“Is there anything I can do to stop nightmares?” I ask, my tone reserved.
Although my arrangement with Ava is working fine as it is now, I eventually want to wake up with her sleeping in my arms.
Avery’s brows furrow. “Are you having nightmares?”
Gritting my teeth, I nod. I know there is no harm in seeking help during a crisis, but this is different. My nightmares are based on real life events, not because I watched a scary movie before going to bed.
“Are your nightmares about what happened in Afghanistan?” Avery queries.
My eyes snap to her. “You know about what happened there?”
Her throat works hard to swallow. “Yes,” she replies, her eyes void of any of the judgement I was expecting to see. “Isaac supplied me with your details in the hope that I could help you through this, Hugo.”
Unable to maintain her eye contact, my eyes shift around the room.
“How long have you been having nightmares?” she asks, angling her head to the side, requesting my focus.
She has eyes like Ava. Inviting and warm.
“They stopped a few months after the incident, but they returned stronger than ever three weeks ago,” I reply, my tone short.
Avery sits on the edge of her chair and peers deeply into my eyes. “Was there a significant change in your life that triggered their return?”
A grin twitches my lips. “I have a girlfriend,” I say with a laugh, mortified by using a term only middle school kids should use.
A genuine smile spreads across Avery’s face. “That’s pretty significant,” she says with a waggle of her brows.
I chuckle and uncross my arms, loosening my arrogant stance. I know if I gave Avery the chance, I'd like her. She also doesn’t deserve to cop the wrath of the anger I’ve shown her the past six weeks when she calls trying to do phone consultations with me. Although her career path is horrible, so is Ava’s and Ireallylike Ava. Even if she is the equivalent of every child’s worst nightmare.
Avery’s smile sags when I say, “I also stopped drinking.”
She stares at me while nodding her head. “Alcohol can seem like an easy fix, but eventually, it isn’t even enough anymore. Until you work through the underlying issue causing your nightmares, they will never fully disappear.”
I nod before turning my eyes back to the window. I’ll never forget what happened in Afghanistan, so I guess I’ll never stop having nightmares.
Avery encloses her hand on my clenched fist. “Something may have happened that triggered the return of your nightmares. Do you know what that may have been?”
My heartbeat turns wild as an influx of guilt smashes into me hard and fast. I turn my eyes back to Avery. When I peer into her eyes, I could pretend I was looking straight into Ava’s. Avery’s arm shudders as the shake on my hand vibrates up her arm.
“Ava had blood. So did Gemma.”
Twenty-Seven
Ava
I dump my purse in the drawer of my desk and amble out of my office. With summer arriving early, I’m wearing a free-flowing cotton sleeveless dress, accentuated by the pair of rosy cheeks I’ve been wearing the past three weeks. There is no doubt, my V card has been well and truly handed in. I’ve had more sex the past few weeks than most women achieve by the time they are thirty. My sex life is so vigorous, I’m rarely seen without an aroused appearance. Even with my excitement being embarrassingly exposed, I wouldn’t change a single thing.
My relationship with Hugo has been going great. Almost too perfectly. He greets me every morning with a hot brew of coffee before seeing me off with a kiss on the lips, then I arrive at his office every evening for an early dinner. We’ve had sex at nearly every location we’ve visited. His truck. His office. The storeroom at a bustling nightclub. The den at Jorgie’s house. Unsurprisingly, the only place we haven’t slept together is at my work. Hugo is adamant he will never step foot inside my office, let alone sit in the dentist chair.
Smiling at the mortified look on Hugo’s face when I suggested he should drop in for a quick check-up today, I pace into the reception area to call in my first patient of the day. My eager steps falter when Marvin exits his office. Although his fight with Hugo was weeks ago, his face is still sporting some faded bruises from their exchange. He has spent the past few weeks ignoring me, which suits me just fine. I never had the intention of talking to him anyway.
When sidestepping Marvin, the cell phone in my white coat vibrates. Quickly, I slip it out of my pocket and peer down at the screen.
Jorgie:Lunch?
I smile while typing a reply.
Me:Sound greats. I’ll meet you at Capers at noon?
