After her run, she was no closer to a conclusion but she walked towards her room determinedly. She would let Adrian explain himself – he had better have a good one – she would also slap him as the situation required.
Then she would decide what to do with Adrian and Ivy.
She entered her room. Ivy was sitting on her bed, her black hair pin-straight and her slender elegant figure almost relaxed.
“You couldn’t even come for my ceremony. I’m hurt. We are going to be partners after all.”
Ivy stood smiling at her and Ava fought the urge to slap her into tomorrow. She is pregnant, she is pregnant. She couldn’t hurt her when Ivy couldn’t defend herself.
“I understand you, you know? You don’t have a child now and you’ll not take in anytime soon so you have to accept me. Don’t worry, it’ll call you Mom, too. You are welcome.”
“Ivy,” Ava’s voice shook with anger. “Get the hell out of my room.”
Ivy didn’t seem to understand her.
“Your room. I think you mean you and Adrian’s room.” Ivy stroked the headboard of their bed with so much entitlement that she saw red.
“It was right here.” She met Ava’s gaze. “The conception of our child. He fucked me right here.” Ivy closed her eyes as though reliving the moment. “Adrian can be so rough, I had bruises for days. But you would know more about it, right Ava?”
Ava’s fragile control broke and she hit Ivy across the face. Ivy smirked with her bloody lip and Ava couldn’t stop. She hit her again and again, Ivy staggered with that infuriating smirk on her face then she fell.
“Please don’t kill my baby, Ava. I’m sorry, I’ll leave Adrian alone for you. Please stop.” Ivy sobbed suddenly and Ava paused.
Such rubbish. Was it now she would feel sorry?
She hadn’t even hit her belly. Just her face. She just wanted to help her restructure that anger-inducing face. Ava raised her hand again to hit her when she was suddenly flung away from Ivy.
Ava straightened looking in shock as Adrian lifted Ivy from the floor. Ivy was sobbing and looked quite a sight with her banged-up face and bloody lip, she clung to Adrian as though she couldn’t support herself.
“Ava, why did you do this? She is pregnant. You could have seriously hurt her.” Adrian said, his voice deceptively soft.
“What the hell are you saying? Are you seriously more bothered about her right now? What about me?”
Ava couldn’t believe what he was saying, right in front of Ivy at that. Adrian stood his arms around Ivy in their bedroom. Was this what her life has turned into?
“Yes, I am. I’ve been trying to talk to you for hours and you lock me out. Then the moment my back is turned, you go after Ivy. Ivy who can’t shift to protect herself because she is pregnant. Be angry at me. I can take it but taking it out on a defenceless person–”
“A defenceless person? Who have you become, Adrian? When did you start taking another person’s side without even hearing mine?”
Ava looked at Ivy suddenly realizing why she had cried out around the end of the fight.
She must have known Adrian was coming, so she had acted accordingly. Ava was impressed.
“You know what? You can go to hell and you can take that manipulative bitch with you, both of you deserve each other.”
Fighting tears, Ava walked out of the room. She wanted to cry but she couldn’t. The entire pack house felt quietly volatile as though everyone was waiting for her reaction, waiting for her to break.
She left the pack house and headed for Jenny’s house. Even if they hadn’t vibed in a while, she was still her best friend and nothing would ever change that.
When she reached Jenny’s house, she was nervous and so nervous that she didn’t open the door immediately. Maybe that was where she made a mistake.
Jenny’s voice sounded higher than usual.
“She is pregnant, she might be a pain in the ass but I think she deserves some sympathy.”
It was Jenny’s voice and although Ava really wanted to talk to her, she wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation more. Sympathy for Ivy. What was going on?
“I don’t know, Jenny, it seems like a pretty messed up situation to me.
“Yeah. I know that Ava is my friend but she can be a little too headstrong sometimes, I hope she doesn’t react too violently and hurt Ivy. She can’t even defend herself yet–”
Ava was no longer listening. Was that what Jenny thought of her?
Ava couldn’t believe what she had overheard Jenny talking about.
Had she really taken Ivy’s side? She couldn’t believe how much it hurt her. Even if both of them hadn’t been as close as usual she still didn’t expect that from her.
She didn’t knock on their door anymore. She moved back and away.
She really hadn’t wanted to bring trouble to Cynthia’s door, her beautiful quiet godson and force Calvin’s hand to take a side but she no longer had an option. She needed to talk to someone. She felt like she was losing her mind.
On her way to Cynthia’s house, she nearly turned back a couple of times to go back to Jenny’s house. Maybe she was mistaken. Jenny couldn’t have said that. Or maybe she did but she meant it in a different context. She would talk to Cynthia. Cynthia would be objective-minded about this and tell her if she was overthinking this.
She was someone who would fully understand her, Ava thought.
It was at this time she keenly felt the absence of her sister, her brother and her parents at this point. Maybe if they were here they would be a support system, maybe– no, it was good that they weren’t.
Gabby would just have been reminded of what she had lost with Adrian. Alex was newly mated
Her mother was in her last year alive, she deserved to have a stress-free year and her father would be losing his true mate in months. How could she burden them with this?
She reached Cynthia’s house. It was empty. It was so unusual that she was taken aback for an instant. Where was Cole? Cynthia usually stayed indoors lately claiming Cole wasn’t ready for the outdoors when he almost swallowed a butterfly.
It was possible she changed her mind though so Ava decided to check the woods around the small cottage.
She was just about rounding a corner when she heard the most unexpected voice. Ivy’s. She must have left the pack house shortly after she did for her to be here.