Page 95 of Ties That Bind Us

She wasn’t asleep. She was standing at the bed with an overnight bag, stuffing things inside of it.

“What the hell are you doing?” My voice was hoarse.

Ava looked up at me like a deer in headlights. She had probably been hoping to make her escape before I noticed.

“Nick, I—” She scrambled for words. “I think we need a little time apart. We’re not good for each other right now.”

“Ava.” I let out an exasperated breath. She was leaving me? “Don’t do this.”

“I just need some space, okay? I need to figure this out and it’s not fair of me to be here until I do. Those things I said . . . I’m sorry, Nick. You don’t deserve that. Please don’t be upset with me.”

My breath was completely taken away as I watched her robotically put her phone charger and a few other things from her nightstand into the bag. I couldn’t even form words as I watched my entire life preparing to walk out the door.

“Ava, I could never be upset with you about how you’re feeling. Just don’t do this, please. I’ll give you all the time and space you need. I’ll do whatever—”

“No.” She shook her head definitively. “This is your house, Nick. It’s not fair of me to ask you to do that. Look.” She sighed. “It’s just a few days. I’m going to go to Angie’s or something. I’ll be fine, I promise. And then in a few days when I’m thinking straight, we can talk.”

She had clearly made up her mind. There was no way I could talk her out of it. I could just pretend it wasn’t slowly ripping my heart out. I took her hand in mine, and she flinched. “Ava, I’m fine with you going to see your sister, but I want you to tell me you’ll come home once these next few days are over. You said you weren’t going to run anymore. Promise me you’ll be back.”

Ava bit her lip, heavy tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’ll text you when I get there.”

She pulled away, rushing out of the room. I was too stunned to even move. A few seconds later, I heard the front door slam.

That was all. No I love you, no indication of when I might see her again. She was gone. Ava had left.

In a moment of desperate rage, I threw all the pillows off the bed into a heap on the floor. That was my first mistake, all it did was release her scent into the air. I continued my tirade, ripping pictures off the wall, throwing every piece of clothing out of the dresser, adding a few more holes to the wall with my fist. I knew it was childish, but I didn’t know what else to do.

I knew I couldn’t stay here if all I was going to do was continue to destroy my property. Instead, I whipped out my phone and shot Leo a text to meet me at the bar. That wasn’t a healthy option, either, but it was certainly less expensive.

An hour later, I had finished my seventh whiskey on the rocks and gone over every detail of what had happened with my brother. He had only listened, nodding occasionally and making supportive comments when needed.

“And you never got a text?” he asked gently, trying not to poke the bear.

I shook my head. “I called Angie and she didn’t show up there. She must have gone somewhere else.” My first thought was Jimmy, but all that did was make me nauseated. I was the last person she wanted to see, but that didn’t mean I was willing to let her walk around while someone was trying to kill her. Zane was working on trying to find her right now.

“Do you want to look for her?” Leo asked.

“I want to, but I don’t think that will do any good. Clearly, she doesn’t want to talk to me.” I threw back the rest of the drink and motioned to the bartender.

Leo winced, holding in his opinion about me having another drink. “I know this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but maybe she just needs a little space. This has been a lot for her and she has to deal with it in whatever way she can. I’m sure she’ll come around.”

Most of what Leo said went over my head because I was focused on what was in the corner of the bar. Jimmy. He sat at a dark booth with some blond bimbo hanging on his arm, half-asleep. She was probably high as a kite.

Leo hadn’t seen him yet, and if I played my cards right, I could go bash his skull in before Leo had time to stop me. I hated that guy, and he had shown up at the same place as me on the wrong night. The only thing keeping me in my seat was the fact that Ava wasn’t with him. Wherever the fuck she was, at least she hadn’t run to Jimmy, and that was a small silver lining.

He caught me staring at him, and a darkness I didn’t recognize came over his face. I stiffened when I saw him stand up and approach me, readying myself for a fight.

“Hey, Nick. I, uh, I heard about the accident,” Jimmy said, not meeting my eyes.

“Yeah,” I spat, harshly. What game was he trying to play? He had never spoken so civilly to me in the entire time I knew him.

“Is Ava . . . I mean, how are you guys doing?” he continued, not taking the hint that I really didn’t want him around right now. I hated the sound of her name in his mouth.

“Fucking fantastic, Jimmy,” I scoffed, watching as the barkeep poured a hefty amount of whiskey into my nearly empty cup. I didn’t even have to ask anymore, he just knew.

Jimmy sighed, as if this conversation was hard for him to have. “Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, and that was entirely my fault. I just want to—”

Without thinking I stood up abruptly, knocking my chair over. “The wrong foot?” I seethed. “Is that what you call shoving drugs down my wife’s throat and trying to move in on her in her moment of weakness?”

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