AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“One shot and one beer. After that, I switched to soda because I was driving.”
“Please tell me you didn’t forget the cardinal rule of never accepting a drink from someone?”
“No, I didn’t, but why would you ask that?”
“I forget that you have been living under a rock throughout your teenage years.” She rolls her eyes. “I’m asking because I’m wondering if someone roofied your drink.”
“Why would someone do that?”
“If you are genuinely telling me the truth. They did it to get you into bed with Hadley so it would break you and Ava up but what I’m confused about is why Hadley would sleep with you when she had already sunk her claws into Logan. He was the one she wanted. Why would she go after you?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Have you spoken to her?”
“No. What’s the point? I asked her if we slept together, and she said yes.”
She runs her fingers over her lips, the wheels turning in her head. “I guess you’re right. What’s the point? It happened, and there is no going back. I guess it will remain a mystery, but right now, my real concern is Ava. She is not coping with this. The last time I saw her this low was when Blake died. You really hurt her, Mason.” Her words are like a knife to the chest, and I drop my eyes to the floor. “She’s honestly not in a good way, and with you constantly stalking her, it’s making it worse. She’s way too vulnerable right now, and she doesn’t have the strength to keep fending you off. She needs time to heal, and she can’t do that with you breaking into her house in the middle of the night, bombarding her with messages and following her everywhere she goes. I know my friend well, and she will never get past what you did. If you love her as much as I think you do then you will do the right thing by her and let her go.”
It’s like someone has just ripped my heart from my chest as her words sink in. She is right, I need to let her go, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t want to give up.
Uncrossing her legs, Lyndsey stands up and starts to walk away but pauses for a moment. “For what it’s worth. I never saw her as happy as when she was with you, but I’ve also never seen her this heartbroken… please don’t hurt her anymore.”
I watch as she walks away. She has said her piece, and it’s up to me to do the right thing by Ava. I need to stop hurting her. Somehow I need to find a way of letting her go.
* * *
“You are an idiot!”Max screams, and I have no doubt it’s at Nix.
A commotion broke out in the front study just moments before. I could hear the loud crash from my stool in the kitchen. Fuck knows what they have done in there, but when I listened to my mother’s yelling a minute later, I knew that my idiot brothers had broken something.
Condensation drips down the bottle of soda in front of me, and I mindlessly watch it make the slow journey all the way to the bottom. The kitchen door swings open, and my mother storms in, flustered. Not sparing her a glance, I continue to stare at the bottle, my thoughts not really connecting to anything as I trail my finger down the stained path left behind by the small droplet of water.
I spot her in my peripheral vision stepping up to the bench right across from me.
“Talk to me,” she says, but I continue to ignore her, refusing to meet her determined stare.
I have told her that Ava and I broke up, but I didn’t tell her why and I have no intention of telling her. She would be disgusted with what I have done.
“Mason, look at me.”
Sighing in defeat, I lift my eyes to hers, only to look away again when I see the worry in her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You have walked around here like a zombie for two weeks now. I can see you’re hurting. It may help to talk about it.”
“Talking about it won’t change anything.”
“Have you talked to Ava?”
I nod my head. “I’ve tried, but—” My words get stuck in the lump forming in my throat, and my chest tightens.
“Tell me what happened between you two,” she asks softly.
My bottom lip trembles uncontrollably as the lump in my throat expands. The more I try to fight it, the more determined it is to break free. A tear falls down my cheek, and I choke out a sob, finally accepting defeat. “I fucked up, Mom.”
I place my face in my hands and give in, allowing the tears to cascade down my face like a waterfall as my whole body racks with uncontrollable sobs. “I fucked up so bad.”
She rounds the bench and wraps her arms around me tight. “It’s okay,” she soothes.
