Summer Spent with You

Chapter Fifteen: A Truce is Called

A/N: Sorry that's it's been so long since I last updated. I just haven't been feeling motivated and have had a mild case of writer's block (I couldn't even work on my other books) and I'm also in teaching school now (which is totally kicking my ass. It's a pile of work) but I'm feeling a bit inspired. Thanks for sticking by Ava and Parker.
-LC

*** New cover by Zat_Annie ***

Ava's POV

The day after the party, my brothers didn't speak to me at all. They avoided me like the plague. They wouldn't even look at me, it was like I didn't exist to them anymore. Personally, I thought that they were being drama queens about it. My life was not their business, they did not get to tell me who I should and should not care about. I wasn't going to apologize for standing up for myself. I was just as smart as they were, they needed to realize that I was perfectly capable of making my own decisions.

"They're still ignoring you?" Mama asked when she brought my laundry basket to me around 11:30 that morning.

"Yep. They're being childish about it."

Mama offered me a small, "They'll come around to the idea eventually."

I sighed and closed the book I had been reading, "I'm not sure that Andrew will."

"Trust me, I'm speaking from experience, they'll get over it. It just may take some time, y'all Lake kids are stubborn."

"Are you sure that stubbornness came from that side of the family?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

She gave a shrug, "Well... Maybe you'll got a double dose of the stubbornness gene."

"I'm scared Andrew is gonna tell Daddy."

"The best thing for you to do would be to tell him yourself. I know that you're worried about how he'll react, but trust me Ava, it'll be way better if he hears it from you and not your brothers."

"And what if Daddy says that I can't see Parker, what do I do then?"

"He won't."

I quirked up an eyebrow at her, "Mama, you know as well as I do that Parker's past is not something that Daddy will overlook."

"Honey, you forget, your daddy has experience being the boyfriend-that-the-dad-hates. He may surprise you."

I didn't believe that for one second. Maybe my mother wanted to be optimistic, but I couldn't afford to be. I had too much to lose, but of course, she didn't understand that. So I simply said, "Maybe you're right Mama. I'll have to tell him soon."

I knew that was what she wanted to hear. But truthfully, I was just biding my time until I could come up with a better solution, like, oh I don't know, changing my name and running off with Parker to the coast. I liked my idea way better than hers.

*****

The following day, Aiden began to speak to me again. It was only a few sentences and they were mostly insults. But hey, that's progress right? Andrew, on the other hand, just glared at me, and that was only when he even bothered to look at me at all. I could tell my father was starting to notice the tension between us but he didn't ask, which I was thankful for. If he had, I'm almost positive that Drew would have spilled everything to him just so I would get into trouble.

After a dinner filled with death stares and sly remarks, mumbled just low enough that our parents couldn't hear, I had finally had enough. I helped my mother clear away the dishes and clean up the kitchen, then I went in search of my brothers. I found all three of them in Aiden and Andrew's room playing video games.