It's been four days since we released the blood work. Four days of frustration, lack of sleep and constantly feeling the need to be looking over my shoulder. Sylva is just as worried as I am and keeps checking in even though I tell him not to. He agrees with me that I should have heard something by now, the silence is worrying. On top of all that, Lance has been breathing down my neck, telling me over and over what a bad move this was, that I should never have made this decision and I can only ignore her calls for so long. Something needs to happen. Or I need to make something happen.
Slowing the speed and bringing the treadmill I'm on to a stop, I grab the towel hanging on the bar and wipe the beads of sweat off my neck and chest. Even though I’m pregnant, I still want to keep myself as healthy as I can, not only for myself but the baby as well. I was worried that working out would somehow hurt the baby but my doctor assured me as long as I’m not over doing it I can continue with my routine.
Placing the towel back on the rail, I grab the water bottle and take a sip quenching my thirst. The condensation on the water bottle feels cool against my sweaty hands and a droplet from the water trickles off the bottle landing on my belly. I rub the water into my stomach and leave my hand there, saying hello to the little baby growing inside. I figured since I was taking Ali’s advice on eating better I would try the whole talking to the baby idea too. Sometimes I feel like a crazy person who talks to herself but other times I find great comfort in talking about Dante. When I’m alone and lost in my thoughts, talking to the baby about its baby’s father seems to be the only thing that brings me peace.
Leaving the basement, I walk up the stairs to wash the sweat off my body and get my day started. I don’t really have anything to do today but I find keeping myself busy is better than being alone with my thoughts. My mind goes to very dark places with the rage that consumes me. Every day I come up with a new way on how I can kill Sal that would be sweet revenge for Dante, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t leave a big ass smile on my face. At times it scares me but most of the time it keeps me going. He deserves everything that’s coming to him.
After my shower, I put on a pair of yoga pants and t-shirt and grab my sneakers before I make myself breakfast. It’s a beautiful day out and so I’m going to head to the park. The fresh air always seems to be exactly what I need to refocus on the task at hand. I want to take these assholes down soon so I can put all my energy into being a good mother to this little miracle Dante left behind.
After driving to the park, I take a seat on the bench that I’ve been occupying the past couple days. I don’t know what keeps bringing me back here. Maybe my doubts about myself as a single parent, or the fear I might not be ready for this. All my doubts and worries don’t matter because either way, ready or not, this is going to happen. I watch as the mothers push their kids on the swings, and the kids yell to be pushed higher. I laugh at the moms who have a heart attack when their children go down the slide the wrong way, and I frown at the fathers playing with their little ones, knowing that my child will never have that. A little girl falls off the monkey bars and I jump forward, placing my hand over my chest as the girl shouts out for her mommy. She has tears streaming down her face and she’s holding her elbow, crying that she has a boo boo. The mom is so calm, and it leaves me wondering if she even saw what happened. She places a kiss on her daughters elbow and the little girl gets up and runs away with a smile on her face. I lean back against the bench and let out a sigh of relief. I pull out my phone and look down to the screen, I send Ali a text message. I haven’t spoken to her since our argument, so I’m not sure whether she will respond or not.
Me: I don’t think I’m cut out for this mother thing. I almost had a heart attack watching a kid fall off the monkey bars at the park. I think I was more panicked than her mother was. How am I going to do this all by myself?
Ali: LOL. You will be a great mother. See…your motherly instincts are already kicking in. And remember, you’re not going to do it by yourself. You have all of us and we are going to be here for whatever you need. Now stop being the creepy person watching the kids at the park and go catch some bad guys. LOVE YOU!
“Mind if I sit?” Looking up, I see the same woman whose little girl just fell off the monkey bars.
“Not at all.” I slide over on the bench to make more room for her.
“I’m Ferris.” Holding out her hand, I take it and introduce myself.
“Ava. Nice to meet you.”
“I’ve noticed you have been here the past couple days.” Her words suddenly make me feel like Ali’s text message was right. God, does this woman think I’m a creeper sitting in the park?
“Yeah,” placing my hand over my stomach. “Just checking out some parks for when my little one arrives.”
“Oh how wonderful. Do you mind?” Before I can ask, mind what? Her hand is over my belly just like Ali predicted. “So tiny. How far along are you?”
“Fourteen Weeks.” I say proudly.
“Cruising your way right into your second trimester, nice. This is your first, correct?”
“Is it that obvious?” My voice suddenly doesn’t sound too confident as I slump a little and she chuckles.
“I noticed your concern when Gwen fell off the bars.” She smiles and shrugs.
“Please don’t take this as an insult, but how did you manage to stay so calm? I almost had a heart attack for you.”
“Gwen is our youngest, but our eldest, Sawyer,” she nods across the park toward the soccer field at a boy that looks about fourteen. “He’s given me enough scares to last a lifetime. From broken bones, to knocked out teeth, that kid has managed to bruise and break his way through his whole life so far.” I’m still confused as to how she managed to stay so calm after telling me that. It must show on my face because she laughs again. “With your first kid, you go crazy worrying about the smallest things. If their pacifier drops on the floor you pull out a new one and sterilize the other one when you get home. With the second kid, you just pick it up off the floor, lick it off and pop it right back into your kids mouth.” I scrunch my nose. That’s gross. “Make that face all you want but you’ll see, when that second kid rolls around you will be a pro from your first one and you will be able to tell the minor boo boos from the huge ones.”
Putting up my hand I stop her there. “Oh there won’t be another one.” I’m not sure why I felt the need to divulged that information. Ferris is a stranger, one I’ve just met at that. My voice had a little attitude that I didn’t intend for. Ferris’s sudden lack of eye contact brings me to realize I made her uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. That sounded snippy.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m sure you came here for some relaxation and here I am babbling on and on.”
“No, you’ve been great. It’s nice to be able to talk to someone about all this who has kids. Well, young kids.” Yeah I can talk to my mom and Joe, but it’s not the same. Their kids are grown and out of the house.
“Well,” she reaches into her purse, pulling out a pen and paper and starts scribbling. “If you ever need someone to talk to or need any guidance and advice from someone who’s been through it, here’s where you can reach me.” Smiling warmly at her, I take the piece of paper from her and smile proudly at my accomplishment- I just might have taken the first step to making a mommy friend.
“Thank you. You’re way too kind. And I will most definitely take you up on your offer.” Just then, my phone goes off. “Excuse me.” Pulling the phone out of my pocket, I see the name I’ve been waiting for flash across the screen. Not wanting to taint the peacefulness of the park, I tell Ferris I have to take a work call and that I’ll see her around before walking off.
“Hello?” I snap into the phone like I usually do when Angelo calls. Just hearing his voice disgusts me. I knew Sal wouldn’t be calling me because he doesn’t usually make personal calls and if he does, then you know it’s really bad.
“Ava.” His tone is flat and for the first time he sounds annoyed to
hear my voice. This gives me all the confirmation I need that Sal saw our DNA results.
“Angelo.” I mock him.
“Sal wants to meet with you at the restaurant. Now.”
“Well lucky for Sal, I happen to be free at the moment. Tell him I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” I hang up on Angelo and do a little fist pump in the air. You would think it’s too early to celebrate, but this is all I’ve been thinking about and have a well thought out plan to start executing.
The drive to the restaurant isn’t too far away so I make a quick call to the one person I truly trust.
“Hey, Ava.” The sound of scrambling in his end of the call makes me take a glance at the clock to check the time.
“Shit, did I wake you?” Kicking my left leg up, I fold it on the seat. I know it’s not the safest way to drive but it’s comfortable.
“Yeah, we had a late night last night. A couple bodies showed up and they needed all hands on deck.”
Feeling bad that I woke him, I figure I can just fill him in later. “I'm sorry, I'll let you go back to bed.”
“It's okay. What's up?”
“I think the blood work is finally paying off. I’m on my way to go meet with Sal.” More shuffling comes through on the other bed and I’m sure he's sitting up now.
“Fuck. What happened? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I'm fine.” I assure him. “I got a call from Angelo about ten minutes ago telling me he wants me there immediately. Nothing else was said so I’m heading there now.”
“I don't like this. You need some kind of backup with you.” His worried tone doesn’t go unnoticed but I have to ease his worries.
“I knew you wouldn't like me telling you this, but I also knew you wouldn't like being left out in the dark. I can’t risk having any kind of backup, I need to do this one alone. I'm heading there early so I can check out who's there and get a feel of the energy in the room, if something feels off, I’ll text you. I have a good feeling about this though. I can't explain why, but I just feel like this is going to be a step in the right direction. I just need you to trust that I got this.”
“I trust you and know you're smart enough to know when to get out if need be. Let's meet when it's all said and done. You know the place. I'll grab the wife and head up there in a few.”
“Okay, sounds good. I'll be in touch.”
“Good luck, Ava.”
Planning and thinking about what I’d do in certain situations makes me feel better. Going through scenarios in my head always calms me down.
I have my knife hidden on me, so if they say no guns and I have to leave mine in the car, I’ll feel safer knowing I have that with me. I still remember the day Dante found out that I didn’t really care for guns and knives were my specialty. The look on his face was priceless and I’ll never forget it.
Sunday funday. The best day of football season. My mom and dad are huge football fanatics so it was only natural that I would grow up with the same love for the sport. My brother did as well but somewhere along the way he lost his damn marbles and stopped rooting for the Giants and rooted for the Eagles instead. He is always the odd man out when it comes to stuff like that and sometimes I think he does it on purpose to rile up the family.
I just finished making another batch of my homemade salsa and I grabbed a bag of chips from the pantry and went down to my basement to watch the game. It's my woman cave, if you will.
The Giants are playing the Eagles today and my brother has been trash texting me all morning. He's lucky I'm not there or else I would kick his ass.
The game so far has been very entertaining, but frustrating as well. The Giants are winning but only by a couple points. The Eagles are playing better than they normally do and they are giving my team a run for their money.
Watching the next play, the quarterback does the unthinkable and throws an interception.
"What the fuck!" I stomp my feet and walk to the couch, putting the bowl and chips on the coffee table with a little more force than necessary. "That's the third fucking time! What the fuck is wrong with you? Get your Goddamn shit together already or get out!" The sound of crashing footsteps catches my attention as Dante comes barreling down the stairs into the basement. He's looking around frantically with his gun out then looks to me. I raise my eyebrow and smirk at him.
"Are you alone?" His voice is a mixture of confusion and concern.
"I was. But now that you're here, I'm not. Why did you come barreling down here and why do you have your gun drawn out?" Leaning down, I grab a chip, dip it into the salsa and pop it in my mouth. He's staring at me like I have three heads as I stand here and chew.
"So if it's just you here, what was all the yelling I heard from outside your front door?" He holsters his gun.
"That would be the quarterback for my football team throwing yet another interception. He needs to get his shit together."
Walking over to me, he closes the space between our two bodies and pulls me into him. I'm looking up at him and he's just smiling down at me. I smile back and he lowers his head, bringing his warm lips to mine. I open my mouth slightly and he does all the rest. Our tongues do a dance and suddenly stop as Dante pulls away.
"I didn't know you were coming by today. I hope you like football." Walking over to the couch I sit and he sits next to me."
"I didn't know you liked football."
"I don't, I love it."
"How come you never brought that up?"
"Honestly, I thought you would like a team that’s just horrible and I wouldn't be able to respect you as a man anymore." Holding his hand up and scrunching his nose I laugh at the fact that he's offended.
"I'll have you know I am a die-hard Giants fan. In fact, I own the best sweatshirt ever."
"Wow, watch out world. The man’s got a sweatshirt that is the absolute best. So tell me, what makes it so special."
"I can't tell you." Dante smiles crookedly.
"I own lots of things but there are only a few I consider special."
Just remembering my doors were locked leaves me wondering. "Did you pick my lock to get in?" He looks around sheepishly and smirks.
"Well I was going to pick your lock since that seems to be our thing but I heard you yelling and thought you could have been in trouble. When I heard the get the fuck out I kicked in your door, all ready to be you knight in shining armor. Sexy right?" I smack his arm smiling. Yup, I totally think it's sexy.
"So let me get this straight. You came here with intentions of picking my lock." He nods. "Then you hear screaming and decide it’s a better idea to kick it down. I hope you know you're going to get me a new door and fix it."
"I know and I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You’re right that shit is sexy." I can’t help the smile that places on my lips as I look at him.
"I'll even take away the old door for you."
"That won't be necessary I can use it." His eyebrows draw in and I suddenly get excited that there's another thing he doesn't know about me. “Come here and I'll show you.”
I walk over to the dartboard and place my arm against the wall leaning my body on it and smirk.
“I’m not following. What does a dartboard have to do with a door?” Rolling my eyes I grab him by his arms and position him a couple feet away from the board.
“Stand here.” Quickly going up the stairs, I head into my room and open my closet door. I reach up to the rack and grab the black leather case I’m looking for, close the door and head back downstairs. As I’m opening the case, I look over at Dante. “Close your eyes.”
“No.”
“Oh come on. Just humor me, please?” I jokingly pout like a four-year-old would and he shakes his head and chuckles but closes his eyes. Grazing my hands over all the knives, I stop above my favorite one and pull it out. Lining myself up with the dartboard, I extend my arm over my shoulder and throw it forward releasing the knife. It makes a loud pop but lands exactly where I want it. Dante’s eyes pop open at the sound and
looks to the right of him at the board.
“Holy shit, Ava.” I laugh and he pulls the knife out of the center. “You can’t just have people close their eyes and then toss knives at them.” He walks back over to me handing it to me.
“Yes you can, I do it all the time.” I’m still laughing at his shocked face.
“You’re kind of insane you know that? And what do you mean you do it all the time?”
“Oh stop. I’ve had years of practice and I’m quite skilled with knives. In fact, it kind of became a party trick at our family functions. Go get my door, I’ll show you.” He hesitates and I can tell he’s mulling this one over in his head but never the less, he heads upstairs and grabs my door and brings it back down.
“Over there.” I point to the wall next to the dartboard. He places it up against the wall and turns to face me. “Okay great. Now stand with your back against the door.”
“No.” He holds his hands up. “No way. What do you think this is a circus or something?”
“Well, my mother always told me if nothing panned out after high school I was good enough to go join one.” Rolling the knife back and forth in my hand, I wait for him to man up. He’s never one to back down from a challenge and he won’t start now. “Don’t worry, if I miss, which I never do, I’ll take you right to the ER.”
“If I’m still alive to take.” He mumbles but places his back against the door.
“You can close your eyes if you want. I won’t think any less of you.” I joke, grabbing three more knives from the case and setting them by my side. Pulling my arm back I get in position and lock eyes with Dante who is just staring at me. “Do you trust me?”
“With my life.” He smirks.
I smile. “Good. As long as you don’t move you will be just fine.”
Tossing the first knife, it lands right next to his left arm. Picking the rest up, I quickly do the same thing until I’m done throwing all of them. His body is outlined with knives and the only time he flinched a little was after the last one landed just above his head. After I’m done, he steps out and turns looking at the door.
Ava's Revenge: (Salvation Series Book 2) Page 4