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.”
