Page 107 of Where Roads Lead

“Because I’ve given you time and waited for weeks now, and you’ve still yet to mention, let alone introduce us to your new girlfriend.”

Ava choked on her seltzer, and if my mouth wasn’t empty, I might’ve done the same.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“You and that new girl. What’s her name? Elsa?”

Ava snorted, and I shot a glare in her direction.

“Elsie,” I corrected, despite not wanting to even get into the topic of her at the dinner table with my parents.

What was I? Fifteen?

“Yes. I’ve heard it from multiple people that the two of you spend quite a lot of time together lately,” she stared at me pointedly, “and I just don’t think it’s fair that you’d keep such exciting news to yourself. I mean, honestly, Will, are you ashamed to introduce us to her? Are we that much of an embarrassment to you?”

“Since when do you listen to town gossip? You’ve said yourself no one here ever knows what the hell is going on.”

“Yes, that’s true, Will, and I would’ve written it off as nonsense if I didn’t notice a change in you, myself.”

“I don’t know how that’s possible because I’m not dating anyone,” I said solidly. “And if I were dating Elsie,” the words coursed through me like an adrenaline rush I wasn’t expecting, “then I wouldn’t bring her around here, considering Ava’s been nothing but awful to her since she showed up.”

Ava kicked me under the table, as if we were still kids and I was tattling on her to my parents. But if she wasn’t ashamed to be acting like that in front of everyone else, there was no reason she should expect me to hide it.

“You don’t like her, dear?” My mother frowned, sympathetic as always with her daughter-in-law.

“I don’t mind her, either way,” Ava said. “We just haven’t gotten a chance to get to know each other very well yet.”

“Oh, really? Is her showing up to save your ass when you needed help babysitting not enough time to get to know her? Or everyday she spends in the café where you choose to act like she’s not even there?”

My mother scrambled to make sense of the conversation. “Babysitting? You mean a few weeks ago?”

“It’s not my fault that you seem to take up so much of her time.” Ava glared at me. “Why would I go wait on her at the café when you seem to jump in the second she needs absolutely anything?”

“It’s called helping our customers.” I scowled.

“Yeah? Well, what’s it called when you go spend the night at her house?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I gritted out.

“I was told your truck was there the entire night on Halloween,” she said, tone heavy with accusation.

“Does no one have anything better to do than keep track of what I’m doing? I swear, no one in this town has a life—”

“So are you denying it?”

“No.”

“Then explain the situation, Will,” she demanded. “If you aren’t dating her, then why were you there?”

I didn’t need to explain anything to her, and the thing that had always infuriated me most about Ava was how she thought the world owed her something.

That I, specifically, owed her something.

Explanations. Answers. Conversations.

“I don’t know why we bothered with this tonight,” I said, standing from my seat. “As if us all getting together would make the day any more bearable.”

“Will,” my mother said, eyes springing with tears that instantly worked to sober me. “Please.”