Page 81 of Fighter
If possible, her glare deepened. Her hands propped onto her hips, leaving her elbows out like chicken wings.
“Sera gives me a snack.”
“Sera isn't here.”
“Why not?” she whined. “I like Sera's food better!”
My jaw clenched shut as I closed my eyes, pulled in a long breath, and let it back out. Impatience warred with annoyance in my chest yet again. Sera wasn't here and wouldn't be here again today, probably. Ava acting just like Sadie sent a whirl of bad memories through me. Distantly, I knew my wrathful response had nothing to do with Ava, but her attitude didn't make it any easier.
“Sera isn't here today,” I muttered. “You have to deal with me.”
“Will she be here tomorrow?”
“No.”
“When will she be back?”
Ava had tilted her head back, a nagging pitch in her tone that set my teeth on edge. It rang of her mother and ran along my nerves like a cheese grater. The truth wasn't any easier to set free.
“She may not come back. We're not sure.”
Ava gasped, eyes wide. If possible, those eyes filled with water in a flash. Her voice wobbled and I groaned. Not tears.Anythingbut tears.
“What?” she whispered.
“I don't know yet,” I said quickly. “I don't . . . we're not sure. We're working things out. But Sera has a life and she needs to get back to it.”
Ava stepped back.
“You did this!” she cried. “This is all your fault! Mommy said you didn't want me to be happy, and now I'm not. You're taking Sera away too! Mommy was right.”
Shock rendered me momentarily speechless. Taking her away? No, I desperately wanted her back.
“That's not true, Ava.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I want Sera back. Please, daddy. Don't take Sera away too, you can't take her away too!”
Her voice became hysterical. Her eyes widened in panic as she shook her head back and forth, tears jarred out of her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. She'd just rotated through four emotions within four minutes, and even I felt the backlash. All my ire fled in a flash as I knelt on the floor next to her and grabbed her hands.
“Please,” she pleaded. “Please don't. Please!”
“Ava, what's wrong?”
To my shock, she collapsed in my arms. Deep sobs wracked her body as I folded my arms around her. For several moments she cried. In the brief respite, I tried to pull my thoughts back together, but all I could think about was Sadie. About Ava's words. The terror in her eyes yet again.
Mommy said you didn't want me to be happy.
When her cries slowed, I put my hands gently on her shoulders and leaned back. “Ava, can we talk about this?”
Red-eyed, she passed an arm under her nose and reluctantly nodded. Afraid I'd lose her if I even breathed too much, I gently asked, “What did Mommy say about me?”
Her bottom lip jutted out a little. She fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt and whispered, “That you didn't want me to be happy. That you didn't love me.”
My heart cracked a giant, ugly fissure down the middle of my chest that would have spilled the nastiest vitriol if I let it. Emotions like what swept through me then were too strong, too locked up, to be ignored. But I'd been trying, and now I was still lost in something that was powerful. Grief, probably. Terror. Despair.
Even though Serafina had warned me about what Ava told her, hearing it still shook me all the way to my core. The terror in Ava's eyes sealed the deal.
“Wow,” I said.
