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Chapter 36
Jack
It had been nearly a week since the incident with my father and I still hadn’t talked to Ava. There was a part of me that yearned for her, to hear her voice, to feel her skin, to kiss her lips, but it was like…she knew too much.
She knew too much about what my parents were like, she may even know the more disturbing aspects of my adolescence that my father alluded to when he was talking to her. I could barely look at her, especially after spending the night at her house and witnessing the functional, loving home she’d been raised in.
But I missed her. I missed the fuck out of her. It was excruciating keeping my hands off her, letting her walk to class alone, seeing other fucking guys starting to talk to her, having noticed my distance.
Again, this is where I’d dive into my phone and pick a girl at random, hook up with her and release this fucking miserable tension. Lose myself in a couple of hours of commitment-free sex. I opened up my phone numerous times, but I’d just end up staring at Ava’s name at the top of my contacts list and close the phone in aggravation.
I walked into chemistry, unable to avoid looking to her seat to see if she was already there, but she wasn’t. She was always late for this class, something I used to give her shit about. She used to go on and on with excuses, but the reality was she just always ran late. It was something that never bothered me, a quality I thought was kind of cute about her because she wouldn’t admit it she needed to manage her time better. Thinking back to our silly conversations sent a pang though my chest, but I ignored it and sat in my seat next to Donovan.
“Hey, Becker,” he greeted me good-naturedly.
“Hey,” I grunted back. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
“So, I heard you dumped Ava. What happened? She wouldn’t fuck you?” he joked.
I swung my head around. “What are you talking about?”
Donovan shrugged. “Addison is telling everyone you guys broke up, that you pretty much blew Ava off.”
“What the fuck? Who did she hear that from? Ava?”
Donovan gave me a dumfounded look. “How the fuck should I know? It’s just what I heard.” He stared me thoughtfully. “So, you’re saying it’s not true? I mean, you haven’t been hanging out with her this week, so I figured it was true.”
Fuck, how did I answer that? I didn’t even know the answer myself. While considering how to respond, Donovan went on.
“If it’s true, and you guys are done, would you mind if I–”
“Finish that sentence, Carter, and I will fucking end you,” I growled, feeling my blood pressure jump at the thought of Donovan Carter going anywhere near Ava.
Donovan just chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Asshole.
“Does Ava know what Addison’s saying?” I finally asked after he stopped laughing.
“I have no idea, but I imagine if Addison is spreading it around, it’s gotten to her.”
Fuck, I wasn’t ready to deal with this yet, but I definitely wasn’t prepared for the whole school to think that Ava was available. No fucking way.
As Mr. Perkins started class, I realized I was going to have to talk to Ava.
*****
I waited outside of our class until Ava exited and was annoyed to hear Addison’s voice. That nosy bitch.
“Ava, everyone knows that Jack dumped you, so don’t be upset when he decides to date someone else, okay? It was obvious he was getting pretty bored with you,” Addison taunted Ava as she walked behind her.
“Is that what you think, Addison?” I barked at her, infuriated at the way she was harassing Ava.
Addison jumped three feet when she heard my voice. “Uh, no, um, I mean, that’s what I heard, that you were getting sick of her.”
I got close to Addison, staring directly into her anxious gray-blue eyes. “Why don’t you tell me where you heard that.”
Addison started shifting her weight from one foot to another. “Uh…I…I don’t remember. I mean, if it’s not true, I’ll set the record straight.”
