35. AVA
AVA
I twirl around in the swivel chair, head thrown back, eyes closed, guitar on my lap as I strum some mindless melody. There’s a buzz of activity around me, and I’m trying to tune them out so I can center my mind in preparation for the concert.
To ease me back into work, Lou has arranged for me to perform in front of a couple thousand people. It’s a small festival, and even though the crowd is smaller than I’m used to, it’s perfect for me. I don’t think I can handle performing in front of too many people right now.
My mind wanders, and I find myself back at the ranch, in Zane’s arms as I play this same tune for him, lying back on his chest as we watch the stars.
That was such a wonderful night, and the outdoor sex—incredible.
We almost got caught by the guards on patrol, but that made it all the more thrilling.
I didn’t even get to play him the song I wrote in memory of Lilly. Will I ever get to play it for him? It’s been a little over a week since I left, and I didn’t realize that it was going to be this hard being away from them.
I am miserable as it is, and all I want to do is run back to Iron Stallion.
But I can’t do that. I left to keep Zane safe, but that problem is sorted now with my family behind bars.
Now I’m staying away because I’m too much of a coward to face any of them ever again, considering the way I left.
I should have spoken up, said something, but it’s too late now to be regretting.
My fingers pause on the strings, and I splay my palm over my stomach.
My little pebble is getting bigger day by day, and Zane is missing all of it.
The stress of keeping this secret is getting to me, and I am back to sleeping horribly and having nightmares.
I keep dreaming of my mother stealing my baby and Estevan helping her.
I can’t take the sleeping pills because I’m pregnant, so I’m going to have to power through such horrible nights.
Or get my natural remedy—Zane’s arms—and that’s impossible, so suffering it is.
A soft tap on my shoulder has me opening my eyes to find Lou smiling gently at me.
“Are you ready?” she asks, taking the guitar away.
I sit up straighter, give myself a moment to adjust so I don’t get dizzy before getting to my feet. “Yes,” I nod with as big a smile as I can muster.
Lou gets one look at me, and her face turns sour. “Who approved that? Did wardrobe give that to you? Take it off!” she demands, tugging at the shirt I’m wearing over my outfit.
“No,” I decline, pulling it tighter around me.
“It clashes with your outfit,” she reasons.
“Then change the outfit,” I retort.
She pauses to get another look, her eyes widening in recognition. “Is this another one of his shirts?”
I nod and smile, bringing it up to my nose to inhale his scent. I’ve been wearing a lot of Zane’s clothes, the ones I managed to bring with me, and they have been of huge comfort to me. I’m about to go on stage, and I need some of that, so I’m wearing his shirt.
“Noa, if you miss him that much, call him,” Lou demands, and she waves someone from wardrobe over.
That is not going to happen. I’ve yet to turn on my phone for fear of what I’ll be met with if I do. I’ll never turn it on—I’m too scared.
Lou and the lady in charge of wardrobe discuss for a minute before they pick another outfit that matches the shirt.
“Happy now?” I ask Lou.
“Yes, this is much better,” she nods approvingly.
Next step is getting the tech guys to put a mic on me, and we are good to go.
“Ella has been calling again,” Lou informs me as we test out the sound.
“What did she say?” I inquire, feeling guilty that my best friend has to go through all this to get in contact with me just because I’m too much of a coward to switch on my phone.
“Just checking in on you and demanding to talk to you. Please call the girl, Noa—she’s worried enough,” Lou insists.
As if I don’t already know that.
“I’ll call her after the show,” I relent, deciding that one phone call won’t hurt.
I’m also curious as to how Zane is doing. I hope he is faring better than I am.
Calling Ella will be a bit frightening, but it’ll be the first step into maybe trying to bridge the gap I’ve put between us.
“Are you nervous?” Lou asks as we leave my trailer headed for the stage.
“I’m okay, Lou. Stop fretting.”
“I can’t help it—I feel like you’re a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.”
I stop walking and she bumps into me. She’s a bit shorter than me, so I lean down to put us at eye level. “Lou, I’m okay. I’m good at keeping my professional and private life separate, so I’ll give an awesome performance out there. You don’t have to worry about that,” I assure her.
She takes a deep breath and relaxes her shoulders. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”
“Thank you. Now let’s do this,” I decree, just in time to hear my intro, and it’s game time.
I usually need to rehearse with backup dancers for some performances, but since this was rushed, I’ll be going onto the stage solo.
The crowd goes wild as I step up to the podium with my first performance of the day, an oldie but a goodie—Royal. I am feeling nostalgic and kind of want to do it as an apology to Ella.
The rest of my set is great—the crowd is electric, the DJ knows what he’s doing, and even when I start to get dizzy, I push through it to finish my allocated time. It’s already dark by the time I’m done, and Lou is there to receive me.
“I have a surprise for you,” she smiles mischievously, leaving me wondering what she’s up to.
I’m tired, and all I want is food and sleep, so it better not be an over-the-top surprise.
“What is it?”
Before she can reply, a familiar voice speaks up behind me. “Me.”
I turn around, coming face to face with my best friend, who immediately starts crying once our eyes meet.
“El.”
“Ava.”
I expect her to be mad at me and cuss me out, so when she hugs me instead, I am caught off guard. She smells so good and feels so warm—it’s a relief to be in her presence like this.
“When did you get here?” I inquire when we pull apart.
“We missed you just as you were about to get on stage. Thank you for the song, by the way. I loved it.”
I can’t believe she was here for the whole performance. “What are you doing here?”
“We came here to get you, duh. Didn’t think we’d just let you run off like that, did you?” she replies.
The wording in her statement makes my breath hitch. “We?”
She smiles and nods. “He’s waiting in your trailer.”
My heartbeat increases as I forget all my exhaustion. “Is he mad at me?” I whisper, scared of her answer.
“I don’t think he would be here if he was.”
Ella takes my hand and guides me to the trailer with Lou quietly following behind us. When we get there, I hesitate at the door, scared of what will happen when I walk in.
“Trust me,” Ella whispers just as she opens the door and shoves me in, just like the day of my debut when she pushed me into her brother’s arms.
This time he’s not there to catch me, so I have to steady myself. Instead, he is down on one knee, ring box open, with the most expectant look on his face.
“Ava Noa Ramirez, Miss Diva to me, will you marry me?” he asks, not wasting a moment or giving me time to catch my breath.
I look back to find Lou and Ella recording us on their phones with the biggest grins on their faces.
“Zane, what is this?” I wonder out loud.
He smiles, looking a bit uncomfortable, and I want to ask him to get up because of his leg, but I’m too stunned.
“Being away from you has been hell, and I’m done torturing myself.
I get it—I know why you left. I was just too stubborn to admit it.
Forgive me for taking so long. I don’t want to waste any more time; we have already lost enough.
So will you please do me the honor of marrying me and spending the rest of your life with me?
I promise to love you, protect you, and our baby—“
“You know?” I whisper, tears rolling down my cheeks as I wonder why he’s being so kind instead of cussing me out for leaving and hiding our baby from him.
“Yes, Ella found the positive pregnancy test in your room and told me.”
I turn back, and she nods, confirming it for me.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hide it from you,” I apologize.
“I know, baby. It’s okay—I’m not mad,” he assures me.
I wipe away my tears as I smile, wondering what I did to deserve this man.
“With that said, will you marry me? This position is starting to get a bit uncomfortable,” he asks again.
I nod hurriedly, stepping forward to help him up. “Sorry—yes, please get up.”
Once he’s on his feet, he winces but stops to look at me. “Yes?”
I hold my left hand out to him. “Yes, I will marry you.”
He takes the ring out of the box and slides it onto my finger before pulling me into his arms and kissing me.
This is not how I thought my day would end, but it has ended so much better. Zane is here—he came for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful. “I love you so much.”
He kisses my forehead and hugs me. “I love you most.”
“Thank you for coming after me.”
“I’d follow you to the end of the world.”
“No, he wouldn’t—he’s lying. I had to drag him here, kicking and screaming,” Ella shouts behind us, making me giggle.
“Shut up, Ella,” Zane grumbles. “I missed you,” he confesses into my ear.
“I missed you too.”
“Never leave my side again,” he pleads, pulling back to look into my eyes, letting me see how much my leaving hurt him.
“I wouldn’t dare,” I promise him as I lean up on my tiptoes to kiss him again.
I am never leaving this man, ever again. He is mine to keep and I am his. Forever.
THE END