Your Last Everything

Chapter Twenty-Three - Dimitri

Today Ava was the day Ava was introducing Aiden to that fucker of an ex she had.

Noah stupid Arlington.

I searched him up in the database to make sure he wasn't bluffing or making up his rehab act. I even called a friend up that I knew in the FBI so he could do a more thorough background check.

It turns out he wasn't lying. He checked in the day he received the restraining order.

His parents were the ones that dropped him off, and he's been there healing and working on himself. It was easier to hate him when he was some stupid drunk asshole.

Now that he was clean and sober and back in Ava and Aiden's lives, it was harder to find excuses to hate him.

He didn't deserve them. He didn't deserve the second chance Ava was giving him, and he didn't deserve the chance to meet Aiden.

Ava was mine. Aiden was mine. They were both mine—my family.

He had no right to them. Clean and sober or not, I didn't trust the guy. He kept telling Ava he has feelings for her and wanted her back in his life.

He's told her he loves her multiple times, knowing she has a boyfriend. He really had the fucking audacity to keep telling her he loves her despite knowing what he did to her, what he put her through, was enough for me to want to murder him.

I was sitting in the police station jittery as fuck as I awaited her phone call that I always received when she finished her meetups with Noah.

It was already past one in the afternoon, and Ava was supposed to be finished at twelve since she put Aiden down at that time or else he'd be fussy.

Cole sat across from me, silently watching me, but didn't comment or say anything. He could sense I wasn't in the mood.

I reached for my phone, ready to call her and make sure she was okay before the doors to the station opened up. Then, Ava came rushing inside, holding Aiden's car seat in her hand.

I could tell she was crying. Her nose was red, and her cheeks were wet from the tears still falling down her face.

My jaw clenched angrily as I stood up from my desk. Her eyes scanned the police station timidly as she looked for me.

I took a step towards her, and then our eyes met. I watched her step forward, then stop immediately, her body freezing in place.

Something flipped like a switch inside of her, and I saw fear take over her entire body.

Her lips turned downward, her brows scrunched up as something like realization hit her, and I felt her entire demeanor change.

She tensed up, and I saw her precariously take a step back.

Ignoring Cole's side comments, I ran towards her, closing the distance between us once I saw the distraught that was obviously written all over her face.

"It was you." She whispered so low I could barely hear it, "You're the cop that took my statement."

Fuck. She remembered.

I swallowed anxiously and saw her take another few steps back as if trying to create some distance between us with her revelation of that night.

I reached out for her, but she moved out of my grasp.

"I'm not discussing anything with you in front of the entire station. We can talk about it inside."

I reached for Aiden's car seat, but she grabbed it before me, pulling him closer to her side. I walked her past the crowd of officers who were openly eavesdropping and glared them down.