Page 61 of Call You Mine
Because this whole thing—me and Ava, me and Georgie—is temporary.
“How are you feeling about moving in? I know you’ve been going through a lot of changes this last week.” It’s the understatement of the century, but I find myself needing to know she’s okay with all of this.
She pops another piece of fruit into her mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing. “I feel fine. I’m excited to have more space. Ava says I get to have my own room?” Her voice gets quieter when she says that last part.
“Sure do,” I say, resting my elbows on the counter and leaning over the granite. “Own bathroom, too. The room has been empty since I moved in, besides some furniture. The walls are white and bare and ready for someone to make the space their own.”
Georgie’s eyes widen, her hand stopping mid-air, freezing just inches from her mouth. “I can decorate the walls?”
I nod. “After you pick the color for the walls.”
Her eyes widen even more, the piece of clementine between her fingers dropping to the counter. “I get to pick?”
“As long as you help me paint it,” I offer with a wink. “Deal?” I hold out my hand for her to shake.
A smile spreads across her face as if I just promised her the world.
And the way she looks at me has me wishing I could.
“Deal,” she squeals, putting her hand in mine as we shake.
“Do you guys still have a lot of packing to do?” I ask as Georgie finishes her clementine.
She shakes her head, reaching for my peel on the counter, balling it up with hers to throw away. “We were going to finish packing up her stuff tomorrow night,” she says. “After dinner at your guys’ friends’ house.” She grabs her binder and pencil case and heads over to the dining room table.
Immediately, almost instinctually, I begin looking around the apartment, planning on how I could help get some packing done for Ava before she gets home, just to lessen the load of everything she has to do.
But if I know anything about Ava, it's that she’ll want things done and packed a certain way, and I don’t want to cause her any more stress. I can’t imagine how much she’s already under.
“When she gets home, I’ll see if she wants me to stick around to help you guys finish up,” I say. “I can take some stuff over tonight, so there’s less to do on Sunday.”
Georgie looks around the apartment before sitting down at the table. “I don’t know if we’ll need it. She doesn’t have much to pack up,” she answers with a shrug of her shoulders.
“What do you mean?” I walk over to the dining table, taking a seat next to her as she opens up her binder and pulls out a mechanical pencil.
Her gaze turns back to me. “She just doesn’t have a lot of stuff, and when I asked her about it, she said something about leaving a bunch of stuff at her ex-boyfriend’s place after they broke up, and then there was the fire her friend’s crazy baby daddy started last year.” She lets out a breath as she shakes her head. “Honestly, I was surprised to see she didn’t, like, replace it all.”
Questions begin circling my brain at the mention of Ava’s ex, one I haven’t heard anything about, but I try not to let it show on my face. I knew about the fire at Rumi and Ava’shouse last year—I was on the scene as part of the crew that got it all under control, so I know about the damage done.
But I’m with Georgie.
Why hasn’t Ava replaced it all?
I can’t help but think there’s a lot more to the story.
My lips part to ask Georgie more, but before I can say anything, the chiming of keys cuts me off, followed by the front door opening.
CHAPTER 19
AVA
“George?”I call out, letting the apartment door shut behind me.
After my conversation with Patricia, the car ride was a blur of conflicting emotions and counting my inhales and exhales over and over again to try and get a handle on all the thoughts circling my brain.
It was one of those drives where I pulled into my assigned parking space in the underground lot, and I couldn’t remember clearly how I got there. I was on autopilot the whole ride home.
“In the dining room,” Georgie calls back.
