Ava's Roulette

Chapter 12: Cars and Bikes

When we got to the park, Charles and I walked silently. We were side by side, making no physical contact. Charles had held his hand out again as I got out of the car, but I refused it this time. There were few people in the park to witness this, and my friends were no longer here to motivate me to follow his games. So, he kept his distance. I was highly uncomfortable, but Charles walked at a leisurely pace seemingly enjoying his surroundings.

"If you could at least loosen up that'd be fantastic, it looks like I have a knife to your back" he broke the silence. I shot him a glare, uncrossed my arms, and straightened up a little. "You're not much of a talker, are you?" He sighed and turned to look at me, I kept my sights on the path ahead. We watched joggers go by, and the occasional person sitting on a bench. When we got to a more secluded section of the park, he motioned for me to stop as he stepped in front of me. I gave him an annoyed look.

He took his glasses off and I saw a quick grimace flash over his face. "Look, I brought you here so we could talk. At least to get to know each other before we moved in together" The last bit caught my attention and I looked at him horrified. He smirked. "This is supposed to be as real as it gets, remember darling?"

Darling. That damn word again. As I opened my mouth to complain he chuckled "You did not read the contract, did you?"

"I did" I said defensively as mind raced through blurry memories. I was completely empty, and he saw right through me. He laughed.

"Blimey, you are more impulsive than I imagined. God bless my foresight, we have plenty to discuss" He motioned towards a bench and walked over to it, I hesitantly followed. I was once again lost for words. Everything he said made sense given the nature of the contract, but I just had not considered what it truly meant to fake a relationship. Not just any relationship, one that was meant to grow into a marriage. I mean, I had been dating Ace on and off for years and we never moved in together. I spent about half my time over at his place, but he never set foot in mine.

I sat down with a thud and crossed my arms over my chest again. "When do we move in together?"

"One week, but I can make it two since you are not prepared"

"Oh wow, how kind"

"Yes, I am merciful." I rolled my eyes. He ignored my reaction and continued "I can ask for a copy of the contract, if that would make things easier"

"No thanks, I don't want to ever look at it again" He stared at me with curiosity in his eyes.

"It would be best if you were well informed" this tone of his surprised me, he seemed concerned. But when he saw I didn't make a motion to continue arguing he let the subject go.

"All right, we'll move in together in two weeks then."

That's all I really remember from the walk in the park with him. The noise to the outside just muted as soon as that last sentence left his lips. I didn't even notice the fact that several people slowed down to look at him. He was sat with an arm on the backrest, and a leg bent over the other. Completely open and inviting body language. He even had some conversations with people, if I recall correctly. All as I scurried around in my head, trying to remember the contract. It's true I did not want to look at it, but I was curious about what other important measures I had missed. However, my pride was not going to let me ask him for a copy of the contract. I just had to suck it up.

I only remember flashes from the rest of the day, like one of those old movie cameras clicking through its pictures. I was off balance, but not as badly as I was when I was angry with Ace. Moving in together was an inconvenience, but I believed I could live with it. I had to. I wanted to hold the contract up so my parents could not contact me. Silly motivation, I know, but I meant it. I wanted to see if they could truly follow through, even to my own detriment.

The next few days blurred together as well. I was focusing on school, and moping at home, so I completely forgot that I was moving in with Charles. Which is hilarious considering he picked me up every other day to go out. I do remember that everyday he had a new sportscar, that was the most interesting thing about his visits.

On those days, Liz gave me the biggest sly smile she could offer. It was difficult to match her excitement or energy. She talked about it all the time, she was proud and happy to see me give other guys a shot. Especially, Charles, because I punched him. According to her, this was my redemption arc, my chance to end up with a real-life-Ancient-Greek-demi-god. I hated that title, so, so much. She would see my face drop every time we talked about him and thought it was because I wanted to see other guys. But she did not know everything. She would grab my shoulders and joke "You can always invite a second guy if he gets boring!" before I screeched, embarrassed to the core.

On the other hand, Rob kept quiet and to himself. Oddly enough, I noticed how he always kept Liz near him and kept her distanced from Charles. It was like he could sense that he was that kind of guy. I mean Rob was a perceptive fucker, I could see the mistrust he had for me and for Charles. He always eyed him and then me. He never said anything, yet I could always see the gears turning in his head. I was most worried that he did know everything.

Charles was polite and showy as always, with the fancy cars and clothes. He strutted around like he owned the world, started conversations with anyone and everyone. He always had strangers laughing and fawning over him in minutes, with me scowling right beside him. I was never sure if it was sheer charisma or plain flirting. I would have made a point of telling him to stop but my mind was elsewhere every time. I preferred to worry about the increased number of bikers around the house that always drew my eye. They even started showing up near school and my favourite coffee shop, Leaves and Beans. I always pretended I was absent minded, but whenever I saw them, I felt a hand squeeze my heart. Ace had not called me or texted me since I had first noticed the biker the day Charles and I went to the park. It chilled my bones to think why that was. I did not have to wonder much. Moving day was one fucking hell of a day.