“A broke coffee queen,” I said flatly.
“So what?” Ava asked. “I’ll ask Daddy to reload our account.”
I sighed. To Ava, this was a non-issue. To me, it felt like one breath away from living on the streets again.
“I don’twantto ask your dad for money, pidge,” I said. “I want to provide for you. I may only be making pennies per hour at the factory, but at least I’m providingsomething, even if that’s just a few snacks a week and one bottle of shampoo a month. I didn’t come from a place where money is limitless. It’s a precious resource to me, and it scares me that it’s all gone.”
“Oh,” Ava said quietly. “I see.”
Why didn’t you stop her?I demanded of Oberi.
I’m an enabler,she said.It’s not my job to prevent Ava from living her best life.
I gritted my teeth. This wasn’t okay, and it brought up all types of scary things for me.
Ava must’ve felt that, because her tone softened. “Charlie, I’m so sorry. Money has never been an issue for me, so I didn’t think this would be a problem. If it really bothers you, we can make a budget. It’s what married couples do, right?”
Her offer struck me, and I realized I was being too hard on her. She sounded genuinely sorry, and she wanted to work with me on this— as a team. If she said it was an honest mistake, then it was an honest mistake. Ava wanted to love and be friends with everyone, and she was just trying to be nice. She wasn’t good with money, but I could help her with that. I could manage our finances so something like this never happened again.
I relaxed. “That sounds helpful. I like the idea of doingmarried couplethings with you, even while we’re locked up.”
Ava snickered. “We’ve been doing married couple stuff all week.”
I smirked. “Besidesthat.”
“You can handle our finances,” Ava offered. “I’m used to it anyway, since my parents had to regulate my spending. If someone’s not telling me how much I can spend, I’ll blow it all.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” I said sarcastically. “But I think this will be good for both of us.”
“Did you still want to help me with physical therapy today?” Ava asked.
“Yeah, of course.” I placed my hands on the back of her wheelchair. “I have just the place.”
Since the doctors didn’t give a shit about Ava’s treatment, it was up to me to help her with physical therapy. I wheeled her to Cellblock 7, to the room where Chancey had stashed his stolen work-out equipment. I placed my hands on her legs, and I helped bend her knee and stretch her ankles to keep blood flowing to her legs. Ava shivered as my hands traveled up and down her legs.
“Everything all right?” I asked.
“Just watching you do that… it reminds me of what it used to feel like,” she said. “It’s sexy.”
I smirked. It wasdefinitelysexy running my hands up and down her body. “Right now’s not a great time, pidge.”
She chuckled lightly. “Are you afraid we’ll get caught?”
“You certainly wouldn’t mind,” I teased. “You’d fuck me in front of the Warden if you could get away with it.”
“Hell yeah, I would,” she said. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it, too. I have this fantasy where you hang me upside down from the ceiling in the entry hall, and you fuck me in front of everyone.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Upside down? I don’t even know how that would work.”
“Oh, we’d find a way. I want the Warden to know exactly how much I don’t give a fuck about anything he says.”
“By… giving a fuck in front of him?” I laughed.
Ava chuckled, and I was happy to hear she was having a good time. “Exactly. It was Ivy’s suggestion, really.”
I frowned. “I thought you and Ivy weren’t talking.”
“Not really, but I still want to help him,” she said. “He’ll get better. I know he will.”
