Page 93 of Little Fury

“Bloody Hell, woman! I have been looking for these fucking sweats for months!”Declan roars at me.

“Sorry?”I say with a cheeky grin as I go into the house.

“I’m not sure you understand how exactly an apology works.”

“Ha! I’m going to text the guys for food. I’m starving.”

“Matt and Caden decided to go into town and meet Ben for a couple of beers and some food,”he informs me.

I shake my head.“Of course they did. Fucking traitors.”

I turn on music because, God knows, I need the distraction.“Optimist”by Zoe Keating fills the space.

I grab dishes and things, as well as a bottle of wine. I lay everything out, pull the tamales from the oven, and throw a salad together quickly. Declan returns to the kitchen as I put the last fixings into the salad bowl. I look up at him as he enters. The man is trying to kill me. He’s only wearing thegrey sweats.“Fuck my life,”I mutter.“I can grab you a shirt from Matt's room. Give me one minute.”I start to leave the kitchen.

“I don't need a shirt Ava, sit.”

“Don't use that tone with me, Declan.”

“What tone is that?”

“You know exactly what tone.”

“Hmm, not sure I do,”he says, well aware of the tone. It's his‘doctor dominant’tone.

“Do you want wine?”I ask, changing the subject.

“I’d love some wine, thank you.”He says, chuckling at my discomfort. This man knows me too well.

You’re so fucking fucked, Ava.

I hand him his wine and food, make my plate, and we dig in.“Holy shit, that is good.”

“I told you.”I laugh at him.

“You did. What does she put in this stuff?”

“I have no idea why she won’t share the recipe with me; we’ve all tried, but she just says no.”

We finish eating and start to clear away our dishes.“Nothing Matters”By The Last Dinner Party plays. The chorus hits, and I can’t help but look at Declan, waiting for his reaction. He looks at me questioningly.

“Yeah, it's a little aggressive, but I love this song. It reminds me of Abba but with an unhinged twist.”

“That is a pretty accurate description, actually,”he laughs.

We look at each other across the island. I close my eyes, feeling the need to center myself.“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what, Ava?”

“Like you haven’t eaten in weeks.”I say as I open my eyes.

“I haven’t.” He says low.I can’t help the noise that statement elicits from me. He takes a step towards my side of the island. I take a step in the other direction. He takes anotherstep towards me, and I take another away from him.“Ava.”The threat in his voice is unmistakable.“I would stop moving if I were you.”His voice is still low but with a rasp now to it.

He takes a couple slow, deliberate steps towards me, trying to not engage my fight or flight response. I stay still, letting him get closer, unsure if I’m going to let him catch me or not. If I’m going to let him have me or if I’ll run. He takes two more steps. He’s close enough now to be able to touch me.

My feet are moving before I even realize I made a choice. I bolt from him, getting past him and running for the stairs.“This’ll be fun,”I hear him say, and then he’s after me.

I make it halfway up the stairs before he hits the first step. His legs are longer than mine, and he gains on me fast. Adrenaline is coursing through me, spurring me on.

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