Chapter 4
Cole sat at the edge of his bed, rubbing his hand over his chin.
It was getting scruffy. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and he contemplated doing it then, but wasn’t ready to leave the room yet.
He could hear Ava moving around in the living room and had been avoiding her since the day prior when she yelled at him.
She was clearly going through a lot after dropping her sister off, and he didn’t want to add to it.
They needed to talk, but not when she was dealing with other emotions that didn’t involve him.
The cycle was vicious. Whenever an opportunity presented itself, something with Ruby would come up, and then all focus would go to her.
Not that he was complaining. Ruby deserved far better than what life handed to her, and if he could help Ava make things a little easier on her, he would do it in a heartbeat.
Even if it meant prolonging an overdue conversation he and Ava really needed to have.
His phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts, and Kelly’s name popped up on the screen. He immediately smiled and answered. “Hey, sis. How’s Montana?”
“Great! How are things there?”
Cole laid back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. “Oh, you know. Same stuff, different day.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure.” The doubt in her tone was obvious.
“What?” Cole asked.
“Oh, please. I’ve been sitting here silently waiting for one of you to talk, and now you’ve both gone silent, and I can’t take it anymore. What the heck is going on between you and Ava?”
Cole rubbed his eyes. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
He sighed, but remained silent.
“Cole, look. I know something happened between you two about five months ago. I realized it only got more awkward between you two the more I tried to get us all to hang out. Now I suspect that it’s only gotten worse since I’ve been gone.
I don’t want my two best friends to be on the outs with each other.
You two should be joining forces now that I’m gone. ”
He frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She sighed loudly. “Cole, seriously. Are you that oblivious to the fact that I’ve wanted you two to get together for forever?”
“What?” He sat up and scooted back against his headboard. “You have?”
“Yes! I would love nothing more than for you two to get married and have babies.”
He blushed.
“Stop blushing,” she said.
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. You’re my twin. I know all.”
“So what do you propose I do?” Cole asked.
“You fight for her, dummy!”
“Kel, she won’t listen to me.”
“Then make her listen.”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. He had been trying to make her listen, but it hadn’t gone well at all.
“I’ll try my best,” he said. “So how are you?”
She sighed happily. “Amazing. Love feels good. And you and Ava need it too.”
He rolled his eyes. Of course Kelly was going to turn it back to him when he was trying to change the subject. They were cut from the same cloth. “Okay, okay. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good. And I’ll see what I can do.”
“Kel, it might be best if you stay out of this one. I think she and I need to work it out.”
“She’s my best friend, which means I can pry like I’m doing with you.”
She had a point. It would be unlike her not to pry.
“Fine. I should let you go, though. I need to talk to her.”
“Yes, yes. You should go. Make haste.”
Cole snorted. “Love you.”
“Love you more.”
They ended the call, and Cole stretched his arms above his head. It was time to stop procrastinating and talk to Ava.
He walked to his door and opened it, immediately hearing the sound of vomiting. He jogged to the bathroom and peeked inside to find Ava kneeling in front of the toilet.
“Oh no. It got you?” he asked.
“Go away.”
“Nope.” He stepped inside and grabbed her hair, pulling it back as she wretched.
“Seriously. You don’t need to see me puke. It’s not flattering.”
He snorted. “Pretty sure I’ve seen it all. We’ve been friends forever.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
Before he could reply, she wretched again. He waited until she was done and then helped her stand.
“I’ll get you some ginger ale. Come to the couch when you’re ready,” he said.
He walked to the kitchen and filled a glass with ice and then poured ginger ale over it.
Cole didn’t expect her to actually come to the couch.
He thought she would go to her room and lock him out, so he was pleasantly surprised when she laid down in the living room.
He set the glass on the coffee table within her reach, along with a bowl in case she needed it.
Then he pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and laid it over her.
“Want to watch a movie?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said, her voice muffled by the pillow she rested her head on.
Improvement.
He sat down on the other couch and found her favorite movie, an old romantic comedy. Without asking for an opinion, he turned it on.
“I like this one,” she murmured.
“I know.”
Halfway through the movie, she was back in the bathroom, and he dutifully held her hair back as she wretched.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“Because you’re my best friend, and you deserve to be taken care of too.”
She didn’t say anything else. Once she finished, he helped her up again and back to the couch. She fell asleep shortly after, and Cole finished the movie while keeping an eye on her.