FIRE | H.S.

Chapter 20

Today is Leilani's last day of classes, then her summer break will start. She told me that maybe this summer she and Harry would go to London to visit their family and that she couldn't wait for classes to end.

She gets out about an hour earlier today, so I want to leave work about fifteen minutes before I go pick her up so I can stop by McDonald's and get her a Happy Meal. She mentioned she saw in a commercial that Happy Meals would have Bluey toys this month and she really wanted to collect them all.

My phone vibrates in my hand, the screen lighting up to show a text from Evan.

Evan: We just left, I'll call you at the next stop. Love you (you don't have to say it back).

Things between Evan and me have been a little rocky. After the night I took care of Leilani and he got angry, he stopped calling, texting, and coming over for about a week. Then one night he knocked on my door, drunk, tequila bottle in hand, telling me he just loved me so much and he didn't know how to show it or how to tell me. He asked me why I didn't say "I love you" and when I told him I didn't feel ready to say it yet, he threw the bottle of tequila against the wall and said he knew I was cheating on him with Harry. He then proceeded to stumble out of my house, get in his car, and pass out on the driver's seat. I stayed up cleaning up the pieces of glass and going outside every twenty minutes to make sure he was still breathing. That morning, he knocked on my door, apologized, gave me a tight hug and a sweet kiss, then told me he would make it up to me.

Since then, it's been ups and downs. He's trying, though. Today he left for an out-of-state football game with the kids on his team and he said he would communicate with me on every stop and once he got to the hotel.

I hovered my thumbs over the keyboard, unsure of what to type as a response. What am I supposed to say? Cool, thanks for loving me, sorry I can't say it back? I highly doubt that would help the situation.

Me: Thank you for letting me know. Take care!

I settle for that. He reads it almost immediately but does not respond. I sigh and continue walking around the Target aisles looking for the cleaning products I need for the salon. Aurora called me this morning to let me know we ran out of the sanitizing wipes and floor cleaners, so here I am.

My phone vibrates again and I check it, thinking it's a text from Evan but it's just a notification from DoorDash giving me a code for $20 off.

Because I had my eyes glued to my phone, I don't see where I'm walking and I bump into someone.

"Oh, shit," I say. "Gosh, I'm so sorry!" I look up to see the person I bumped into and freeze. It's him. It's the man I saw staring at me at the grocery store with Leilani and at the restaurant with Evan.

He seems stunned to see me as well, then he blinks and shakes his head. "Ava?"

"What?" my voice comes out in a mere whisper. It's him. I shake my head. I want to turn on my heel and walk away but I can't. It's as if my feet were glued to the floor.

"Oh, Ava, I can't believe you're here," he looks at me, looking me up and down like he can't believe it's me. "I've seen you around but I wasn't sure it was you. Gosh! Look at how big you've gotten! You were so little when... well, you're a woman now. I can't believe it." His eyes get glossy. It's really him. He's got that birthmark by his left brow and his voice hasn't changed. It's him. There's that brown spot in the blue of his left eye. Those blue eyes... the same eyes that took one last look at me as I cried and begged him not to leave all those years ago.

"Dad?" I whisper. I feel like my whole body is shutting down.

"Yes, it's me, darling," he extends his arms, leaning forward to hug me but I manage to step back.

"No," I say a little louder. "Don't."

"I- I'm sorry. It's been so long-"

"Twenty years," I interrupt him. "It's been twenty years since you packed your bag and abandoned me."

"I'm sorry, Ava. I truly am. I've been dying to find you. Can... can I take you out for coffee? I really want to talk to you." He's holding back tears, eyes hopeful.

I scoff, looking away for a second before looking back at him. "What makes you think I want to talk to you? You're a stranger to me, you didn't even know if I was alive these twenty years and now you want to talk to me? Really, Steven?" he winces at my use of his name.

I turn to walk away and he grabs my arm, stopping me. I feel my body tense as I free myself from his grip. "Please don't touch me."

"Ava, please. Please let me talk to you. Maybe we can go get something to eat, bring your mother along and we can all talk."

"My mother is dead," I spit. "Leave me alone."

His eyes are wide when I say this, regret taking over his features. "I'm sorry, darling, I had no idea. God, I'm so sorry. Look, here's my card. Please call me and let's talk." He stretches his hand and drops the card inside my purse. "Please give me a chance," he says as he walks away.

I don't know how much longer I stay planted on the aisle. Eventually, I make my way to the self-checkout and pay for my items with shaking hands, and rush to my car to make my way back to the salon.

***

Back at the salon, I was hoping that work would keep my mind off the encounter with my father. I thought that the facials and haircut appointments would completely erase that moment, but it was not like that. I kept hearing his voice and seeing his face in the mirror.

During lunch, I told Aurora about it and she hugged me and asked how I was doing. I'm glad I told her about it, she was really comforting. Unfortunately, that didn't stop his voice from bouncing off the walls of my mind. I still couldn't believe his audacity. Coffee. He wants us to have coffee and talk. Talk about what? About how he broke my heart when he walked out on me twenty years ago and never called again? About how my life went to absolute shit after he left? About how every single day I've wondered if I would have had a different life if he'd stayed? About how much I hate him for leaving me?

Yeah, right.

Aurora sits on the styling chair next to where I'm working on a client, jumping into the conversation every now and then. She turns the chair in the direction of the t.v. behind us and watches for some time before I see her abruptly stand out of the corner of my eye. I continue cutting my client's hair and listening to how her husband gambled her half a million dollar engagement ring away.

"Fuck, Ava!" I turn to look at Aurora, brows knitted because she screamed these words. "Ava! Fuck, fuck!"

"What is it, Aurora? Lower your voice, please," I say, feeling a little embarrassed with my client and the rest of the clients in the salon.

She has her hand pressed to her chest, her expression is a mixture of fear and worry. "Fuck, Ava, isn't that Leilani's school?" I turn to the screen and see a news reporter outside of Leilani's elementary school. Big, bold letters say "Fire in Lloyd Elementary". I drop the pair of shears I was holding and the comb. I feel my blood rush down to my heels and I'm dizzy. Large flames engulf a large part of the school.

Fuck.

FUCK!

~~~