quickly stopped when she noticed her dad. He was sitting still at the end of the table with his head in his hands and hadn’t said a word since she had walked into the room. “Dad?” Ava asked. “Is everything okay?”

“That was Captain Andrews on the phone,” he responded flatly, motioning to the receiver on the counter behind him.

“The police officer who was here earlier?” Ava asked. She felt Max’s grip on her shoulders tighten.

Her dad nodded. “He received a call tonight from the Wolfenson police department. They found Thomas.”

“Oh thank heavens,” Mrs. Haines said.

Ava breathed a sigh of relief. “Did they arrest him?” she asked.

Mr. Haines smacked his lips together and replied, “No … they didn’t.”

“What?” Ava cried. “He’s clearly dangerous. First he drugged and attacked me, and now he’s stalking me. Not to mention the fact that he threatened me. Surely those are criminal offenses. Max, why didn’t they arrest him?” Ava looked at Max with tears in her eyes. She couldn’t believe this was happening. This horrible man, was going to get to go free, to wander around the same town as Ava? Did they really think a piece of paper signed by a judge would keep him away?

“Mr. Haines,” Max said, “did Captain Andrews say why they didn’t arrest him?”

“Yes,” her Dad answered, looking first to Ava, and then around the table to everyone else. “Thomas is dead.”

“Dead?” Ava whispered over the gasps coming from her mom and Holly.

Her dad nodded before explaining. “They found his body this evening when the police went over to the room he was renting to deliver the restraining order. He was hanging by his bed sheet.”

Ava turned and buried her head in Max’s chest. As much as she hated Thomas, she didn’t wish him to be dead. She only wanted him to be out of her life … preferably somewhere where he could get help. Apparently he needed more help than she thought.

“Captain Andrews said he left a note,” Mr. Haines continued.

Ava closed her eyes. The words would most likely haunt her forever. “What did it say?” she asked, hesitantly.

“There was a lot of stuff in there about how his career was over, and how he is nothing without his career, which the detective said is pretty typical in these situations. He apologized to you and several other women. He also talked about some stuff in his past. A lot of the note was written incoherently in gibberish. It was on the back of a photograph … one of his own, the police assumed. There were several photographs scattered about the room. Maybe fifty or so … landscapes.”

Ava nodded without responding. Whether her father knew more and wasn’t telling her, she didn’t care. She didn’t need to know his exact words. Max wrapped his arms around Ava, and she rested her head against him. The reality that she no longer had to worry about Thomas was starting to set in. She was ready to put this part of her life to rest.

Chapter 36

Max followed Ava as they drove back to Wolfenson. He helped her unload her car, stayed for a short while, then left to go to his own apartment. He would be leaving for California in just one week and had plenty of packing to do. After they received the news about Thomas, Ava insisted Max call back the admissions office to his flight school to tell them he’d be starting on time. For the first time since the incident, Ava wasn’t afraid to be alone in her own apartment, although she selfishly wanted to spend every minute of the week with Max.

She had just unzipped her suitcase to begin the arduous task of unpacking, when she heard a knock at her door.
He couldn’t stay away.
She laughed as she swung the door open.

“Ava!” Carly shrieked, throwing her arms around Ava and nearly knocking her over. “I’ve been sitting in my car across the street, waiting for Max to leave. I didn’t want to walk in on you two … you know.”

Ava pushed Carly away. “You’ve been stalking me?” she asked.

“Stalking’s such an ugly word, Ava. I just missed you, that’s all. Didn’t you miss me, too?”

 “Of course I missed you, Carly.” Ava looked at her friend and smiled. In a strange sort of way, she actually did miss her. They kept in touch regularly over break, but as with the case with her and Max, it just wasn’t the same as having her around in person.

“Well, you sure seem a lot happier,” Carly noted. “No offense, Av, but most of your texts the last few weeks were just downright depressing. To be honest I was kind of worried about you. That’s why I called Holly.”

“You called Holly?” Ava asked, feeling both confused and annoyed.

“And Max,” Carly said. “They didn’t tell you?”

“No, they didn’t,” Ava replied. “Why did you call them, and how did you get their numbers?”

Carly smiled and shrugged.

“See? You are a stalker!” Ava hollered.

 “Don’t be mad. I just … you really sounded awful in your texts, like about to take a bottle of pills and wash it down with a bottle of booze upset. And that’s not easy to do in a text, you know. Usually, texts are kind of like …
hanging out with my family again. Grandpa ate too much chili, and now the whole room smells like road kill … blah – blah – blah
. You know?”

Ava looked at Carly.
Honestly sometimes that girl comes up with the strangest stuff
.

“I’m surprised neither of them told you I called,” Carly said.