Chapter 22 #2
“He knows the real me,” she said with a nervous laugh, her mind desperately trying to back it up. “I mean…I just…don’t play video games much anymore or wear super pink things because I’m an adult now.”
“Oh, I wasn’t aware that having fun wasn’t allowed when you’re an adult.”
“Of course it is,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “But…we just…do different fun things.”
“Oh, what fun things?”
She snapped her gaze to him, pulling away from his grasp. “Lots of things. What is this? The Inquisition?”
“I’m just trying to get to know him.”
She stopped, digging her feet into the sand as he tried to tug her further. “By suggesting that we have no fun, he doesn’t know me, and you low-key hate him?”
“Ava,” Alex said with a shake of his head.
She wagged a finger at him. “Don’t Ava me. Chris is a good guy.”
Alex threw his hands to his sides. “He might be. But is he a good guy for you?”
She crossed her arms, cocking a hip. “Oh, and you think he’s not a good guy for me. Why? Because we don’t game? Because I’ve grown up and Chris has too.”
“So, what? I haven’t?” Alex asked.
She shrugged. “Well, you still live like we’re in college.”
“Is that such a bad thing? We were happy then.”
“We all have to grow up, Alex. Maybe if you had, you wouldn’t have had millions stolen from StoneCorp!”
“Wow, tell me how you really feel, Avs.”
Tears burned her eyes, and she slid them closed. She hated herself for what she said. It had popped out in an extreme moment of frustration. Her emotions had been a rollercoaster since she’d seen him again.
She covered her face with her hands.
Warm arms wrapped around her. “Ava…”
“I’m sorry,” she said with a sob as she slid her arms around his neck. “I didn’t mean that. I didn’t–”
“I know. You’re frustrated. The question is…why? Avs, if this is how frustrated Builder Bro makes you, maybe you should re-evaluate things.”
She sucked in a breath, refusing to raise her eyes to him as she choked out her words. “No. I just…it’s just…I’m tired. And things have been really topsy-turvy with this entire situation and–”
“Okay, okay, easy. We don’t have to figure anything out tonight.”
“There’s nothing to figure out,” she said. “Things just need to settle down.”
She finally lifted her teary eyes to him, sucking in a breath as she desperately hoped he agreed.
His features pinched, and for a moment, she thought he would argue, but then his face softened. “Right, okay. Let’s let things settle down.”
He rubbed her shoulders as she wiped at her cheeks and sniffled. “Ava, relax. It’s okay.”
“I just feel bad.”
“Come on, Avs, we’ve had fights before. They never last. You know that.”
“I never said what I just said,” she answered with a sniffle as guilt racked through her.
He pulled her closer into a bear hug as she buried her face in his chest. “Ava, calm down. You’re making more of this than it is. We’ve both said plenty of things we haven’t meant in the heat of the moment.”
She slid her arms from around his neck to around his waist and squeezed.
“It’s okay,” he soothed as he laid his cheek on the top of her head. “There is enough going on that you don’t need to be worrying about this.”
She lifted her chin to gaze up at him with a pout. “I am worried about it. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to lose you.”
“You will never lose me, Ava,” he said, his voice a low whisper.
“Do you promise? I can be kind of a handful.”
He grinned at the words. “I know. And I married you anyway.”
“Oh, you were in it for the money.”
He chuckled. “Now, can we put this behind us?”
“As long as you’re sure you’re okay. If you want me to make it up to you somehow, I will.”
“What? Like, do my laundry for a week? I have people for that.”
“No, like…I don’t know…game night? Make you breakfast?”
“Mmm,” Alex murmured. “Well, if I can segue this into a game night, I’m taking it. I’ll pass on the breakfast. You can’t cook.”
“I can, too.”
“Ava…”
“Okay, I can’t. I still stink in the kitchen.”
“And it still doesn’t matter. It has never mattered.” He stared down at her, something unreadable in his eyes, as the waves crashed on the sand, the water licked at their feet.
“Ah, that’s cold!” She stiffened, rising to her tiptoes.
“You want to head back?”
She nodded. “We probably should. Chris is probably wondering where we are.”
“And he’s uptight enough to be upset,” Alex said as they started back to the house. “Sorry. See, I say mean things, too.”
“You didn’t say it about me.”
“Okay, fine. Do you want me to say something mean to you so you feel better?”
She glanced up at him. “I don’t know. Depends on what it is that you’re going to say.”
He grinned at her. “You stink at cooking and baking.”
“That’s not mean, that’s just a fact,” she said with a laugh.
“All right, ummm, you’re kind of uptight now that you’ve ‘grown-up’.”
“I am not,” she said, her voice incredulous.
“Well, I had to say it. Now we’re even.”
Her features pinched as she shuffled along the sand.
“Don’t take it too seriously, Avs,” he said as he rubbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to his side. “It means as much as what you said.”
“I didn’t mean it,” she answered.
“I know. And you know I didn’t mean it, see? We’re friends. We’re allowed to get mad at each other.”
They reached the boardwalk leading back to his house, and he lifted her into his arms.
“You don’t have to carry me.”
“You’re right. I should have made you carry me after our argument.”
She rolled her eyes at him as they reached the house, finding the sliding door still ajar. She narrowed her eyes at it, cocking her head.
“Looks like Chris doesn’t know how to close doors,” Alex said as he took a step toward it.
She thrust out a hand, stopping him. “Wait. Something’s off about this.”
He froze, staring at her. “What?”
“Chris would never leave the door open. Like never. Once I left my screen door propped open…wow. You would have thought I flooded the entire house.”
“Chris is a little uptight about doors being opened?”
“Yep. We’re not heating the outside, Ava!” She crept closer to the door and leaned in. “Chris?”
He didn’t answer.
“It’s a big house, maybe he didn’t hear you.”
“Stay behind me.”
Alex fell in line behind her as she crept into the house, keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible.
Her heart pounded against her ribs as she called out again. “Chris?”
A muffled noise answered her. Her stomach clenched, her brows furrowing.
“What is that?” Alex whispered.
“I’m not sure.”
“Should we get the gun?”
“I don’t need a weapon to be dangerous. It sounds like it’s coming from the kitchen.”
He grabbed onto her arm, his palm sweaty against her skin.
“Just stay close, okay?”
He bobbed his head as she passed the fireplace and turned into the kitchen. His laptop sat open on the corner, an image filling it.
A cold shiver ran down Ava’s spine, her knees threatening to buckle beneath her. The screen illuminated Chris’s wide-eyed, terrified expression, his voice silenced by a rough gag, his body restrained. Each detail etched itself into her mind, a silent scream echoing in the quiet kitchen.