Page 108 of Shelter
Ava’s grin at my stammering was less than gracious. “I’ll take that as a no,” she said, leaning back against the foot of her bed. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, I’m not trying to make you feel weird here—”
I scoffed. “Well, it’s a little late for that.”
Ava rolled her eyes again, but her smile didn’t falter. “Just listen for a minute, okay?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, still blushing. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I mean, what the hell else was I supposed to do? Not only was I still attracted to Cole Whitehurst, but apparently, I wore it like a roadside billboard. If his sister — who also happened to be the person who’d helped me get through school — wanted me to hear her out, who was I to say no?
“Okay. I’m listening.”
Ava nodded, seeming satisfied. “Okay, so, I think Cole deserves to be happy, and my guess is you think he deserves to be happy—”
“Of course he does.” The words burst from me with more than a little force. I realized then that this notion was more than an opinion. It was a belief I’d held for at least half my life.
Ava’s smile warmed her face, her eyes softening. When she spoke, her voice was softer, too. “Right. We’re both right,” she said gently. “The only problem is that, whether he shows it or not, Cole doesn’t believehedeserves to be happy.”
My lungs emptied. Somehow, I knew this too. Just holding the thought in my mind brought me back to that night. Even before what happened had happened, Cole put everything else above his happiness. It had made me angry then, but now it just made me sad. I didn’t want to say anything to this, so I waited for her to continue.
“So, here’s what I want you to know,” she said, locking eyes with mine. “When you two finally get together—”
“Oh my God, Ava. Don’t be ridicul—”
Ava stamped her foot. “You said you’d listen.”
I made a grunt of protest, but I closed my mouth. I may have even scowled at her.
“When you two get together…” she said the words more slowly and evenly this time, as if they were inevitable. “…promise me that if he screws things up and tries to push you away, you’ll hold on and fight for his happiness.”
“Ava, really?” I shook my head, unable to believe what I was hearing. The assumptions she was making were too big a leap. Sure, Cole had wanted me to come to dinner. He wanted a chance to smooth things out between us, and maybe, just like I had, he’d idealized thewhat might have beenabout us. But once he got to know me now as an adult, he’d realize I was just me.
Elise Cormier. No one special.
“Yes, really,” Ava countered.
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “First of all, nothing’s going to happen between us—”
“Chemistry like a riptide,” she muttered half under her breath.
“And second…” I didn’t really have a second, so I cast about forsomethingreasonable to say. “…second, I don’t think Cole would appreciate us talking about him like this.”
Ava’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah,” she nodded fiercely. “You’re the perfect person to entrust with his happiness.”
“Ava.” For the first time in my life, I sounded like Mama. Disapproving. Unamused. And fed up.
“Promise me.”
“Ava,”I droned.
She stood, keeping her arms crossed over her chest.
We probably looked like we were about twelve, standing there like mirror images.
“If you think it’s so ridiculous, so unlikely of a possibility that you’ll get together, then where’s the harm in promising me that you’ll fight for him if he screws up your hypothetical relationship?”
I swallowed. She kind of had me there.
“Promise me,”she sing-songed. Now she really sounded like she was twelve.
And in that moment, Cole’s voice echoed down the hall. “Ava? Elise? Dinner’s ready.”
