Daylight

Chapter Three

The hours of the night flew by and before Ava knew it, her alarm was sounding in her bedroom. She'd fallen asleep on the couch again; she almost never made it to her bed anymore. She was up and showered before Luca emerged to get ready for school.

The boy rolled out of bed at 7:00, though Luca wasn't too moody in the morning. Ava had gotten so lucky when she'd had Luca. He had been such a well-tempered baby, so loving. He still was. It wasn't that he was untouched by all he'd seen in his short life, but he wasn't weighed down too heavily anymore recently. He dressed in a pair of jeans and a polo and headed out with his backpack to find his mother in the kitchen preparing his breakfast.

"You have clubs today, right?" Ava asked the curly haired boy, just wanting to confirm.

"Si. First I have robotics club and then Scouts after," Luca affirmed as he ate the peanut butter toast his mother had made him.

"Bueno, gracias cariño," she said as she picked up her purse to head out the door with him.

"You're not working today, right?" he asked. Luca felt better when he knew his mother's schedule. He liked to know where she was and when she was expected to be back. Waking up a few years ago to find himself home alone had spooked him. At four years old he'd been the one to call 911 looking for his mother. He was the only reason anyone even knew she was gone. He had saved her life.

"I'm not, but I am going out to meet a friend," Ava shared gingerly.

"What friend?" he questioned with furrowed brows. She doesn't have any friends except the landlady.

"A friend I met at work," she shared. "But I'll be home when Mr. Walker drops you off from Scouts. Don't worry, mi amor." She didn't see any reason to tell him she was meeting a man, let alone one they'd seen in Captain America just the night before. That would happen later if it happened.

~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Sebastian had woken to his phone going off, a call from his publicist. It was a short conversation about a possible next job, but it would be a few months out. He said he would look at it when he was back home.

After a shower and a call to room service, Sebastian sat on his bed with a yawn and grabbed his phone. It was then that he remembered that he had a date later that night, which made him grin ear to ear and decided to message her.

Seb: Morning Ava. I hope you're having a good day so far. I also hope your little guy has fun at school. I think you said he was in school. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this afternoon. I can come by around one or one thirty. Just let me know.

Ava went about the morning routine of dropping Luca off at school and when she arrived home, she almost felt like she had too much time on her hands. There were so many hours between now and 2pm. She felt nervous butterflies in her stomach and almost as if on cue, she heard her phone ping. The butterflies raged just a little as she saw Seb's name on her phone and a smile started on her features.

Ava: Buenos dias. The morning has been just fine, though I'm only now realizing how long a few hours can feel. One thirty is perfect. Let me know what car I should look out for.

Seb: Tell me about it. I don't have anything planned. The afternoon seems so far away from now.

Ava: So we're both sitting around trying to waste time until we get together? That sounds pretty silly, doesn't it?

Seb: Would it be weird to ask if you've had breakfast then?

Ava: No, I think it would be the right call. And no, I haven't. You?