This is L.o.v.e. like it should be

LIII. Strangers in the night

Ava parked her car haphazardly on the driveway, not sparing a single thought to how bad a parking job she had done. The rage she was feeling towards Julien was the only thing on her mind, and she grabbed on to it as a way to keep the courage to facing him and get all the answers she was looking for.

Her dashboard clock showed 3 a.m. as she came to a stop. She got out of the car in no time and moved in large strides in the direction of the front door, then her finger pressed the ringer with fervor.

"Ah", she sighed. She felt some delight in imagining just spitting on his face as soon as he opened the door. She wished she could do such a thing.

A couple minutes passed, before Julien came to open the door.

The glass framed door allowed her to see him coming downstairs, still fumbling to cover his almost naked body with his robe. He always slept in his boxers, and seeing him again almost naked made her feel even more mad. A cheater didn't deserve such a perfect body, it wasn't fair!

He then opened the door, and Ava finally took her finger off the ringer. The sound of the bell stopped and she just let the rage come spewing forth: "You!", She felt her face turning into red, not even able to articulate his name.

"Ava", he replied, and surprised by her visit at such late hour, he asked: "What's wrong?"

She raised her hand, unable to form a coherent though, all she could say was: "Why did you do it?"

"What did I do?", Julien asked looking her straight in the eyes, with a slightly confused expression.

Now Ava could see right through that trained expression, he was so good at pretending. And she had been such a fool.

"You are disgusting...", was the best she could say.

"Ava... please, you are not making sense.", he said looking even more confused.

Ava looked into his eyes, and for a moment wondered if she could be wrong? Were the girls she started seeing him with after the breakup his way of forgetting her? Or were they proof of what he had done all along?

"I loved you...", she said, and the tears started falling down. "I need to know... did you...", her words kept failing her.

"Come in, Ava...", he said, trying to grab her arm.

His outstretched hand was about to touch her when she pulled her arm away suddenly.

"Why did you cheat on me?"

The question was finally out. Ava felt a surge of confidence after she finally said it, like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. And now, she listened intently, waiting for his response.

It seemed like time was moving slower than usual, and he was just standing there, looking like a deer in the headlights, which in turn was only getting Ava angrier.

"You can't even answer to my question...", she turned around disgusted, not even wanting to look at his face. His lack of courage was disappointing.

"Ava?", he tried to reach for her.

"Don't touch me!", she stepped back.

"Look at me", he begged.

"I just need to know why, Why, Julien?"

Cleaning her tears in the middle of the dark, she bit her own lip to contain the more to come and faced him again. She needed that answer and she would force him to speak, if she had to.

"Say it!", she demanded. "Why?"

"I didn't...", he tried to say.

"Don't lie to me!", she interrupted, now fully aware of how he used to lie to her. All the memories of endless lies came to her like an avalanche and she noticed a pattern. The flat tone in his voice, the forced look into her eyes. The signs were there. All along... "You are a monster..."