Exhausted&Lost

Chapter Nineteen

"Ava?"

"Huh?"

She had been staring off into the distance for so long that Dave was worried that the coffee he had brought her out more than 10 minutes ago was going to go cold.

It didn't take a professional to figure out that Stephen crashing back into her life had knocked her off balance and caused the nightmare turned breakdown of tears last night, that if he was being honest, scared the absolute shit out of him.

But he was worried about how she appeared to be retreating from him and getting lost in her head, things between them had been going so well, and the last thing he wanted was that ass hole to ruin things.

"You've been off in your own world, I brought you a coffee," he said, his voice soft.

"Ah, thank you, you're sweet."

She cracked a small smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. She had told him about the dream, without going into too much detail, and he could tell how much it had shaken her.

"So, you excited to meet the guys tomorrow?" he asked, desperate to lift her mood and take her mind off things.

"Tomorrow?" she replied, her nose crinkling in confusion.

"Yeah, remember we planned to come down to The Hideout, see if we can come up with a plan."

"Oh shoot, of course. My head is pickled this morning," she reached out her hand and squeezed his knee, "I'm sorry."

She visibly brightened once they started discussing the plans for the following day, Dave recognizing the sparkle in her blue eyes returning.

"How about some lunch before I bring you home, hm?"

*

"Hey Dad," she called as she walked in through his front door, "Hey Elliott!"

She crouched to the floor as he ran to meet her, arms in the air. She enveloped him in a hug and lifted him off the ground.

"Have you had fun with Grandad?" she asked, tickling his sides.

He only nodded before wiggling out of her hold and running off again to play with his toys.

"Well, nice to see that he missed me," she chuckled, removing her coat.

The familiar smell of dinner being cooked in the kitchen and her dad's cologne almost immediately calmed the anxiety that had knotted its way into her chest. Even though she was a million miles away, she felt like she was home.

"Kettle is boiling, love," he said, making his way back into the kitchen.

She sat in her favorite chair and checked her emails while she waited on her cup of tea, occasionally giggling at the antics of the toddler at her feet.

"So..." her dad started, "Either your boy has a vivid imagination, or you have a new friend you haven't told me much about."

Ava's skin immediately burned red. She never would have expected her father to start this conversation, and judging by the pink tinge taking over his face, neither did he.

"All he would talk about all day is his new friend Dave who makes him pancakes, and plays cars with him," he continued.

"Ah yeah, I met him through work, he's..." she stammered.

She felt like a teenager who had been caught trying to sneak a boy into the house, her heart rate was struggling to return to a safe level when her dad gave her a sweet smile.