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She gives her head a shake and clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Oh dear. Don't listen to a word that comes out of his mouth. I love him like my own, but that young man never knows when to stop talking."
"I figured as much. Andre seems to have a set of loose lips."
Her soft, warm laugh fills the room. "I agree with you. I hope he didn't end up getting that from me after spending so much time over here. His mother didn't have anything to do with it. She’s as quiet as a mouse that one."
Yeah, that doesn't sound like Andre.
"My poor daughter has to deal with me embarrassing her all of the time. Is she mad at me? For earlier?" Anne asks, her hands submerged in the soapy water as she stares out the window above the sink.
"She'll be fine. She's tougher than she looks."
Anne nods her head, her eyes still staring into space.
"Can I ask you something?" I mutter, my cheeks flushed. She turns to me with a gentle smile and pulls her hands out of the sink. "Do you ever worry about when he'll be gone? It seems to be all I can think about since the other night."
She raises a now dry hand to her neck and grasps a locket dangling on a chain in a tight fist. "Of course, I do. But I know he'll always be here when we need him. My boy has been taking care of Gracie and me ever since his father passed away. It's time he did something for himself."
Time seems to slow as I drop the plate I'm holding. It shatters against the tiles as I stand frozen, my mind reeling. Anne calls my name and asks if I'm okay, but her voice sounds far away. I can barely hear her over the pounding of my heart. I nod my head numbly, a cold, bitter feeling sweeping over me.
I'm officially the worst girlfriend ever. How did I not know something like that? I figured his dad was maybe out of the picture by how little he talks about him, but I wasn’t expecting this. He avoids the topic of his dad at all costs, always changing the subject or getting frustrated and stomping off.
Why didn't he tell me? He knows everything about me. Every hidden secret, every memory I've tried so desperately to forget. I showed him everything about me and I get this in return? I get to find out his father passed away from someone else. I've known him for months, and he has never said a thing about his father's passing?
"Ava! Baby, are you okay?"
I feel two hands on my shoulders as familiar tingles rush through me. I focus on the soft green eyes staring at me expectantly.
Oakley is crouched in front of me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. I shrug him off and stumble out of the back door. I can hear his footsteps behind me as I lead the way outside. I come to a stop in the centre of the garden, barely noticing the damp grass wetting my socks.
"What's wrong? What happened back there? Answer me, baby. Please. I'm freaking out," he pleads, keeping a safe distance from me. "Did Andre say something? I swear to Go—"
"When did your dad die?" I whisper, both furious and sad. My hands are shaking, my heart's still pounding furiously in my constricted chest. He draws in in a sharp breath and I stand still, waiting for him to answer me.
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Nothing.
I shiveras the harsh wind nips at the bare skin on my face, but I hold firm. Then again, standing out here freezing my ass off is pointless if he's not going to talk to me. I turn to head back inside when he finally speaks again.
"When I was thirteen," he chokes out. Silence fills the bitterly cold air.
My questions die on my lips, yet my curiosity is unrelenting, nagging me to ask him what happened. My heart aches, guilt starting to bare its ugly head, silently punishing me for being so selfish.
"Car crash," he breathes, answering my unasked question. "He was hit by a drunk driver."
I blow out a long, drawn-out sigh and observe him, noticing his harsh swallows and rapid blinking.
"I don't want your sympathy, Ava. I've had enough sympathy to last a fucking lifetime," he hisses, the harsh words seemingly directed more so at the world than at me.
"Were you ever going to tell me?" I ask, my tone firm but gentle.
"Of course, I was. But it's not something I tell just anyone!" Oakley grumbles, raising his voice slightly towards the end of his sentence. His eyes widen and he swears under his breath when he realizes what he said.
A mirthless laugh escapes past my lips before I can stop it. "Just anyone? Really?"
Oakley rolls his eyes, incensing me further. "You know that's not what I meant, Ava."
"I don't think I do. I don't seem to know anything about you," I scoff, my voice rising with my temper. "You know, Adam warned me about this. I brushed him off because I thought that once you were done getting me to open up and tell you everything about my past, you would want to tell me about yours. I guess I was wrong. You're such a hypocrite!"
"Of fucking course. Adam certainly didn’t waste any time before trying to turn you against me. Are you seriously so naive that you can't see how obviously in love with you he is?" he snarls, throwing his arms into the air in exasperation.
