Reasons

Part 4

Everyone needs a reason to take a step forward, and no matter how difficult it is to find the will to move, it is always better when someone is holding your hand.

The days following the wedding go by quickly. With Jessica eager to move into her new house, everyone is working overtime. Dylan and Hazel returned from their two-week Hawaii honeymoon, and they jump back into finishing the kitchen cabinets. Before anyone knew it the deadline Jessica wanted hits a week later. With all of the murals done, apart from a new one in the basement, Ava has kept herself practically locked away in a trance to get it done. Occasionally, Max finds his way into the basement for whatever reason, but he has been helping her family upstairs, as her father strings a new chandelier and her mother paints Aiden's room. She likes it down here by herself. She doesn't have to hear her mother's gossip, or her father constantly telling her that she painted out of the lines to get a rise out of her, and with Dylan and Hazel still in their honeymoon phase, it is cringy to be around them.

Ava hoped that as the days flew by since the wedding, she might be able to forget about it, but she can't. When she isn't consumed with anxiety or nightmares, then her mind is back on the dancefloor or curled up in Max's arms. Even worse is that she can feel it like his touch left a permanent brand on her skin. She wishes that she could say that hiding away and working on the mural keeps her mind off of him, but it doesn't. In the three weeks since the wedding, she has tried to back off a little from Max. She has hardly spoken to him, but she always comes running when he needs help. Everyone knows of Max's mental torture now, and she isn't the only one who tries to help him, but she is the last resort. He went into a trace for two days and didn't eat anything, but she got called on the third. She arrived with fast food and sat down in the room next to him without a word. She likes to think that her presence woke him up, but it was probably the smell of the cheeseburger. Max can't resist the power of fast food, especially when it is sitting right there. By that point, she knew what he liked, and knew that he often stole food from her when he thought she wasn't looking.

A loud thump causes Ava to jump and turn around cursing who she thinks is Dylan. He has jumped the last step twice, on purpose, with the sole reason of scaring her this morning. This time, however, it isn't Dylan. Max doesn't react to her curses and makes his way over to her. "Everyone went to grab lunch. You about done?" He questions, his headphones resting around his neck, but she can hear the music playing within.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Ava glares up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Does it look about done?" In honestly, it doesn't look bad as is, but she is about halfway according to the design Jessica requested. He tilts his head slightly, but she knows he only does it to annoy her. "It would go faster if you helped."

She looks back to the mural but hears him moving to sit beside her. "I wasn't kidding when I said I have no skill with paint." He grumbles and she shakes her head to keep from laughing. "I didn't get a chance to thank you..." He starts but she keeps her focus on the details of the current whisp, but her mind is far from the mural. "For that night and then at the wedding, and every time since..."

"You don't need to thank me." Ava shakes her head again, and she burns with the feeling of his eyes on her. "Besides, you helped me too." She wants to slap herself for being up the reception, even though there were a few times after it that he seemed to notice her problems. Once, Ryan and Max had come over to her apartment to play video games, and she passed out in her room. When she woke up from nightmares, Ryan was gone but Max had stayed. He told there they were about to leave when he heard her screaming. There was a different tortured emotion in his eyes when he saw her pain, one that she understood. It is the look of being completely useless when someone you care about is in pain. He pulled her to him, and they fell asleep in each other's arms as they had done before, but that was the last time.