Ava

Chapter 2

*OLD STORY*

A faint beeping sounding from my computer pulled me back into reality. I groaned when I realized that I had dropped my wine glass. Red liquid was now soaking into the carpet, making a large stain.

"Sugarfoot," I sighed heavily, running into the kitchen for cleaning supplies. I answered the Skype call that had been ringing on my computer. "Hold on, Roni."

"You spilled your wine again, didn't you?" she chuckled, her voice somewhat distant.

"Oh, shut up," I muttered, leaving the cleaning liquids to soak up the liquid. "I thought we made a deal that you weren't going to study when we called each other!" I exclaimed when I finally concentrated on the screen.

Her small hand held a yellow highlighter with a large textbook lying in front of her computer. She had her brown eyebrows furrowed in concentration, her brown bangs hanging over her light blue eyes. The rest of her long brown hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her pouty pink lips were pressed into a thin line.

"I'm sorry, Ava," she sighed, rubbing her face tiredly. "I have a huge exam tomorrow. Last one before Christmas Break."

We continued to talk, her words dragging my attention away from the dream that hung around in the back of my mind. The pit that I had been painfully aware of when I woke up was now shrinking away as we continued to talk.

"Victor came by the other day," Roni said, avoiding my eyes. She knew her words were playing a dangerous game. The pit that was almost gone came back with full force. The dream that had drifted away came to the front of my mind, almost bringing tears with it. I blinked them back and stared down at my fiddling fingers.

"Oh," I murmured. I knew I could not trust my voice at the moment. Just the mention of his name brought back so many happy memories, memories that were too painful to think about.

"Ava, I'm sorry," she sighed.

"I have to go. I have an early day tomorrow."

"Ava," she drifted off. "He still misses you..."

"Please don't make me talk about this, Veronica," I murmured. I felt a drop on my hands. I wiped away the tears I did not know I had shed. The pit in my stomach moved to my heart, breaking it a little at the thought of her brother. My lips trembled when a passing memory drifted through my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to think about the sweet memory.

"I'll talk to you later, Ava," Roni sighed, ending the call and leaving me alone with the thoughts.

I moved from the office chair to my bed, leaving the open computer and wine stain behind me. The pit in my stomach and heart grew exponentially and instead of holding back the tears that I would have held back if I was not alone, I let them flow freely. His face passed through the scrolling images and I held onto it, clutching it for dear life. His blue eyes were seared into my mind.

I leaned back onto the plush bed and let the feelings and memories overwhelm me.

We lay back in the bed of the truck, resting on top of many layers of blankets and pillows. My head was resting on his arm that was slung around my shoulders. He leaned his head against my own, our legs a tangled mess. I wrapped my arm around his waist and pulled myself closer to his warm strong body. His chest rose with each breath and his heartbeat matched my own.

A small smile etched itself on my face as we lay together and watched the stars twinkling above us. I forced this moment into my head and tucked it away as a keepsake. This moment was the textbook definition of perfection.