Ava (A Hart Twins Novel Rx Book 1)

by Charyse Allan

  Her wide, terrified eyes made me want to kill whoever was harassing her. This explained the unknown number she was ignoring, but it didn’t explain why she hadn’t told me. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, gripping her arms tighter, wanting nothing more than to protect her.

  “I didn’t want you to worry.” She shrugged. “With my car and my props, I know I’m being targeted, but I don’t know why. They haven’t left any messages or anything, which sounds silly, but I have no idea why I’m being attacked. I didn’t do anything to deserve this, did I?”

  The tears welling up in her eyes made me want to rip the world apart just to keep her safe. I had to take a deep breath to keep my anger under control. “No, you didn’t,” I growled, pulling her into my chest. She finally uncrossed her arms, wrapping them around my waist. After a long minute of holding her close, I pulled back, asking, “That’s all that’s been bothering you?”

  The corners of her mouth pulled down, but she nodded. I sighed in relief, which seems crazy, but I was totally relieved. We could deal with this—we could figure it out. Brushing a hand over her cheek, I kissed her forehead. “Let’s just worry about this later, okay? I want you to forget about it this weekend and enjoy the prom you’ve been working your ass off to put together.”

  Another deep breath was necessary. My real emotions strained to be released, but I held them back. I wanted to take off with her and hide her away so no one could hurt her, wanted to hunt down whoever was messing with her, wanted to hound the police until they figured out who it was. But voicing any of this would only stress her out more. Right then, I needed her to breathe and be excited for prom.

  “Next week, we’ll talk to your dad, tell him about the phone calls and figure all this shit out, okay?” She nodded again, and I leaned down to give her a quick kiss, reveling in the feel of her sweet, soft lips. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, Ava,” I told her, gripping her tighter. I wouldn’t. No one would touch her, ever.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Ava

  The next day was prom—naturally, I was at the museum most of the day. The decorations had to be just right, everything perfect. Most of the prom committee helped, which was nice, and I was actually relieved Trent didn’t show up for setup. Almost everyone griped over his absence, saying he was the worst class president ever, but I was glad. I didn’t want to deal with his drama, and he had been exceptionally crazy lately, so I wanted to avoid him at all costs.

  After making sure everything was ready at the museum, I ran home to get ready. Rabia met me there so we could get ready together, which was great since I missed my bestie. I was glad she and Kenton were still together and she was getting to go to prom with him. Apparently, Mason had even been able to talk Rachel into going with him, so all us misfits had prom dates.

  I slid on my simple, gray western dress, which had three-quarter sleeves, stopped right above my knees, and had a thick, black leather belt in the middle. The outfit was topped of with some awesome black boots I found at a thrift store at the beginning of the week. My outfit wasn’t super fancy, but I loved it.

  Rabia went a little more traditional, with a white, button-up blouse, a long maroon skirt and some lace-up boots. I helped her do her hair in an intricate side braid, and she did mine in actual uniform curls, rather than my usual messy ones.

  While she was doing this, she gave me an apprehensive smile in the mirror. “You seem a little better today,” she stated, avoiding my eyes as if she were embarrassed to bring it up.

  This made my chest ache. She shouldn’t feel bad about confronting me, but with how crappy a friend I’d been, I was lucky she was still sticking around. When she finally met my gaze in the mirror again, I gave her a tentative smile. “I am better,” I told her. “Cade and I talked last night, and I feel a lot better.”

  “You told him about Vanderbilt?” The question made me cringe.

  She knew I had decided to go to Vanderbilt because of Cade’s internship and that I hadn’t told him about it. I hadn’t told him the night before either. I wasn’t ready to yet, which was such a lame excuse, but it was all I had. I wanted to get through prom, exactly as he said. Then we would deal with everything else afterward. “No. I’m going to tell him after tonight. Like maybe on Monday or something. I just didn’t want to ruin this weekend. I want to enjoy it and not think about what’s coming next yet.”

  “That’s understandable.” She nodded, wrapping another strand of hair around the curling iron. “Just… don’t keep him in the dark. He really cares about you.”

  Guilt overwhelmed me. It wasn’t as if I didn’t care about him. I loved him. Our short relationship had brought the best weeks of my life. But I wasn’t sure it could last, that we could survive long distance. Or my betrayal. Keeping him in the dark for so long was one of the worst things I had ever done to anyone. He deserved so much better.

  Mom came up to watch us finish getting ready with tears in her eyes and a camera in hand. As it was our last prom and graduation was only a couple weeks away, it was a pretty big deal, but I wasn’t excited in the least bit. Mia wasn’t there getting ready with us, but I figured she probably went to one of her friends’ houses. Mom had taken her dress shopping a few days back after her “official” breakup with Kenny. She had been her usual hermit self since then, not socializing with any of us. Even if it stung, I shouldn’t have expected her to treat our last prom any different.

  Right when we finished our makeup, the doorbell rang, making my nerves tingle. We followed Mom downstairs, seeing Dad had already let the guys in. Kenton stood off to the side, wearing dark slacks and a plain, button-up shirt, which looked a lot like Rabia’s. He only had eyes for her, which was super adorable. My gaze met Cade’s, as he stood right at the bottom of the stairs drinking me in. He looked amazing in gray slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a nice gray vest. It looked almost exactly like the guy’s outfit on that cowboy/alien movie with the super hot actor. It was perfect.

  Rabia went straight to Kenton who greeted her with a big hug and a single pink rose. But I could barely pay attention to them with Cade’s smoldering gaze trained on me. It was a little awkward with Mom and Dad watching, but I could hardly care when he scooped me up in a big hug.

  “You look extremely hot,” he breathed in my ear, low enough no one else could hear. Chilly bumps rose over my entire body and blood rushed up my cheeks.

  When he set me down, I beamed. “You don’t look too bad yourself, cowboy.”

  We took half a million pictures before heading out to Cade’s car, Kenton and Rabia going to Kenton’s car. At the front door, Mom gave me a bone-crushing hug and Cade a kiss on the cheek. Then Dad gave me a hug and Cade a firm handshake, telling him to have me home before midnight, earning an eye roll from me.

  In the car, Cade started it but leaned toward me to the glove box, saying, “I almost forgot.” He pulled a small black box out of it with a crooked smile. “I thought those corsage things were super cheesy and cliché, which we are not, so I got you something else.”

  After handing it to me, he fidgeted. Inside the box, a simple silver chain toggle bracelet with a little heart charm on it rested on a velvet pad. The heart had a “C” in the center of it. It wasn’t flashy, which was totally perfect. I pulled it out and held it out to him.

  His brow creased. “You don’t like it?”

  “No, silly.” I rolled my eyes. “I love it! Can you put it on for me please?”

  His heavy sigh made me giggle before he took the bracelet from me and put it on my wrist. I leaned over, giving him a giant hug and a steamy kiss. “Jeez, I’m going to buy you jewelry more often.” He chuckled, shaking his head while putting the car in gear. As he pulled away from my house, he gave me a devilish grin. “Let’s go have some fun, shall we?”

  It was amazing, letting everything go for one night, enjoying his company, as I hadn’t since the night he told me about the interview. We met Rabia, Kenton, Mason, and Rachel for dinner at some fancy place. Cade
was a total gentleman, making sure everything was perfect for me, which only made my guilt more prominent.

  When we got to the museum, people were already crowding inside, getting their pictures taken by the old wagon right inside. The party was going full-steam in the convention center. The decorations made it feel as if we had walked into the past, right into an old western saloon.

  Cade stopped right inside, seeing the surprise I had for him up on the stage. With how amazing the band was, I had secretly gone back to The Coffee Shop and asked Grace if Cranium could play for our prom. She was jumping up and down on the stage, getting the whole crowd riled up, and Jake’s Purple Mohawk bobbed around.

  Cade pulled me in, giving me another amazing, heart-stopping kiss, then looked at me with smoldering eyes. “You’re amazing,” he declared right before dragging me on the dance floor.

  We danced forever, holding each other, bouncing around, our bodies dripping sweat. Rabia and Mason found us with their dates at one point, and we all danced together. But then Grace sang a slow song and we broke off. The guilt was still there, still nagging at me to tell Cade and get it over with, but I wanted the one night. Wanted it to be perfect.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Halfway through the night, I got thirsty from all the dancing. He was chivalrous, offering to go get me a drink while I continued dancing with some of the girls from my dance group. Two songs passed, then three, and he still wasn’t back. I didn’t really worry, but I did wonder where he’d gone. Pushing through the crowd of writhing bodies, it took me a whole song to get through. When I finally did, I scanned over the tables but didn’t see him, until my eyes reached the entrance on the other side of the room.

  He stood there, eyes burning through me, jaw tight, arms crossed over his chest. My heart sank at the sight of Sydney at his side. She was talking animatedly, waving her arms around, but his eyes never left me, them becoming more and more angry.

  What the hell was she saying to him? And why the heck would it make him mad at me?

  No matter what she was saying, I was not going to let her ruin my night. When she rested a hand on his shoulder, obviously trying to comfort him, making me want to break her hand, I charged toward them. But he shook his head, spun on his heel, and left the room. Sydney watched him go with a smile, then turned it on me, making me want to slap her. There could never be a prom without some drama. By the time I got to the exit, she stood in my way, so I couldn’t go after him.

  “Get out of my way, Sydney,” I practically snarled, which couldn’t have been attractive, but whatev.

  “Is something wrong, Ava?” With a sweet smile, she batted her mascara-clumpy eyelashes.

  “What did you say to him?” I demanded since she wasn’t getting out of the way.

  “Oh, nothing.” Her shrug had rage boiling up inside me.

  “If you don’t either tell me or get the hell out of my way, so help me, I will slap you,” I growled, making her laugh. Oh, my God, I was going to explode on her.

  “Oh, you wanted me to move?” More eyelash batting. “Let me get out of your way.”

  She made her way back to the dance floor with an added hip sway. Sweet baby Jesus, it took everything in me to turn and go looking for Cade, rather than yanking her hair out of her head.

  The museum was much bigger than I imagined it would be. Most of the lights were off, so it was pretty dark, but I could see well enough to check the many rooms. It seemed to take me forever to look through all of them, some being inhabited by students doing the dirty. I could go a million lifetimes never having to see any of that again.

  I finally had the sense to get my phone out of my clutch and called Cade. Every ring seemed to last a lifetime, but he finally answered on like the seventh one.

  “What do you want, Ava?” he asked, sounding defeated.

  What the hell? My heart cracked, making me want to weep, but I held it in.

  “What do you mean, ‘what do I want?’” I demanded. “You just took off on me. Where did you go?”

  “I left.”

  Those two simple words, said as if it was no big deal, ripped through me. “What do you mean, you left? This is prom. We came together. You can’t just leave.” Panic gripped me to the point of me not paying attention to where I was going. I ended up in a smaller room that looked like an old kitchen. Clutching my sides, I took a deep breath, waiting for him to answer.

  He let loose a heavy breath. “Why didn’t you tell me, Ava?”

  “Tell you what?” I pleaded, desperation and anger consuming me.

  “About Vanderbilt.”

  Oh, my God! How had Sydney found out about that? No one besides Rabia and my own family knew about it. Did Rabia tell her? I shook the thought from my head, unable to see my best friend betraying me that way. “I… I… was….” I stammered, then cleared my throat. “I was going to tell you. I was going to talk to you about it. I just didn’t want to ruin the night.”

  “Oh?” he asked in a condescending tone. “So what’s your excuse for going the last two months without telling me?” I had no words. My heart was in a million pieces, and a lump clogged my throat. He made an impatient noise when I didn’t respond. “You know what’s the worst? I asked you, I asked you at least four times, and I ended up having to hear the truth from Sydney. How is it she knew before I did?”

  “I didn’t tell her,” I yelled… or pleaded. “I didn’t. I didn’t tell anyone besides Rabia. I wanted to tell you. But I was still deciding whether or not I was going. I was leaning toward U of P, but… then you got the internship….” I trailed off. There was nothing else to say, especially when he chuckled darkly.

  “That’s what’s been going on. It had nothing to do with those phone calls. You knew I would tell you to go, to follow your dream, so you put a fucking expiration date on us. You ended it before even confiding in me.” I wanted to say something, wanted to stop him from tearing me apart and making me feel like the terrible person I was, but he kept going. “How the hell were we supposed to work things out if you weren’t willing to tell me the truth? It’s not as if you didn’t have the chance. You refused to talk. I can’t do this, Ava. I tried. I tried so hard to make you see, to show you how much you mean to me. You just didn’t give a shit.”

  “But I—”

  “No,” he barked, interrupting me. I felt so small. So very small. “I’m done talking about this shit. I’m done.”

  No. No, no, no. I couldn’t let this end. Not like this. Leaving the room I was in, I made my way back down the dark hall, toward what I hoped was the exit of the building. “Cade, please just—” A noise at the far end of the hall startled me. Nothing was there when I spun around, but my pulse still kicked up a notch, my breath quickening. I felt like the girl wandering alone in one of those cheesy slasher movies I loved so much.

  “You gonna finish that sentence, Ava?” Cade snapped, bringing me back to our conversation.

  “I just… I need you to—” This time something crashed in one of the rooms, making me squeak.

  “Ava, what’s going on?” he demanded, sounding slightly concerned but mostly angry. God, I hated being the one to make him angry.

  With my eyes squeezed shut, I shook my head. I was being lame. The phone calls and the destruction of my personal property had put me on edge, that was all. “It’s nothing,” I breathed, mostly to myself, rubbing my chest.

  “Ava, could you tell me the fucking truth for once?” he yelled, hurting my ear.

  “I heard a noise,” I retorted, drawing to my wits end. He was angry with me, probably hurting, but he didn’t need to yell at me. I rubbed a sweaty palm on my dress as I started back toward the end of the hall. “I’ve been on edge all week. I just got spooked. It’s probably some kids going at it in one of the rooms.”

  “Where are you? Why aren’t you with everyone else?”

  “I went looking for you.” I wanted to say “duh,” but it seemed childish. I felt like crap. He wasn’t there, and I screwed everythi
ng up. Worst. Prom. Ever. “I’m so sorry, Cade. I should have told you. I should have—”

  “Ava, don’t worry about it,” he interrupted again, making me want to growl, but the panic in his voice put me on edge. “Just get back to the party. I’m on my way back. We’ll talk it all out when I pick you up. Just get back where everyone else is.”

  “Cade, it’s fine. It was only a noise.” I was really trying to convince myself, but I was already shaking. It was a chore to move at a normal pace because I didn’t want to look like an idiot running back to the party. I just needed to keep talking to calm myself down. “I mean, I would love for you to come back. I want to talk, but there’s nothing—”

  Something hit me in the side of the head, really, really hard, right as I reached the end of the hall, making this loud cracking sound that echoed down the empty hallway. I yelled out. My phone hit the ground right before I did. I tried to catch myself, but my vision blurred as my eyes watered and my ears rang. My head smacked into the floor along with the rest of my body. Skull-cracking pain consume me. I groaned while the whole world spun, keeping me immobile for far too long. I may have blacked out—I can’t be sure.

  “Ava! Ava!” Cade’s voice exploded from my phone, but I was too discombobulated to find it or even move to find it. I thought I murmured his name while I tried getting up, but pain shot through my head, making me yell out again.

  There was a weird sound, as if something metal fell on the floor, right before whoever hit me crouched down by where I guessed my phone was. Then Cade’s voice was gone, leaving me completely alone with this person. Fear ripped through me, along with confusion.

  The hall was too dark for me to make out who it was. I continued trying to get up, finally getting to a sitting position, even though my vision swam, making me nauseous. Something warm trickled from the side of my head. Weirdly, all I could think about was my dress riding too far up and how I really didn’t want to be exposed to this person that way.