My heart leaps out of my chest when a screeching scream rips through my eardrums. My mom’s focus is no longer on the dirty dishes. She is staring at me wide-eyed, her face ashen and full of disbelief. Her squeal demands Ava’s attention. Following my mom’s fretful stare, Ava pivots around to face me. She intakes a quick, sharp breath as a flood of tears wells in her eyes. The wine glass she is holding plummets to the ground as she lifts her hand to clamp it over her gaped mouth, muffling her shockedscream.
The wine glass shatters as the first tear slides down Ava’scheek.
Chapter Seven
Ava
When an ear-piercing screamrattles my core, I pivot on my heels, panicked beyond comprehension at what has caused Mrs. Marshall to react in such a way. Her entire body is uncontrollably shaking, her face pale and clearly in shock. She looks like she has seen a ghost. I swing my eyes to the side, both eager and fearful to discover what has caused her unusual reaction. The air is vehemently removed from my lungs when my eyes lock in on a face I only see in my dreams. My hands become slicked with sweat causing my wineglass to slip from my grasp and plummet to the floor, shattering into a million pieces at my feet. My stomach swirls, threatening to spill its contents at any moment as my brain tries to comprehend what I'm seeing. It can’t be true. It can’t be him. He is dead. Gone. Nevercomingback.
I lift my hand to cover my gaped mouth while ensuring the contents of my churning stomach have no way of escaping. I snap my eyes shut and shake my head, compelling myself to wake up. I must have fallen asleep, or perhaps I’m in a food-induced coma from eating too many carbohydrates during Christmas dinner. My breath hitches halfway between my lungs and my throat when my eyes slowly flutter open and the visual of both my nightmares and dreams still stands before me. Even with half of his face shadowed by the brim of a baseball cap, I'd never forget that face: his plump, delicious lips, perfectly straight nose, and eyes that captured my soul and never gaveitback.
The shock on Mrs. Marshall’s face hasn’t lessened any as her head flings between Hugo and me. Even though she has tears streaming down her face, her excitement at seeing her youngest son again is evident all over her beautiful face. She graces me with a shaky smile before she dashes to Hugo. Her steps are slow and unstable, overwhelmed with the same emotions that are keeping my feet planted on the ground. Mrs. Marshall crashes into Hugo with so much force, a rustle of air parts his lips. She slings her arms around his neck as the sound of a tormented sob tears from her mouth. I lower my shaky hand to my thigh and pinch hard, urging myself to wake up. I pinch so hard, I’m going to be sporting a nasty bruise in the morning, but I don’t wake up.Surely, I'm dreaming. I havetobe.
Mrs. Marshall’s loud sobs secures the attention of the remaining Marshall residents still clearing away the mess of a chaotic Christmas day. Although we are all exhausted, none of us wanted to leave the burden solely on Mrs. Marshall’s shoulders. Mr. Marshall’s brisk strides to his wife falter when Hugo lifts his head from his mom’s neck. She’s accidentally knocked the cap off his head, fully exposing his Marshall family heirloom: his glistening babyblues.
I bite the inside of my cheek hard, battling to keep my tears at bay when Mr. Marshall’s knees buckle and he lands on the ground. Tears seep from his eyes as joy overwhelms him. I fling my tears off my cheek when Chase and Helen rush into the kitchen, their faces morphing from panicked to astounded in record-breaking time. They rush to aid their father off the ground before greeting Hugo with the same amount of enthusiasm their mother showed. I stand still, numb and in shock. My brain can’t comprehend the complexity of the situation, let alone command my legstomove.
The final person to enter the kitchen is Marvin. He appears more annoyed about the interruption to the football game he is watching than concerned for what caused Mrs. Marshall’s screams. Marvin props his shoulder on the doorjamb and swings his eyes around the room. My attention reverts to the gathering of Marshall members reuniting when Hugo loudly pats his brother on the back before stepping past him. My heart thrashes wildly against my ribs when his gaze locks with mine as he slowly paces to me. His eyes blaze into mine, rendering me even more motionless than my shock. A smirk curls on his lips as his heavy-lidded gaze runs over my face before lowering to absorbmybody.
Suddenly, his pace slows as he swallows harshly. His eyes are arrested by the diamond ring on my finger. I battle hard not to squirm when his fervent gaze burns the skin surrounding my engagement ring. When his eyes float back to my face, he musters up a fake smirk before continuing with his strides. The glint of happiness sparking his vibrant eyes dampens when I'm suddenly clutched around the waist and pulled into aheatedbody.
“We should go, Ava,” Marvin says, jerking me in tighter. “Our taxi has arrived,” he continues, gesturing his head to a yellow and black taxi parked behind an unfamiliar car in thedriveway.
I’m too dazed, stuck in an illusory state to form a response. Hugo’s eyes dart between me and Marvin as Marvin guides me past him and into the foyer. In a blur, Marvin shoves my coat into my hands and places my beanie on my head. Freezing cold winds blast my face when we step onto the back patio. My body is shaking intensely. I don’t know if it is from the crispness of the cold winter night or because I'm inshock.
“Ava,” says a voice from behind. A voice I immediately recognize.A voice I'll neverforget.
“Keep walking, Ava,” Marvin demands, seizing my elbow and dragging me towards thewaitingtaxi.
“Ava, wait,” Hugo says, stepping off the patio and following us down the concrete path. “Just give me a minute. That’s all I’masking.”
My eyes shoot up to Marvin, stupidly requesting permission. Marvin’s lips thin, and he briskly shakes his head. Yanking open the taxi door, Marvin snatches my coat from my hand, throws it into the taxi, and gestures his head to the cab, demanding for me toenter.
The disbelief hazing my normally astute mind clears when Hugo says, “Nothing’s changed. You’re still letting a man tell you what to do. First your dad, nowMarvin.”
Something inside me snaps, and for the first time in years, it isn’t my heart. I pivot on my heel, preparing to storm towards Hugo. Marvin snatches my wrist, halting my angry steps. Gritting my teeth, I yank out of Marvin’s tight grasp, my anger too great for him to stop me. A jolting pain spasms my arm, but I’m too irate toregisterit.
“Give me one goddamn minute!” I request to Marvin, snarling through clenchedteeth.
Marvin’s furious eyes burn into mine, but they hold no threat. Even if they did, nothing could stop me. My entire body shakes as I charge towards Hugo, stopping only when I'm within an inch of his face. I’m so close, our chests connect with every breath of air weinhale.
“Don’t you dare judge me!” I scream, ignoring the tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. “You don’t know what I’ve been through. The hell I wentthrough.”
My anger is so strong, I can barelybreathe.
I pound my enclosed fists on his chest. “You can’t come waltzing back into the picture, acting like nothing happened. It’s been five years, Hugo! Five goddamn fuckingyears!”
I step back, angrily brushing away a string of curls that have fallen in front of my face. “You can’t come back from that amount of time. You can’t pretend it neverhappened.”
“We have before,” he argues, stepping closer to me with his remorseful eyes bouncingbetweenmine.
My back molars snap together. “We were kids. Stupid pathetic kids too young to know any better,” I say, my voice lowering as the pain in my heartcripplesme.
Hugo shakes his head and steps closer to me. “The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited, or erased. It can only be accepted,” hequotes.
I hold out my hand, keeping him at a safe distance. “You can’t change the past, but you can learn from it. I let you back in my life once. I learned from my mistake. I'mnotgoing to make itagain.”
With that, I pivot on my heels and race back to the taxi. Ignoring the furious wrath of Marvin, I slide into the back seat of the taxi and slam the door shut, forcing Marvin to enter the taxi from the other side. When I raise my eyes from my balled fists, I'm met with the tormented face of Hugo, struggling to get out of his brother’s clutch. The silence in the cab amplifies the devastating sound of my heart being torn in two from the melancholy look on Hugo’s face as he furiously fights againstChase.
