𝕂𝕖𝕖𝕡 ℍ𝕚𝕞 𝕊𝕒𝕗𝕖

Chapter 12. Here's to Moving on

"Uh, I think his name was Goose."

Ava was pacing around her bedroom with her phone in her hand. Her thumb was hovering above the call button, but she just couldn't bring herself to press it. She was worried that Bradley was going to be mad at her for ignoring him all this time. Ava sat down on her bed for a moment, staring at the name in her contacts that she so desperately wanted to talk to.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes before opening them and staring at the phone again. "Fuck it." Ava mumbled under her breath as she finally clicked the call button, holding the phone up to her ear.

*Ring*

Her heart was racing. She felt the sweat forming at her forehead as she held the phone firm in her hands.

*Ring*

She was beginning to shake. She started to bounce her leg and take long shaky breathes to calm herself, but to no avail.

*Ring*

What if he didn't answer? What if he wanted nothing to do with her anymore? What if-

"Ava?"  She smiled at the voice over the phone as tears formed in her eyes. She didn't realize how much she missed his voice until she heard it right there. "Hey, Bradley." She managed to choke out before covering her mouth to prevent the sobs from escaping.

"Are you okay?" He sounded genuinely worried about her and for some reason, that made her cry more. "Can you come over today? I just want to talk to you about everything." She wiped away the tears that fell from her face, waiting for a response from Bradley.

"Yeah. I can head over right now." Ava felt herself smiling at his eagerness to come see her. "Thank you." Was all Ava was able to say before more tears began to form. "See you soon." And just like that, his voice was gone, and Ava suddenly felt alone.

-

Ava found herself pacing her living room floor. She'd been doing that a lot this past month, just thinking about everything. She was waiting for Bradley to come over so they could talk. But she didn't even know where she'd start.

She was suddenly brought back to the present by the sound of a car door slam. Without even looking out the window, she ran to her front door and opened it. Right as she opened the door, she was met by Bradley who had his fist out, ready to knock on the door. As soon as her eyes met his, she felt a giant weight being lifted from her shoulders as she gave him a sad smile.

"Hey." He looked down at her, he felt his heart skip a beat when she suddenly wrapped her arms around his torso. Bradley quickly returned the hug before pulling away once he heard her sniffling. After about a minute of the pair just staring into each other's eyes, Ava finally motioned for Bradley to come inside. The two of them sat down on her couch, neither of them being able to see anything.

"Phoenix stopped by the other day." Ava finally spoke, causing Bradley to turn his head towards her. "I know you read my file. I know you know that I was a pilot." Bradley just gave her a small nod, not knowing what else to say.

"Did Phoenix mention anything to you?" She questioned when she noticed how silent he was being, and wondered if it was because he knew about her late fiancé. "No. I didn't even know she came here." Bradley finally spoke, causing Ava to release a breathe she didn't even know she was holding.

"Well, I told her that what the files didn't show you guys was that my RIO was also my fiancé. And the baby was his." Bradley could hear the heartbreak in her voice, and it was enough to cause tears to form in his eyes. "Listen, Bradley, I really like you. I was just scared of moving on."