Fighting For Ava

*27*

For a long time after Jethro woke up, the house remained silent. Normally, the chatters of Mother T and Rose would have been heard from the kitchen as they prepared breakfast. But that was not happening and Jethro felt sad he was the cause of it. What happened yesterday had brought a division between the mother and daughter, and Jethro hoped it would not last long.

He crawled down from his bed and stared out through his window pane. The morning air drifted in absolute silence and he took a fresh breath as he watched the blue sky. The clouds were now light as the sky looked remorseful of the downpour it had sent down yesterday.

Jethro hissed and looked away from it, not ready to take its apology. His ears perked up when he finally heard the clank of plates from the kitchen. But the sound was soft and short before being replaced by shuffling legs.

That was all Jethro heard and the lull came back. He was forced to step out and he realized Mother T and Rose had left. He moved to the kitchen and as he had half expected, no breakfast was prepared. He grunted, shook his head, and walked back to his room. Kitty scrambled after him but he kicked her away before shutting the door.

He pulled out a shirt and pants from his wardrobe. He ran his bath and reminded himself not to take long at Ava's house. He would just go visit her and be back in time before Mother T returned home. He would not want to have another squabble with Mother T on Ava's issue. He was getting sick of that.

He slammed the house's door closed and sauntered down the road, his hands buried in his pockets. He took a cab going to Sinclair Street and soon he was at Ava's house. He greeted James at the door and the man notified him Ava was at the back of the house. He ambled along the rough path and saw Ava sitting on the usual bench while Buddy chased a squirrel through the bush.

"Ava." He called gently and the girl looked back. She gave a crooked smile when he sat beside her, "How's your night?" He asked.

"Fine." She nodded sadly and Jethro chuckled at her expression.

"But I doubt you slept well." He said, gazing into her bleary eyes, "You look like someone awake throughout the night."

Ava sighed on hearing him and she pressed her lips together in admission, "Those scenes from last night kept on replaying in my head. I couldn't sleep."

"But I told you to forget about them," Jethro said in a voice between frustrated and amused.

"How will I?" Ava exhaled in a despairing tone, "The blood. Jessy. I don't know what had happened to Jessy now, is she dead or.." She trailed off and stared into Jethro's eyes hoping he would assure her that Jessy was alive.

"We'll have to wait a little bit to know about that." Jethro breathed and when Ava's eyes fell downcast, he took her palm into his and whispered, "See, I don't wish Jessy to die but whatever happens to her, just know it isn't your fault. She betrayed you. Always remember that."

Ava looked steadily into his face after his encouraging words and bobbed her head perfunctorily.

"Finn visited me yesterday." Jethro decided to say when Ava looked away and began studying as Buddy wiggled through the bush, in search of prey.

"Really?" She said in a drab voice, not taking her eyes off the dog.

"Yeah," Jethro mouthed, noticing the lack of interest in her voice, "We reconciled." He said what would excite her and she turned her neck sharply to look at him.

"You did?" She asked delightfully.

Jethro nodded in response and she gave a bright smile, "We talked about all that happened that night and.." He paused, allowing Ava's eyes to double with his before continuing, "Very soon we'll figure out who the Bear is."