45

Chapter 45
Mika waited patiently, glancing towards the road at every slight noise. Ava was beginning to take too long, but she could understand since their spot was a little on the outskirts of West Wood.
She sighed in relief when she saw Ava’s car pull up, and she got out, looking around. She looked lost in thought as she got to the foot of the hill, her eyes looking around her.
“Ava, come on” Mika waved at her, drawing her attention.
Ava only looked deep in thought, and not half as bad as Mika had expected. Her voice had suggested something urgent, perhaps she was just shaken at the moment.
They exchanged pleasantries and Mika offered her a bottle of water and waited patiently for her to speak, she had mentioned she needed someone to talk to.
Mika was always prepared for these things, so she had packed some snacks and water for them both. Knowing fully well that they might be here for hours.
Will did not exactly fancy the idea, but Mika could not help it, not only had she missed her friend for ten years, she had also missed being in her life and being there for her.
Pushing the thought of Will’s disapproval away, Mika decided to face what was important, which was helping her best friend.
“So…” Mika asked when Ava did not even make to speak after setting the water bottle aside, her face had a poker expression which made it hard for Mika to read anything into her silence.
“So?” Ava asked, and Mika resisted rolling her eyes. Ava knew what exactly she meant, so why beat around the bush?
So Mika asked the obvious question,” So what happened, you sounded pissed off and upset.”
Ava took a long breath, her teeth bit into her lower lips, and she fidgeted with her fingers. Her eyes had a faraway look in them and Mika could tell, this was not good.
She had known Ava a long time and well enough to know that she was not good, she did all those when she was either angry or trying to suppress her emotions.
Mika felt like it was not the right time to do this, although she would have loved to advise her, that suppressing her emotions was not the way forward, and addressing them accordingly was.
“I saw him kissing Princess.” It was all she said and Mika could slightly understand why she felt the way she felt…its usually weird to show any form of jealousy in situationships which was understandable.
Mika almost laughed when she saw the expression on Ava’s face after she said that, it was a mix of disgust and anger. Mika would not be surprised if she threw up.
What was even more surprising to her was who alpha Damon kissed. Princess? She did not see that coming.
He had always been somewhat of an asshole and a player, but he was strict on the no-friends rule. Everyone in school knew that back then. So even when Princess was glued to his side all through high school, everyone knew nothing was going on behind the scenes.
So it was a shocker that he would actually hook up with her now. “Princess?” Mika asked, just to be certain she heard right.
“I was just as surprised,” Ava said with a humorless chuckle, and Mika knew she was angry.
They made small talk about it and from all she said, Mika could deduce that Ava was, in fact, in love with alpha Damon.
No woman would be this furious over a man she hated kissing another woman, yet here her best friend was, fuming over it even after denying having any strong feelings for said man.
“How did you feel? How do you feel?” Mika asked after a small pause.
Ava glanced at her when she asked, and then her gaze traveled back across the horizon. Deep in thought, her lips moved from side to side doing a little funny dance, a habit that Mika could now confirm she still had.
“Shocked at first, and then slowly the anger set in. I was furious” Mika could perceive a hint of embarrassment in her voice when she confessed to it. “I wanted to walk up to her and drag her out by the ear, but that would have been inappropriate.”
Very much so, on what ground would she be doing that, Mika thought? They were not together and as it seemed no one knew they were even fucking, maybe just herself.
So yes, it would have been very inappropriate but funny nonetheless.
“He is not even mine to have or to keep. Yes, we are mated, but occasionally I still hate him for what he did in the past, but at that moment it just felt like he was mine and like Princess was stealing him from me.”
This time she had a pained expression, like she hated the thought of it. Like it broke her heart somehow. He was hers, just not in the right way. And Mika felt she was not in the right position to tell her this, and neither was it the right time.
They would both figure it out, Mika just hoped it would not be too late.
“Did you talk to him about it? At any point, that is.” Mika asked, rubbing Ava’s back slowly in slow circles to comfort her.
Mika almost lost it when Ava answered in the negative. She had a habit of pushing things over instead of getting them out and over with.
The least she could have done was listen to him, hear his side and what he had to say, not just jump to very specific conclusions.
For a minute Ava looked lost in thought, her eyes held a blank faraway look and Mika let her be for a while.
A cheeky smile painted Ava’s face and Mika could not help but be curious, only Ava could go from being upset two minutes ago to smiling at whatever it was she was thinking about.
“What is that smile?” Mika asked, smiling too, even this she had no idea what Ava was smiling about.
“Just reminiscing on the old days” Ava looked genuinely happy at that moment and Mika could not help but feel her heart swell with joy too.
Anything that made available happy was most definitely going to make her happy too.
“Remember how we found this spot?” Ava asked, turning to peer directly at her, her eyes held a glint of humor.
“Of course, how could I forget” It was one of her most cherished memories. She had a bank full of them stored away in her heart, but she had that one at the top too.
They had found this little haven and had made it theirs almost immediately. And in the most beautiful way yet. She smiled as she remembered like it happened just yesterday.
“Remember when you spent the night here because you did not want to go home and risk your parents finding out about what alpha Damon had been doing to you?” Mika asked, her expression immediately turning sour when the memory flooded her.
Ava, on the other hand, did not look as shaken or sad as she did, perhaps she had made leave with her past, but Mika had yet to. The poor girl had been through so much in her lifetime.
Mika remembered how she had been so scared that night when her parents had sent the message to her. They had searched every nook and cranny of West Wood, and she was yet to be found, at least that was what they said.
But Mika knew where she was, and she had even guessed why Ava had decided to stay away from home. It was because of the bruise on her left cheek from when she fell.
Alpha Damon had tripped her earlier that day in school and Ava was too afraid to go home, she did not want to have to answer all their questions.
When Mika turned to look at her, she still had a ghost of a smile on her face and looked so in thought.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Mika said, bumping her shoulder lightly into Ava’s.
They both shared a laugh and Ava turned to look at her before muttering a thank you, making Mika wonder what she was being grateful for.
“For that evening, coming out here to find me and take me home.” She said, “I figured I had not told you how grateful I was.”
“It’s fine,” Mika said, hugging her from the side. A comfortable silence enveloped them and they both just sat there, each lost in thought and comforted by the warmth of the other.
Mika had missed it, those days like those where all she had to do was be with her best friend, in a comfortable silence, and not care about a thing in the world.
Just two young girls, being each other’s peace in a world where chaos was the other of the day.