Page 47 of All My Broken Pieces

Fuck.

Chapter 21

Fallon

“Ugh, he’s sohot.” Ava groans, shoving a small handful of popcorn into her mouth, her eyes glued to the TV screen.

I laugh, taking my own handful of buttery goodness. Popping one kernel in at a time, I admire the man candy that’s the star this season of the Bachelor. While I like to watch more for his counterparts, I can appreciate a fine looking man from an outsider perspective.

Ava and I bonded over our love of reality TV before I brought her into my smut addiction. Now we enjoy both pastimes together.

“He is.” I agree, flopping back on the couch. I’m grateful Killian and Arriana had somewhere to be tonight because Ireallyneeded some alone time with Ava.

“Mmhmm.” Ava hums, her hand reaching blindly for her wine glass. “Oh fuck!” She gasps, watching in horror as the red wine tips and spills all over the hardwood. Leaping up from her seat, she runs to the kitchen, grabbing an armful of towels from a drawer before sprinting back toward the spill. “Shit.Shit. Please don’t stain.”

I watch as she frantically soaks up the red liquid, definitely staining the towels. A laugh bubbles up from my chest, earning me a sharp glare from my friend. I hold up my hands in surrender, trying to force back the giggles.

Ava narrows her eyes at me before cursing again and resuming her attempts at cleaning. “It’s not funny.” She grumbles, effectively spreading the liquid further with her hurried movements.

“I think you’re making it worse.” I chuckle, tossing a popcorn kernel into my mouth and munching as I split my focus between her and the TV.

Sighing, she throws her hands up in the air and sits back on her heels. “If you’re such a fucking expert thenyoudeal with it.” She snaps. My eyes widen at her outburst.

Her breaths come in short pants before her own eyes widen slightly and she closes them. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she whispers something too quiet for me to hear before her breathing begins to even out.

I watch her curiously, tilting my head. I can only assume she’s trying to calm herself down, but I can’t understand why she had this level of freakout to begin with. “Oh shit.” I breathe, realization dawning on me. “God, I’m such an idiot. Is this one of your things?”

Ava nods her head, continuing to focus on calming herself.

“I’m sorry, babe.” I murmur, slipping off the couch to join her on the floor. Taking one of the unused towels, I begin to mop up the wine.

Ava takes several more minutes before she blows out a heavy breath and joins me in the clean up. “I never realized how often I overreacted to things before I started therapy and had to really look at my life.” She explains, pushing to her feet and scooping up the soiled towels. “Usually it’s triggered by something.” She shrugs, turning to the hall.

When she returns to the living area and snatches up her now empty wine glass to refill it, I finally respond. “Wanna talk about it?” I take my seat on the couch again, curling my legs underneath me.

Ava pauses her steps, her shoulders tensing before slumping once more. “My mom used to scream at me if I made a mess as a kid.” She shrugs again, moving to pour more wine into her glass. Taking a sip of it, she looks over at me. “Guess I just reacted out of habit. Sorry.”

My heart breaks for the little girl Ava was. The little girl who should have been shown love, but was instead subjected to verbal and emotional abuse. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.” I assure her. “I love you.All of you.” Patting the seat beside me, I offer her a smile. “Now, do you wanna come lose ourselves in Tucker and all his delicious muscles?” I wink at her, my smile widening at the watery laugh she lets out.

“Fuck yeah.” Ava giggles, rushing back over to the couch and flopping down next to me, her earlier outburst forgotten.

“I don’t know, I just feel like there’s something more going on.”

We’re now curled up with mugs of hot cocoa, having replaced our wine with something a little more comforting as we talk. I find myself grateful to have this moment with her, but also dreading voicing my concerns out loud.

“Have you asked him about it?” Ava asks, sipping on her cocoa.

I nod my head, watching the small marshmallows slowly melt into the chocolate. “Yeah, he said he wasn’t okay and was going to say more but never got the chance.”

“Mmm.” She hums.

I wait for her to elaborate, but she doesn’t. “Mmm?” I repeat, quirking an eyebrow at her. “That’s really all you’ve got?” Ava shrugs at me, her lips ticking up in a smirk as she tries to hide behind her mug. “So helpful. Thank you.” I sigh dramatically.

Ava giggles, feeling the effect of the bottle and a half of wine we polished off together. “Look, I never said I was some great advice giving person or anything.” She laughs harder at the look on my face.

“I know that, but…I really could use a little more.” I try to hide the desperation in my voice, but fail.

Ava studies me before setting her drink down and clasping her hands in front of her. “Okay. Sorry, Fal. Let’s look at this again. So, your brother had a real shitty ass childhood, then found some…unhealthy ways to cope, and now he’s in the hospital as a result.” I nod my head solemnly, somehow hearing the words summarized makes them sound both not as bad and infinitely worse all at once. “Okay.” She says slowly, rubbing her chin. “And you’re worried there’s more to the story?”

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