Page 31 of The Afterthought

"No." Again, a one-word answer.

"Do you know where she is?"

"None of your business." She folds her arms across her chest.

Great. This is exactly what I wanted to deal with today. Another version of Ava, except this one is younger and seems to hate me for no apparent reason.

"Do you mind if I come in to wait for her?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? You are, after all, the person who made it clear that the crew needs to stay away from me, right?"

Well, fuck. There it is. The reason that she's being so cold and standoffish toward me. Knox didn't waste any time getting the word out about Chloe. It's only been a few hours since I talked to him.

"Chloe."

"Save it for my sister. I don't need to hear your bullshit excuses. You aren't going to keep me away from him, you know. He loves me." She pokes me in the chest with her finger. "You were the person saying he should keep me on a leash. I'm a bitch remember."

"If he loves you, then he will fight for you."

"You mean like you did for Ava? Yeah, I know all about that now. You two dated for a few years, and you broke things off so that you could join the Crimson Rose. You threw her aside like she meant nothing to you. Now, you want to insert yourself back into her life. She moved on, so you want to punish everyone else because she doesn't want you anymore."

"Whatever is going on between Ava and me is none of your business. You have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. Are you going to let me inside, or do I need to wait in my car?"

She seems a bit taken aback by how firm I am in my words. I didn't come here to get scolded by a teenager. I'll wait outside if I have to, but I'm talking to Ava tonight. I stare at her for a few minutes while she decides whether or not I'm good enough to come into the house.

"I don't know when she's coming back. If I let you in, you're ordering me pizza for dinner. I'd rather not eat Ava's shitty leftovers."

"Pizza sounds good." This seems to pacify her enough to step to the side so I can enter the house.

I gaze at the entryway floor, remembering the look on Ava's face as she came around my fingers there. Her pussy gripped them so tightly, and she made the sweetest sounds. She can say she didn't want me to do it all she wants, but we both know that's a lie. I can't wait to see her fall apart again.

I turn towards the living room to get comfortable on the couch. This thing has to be at least fifteen years old and is complete shit. It's the same one they had here when we were younger. The floral pattern reminds me of something that I would find at my grandmother's house when I was a kid. Why is she still living like this?

My phone dings in my pocket, so I pull it out to check who it is. It's Kai. When I read what he sent, my blood boils. It takes everything in me not to march back to my car to drag her home.

Kai: Wrenly said Ava got that job at Temptations.

I told her not to go there, but she didn't listen. She never fucking listens. Temptations, really? The one place I can't freely go. Of course that's where she is.

I lean forward on the couch, debating what to do. I don't really have any options here. My foot taps anxiously on the old carpet while I stare out blankly. I can't just waltz into Cobra territory and take someone who wants nothing to do with me. It would be different if she agreed and gave me a chance, but she made it known in Alec's presence that we aren’t together.

This is exactly why I wanted to stay away from her. She is nothing but an added complication. Everything was fine until she turned up, and the feelings I had buried started coming back to the surface. I still don't understand why I feel such a deep-rooted need for her. I was able to step away so easily all those years ago. She still crossed my mind daily, but it didn't feel like this.

Chloe comes out of her room and narrows her eyes at me. "Where's the pizza?"

Fuck. I've been so stuck in my head that I forgot about the pizza. "I'll go get it now. If I leave to pick it up, are you going to let me back in?"

"I don't care what you do as long as you get the food. You're Ava's problem. I like pepperoni." She turns on her heels and shuts herself back in the bedroom. Teenagers. There's no way we were that bad when we were younger.

I called the pizza shop and ordered a medium pepperoni pizza and a large buffalo chicken pizza. I'm sure Ava will be hungry when she gets home, so she can eat some of mine. I can't get my mind off of her and what she's doing at Temptation right now.

Who is touching her? Who is she talking to? If someone hurts her while she's there, I have no way of getting in to help her without starting an all-out war. Is that what Alec is trying to do? Does he want a war between the Cobras and the Crimson Rose?

I pick up the pizza and drive back to Ava's house. Chloe sticks to her word and lets me in, and the two of us eat in silence at the kitchen table. She has her phone out and hasn't stopped texting. I'm guessing it's her boyfriend. I need to figure out this kid’s name and what his deal is. He must care about her if he is willing to go against a direct order from Knox.

We finish up, and she eyes me cautiously before deciding her next words. "Tell Ava I went to Andrea's. Her dad is on the way to pick me up. I don't want to be here when the two of you have whatever fight you're about to have."

"Aren't you supposed to stay here?" I have no clue if the two of them have rules they agreed on.

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