A Broken Fate

by Cat Mann

  ****

  We arrived at Andy and Aggie’s in the early afternoon. The house was already packed with family and close friends busily decorating for the holidays and getting ready for the evening’s Thanksgiving feast. The smell of turkey and fresh bread hung in the air.

  Ari and I walked in through the back door, hand in hand, and when he wrapped his free arm around his mother and wished her a happy Thanksgiving, she smiled and kissed his cheeks. He let her go and I stepped in to take his place.

  “Aggie, I am so sorry for everything I have put you through. Ari and I talked last night and … ”

  Aggie patted my cheek.

  “I am just happy to see you smile, Ava. You don’t need to explain anything to me.”

  Ari gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

  Ari and I cuddled on the couch for the rest of the afternoon and laughed with friends and family. The dinner table was even more crowded than usual. The Alexanders had gained a few more celebrants over the past year. Lauren’s boyfriend, Luke, lived in Washington, so he had accepted Aggie’s invitation to join them over break, and August and Collin joined us, too.

  They were officially an item and Collin had even moved into our pool house to be with August. Ari and I didn’t mind. I was super happy to see August happy. He and Collin were such an odd couple that I loved to watch them interact with each other. August was sweet to Collin, getting up to refill Collin’s drink or nudging him on the shoulder, and they laughed together at little inside jokes like an old married couple. However, Collin never spoke with me. At first I thought he was just shy and was sure that he would warm up to me and everything would be great, but the more I was around him, the more he avoided even looking at me. He and Ari and the rest of the family got along just great, but with Collin around, I was reminded of who I am and how uncomfortable I make some people.

  August caught me staring at him and Collin during dinner and threw a dinner roll right at my head. He didn’t anticipate Ari’s quick reflexes. Ari caught the roll right in front of my face and whipped it back in one fluid motion, hitting August square on the forehead. Aggie started shouting that there would be no more throwing food and Ari threw his own roll at her, causing her to blink in surprise. She put on an angry face while trying to hide her laughter from everyone else. Even Nick, the quietest of the cousins, joined in.

  Nick was also the tallest of the cousins. All of them shared the same bright brown eyes and creamy skin, but Nick’s hair was a lighter, honey-brown color, like his mother’s. Unlike Ari, Nick kept his hair neat and short. He was charming, handsome and smart and currently finishing law school at Pepperdine. He was also quiet and kind of insular; we saw him only a few Sundays a month, on holidays and at an occasional beach party.

  In the middle of the laughter, Nick’s cell phone rang from his pocket. There had always been a strict ‘no phones at the dinner table’ rule at the Alexander’s home. Nick pulled the phone out of his pocket. He scooted his chair back from the table and took the call while he walked towards the living room. Gianna frowned. Thais took his napkin off his lap and began to scoot his chair back.

  Nick could be seen just beyond the dining room and his voice carried in to us all seated at the table. His face had taken on a pale hue and his breathing was labored. Clearly he was experiencing some kind of shock.

  “Is she okay?” He asked the question three times to the person on the other end of the line before he came to pieces and dropped to his knees onto the hardwood floor. He held his cell phone in his hand, cried and shook with fierce emotion. The family all looked at one another, confused and worried at Nick’s obvious grief. I saw Ari make eye contact with Collin just across the table. Collin eyes grew large with shock and Ari put his head in his hands.

  Thais went to Nick’s side to see what had his son so upset. Nick pushed him off and shouted angrily at his father.

  Ari stood up, fished his car keys out of his pocket and went to Nick’s side. He took Nick’s cell phone out of his hand and began to talk to whoever was still on the other end of the line. Ari talked quickly and then ended the call. He brought Nick to his feet. “C’mon. Let’s go for a ride.”

  Collin whispered something to August and then stood up and went along with them.

  “Ava, I’ll call you,” Ari said to me before he closed the door behind them.

  The crowd that was gathered at the table looked at me.

  “What is going on?” Thais demanded.

  I swallowed. “I honestly don't have a clue – no idea what just happened,” I answered. In my heart, though, I knew the phone call and Nick’s breakdown somehow involved Misha.

  “Rory? Do you know what is going on with Nick?”

  Rory, wide eyed, shook his head from side to side. “No. I really haven’t seen much of Nick lately until tonight.”

  Julia, Gianna, Lauren and I helped Aggie pack up leftovers, wash dishes and wipe down counter tops. Everyone was quiet as we worked.

  We all sat in the living room and waited for a phone call. August had tried Collin’s cell phone a few times but he didn’t answer. Thais tried to call Nick, but the call went straight to voicemail.

  “Ava, phone Ari, please. Find out what is going on with my son,” Thais asked with his head in his hands.

  “Sure.” I agreed and called Ari’s cell. He picked up on the first ring.

  “Ava, Baby, I will call you in a minute.” He hung up the line without saying another word.

  I shook my head no at the group.

  A minute turned into an hour. The group grew restless. My phone rang and various family members let out gasps, and relieved breaths.

  “Are you alone?” Ari asked as soon as I answered my cell.

  I looked around at all the faces staring at me. “No. I am with your family.”

  “Go home. We'll talk there, I'm pulling in the drive as we speak.”

  “Ari, they want to know what’s going on.”

  “I just dropped Nick off at his parents’ house. He wants to be the first to talk with them about some things. Tell Gianna and Thais that Nick is home and then come out the back door; I will meet you outside. I am walking your way now.”

  “Ok … ” Ari hung up. “Um … ” I stammered as I stared back at the solemn and worried faces around me. “Nick is home. He wants to talk with you there, Gianna and Thais. I still don’t know what happened; Nick wants to be the one to talk with you.”

  People stood up and began to talk in hushed tones. They speculated and stretched their legs.

  Without saying goodbye, I walked out the back sliding glass door.

  Ari waited for me at the bottom of the steps on the sandy beach. He wrapped his arms tightly around me in a hug.

  “Let’s go home.”

  “Tell me what happened first, Ari.”

  “I will tell you everything, I promise. But first I just want to get you safely home.”

  Ari scooped me in his arms and carried me down the sandy path. He walked up the wooden deck steps, passed our pool and went through our sun porch. Ari walked through the house and finally ended in our bedroom where he set me down in our bed. He sat down next to me.

  “Misha died tonight of a drug overdose.”

  I gasped.

  “She has been battling with a prescription drug problem for a long time,” Ari’s voice was sad and hoarse. “She and Nick were going through a lot. He told her he would introduce her to his family as his girlfriend as soon as she sought help for her addiction. She agreed to clean up her act but had a hard time following through with the treatment. The worst part is that Misha found out that she was pregnant a month ago.”

  I gasped again and tears filled my eyes.

  “Nick was very worried about the baby, so he checked Misha into the rehab center again about a week ago. She stayed for a few days and then checked herself back out. She went on a drug binge and that's when she came to our house. Nick was really angry with her for that. He left her at their apartment and came home for the wee
kend – to get some space and clear his head. He had not heard from Misha until Nigel called him tonight. Misha had called Rachel earlier in the day. Rachel said Misha didn’t sound right, that something was wrong, so she and Nigel left to check up on her. Rachel and Nigel found Misha unresponsive; she was already dead when they arrived.”

  “And the baby?”

  Ari slowly shook his head no.

  “Oh, Ari! That’s so sad,” I cried.

  “Yes, it is absolutely horrible – what happened. I still can’t believe it myself.”

  We hugged and sat quietly for a bit.

  “When is the funeral? Does Nick want us to help him with anything?”

  “He called Misha’s parents. They're driving down from Etna now to make arrangements for their daughter to be buried at home. They told Nick to keep away. They don’t want to see him or anyone in his family. Collin is packing whatever she had at Nick’s apartment so they can take it all back with them.”

  My heart sank.“I could have helped her! She came here for help but I was too consumed with my own shit to do anything for her.”

  “No! No, Ava. This has nothing to do with you. You got stuck in this mess by pure accident. If Emily hadn’t asked about Nick’s relationship status that day, you would never have known anything about the two of them being together. You had nothing to do with what happened to her.”

  “Ari!” I whined.

  “Ava, stop. This situation with Misha and Nick – it’s awful. She was a very sweet and loving person. She really was. And if she had been well, she would have been a great mother to their baby. He was ready to start a family with her. He just wanted her to get well first. She couldn’t do that and there wasn’t anything we could have done for her.”

  “What do we do now?”

  Ari let out a breath from between his cheeks. “Nick is telling his parents everything now. Tomorrow he is going to talk to Rory and Julia and then he is going to tell my mom and dad. I don’t know what he wants to do for Misha. He isn’t welcome at her services; her family made that perfectly clear. Keeping this secret from his family was wrong, but we cannot judge him for that because we are keeping a dark secret of our own.”

  “Seven.” I said.

  “Yeah … No. 7. They have to know, Ava. I can't do the deception thing. I won’t keep this secret from the people I love.”

  “You’re right. I’ll tell them.”

  “We will … I'll tell them with you. We're a team, remember?”

  I nodded and sent a somewhat bleak smile in Ari's direction. He returned the look. His eyes were sad.

  “How is Nick holding up?”

  “He is a man who has lost his heart, Ava. He was … inconsolable.” Ari shook his head slowly at the thought.

  Ari took my chin in his hand; he lifted my head up so my lips would meet his. He kissed me sweetly at first then moved closer to me and wrapped his arms around my body, closing the gap. A spark ignited between us. The heaviness of the evening came crashing down upon us and we were desperately in need of one another. I kissed him back and pushed myself up against him. Ari moved his hands up my body and cupped my chest. I moaned and my cheeks turned hot with the sound. He stood up and pulled me to my feet. He removed my shirt and then his own. He unbuttoned his pants and removed them. He did the same to mine. He peeled my pants slowly down my hips. His fingers traced delicately back up my inner thigh.

  Ari’s lips met mine again, he gripped my behind and pulled me up to meet him. Ari flexed his hips. His fingers began to tug at my underwear.

  Ari’s phone rang. He hesitated for a moment and it rang again. He bent down, picked his discarded pants up off the floor and dug his cell phone out of his pocket. He fumbled around with it for a moment and finally hit the answer button. He walked away to talk. The moment between us was gone. The heavy feeling of what had happened to Misha crept back into my mind. I donned my usual sleeping clothes – Ari’s boxers and a soft, white cotton tee. I was tired. It was well past midnight.

  Ari walked back into the bedroom, still talking. “Come on over in a bit. We can talk about things here,” he said. “No, Ava’s here … ” Ari looked over at me for the first time since he came back in the room. He looked me up and down, taking in the sight of my frumpy, baggy clothes. “Ava’s just getting ready to go to sleep,” he sighed. “See you in a minute.” Ari hung up the phone.

  “That was Nick.”

  I nodded.

  “He’s coming by.”

  I nodded again.

  Ari slipped his pants back on and I lay down on his side of the bed. He shut off the bedside light, kissed me on the top of the head and left to open the back door for Nick.