A Broken Fate (The Beautiful Fate Series book 2)

by Mann, Cat

  Andy sat on the couch next to Lauren, and Ari sat in the armchair in the same position as at the hospital, elbows on knees, fists in hair. I took Max and changed him into his P.J’s. He was sleepy, but with all that was going on, he refused to lie down. He walked back with me to the kitchen and I stood with him as I looked into the living room at Aggie’s family. How familiar the room was and yet how overwhelmingly alienated the family looked to me. I didn’t know if I would ever be welcomed by them again. Margaux came to stand by my side, handed me a cup of tea, and squeezed my hand.

  “You did the right thing, Ava. It doesn’t seem like it now, but you saved a lot of lives tonight.”

  I nodded my head and closed my eyes.

  Max pushed at me in an attempt to get down. He is a lot like me and when he is sleepy, he gets pretty grouchy. He ignored everyone and walked back to the bookshelf only to come back out a few moments later dragging his favorite book by the cover.

  “Hey, Buddy, want me to read that to you?” Andy offered as Max walked by him in the living room.

  “No. I want my daddy to do it,” Max grumbled.

  The whole house simultaneously sucked in a breath at Max’s words and watched as he walked towards the chair and stood in front of Ari. Ari lifted his head and blinked at him. Without a word, he pulled the boy up onto his lap and began to read.

  “Llama, Llama,” Ari started and Max put his little hand on Ari’s face and fell asleep on the third page of the story. Ari kept quietly reading until the very end. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever witnessed. When Ari finished, he closed the book and set it on the table. He stood up and walked across the room with Max asleep on the soft spot of Ari’s shoulder. He wrapped his free arm around me and pulled my face into his chest and in that moment, we both let go and cried.

  People began to shuffle around and the doors opened and closed, but neither Ari nor I bothered to look up or say goodbye. Ari held me to him long after we were alone. He took a deep breath, sighed, and kissed me on top of the head and I melted.

  “I thought…” he paused as his voice caught in his throat, “I thought I had lost you. I thought I had lost you and Max both. I am so sorry, Ava. You asked me not to leave you. I promised that I would never leave your side, Baby, I promised you. I am so sorry I broke my promise. If something… if something had happened to you my life would have been over.”

  “I’m fine, Ari, it’s okay now.”

  “I was so worried about you. When Margaux saw I had come without you, she was very angry with me. She jumped into her car and squealed out of her driveway. I thought she was coming to kill you. I called you a hundred times. I thought I was too late. Then when I saw you and Max standing together… you both looked so scared. I should have been there to help you.”

  “We are okay, Ari. Please, don’t worry anymore.”

  “How did you know…how did you know No. 7 wasn’t Margaux?”

  “Max. Max knew the whole time. He kept trying to tell me but I wasn’t listening. He was so scared of Aggie.”

  “When did this happen? How long had my mom been possessed?”

  “Margaux told me on the ride to the hospital that No. 7 switched over to Aggie the day we arrived back to California from Greece and stopped at baio to see you. Something was off that day. We should have never walked into baio. I ignored warning after warning.

  Aggie, Max and I waited for you at your office. I grew restless and left with Max and took him down the hall to Margaux’s office. Your mom was alone in your office and No. 7 went looking for you and found her instead. Margaux said that No. 7 had wanted to get closer to me and was planning to move on to you. When No. 7 went in your office, he found Aggie instead and he made the switch.”

  “Did my mom know?”

  “I don’t know. Margaux doesn’t seem to think so. She thinks that No. 7 really had her believing that she was truly ill.”

  “How did you find out how to kill him?”

  “This…” I handed him the bracelet and showed him the inscription from Margaux.

  “I was doubtful at first – but Max knew. When your mother came into the study and saw those scissors, she looked terribly scared. Margaux came in right after and Max slid the scissors up into my hand. He said, “Use them.”

  He and Margaux knew exactly what to do. She pointed to a spot on her chest and when you came in, I used the distraction to turn on Aggie. I am so sorry about what I did to your mom, Ari.”

  “That wasn’t my mom, Ava. She was lost somewhere deep inside and I know you did what had to be done. No. 7 was going to kill you. My dad found a gun, on the counter in the kitchen, and a note. He was going to kill you and Max and then take Aggie’s life. He was going to make it look like you killed them.”

  Chills ran down my spine and I pulled myself closer to Ari and kissed Max’s little cheek. “Max isn’t leaving, Ava. You heard him call me Dad. Max is staying here. We are his family and this is where he belongs.”

  “I know, Ari. I can’t bear the thought of him ever leaving us again. I love you both more than I have ever loved anything.”

  Ari’s entire body relaxed and I finally recognized what we had both been fighting about: Max. Deep down inside I think we were both fighting for the same thing. I just wasn’t willing to admit to myself how very much I needed Max and how much he needed us, too. Ari carried him to bed where we gave him a kiss goodnight.

  We walked hand in hand down the hall to our living room and Ari stopped and glanced down at his watch.

  “It’s midnight and I believe I owe you something.”

  “Oh, really?” I asked and flashed a coy smile up at him.

  “Yes, really. Happy New Year, Ava.”

  Ari cupped my chin in his hand and brushed his lips against mine, causing my eyes to flutter and close. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. My body quivered with anticipation. Ari pulled my body up in his arms and my legs wrapped around his hips. He purposely fell backwards and I came down on top of him on the couch. His lips and fingers greedily searched my body. We needed each other in that moment in every way possible.

  ****

  Ari, Max and I went up to the hospital first thing in the morning to check on Aggie. We were, as usual, the last ones to arrive. For once, the tardiness wasn’t my fault but Max’s – he had finally decided sleeping in was safe and Ari hadn’t had the heart to wake him.

  By the time we arrived, Aggie had woken up and she was weary and confused. Margaux had been amazing through the whole experience and had explained to Aggie as best as she could what had happened to her. Margaux was an incredibly strong person and had taken No. 7 on willingly when I was a child. She battled No. 7 for eighteen years and he had become almost as much a prisoner to her as she was to him. Margaux felt horrible that he had escaped; she had planned to be his final host no matter what it meant for her. My relationship with my grandmother changed overnight. I owed her my life. She did for me what no one else was capable of doing. She was just leaving Aggie’s room when we arrived.

  She smiled warmly at Ari, Max and me. We stopped and Ari wrapped his free arm around Margaux.

  “Thank you for keeping the love of my life safe. I owe you so much. Ava is my whole universe.”

  “She’s mine, too, Ari.” My grandmother said quietly.

  My eyes were burning with hot tears. I was at a loss for words. Margaux pulled me into her arms and I sobbed.

  “I can’t wait to be your grandma, Ava.”

  Ari and I walked in to Aggie’s room and I was incredibly apprehensive. When last I had seen Aggie, I had just stabbed her in the heart with a pair of scissors. She flashed us a beautiful smile and opened her arms up for a hug.

  “Oh, Ava Baby! I had no idea; please forgive me for everything. I love you so much. I would never hurt you.”

  “I know, Aggie. I know you wouldn’t. I love you, too.”

  “I’m sorry.” Aggie and I both said at the same time.

  “Piase Kokkino!” We both n
early shouted and we each quickly touched the red roses on Aggie’s bedside table with a relieved sigh.

  Ari set Max down so he could hug his mom. He had a deep crease set in his forehead.

  “I’m okay, Ari. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  Max climbed up on a rolling stool and pulled his way over to Aggie’s bed. He popped his head up over the side and waved at her.

  “Hi, Aggie.”

  “Oh, Max!” She cried.

  Aggie was released that very afternoon. No damage had been done to her heart. There was a small hole in her chest that had been stitched up, she had some memory loss from the last few weeks but that was all. No. 7 was gone and we were free to live without fear of the seventh Kakos.

  Chapter 29

  One last white lie

  Living with Max took some adjustment on our part, but Ari and I found that having him in our lives gave us a happiness we had not anticipated. He is wonderful and fun and I wouldn’t have made any changes in our family if I could have; I love our lives.

  Okay, we have to get up earlier; with Max around there is no longer such a thing as sleeping in… ever. Yes, we had to turn our music way down and some of the rowdier songs on our playlists had to be removed completely. And certainly our somewhat flirtatious and frisky behavior had to be curbed ever so slightly.

  Max never stopped calling Ari “Daddy” and every time I hear him use the word, my heart melts a tad. A couple of weeks after Max moved back into our house for good, he began to call me “Mom,” and when he said “Mama,” he almost always added “Baby.” It was his own little-guy rendition of “Ava Baby” and I found it adorable.

  Before long, March trudged along and the iffy weather began to gnaw at my nerves. I was sick for the entire week before Ari’s birthday, so sick that I had a hard time even getting out of bed. Ari started dropping Max off with Aggie in the mornings. He was worried that I might be contagious and was trying to ensure that Max wouldn’t catch whatever bug was bothering me. I had a hard time keeping anything in my stomach and I was beyond the point of exhaustion. Just when I began to feel better and think about getting some work done, a new wave of nausea would hit me broadside and I would curl back up in bed.

  One afternoon I caught, through the pillow wrapped around my head, the muffled words, “Ava, are you still feeling sick?”

  I looked up and saw Julia’s head in the doorway.

  “Mmm hmm.”

  “I hope you get over this whatever-it-is in time for Ari’s birthday,” she said as she came in and took a seat at the foot of the bed. “Is there anything you need? Can I get you something, tea, crackers, Tylenol?”

  “No, not right now, thank you, though.”

  I looked over and pulled my phone off the bedside table. Ari would be home in less than twenty minutes.

  “Will you ask Ari to come in here as soon as he gets home?”

  Julia smiled fondly at me and said, “Okay, sure, Ava. You know, of course, that checking on you is always the first thing Ari does when he gets home, but I will remind him to come see you anyway.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Yep. Sorry. I’d stay and chat but I don’t want to get stuck with the bug you’ve got.”

  “Sure, sure, see ya, Julia,” I said and rolled back over, snuggling deeper into the bedcovers. I closed my eyes and was back asleep again in a matter of seconds.

  ****

  “Hi, Baby,” I heard Ari whisper as he traced circles on my back. I blinked and smiled up at him.

  “Hi.”

  “Are you feeling any better?” he asked, and I saw the crease above his eyes.

  I rolled over and smoothed his forehead with my thumb.

  “Yeah, actually, I feel good. Hungry.”

  “Hungry? That’s a good sign! Why don’t you try to get up and I’ll go next door and grab Max, then I’ll make some grilled cheese sandwiches.”

  “With tomatoes?” I said, perking up; my stomach was roaring with hunger.

  “Anyway you want it.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. I really hope you’re getting better. I have been worried about you.”

  “It’s just a stomach bug. I’ll be fine.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Ari brushed the back of his hand against my cheek and smiled.

  I climbed out of bed, took a quick, hot shower, and changed into some clean clothes. I even peeled the sheets and blankets from the bed and carried them down to the wash. I heard Max’s giggles coming from the kitchen as I emerged from the laundry room.

  “Hi, Mama Baby.”

  “Hiya Max! How was your day? Tell me, what did you do?”

  “I played with Rory in the ocean.”

  My heart skipped a beat and I shot a panicked look at Ari.

  “He was with my mom and dad, too, Ava; don’t freak out.”

  “Oh, thank goodness.”

  Rory was great with Max but he played a little too rough for my liking at times. Max carried on about more of his day’s activities while Ari made grilled mozzarella and tomato sandwiches on crunchy Italian bread and I ate my weight in them. I helped wash dishes, then turned over the laundry. Ari, Max and I played together in the living room until it was Max’s bedtime. We tucked him in and I yawned.

  Ari had the painter and decorator in and out of our house for a week straight working overtime to set Max’s bedroom up to Ari’s very high standards. What he had done with the room really was magnificent. Max’s new bedroom was boyish enough that he would feel very much at home, yet the space was sophisticated enough to blend naturally with the rest of our home. The bedroom was perfect for Max.

  “You tired, Ava?”

  “Yeah, I’m exhausted.”

  Ari frowned at me and the crease in his forehead reappeared.

  “If you aren’t feeling better by tomorrow, I want you to see Dr. Phillips.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Ari. I’m sure I am fine. Besides, I already have an appointment with Dr. Phillips for tomorrow.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  I shrugged, “I dunno, I guess I don’t really like him. He’s arrogant.”

  “Well, he’s the best doctor in L.A., Ava. He’s entitled to a little arrogance. Now let’s go to bed.”

  “Ari, its only nine o’clock in the evening.”

  “I’m aware of the time, Ava, but you’re tired; let’s go to bed.”

  I pursed my lips at him, “You don’t look tired.”

  “There is no place in the world I would rather be than in our bed watching you sleep. Now come, please.”

  I gave into an early bedtime only because I was honestly too tired to do anything else. Ari wrapped me up in his arms, played with my hair, and kissed my eyelids while I drifted off to sleep.

  I woke in the morning to Ari’s alarm. I was lying on top of him so he had to shuffle out from underneath me to turn off the annoying noise. He scooted me under his arm and turned to face me. “Morning, how are you feeling?”

  “Mmm… I think I’m fine.” I stretched out and didn’t immediately feel sick and I took the lack of nausea as a good sign.

  “What time is your appointment?”

  “I think ten. I’ll have to check to make sure.”

  I had been seeing Dr. Phillips, per his request, every eight weeks. He had suggested I see a therapist for my anxiety and stress. I refused, so he decided to take matters in to his own hands and arranged to meet with me personally to check on my progress. The appointments, in my opinion, were a huge waste of time.

  Dr. Phillips always started by asking how I was feeling. I continued the ritual with my line: “I’m fine, thank you.” Next, he would urge me to stay on my scripts and I would take the little piece of paper with a refill prescription scribbled on it, roll my eyes and leave. The whole ordeal took just under ten minutes, but I had to drive all the way to L.A. to see him. I had discovered that taking Max with me into the examining room shaved nearly two minutes off the usual
ten, and I had brought him with every time since.

  Ari asked, “Well, the two of you’ll be in town, so do you want to come up to the office for lunch?”

  Ugh, food. Suddenly just the thought of eating made my stomach turn sour.

  “I can’t. Max and I have some shopping to do for your birthday.”

  A cute smile spread across Ari’s lips, “Okay, but call me when you leave Phillips’s office so you can tell me what he said.”

  “K.”

  Ari gave me a quick kiss then got up to get ready for work. I stayed in bed and watched him walk back and forth with his toothbrush sticking out of his mouth while he adjusted his shirt collar. I heard Max’s footsteps as he came running down the hallway towards our bedroom. He jumped into bed next to me, making my stomach complain a bit, just in time to watch The Ari Show, a morning tradition in our home. Ari put on “Everlasting Light” by The Black Keys and started to dance. Max loved Ari’s morning dance party possibly more than I did. He giggled and clapped his hands. When the dance was over and Ari was ready to go, he kissed us both and asked me again to call as soon as I left Dr. Phillips’s office.

  ****

  I waited with Max in one of Dr. Phillips’s cold, ugly, green-colored examining rooms. The doctor was running behind and I was thinking wistfully of just walking out when he finally brushed through the door and graced me with his presence.

  “Ah, my favorite patient,” Phillips said as he breezed through the doorway. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Ava. How are you feeling?”

  I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Fine, I guess.”

  “Have you been keeping up on your meds?”

  “Yeah.”

  He pursed his lips and shone his annoying light in my eyes. He placed the diaphragm of his stethoscope on my chest and ordered, “Deep breath.” He listened for a moment, moved the scope to a new place on my chest, then placed it on my back and continued asking me to breathe deeply until I began to feel a little lightheaded.