29. 29
29
No missed calls. No missed texts. Nothing.
It had been five days since he’d last spoken to Ava, each feeling like a year in limbo. Will flopped his cell phone back onto the nightstand and rubbedhis face in the dark, replayingthe argument in his head.
He’d never seen Avamad before. She was stubborn, unwilling to listen,andjealous.
And, still, he missed her.
Fiercely.
He rolled onto his side, and a moment later, the tiny screen illuminated the room. He snatched his phone, heart racing.
One newtext message. Hetapped the notification, and it took him to his and Ava’s text log. A new text showed at the bottom:
AVA: You up?
WILL: Yes.
AVA: Can I call you?
WILL: Absofuckinglutely.
Suddenly,his phone chimed. He swallowed hard andanswered.
Silence.
“Ava?”He cleared his throat.
“Hey.”
Will’s heart skipped a beat at her voice. It had only been a short time, but the sound of itmade his stomachflip with excitement.
“I want to trust you.” She paused. “I just need to know I’m not being playedagain.I can’t take another cheater, Will. I can’t do it. Last time, it broke my fucking heart into a million pieces.”
“I would never do that to you, Ava. I care about you. I want to be with you. But that means you need to be able to trust me. Otherwise, this will never work.”
“I believe you.” Ava’s voice seemed quiet and uneasy.
“If you just give me thechance, I will prove it to you.With my actions .”
Silence.
“I waswondering if we could go awaytogetherfor the weekend.”
He felt as if all of the air had been sucked from the room. “You know I can’t do that, Ava. I have a child.”
The line went silent for a moment .
“I’m sorry.It was stupid of me to even ask.”
Will wanted so badly to say yes. The wordbit at his tongue, begging him to release it, but he held it at bay. “I have no one who can watch her overnight.I barely trust the babysitter for a few hours. She’s just a kid herself , pretty much.”
“I know.”
“I’m sort of on my own here.”
“Right. I’m sorry,” Ava croaked, regretting the question.
“Where were you wantingto go?”
“I was going to take youto Salem.” She quickly corrected herself, “Oregon, not Massachusetts. That would be crazy.”
“Yeah,” he chuckled.
“The cherry trees start blossoming soon. They do a whole festival for it. I’ve always wanted to go.More than anything, it was just an excuse to be alone with you.”
“Well, I know it’s not much, but my babysitter is free on Saturday.”
“Fantastic. How about we have dinner at my place? Around seven?I’ll cook you something in my now-clean kitchen.”She chuckled softly.
“What a treat. I’d love that.”
“It’s a date.”
Will swore he could hear her smile through the phone.