"Let's play a game, yeah? I ask you a question and if you don't give me the correct answer, you get shot. I like to call it the killing game," I smirk deviously.
"And what do I get out of it, huh?" he snaps at me.
I place my finger on my chin as i...
Austin visibly pales before me, his thumbs fidgeting as he avoids eye contact with me. It is as if he is hoping that I will change the subject. I can tell I'm making him uncomfortable yet I need answers.
"Austin," I try and gain his attention once again, pursing my lips in the process.
He sits rigid in his seat, his face letting me know that he's having an eternal battle with himself. Is he afraid? Before I try and say something else, he clears his throat, his eyes locking with my own.
"What do you need to know?" he questions me, his voice barely audible in the busy café. He looks genuinely terrified and I want to know why.
Gripping the picture of West from my wallet, I slide it across the table to him. "Is this West Livingston?" I question him solemnly, observing his face for some kind of initial reaction.
His face pales even more before he looks up at me. Shaking his head slowly, he clears his throat. "Nope, you've got the wrong guy. I'm sorry, Ava," he states, clearly lying.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I hastily shove the picture back into my wallet. I had found the picture of West on the ground outside of his apartment just last night, probably around the same time I dropped my phone. I figured I could use it one day. . . and would you look at that, here I am.
Looking back up at him, he stares out of the large, café window. "Austin," I gain his attention. "Why are you lying to me? I thought we were closer than that."
He shakes his head. "Everything ended when I left, Ava. We're not close anymore and I can't trust you─"
"You can't trust me?" I question incredulously. "You act as if I'm the one that left you when in reality, you're the one that left me. I don't understand you─"
"Good, I don't want you to," he glares at me before standing up abruptly.
Rising to meeting his intense gaze, I'm completely surprised by his sudden outburst and change of mood. He was just hugging me and now he's telling me he doesn't want me to understand him. It's official: I really don'tunderstand or know him anymore.
"I was so happy when I realized I was going to get to see you today," I begin, chuckling to myself. "But I guess today was just a wake up call. You're not the same Austin that I fell in love with back home. I don't know where that Austin went," I then pause to glance up and lock eyes with his own. He looks vulnerable, as if he is heart broken. "This is my goodbye. You should have stayed as my past," I state at the end before turning around to exit the café.
× × ×
"Ava," I hear the familiar sound of Phelix's voice as I near my apartment door.
Turning around, I smile when I see him standing with Kayla, his arm wrapped around her waist and her head perched onto his shoulder. They have been an item even before I hired them. They were desperate for jobs when I found them and were willing to do whatever they could so of course, they accepted my job offer.
"Hey guys," I greet, shaking hands with Phelix and pulling Kayla in for a hug. "Why are you guys here?"
They separate from each other, both of them becoming very serious at the same time. Kayla is never serious so something is definitely up.
"We found something horrible on a destroyed document that we recovered," Phelix begins, looking over at Kayla for help.
"Um. . . we came here to tell you because we thought you would deal with the news better," she says.
Looking at both of them questioningly, I quickly invite them both inside, them agreeing almost instantly.
After we get settled in and comfortable, I then send the couple an expectant look. Phelix clears his throat and wipes the imaginary dust from his pants. "You do know Austin, Dana's brother?"
Frowning, I hesitantly nod. "Yes, I just got done meeting with him. If you're here to tell me he's involved with the gang, I know. I'm not angry as much as I am disappointed, but there's nothing I can do about it. He's my past now and─"
Kayla nods before speaking. "Yes well, that's not all. . ." she trails off causing an unsettling feeling to arise in the pit of my stomach. I feel nauseated and from the look they are both giving me, what they are about to tell me is anything but good.
"Ava. . ." Phelix trails off, almost painfully. The look he's giving me is pity which confuses me even more than I already am at the moment. It can't be that bad, can it?
"Just tell me," I state, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Austin. . ." Kayla begins. "He was involved in Dana's death. He was participating in the gang at the time. The whole family was in on it."
And at that moment, I swear what is left of my heartbreaks into what feels like millions of pieces.
And there is nothing I am able to do about it.
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