Page 45 of Choose Me

"You were kissing her, James. What else could it possibly be?"

"I was drunk, Ava. She kissed me. I would never do this to you," he said pleadingly.

I shook my head, "I can't even look at you right now," I said, turning away from him.

"Agent Scarlett, I suggest you find somewhere else to be right now. I'll deal with you later." Brock told Sydney.

Sydney stared at Brock briefly, assessing the scene with a smirk. She eventually nodded and walked away. Once she was gone, James moved towards me.

"Please, Ava, let me explain," he said, grabbing my arm.

I pulled away from him, "No, James. I need some time to think. I can't even be around you right now."

"Baby, please."

"James, why don't you give her some space for a minute." Everett stood in front of me protectively, placing his hands on James's shoulders and trying to redirect his attention.

James twisted his head toward Everett, and I could see the pure rage that appeared in his eyes. "Don't touch me."

"I'm just trying to help."

"Of course you are. You have to shoot your shot, right?"

Everett looked at him, confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! You think I didn't notice the way you look at her? The way you pine after her with your cute little pet names."

Everett opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a word out, James threw a vicious punch that sent him crashing back.

“You fucking snake." Fury burned in his eyes.

Brock jumped in front of James and wrapped his arms around James, preventing him from coming after Everett again. I rushed to Everett's side, lifting his head to look at his face. There was a cut on his lip, dripping with blood. He gently swatted away my hands.

"I'm fine," he coughed, spitting blood onto the floor.

"How long have you been fucking her?" James sneered.

My fists clenched in anger, and I whirled around unsteadily to confront him. I looked up at him, "How dare you!” I snarled, my words laced with venom. I looked at him through narrowed eyes as he stared wide-eyed at me. Taking a deep breath, I turned toward Everett, "I'd like to go home. Will you please take me?"

He nodded, and I pushed past James, where Brock still held him in an iron grip.

"How long, Ava? Was it before or after I left? Did you fuck him in our bed?" James yelled behind me.

I stopped, and without thinking, I whipped around and slapped him across the face, the stinging sensation ringing through my arm as my words echoed throughout the hallway. Drawing myself up to my full height, I glared daggers into his eyes, "Fuck you, James."

The shock on his face seared through my flesh, but he remained silent. I spun around without another word and seized Everett by his arm, dragging him away. I didn't bother to look behind me. All I wanted was to get as far away as possible from James before my legs gave way beneath me.

"Ava, what's wrong?" Amelia ran towards me, hands outstretched, but I kept walking. "Ava, is everything okay?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Ask your brother." My voice cracked with emotion, and I walked faster.

Her pretty blue eyes hardened, but she stopped following me. She whirled around and scanned the crowd for James. I caught him rushing down the stairs to follow me, but I knew he wouldn't catch up with me. Everett had already coordinated on his earpiece to have a car waiting for us. He gently opened the back door and beckoned me in before getting in next to me. I scooted over to make room for him and clicked my seatbelt fastened before resting my head against the window, wiping away the tears flowing down my cheeks. The agent driving the car watched me through the rearview mirror, a look of sympathy on his face. I avoided his gaze, turning my head to look out the window, tears streaming down my face.

25

TWENTY-FIVE

AVA

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