Perfectly Mean

The Plan

Tuesday came much too quickly.  Hayden counted down the hours till his father arrived, spending every possible second of it with Zorro.  And finally, those minutes were up.  Hayden's bags were ready by the door, and Steven's car slowly pulled up in front of the house. 

Ava watched from the barn, trying her hardest to appear as though she didn't care.  She was glad that nuisance was leaving; she wanted her home back.  But in her heart of hearts she would miss him, however much she hated that fact. 

It was all so surreal.  She couldn't believe he was actually leaving.  She'd dreamed of it for months, and now...now she almost wished it wasn't happening.  Guilt washed through her stomach as she watched the hired help pack the suitcases into the trunk of the car.  She'd treated Hayden so horribly for the majority of his stay.  Even when she'd tried to be nice, she had remained as bossy as ever.

She should apologize before he left.  This was her last chance.  But the pride within her held her back.  How could she let him leave with the upper hand?  She didn't want him to get the impression she liked him or anything. 

Oh, who was she kidding?  She did like him.  He had made her experience with a broken leg bearable, and she had learned to somewhat enjoy his company. 

She suddenly caught sight of him swiftly approaching the barn probably to say goodbye to Zorro.  Ava retreated into Alaska's stall, hoping to avoid any conversation with him, but the need to apologize still nagged at her. 

Hayden walked past her stall, apparently not even realizing she was there.  As she had guessed, made straight for the stallion, and remained there for some time.  Ava could only hear muffled words from down the hall, and finally started to muck her stall out. 

She was caught by surprise when she turned and found Hayden behind her, and she stifled a scream, dropping her pitchfork. 

"Sorry," he said immediately, bending to pick it up for her.  "I thought you saw me."

"Clearly not," she grumbled, mortified that she'd actually screamed.

There was a moment of awkward silence, but neither knew how to break it. 

"Um, Ava?" Hayden said finally, blushing idiotically. 

"Yeah?" She briefly glanced up at him, then resumed her task of staring at the ground. 

"I, uh, I just want to say how sorry I am for messing up your life over the past couple months.  I intruded on your family...and I just wanted you to know that I didn't want to."

Ava eyes grew wide, and she finally met his gaze.  "You're sorry?" she gawked, staring at him.  "I'm the one who treated you like garbage!" She could hardly believe she was actually letting herself say this, but she knew that it needed to be said.  "I should be apologizing to you.  I made your life miserable.  I insulted you all the time.  I was insensitive and hurtful and straight up mean.  So...I'm sorry." The last few words were difficult to say.  It was the first time she'd truly apologized to anyone.

Hayden's eyes grew rounder than her own.  He secretly pinched his own leg, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"In all honesty, I've liked having you here," Ava admitted nervously.  "You helped me so much with my leg, so thank you for that.  Thanks for making me like pizza.  Thanks for showing me all those cool camera hacks.  I have a lot of other stuff to thank you for, but for now...thanks for everything."

A shy smile finally tugged at his mouth.  "Thank you for everything too."

Ava smiled back.  "Give me your phone," she told him suddenly.