Not So Broken (West Coast College Book 3)

Chapter 23

Cameron

"Are you doing okay?" Ava's hand sits on my right thigh under the dining table, her fingers absently picking at my thumb. I would rather it be my fingers bleeding than her own.

She swallows, her eyes floating around the room. "Yes, I'm fine."

I could see it on the way here that she was nervous to be coming to West Van, so close to her childhood house but Quinn's home is a home.

We only got here maybe five minutes ago but I'm already thankful that Quinn grew up in a place like this.

Family photos line the stairs in the entryway, children awards and drawings covering every inch of the living room walls and mantle, photo albums sitting neatly on one of the bookshelves.

Matthew and Charlotte, Quinn's parents, sit at each end of the table, Quinn and his boyfriend sitting directly across from us.

Everyone can see how awkward this is for Ava and I. Hell, I can see how hard it is for Ava to just be in an actual home that's filled with love. It's mind boggling for the both of us, to say the least.

Matthew and Charlotte already seem amazing. Matthew was a quarterback when he was younger until a shoulder injury took him out and Charlotte is an elementary school teacher.

They both have permanent smiles planted on their faces, a different sort of comfort coming from the both of them as we eat the dinner Charlotte and Oliver, Quinn's boyfriend, prepared.

"So, hockey? How'd you end up doing that?" Matthew asks, breaking the silence as I take everything in.

"One of my foster brothers had gotten one of those cheap foam hockey sticks when I was around seven. I used it so much that he stole an actual stick for me." I chuckle at the memory and how happy I was.

Charlotte perks up. "So you're still close to them? Your foster siblings?"

My smile drops. Ava squeezes my hand. "No. I was...moved around a lot. Over a dozen homes before I was even ten."

Charlotte dips her head, her fork clattering against the plate. Quinn rubs her shoulder. "If we would have known, we would have gotten you out of there, Cam. You have to believe us. We-when we adopted Quinny, we didn't even think about the possibility that he could have a sibling out there. It was just such an awful thought to think that they would have separated two kids-"

"It's okay, ma'am-"

"-We should have done the ancestry test a lot sooner but-god. I don't even know why we didn't. We are so, so sorry for whatever you had to go through, thinking no one wanted such an amazing child. And we're so sorry that we didn't get you out of there."

Charlotte wipes at her eyes, smiling softly at me. I swallow away the thick emotions stuck in my throat suddenly. "It's not your fault. I don't want you to blame yourself for something like that."

Matthew turns to me, eyes also holding back tears. "I hope we can become the family you never got to experience, however long it takes."

Shit, do not fucking cry. "Thank you." I choke out, sucking in a deep breath.

Quinn dips his head and I nod back. Charlotte smiles, sighing, brushing back her gray hair before turning her attention to Ava. "I can't believe I'm meeting a world champion. It's unreal. You'll have to sign my skates for me later."

Ava tilts her head. "You used to skate?"

Charlotte nods, smiling softly like she can see Ava's discomfort towards her. "Nowhere near your level but I love watching you and Brayden. Your like an angel out there."

Blinking, Ava takes the compliment with hesitation. My heart breaks for her. She's so used to having an abusive mother and father that now when she sees what a parent should be like, she doesn't know what to do.

I can see it when Charlotte continues to try and talk to her. That Ava is more scared of the healthy type of parenting than the abusive.

"How long have you two been dating? Quinn also told me you both attend West Coast College like he does." Charlotte cuts her chicken.

Ava starts twirling her hair so I take her hand again, kissing her knuckles before placing them back in my lap, my hand wrapped tightly around hers so she doesn't pick anymore skin off. "About four months. Our friends introduced us at a Christmas party."

Charlotte hums, nodding. "And um, what about you Ava? I know Cam's goal must be to play in the NHL but what are your goals?"

"Uh. Brayden and I are hoping to go to the next Olympics. And then after that, I would like to open my own rink." Ava falters but I smile when she meets my eyes.

"You'll have to let us know when you. I'd love to help out..."

The rest of the evening goes quite smoothly. After dinner, we play some dice and card games that I learn I suck ass at but Ava starts to relax after a while.

She spends a lot of the time eyeing the children's drawings hung on every wall in the house, especially the ones that are hung on the fridge when she goes to grab some juice from the kitchen.

"When I was little," She whispers, gesturing to the art, "I spent all day drawing and painting. I thought they were fairly good for an eight year old so I went around and hung them where my parents would see them when they would get home from work."

Ava smiles sadly at me and I already feel my chest squeezing like a vice.

"I came down the stairs the next morning and found them all in the garbage. I thought it was some sort of mistake, my brothers messing with me. So I went and drew some more. Same thing happened the next morning so I taped them to every wall I could. It happened again and again."

Ava looks away, pausing. Jaw clenching, I go over and hug her. She immediately buries her face into my shoulder when I wrap my arms around her waist, breathing her in.

"Couldn't figure out why until two weeks later I saw my mom ripping them up. She said it didn't match the aesthetic of the home since I sucked at drawing. I cried myself to sleep in Atlas's arms that night. A week later, I came down and saw hockey awards taped to the fridge, my mother beaming with absolute pride."

"Oh, sunshine..." My heart breaks for eight year old Ava. No wonder she's had a hard time tonight. I bite back my apology because really, it's not gonna do anything for little Ava who experienced too much pain for her age.

She looks up at me, an actual smile on her face. "I'm glad you found your people, Cameron. Charlotte and Matthew...they are amazing."

I trace her lips with my thumb, lipstick smudging on my finger. "They don't just have to be my people. They can be yours as well."

Ava hums, rising on her toes to give my lips a peck. "We'll see." She searches my face, eyes tracking over every inch. "You okay? Has it been too much?"

"No. I am perfectly fine." The fact that she just shared a gut wrenching story and she's worried about me being too overwhelmed shows that her soul is too kind for this world.

Charlotte pops her head in, smiling when she sees Ava in my arms. "Everything okay? We were just about to play Pictionary."

"Everything good, sunshine?" I chuckle.

"Everything's perfect, Cameron."

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Authors note

I'm so sorry this chapter sucked with its lack of details, just been really tired lately😔

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that next chapter will be the trauma dump chapter between the girls so there will be mentions of r@pe, eating disorders and child abuse in many forms so if any of these affect you, please consider skipping next chapter!

Love you guys💋 (eh, sometimes debatable)