Chapter 36
thirty-six
AVA
“Ava! Wait! This isn’t a good idea.” Quinn rushes up behind me.
I may be four inches shorter than her, but when I’m on a mission it’s as if I’m six feet tall. “No. This is a fantastic idea.” I charge ahead, storming toward the hospital doors. “It’s long overdue. I should have done it back in Boston before I came here.”
“Ava, Gage doesn’t want you to do this,” Declan says from behind Quinn.
“Well, he isn’t here right now, is he?”
“That’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not. That’s the point!” I stop so abruptly it causes a chain reaction. Quinn runs into me, grabbing my shoulders to keep us both steady, and Declan does the same to her.
“Squirt—”
“No,” I interrupt, holding my palm out to stop him. “I know what you’re trying to do using that nickname, and it won’t work.” I let my hand fall and swallow the lump forming in my throat before continuing. “If I had just done something about Brian after the first night in Boston, none of this would have happened.”
“Ava.” Quinn’s voice is stern, more than I’ve ever heard it before. “None of this is your fault, so you need to get that idea out of your head.”
“Quinn—”
“No.” Tears well in her eyes, and I’m immediately on edge. “This isn’t about me, and I don’t want to make it about me, but when we make it through this, you and I are going to sit down and talk about how I know without a shadow of a doubt that this isn’t your fault.”
Declan’s hands never left Quinn’s shoulders after he ran into her, but I see them tighten a fraction as he steps further into her space, pressing a kiss to the back of her head.
“If you want to go in there and give Brian and your parents a piece of your mind, then we’ll be right behind you. But you will not walk in there thinking this is your fault.”
I don’t know what happened to Quinn, but I can guess based on how she’s talking to me—like she knows exactly what I’m thinking—and I hate that she gets it.
My eyes shift to Declan’s. “She’s right. We’re behind you every step of the way.”
“Thank you,” I tell them, pulling them both in for a hug before turning away and marching to the desk in the main lobby.
“Good evening. Visiting hours are over for the night. Unless you’re family, you’ll need to come back tomorrow.”
“My husband, Brian Wellsley. I believe my parents are already with him.” The lie comes a little too easily, but all I care about is getting into that room—and I’ll do whatever is needed to get there.
“Oh, yes, of course. He’s been taken up for observation. Third floor, room 314.” The look in the receptionist's eye tells me everything I need to know. Brian has already made his presence more than known in this hospital. The fact that he didn’t even need to check the computer in front of him to tell me where Brian is proves it even more.
“Thanks.” I offer a tight smile before turning for the elevators to our right.
We’re quiet on the ride up to observation. I don’t know what Quinn and Declan are thinking about, but all I can focus on is figuring out how to get Brian to drop the charges. I’ll never forgive myself if Gage loses his job over this. I know Quinn doesn’t want me to blame myself, but it’s easier said than done.
There’s a sick satisfaction seeing the bruises on Brian’s face when we walk into his room. I’ve never wished harm on another human being, but there isn’t a single ounce of me that feels bad for Brian.
“Oh, thank God. I knew you’d see reason.” My mother stands from her seat beside the bed.
“I don’t know why you think I’m here, but I can promise you it’s not because I’ve finally agreed to whatever you have planned.”
“Ava.” My father pinches the bridge of his nose, exasperation clear in his voice.
“No. I’m done listening to all of you. Here’s what’s going to happen.” I step to the foot of the bed, eyes zeroing in on Brian. “You’re going to drop all charges against Gage, and then you’ll go back to Boston where I’ll never hear from or see you again.”
“And why would I do that?” he sneers.
“Because if you don’t, I’ll press charges against you, both in Boston and here.”
“They’ll never stick.”
“I’m not done,” I seethe. “I’ll also talk to every news outlet that will listen to me. You’re right that the charges might not stick, but the media? They’ll eat this story up, and you’ll be ruined anyway.”
I see the anger flare in his eyes, but I also see the moment he recognizes the truth in my statement. The press picking up this story will destroy him and the firm if I share that they fired me after Brian tried to rape me.
He growls but nods his head. “I’ll drop the charges.”
I turn to my parents. “I don’t care what you do, but you will never contact me again. I knew you were selfish, but I never thought you’d intentionally put me in danger. I’m done with you, in every sense of the word.”
“Ava.” My mother steps forward, desperation clear in her voice. She reaches for me, but I step back, and her hand falls. “If you don’t do this, your father and I will be ruined.”
“And I should care why?”
“We’re your parents.”
“You might have given me life, but you haven’t been parents since I was old enough to walk.”
“If you don’t do this, we’ll lose everything.” My father finally speaks, standing from his seat.
“Okay, I’m curious.” Declan steps further into the room, his arms banded across his chest. “Why will you be ruined?”
“There are things you don’t know about, things that your mother and I did before we ever had you, and those things are coming back to haunt us.”
“Well, I guess you have to live with that now, don’t you?” Maybe I should care more, but I can’t find it in me. I turn back to Brian. “You’ll call the sheriff tonight and you’ll tell him you’ve reconsidered and are dropping the charges. If Gage isn’t out of that jail cell in an hour, I’ll call the Globe. Melissa might not be my sister-in-law anymore, but she’ll print this story faster than you can say objection.”
I don’t wait for a response; I leave the room without a backward glance. I’m surprised that I’m not even a little curious about what “things” my father was alluding to, but I truly don’t care. I just want all of them out of this town and far away from me.
“Damn, girl.” Quinn laughs as she jogs up to my side, throwing her arm over my shoulder. “I’m so glad I got to see that.”
“That felt way better than I thought it would.”
“Of course it did.”
“Where’s Declan?” I ask, noticing he’s not with us.
“You know he had to give them all a piece of his mind. He’s a fixer, and someone he cares deeply about was hurt.”
I lean my head against her shoulder, taking comfort in the knowledge that I have so many people in my corner. I’ve always known Declan would do anything for me, and for the last five years, I’ve known Scott and Caleb would do the same. But since showing up in Ashford Falls two months ago, I’ve gained so much more than I ever thought possible. It feels good fighting for it.
I’m pacing the length of Gage’s living room when I hear his keys in the door and freeze. I know Gage will be happy that he’s not getting charged and won’t lose his job, but he’s also going to be pissed I didn’t listen to him.
Declan and Quinn wanted to wait with me, but I wouldn’t let them. This is something Gage and I are going to have to talk about alone.
He steps through the door and sees me immediately. “What the hell did you do, Rebel?” He doesn’t sound angry. If anything, he sounds like he’s in pain.
“I couldn’t let you sit in a jail cell all weekend. Not when I could do something about it.”
“I told you not to go see him. I didn’t want you to have to look that bastard in the eye, not after everything he’s already done.” He toes off his shoes as he drops his keys on the side table by the door before moving around the couch to stand in front of me.
“I know, but it wasn’t right, Gage. You didn’t deserve to be there, and I could fix it.” I want so badly to be in his arms right now, but I keep myself where I am. “You would have done the same thing for me,” I whisper.
Without warning, he cups my cheeks in his hands, pulling me forward and into a searing kiss. My hands fall to his waist, holding his shirt in a grip so tight my knuckles hurt.
If I’m honest, I was terrified this evening, not just when I was pinned against that wall at Murphy’s but standing in that police station waiting to find out what would happen to Gage. Afraid that he might blame me for everything he was going through. I know it was stupid of me to think for even a second that Gage would blame me, but in that moment, I was afraid of losing him, and I couldn’t have that.
“I love you more than I ever thought possible.” Gage pulls back. Still holding my face in his hands, his eyes bounce between mine. “And you’re right. I would have done the same thing and more, so it’s not fair for me to hold it against you.”
“You’re my favorite thing,” I repeat the words he said a week ago, finally understanding what he meant when he said them.
Gage is everything I love about the world and my life, all wrapped up in one beautiful soul, and I’m so incredibly lucky to have found him. I know there’s still so much for us to learn about each other, and if I’m being honest, I’m excited to learn everything I can about this man. He was made for me, just like I was made for him. I feel it all the way to my very bones.