The Third Halstead

Chapter 29

Ava's POV
It was around 7am. I woke up and went into the living room. I made myself a cup of tea. Since being pregnant, I've been craving it a lot. Hank gave me the next couple of days off so I can help Brooklyn settle in. Adam was still asleep which didn't surprise me. I decided to go check on Brooke because I haven't seen her since last night. I went into her room quietly, not knowing if she was asleep or not. As I walked in, I saw her sat up staring into space.

"Are you okay sweetie?" I asked. She looked at me.

"Ummm yeah." She said, tears collecting in her eyes. I went over to her.

"Can I sit?" I asked and she nodded.

"What happened? Why are you upset?" I asked softly.

"Oh umm it's nothing. I just dreamt about what happened." She said. I put my arm around her. She rested her head on my chest. Tears started rolling down her face. I wiped her tears away.

"It's okay sweetheart. You're safe now I promise. Adam and I will never let anything happen to you." I said and she smiled slightly.

"Shall we go get some breakfast?" I asked and she nodded. We walked out into the kitchen and she sat on one of the barstools.

"Do you want pancakes or french toast, eggs and bacon?" I asked.

"Pancakes please." She said and I nodded.

"I make the best pancakes. Adam thinks he does, but no one can beat me." I said and she chuckled slightly. Adam came out of our room.

"Good morning." He said.

"Hey, do you want pancakes?" I asked.

"You know I make better pancakes than you." He said and Brooke started laughing. I smiled at her and Adam looked at her confused.

"Ava said she makes better pancakes than you." She said.

"She's probably right. I make better french toast." He said. We sat eating breakfast. I turned to Adam.

"Hank gave me the next couple of days off." I said and he nodded.

"Is it Friday?" He asked and I nodded.

"I'm only doing a half day." He said. I went and washed the dishes. Adam left and Brooke and I sat on the couch. She looked really nervous. She hasn't said much since we brought her home with us.

"Is everything okay honey?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just want to forget about what happened." She said and I sighed.

"I've been through a lot in my life. My brothers and I were abused by our grandfather and he raped me. I had cancer from age 7 to 9. I was raped by my ex-girlfriend's brother, who was one of my closest friends. My mom died. My dad was a drunk. I was kidnapped about a year ago and was raped. I will never forget what happened to me, but I moved on from it. You won't forget about what happened, but you will learn to move on. I did, now my life can't get much better." I said and she nodded. She hugged me and started crying.

"Shh, it's okay Brooke." I said. She looked up at me and smiled slightly.

"How about we have a movie day?" I suggested and she nodded.

"Can we watch Disney movies?" She asked quietly.

"I love Disney." I said and she smiled. I put on Cinderella. I looked over at Brooke and she looked cold.

"Do you want me to get a blanket?" I asked.

"Yes please." She said. I got my favourite big fluffy blanket and sat down. I passed her it and she wrapped it around her. As the movie went on, she became more comfortable. I noticed her eyelids closing every now and then. She would wake up before they closed fully. I wrapped my arm around her.

"It's okay, you can fall asleep." I said and she nodded. She rested her head on my chest and I smiled slightly.

"Sweet dreams." I whispered. I began to fall asleep as well after a while.

I woke up as the front door closed. I glanced over at it and saw Adam.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey baby." I replied. He came and sat down next to me on the couch. Brooklyn was still asleep.

"What did you do while I was gone?" He asked.

"Watched Disney movies. We both fell asleep halfway through Cinderella." I said and he smiled.

"What shall we have for dinner?" He asked.

"I don't know." I replied.

"Is there anything you are craving?" He asked.

"I'm craving KFC at the minute. This time tomorrow, I'll probably be having an aversion to it." I said and he chuckled.

"KFC it is." He said. Brooklyn started to wake up.

"Hey." I whispered.

"Mmm, how long was I out?" She asked.

"About 2 hours." I said and she nodded. I put Finding Nemo on.

"Finding Nemo is the worst Disney movie ever." Adam said and I glared at him.

"You did not just say that." I said.

"It's boring." He replied.

"You're boring, but I still have to put up with you." I said and Brooke chuckled. I smiled at her. Adam looked hurt. I couldn't tell whether he was pretending or not.

"I'm kidding." I said. I kissed him. Adam ordered food and I went to get plates. Brooke went to go get changed. Food had arrived and Brooke was still in her room. I knocked on the door.

"Food's here." I said. She didn't come out of her room.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Yeah." She muttered quietly. I went in her room. She was sat on the bed. It was clear to me that she had been crying. I quickly went over to her.

"Honey, what's wrong?" I asked. She hugged me and she started crying again.

"My friends from school asked why I wasn't there today. I told them what happened and they don't believe me. They said I made it all up for attention." She cried. I started stroking her hair.

"Shh, it's okay." I said. I lifted her head so she was looking me in the eyes.

"If they don't believe you, that shows that they aren't good friends." I said and she nodded. She hugged me again.

"Thank you momma." She said which shocked me. I never expected her to start calling me mom. Tears collected in my eyes.

"It's okay sweetheart, let's go eat dinner." I said.