Chapter 3

Ava curls the ends of her long, dark hair and lays it gently over her cream-colored turtleneck. Her face is stone cold and her jaw is tight. She twirls her fingers around her hair gently before sighing and turning the curling iron off. She bites her lips and stands up, throwing her purse over her shoulder and walking down to the lobby. She ignores the stares from the guests in the lobby as she pushes her way out the door and makes her way to her car. She takes a deep breath and revs the engine. She pulls out of the hotel and heads down a few small roads until she stops in front of a house. Her phone begins to ring and she sees Rob calling, once more. She sighs and closes her eyes. She picks up and holds her breath.

“Ava?” he breathes and she swallows hard.

“I’m fine, Rob,” she whispers and she hears him let out a sigh of relief.

“Ava, please, just-just talk to me. Where are you? I just want to talk,” he begs, and Ava shakes her head, wiping the tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Robert, I just need to be alone right now,” she whispers and he sighs.

“Do you love me?” he squeaks and she sighs, gripping the steering wheel.

“I’ve got to go now, Rob,” she replies, hanging up and taking a deep breath, fanning her eyes. She pulls down the sun visor and examines her makeup and nods. She licks her lips and flips the visor up and opens the car door. She drops her phone into the back pocket of her jeans and begins up the walkway to the front door. Her shows click gently against the pavement until she pauses at the large green door. She tucks her hair behind her ears and presses her hand against the cool door. She closes her eyes and raps her knuckles against the door. A dog instantly begins barking and scratching can be hard from behind the door.

“Get down, Beeker!” a woman’s voice shrieks before the door swings open. Ava’s face flashes with pain for a moment before she’s face to face with a curly-haired strawberry blonde wearing a t-shirt dress and leggings with black and blue fuzzy socks on her feet. She has her hand wrapped around Beeker’s, a maltese, collar. The smile on the girls face drops slightly, but she quickly plasters it back on her face.

“Ava, wh-what are you, uh, doing all the way in Wisconsin?” the girl asks and Ava looks down at the dog, yanking on the girl’s arm.

“Is Tony home?” Ava asks, bending down and holding her hand out to Beeker. The girl shifts uncomfortably and shakes her head.

“He’s at work right now, Ava. You can come back-”

“Can I just stay here until he gets back, Miranda?” Ava interrupts, standing up and staring at Miranda. She sighs and opens the door, letting Ava in. Miranda releases Beeker who chases after Ava who makes her way into the living room. Miranda watches as Ava sits down and pulls up her phone. Beeker jumps on the couch and Ava gently pets the dog who begins to crawl into her lap.

“Why are you in Wisconsin again, Ava?” Miranda asks, sitting across from Ava on one of the large recliners in the living room. Ava sighs and sets her phone down.

“No reason, I just need to talk to Tony, alright?” Ava answers, glancing at Miranda quickly. Miranda sighs and rubs her hands against her knees.

“You could’ve called and warned us you were coming,” Miranda spoke softly and Ava chuckled softly.

“In all honesty, this was quite the last minute trip,” Ava replies, looking down at her left ring finger that has been bare since yesterday morning. Miranda and Ava sit in the living room, Ava on her phone and Miranda trying to preoccupy herself with the television, but the tension becomes unbearable after an hour or so.

“I’m going to go call Tony and see when he’ll be home. Can I get you anything to drink or eat?” Miranda offers, but Ava shakes her head.

“I’m okay, thank you,” Ava murmurs, picking at a fraying string on her sweater. Miranda nods, standing up and walking out of the living room and upstairs to her bedroom. She grabs the house phone and dials Tony’s work number. It was only for emergencies, but Miranda was at a loss for what to do with a force like Ava coming in unannounced. Tony picks up on the second ring.

“Hi honey, what’s up?” Tony asks, and Miranda bites her lips.

“Hi, uh, when are you, erm, going to be home?” she questions in an uncomfortable tone as she looks over at the clock seeing it only being 9:30 in the morning. She sits down on the bed.

“I just got in about an hour and a half ago, babe. It’s going to be another few hours. What’s going on?” he replies, his tone growing more concerned. Miranda nods and runs her hand through her mop of curly hair.

“Well, it’s just that, there’s...there’s someone here for you,” she continues, hoping this would be enough to signal Tony that something was off, but he didn’t get the cue.

“Who is it? Did they say what they wanted?” he asks and she sighs, falling back on the bed and looking up at the ceiling.

“She just said that she knew you and she wanted to talk with you,” Miranda mumbles, covering her eyes with her hand.

“She didn’t tell you her name? Why don’t you ask her?” Tony laughs and Miranda clears her throat.

“It’s Ava,” Miranda whispers with a laugh and she hears the line fill with silence.

“Wait, what?” he exclaims and Miranda throws her hands up as if to agree with him.

“Yeah. I couldn’t keep her out, so she’s just been sitting here for, like, an hour?” Miranda complains.

“Well f**k, I’ll head home, okay? Just...keep her occupied for the time being,” Tony grumbles, hanging up. Miranda drops the phone next to her on the bed and stands up. She makes her way back downstairs and smiles at Ava.

“Tony’s on his way home,” she says quietly and Ava’s eyes widen for a moment. She wets her lips and nods, sitting up straight on the couch. She begins to fiddle with her hair and she smiles at Miranda.

Reviews

[Sara Lufrano]

Really nice so far. There's a good mystery happening and I like that.

I get this because I used to do it all the time but your word choice can be a little off in some places. Let me know if this is something you'd like some help on and I'd be glad to work with you!

Thanks for the read! Looking forward to the next!

[kaylahardy120]

Thanks so much! This is the first time I’m writing in present tense so it’s something I’m getting used to as of now- I’m only used to doing present tense if it’s scriptwriting so that might be why it sounds a little weird! Thank you for the advice though (: it means a lot!

[Sara Lufrano]

I always like to hear of trying new thing! Awesome! :)

[KCthelastboyscout]

Miranda is really polite when Ava shows up unannounced.too polite.i wish this was more confrontational but I'm anticipating fireworks when Tony arrives home