Slumping into the plastic chair with a deceivingly uncomfortable blue cushion, Tyler dropped his head in hands and leant forward. He’d felt miserable for weeks. Something wasn’t right and he knew it. His times had stalled, and instead of improving it seemed like no matter what he did he was getting slower. Not something he wanted to be doing only months out from Olympic trials. At first he’d ignored the aches and pains which racked his body almost constantly, just accepting it as part of pushing too hard on his bone weary body. Years of lapping up and down a pool had taken its toll on his aching muscles, right now though something didn’t feel right. And nothing he did made it any better.
For forty minutes Tyler answered question after question about his life. It seemed nothing was off limits. They discussed his training, his diet, and even his sex life. It had taken all the self-control he possessed when the middle aged, grey haired, bespectacled doctor started questioning his relationship with Ava, especially when he subtly suggested that maybe she hadn’t been faithful. Tyler couldn’t help but see red. Even with Katie sitting beside him, trying to keep him calm and reasonable, every muscle in his body was tight with frustration the instant he put the thought in Tyler’s head.
“Look, Doctor. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I barely drink caffeine. So tell me, what the hell is wrong with me? For weeks now I’ve been exhausted and battled headaches that just won’t go away. Depending on the day, my throat is scratchy but it never eventuates. At first I thought it was just the damn flu but that should have been long gone by now. It’s driving me nuts, the not knowing. Any idea what it could be?”
Tyler watched as the doctor scratched his head thoughtfully and finished up his illegible notes on the yellow notepad. Usually Tyler was cautious of people having his medical records, but after sneaking one look at these, Tyler knew he could have published the notes online and no one would be able to decipher them.
“I’d like to take some blood just to be sure…”
“Sure about what?” Tyler snapped irritably.
“Tyler, until we have the results to confirm it, I’d prefer not to speculate.”
Katie didn’t even give Tyler the chance to rant again. “But you have an idea?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“Are you sure you’re comfortable discussing this with Katie present?”
“Of course. What do you suspect?”
“Mumps.”
“Mumps?”
“Yes, mumps. The symptoms you’re describing lead me to believe that you may have been struck down with a strand of the virus. The headaches, pains, sore throat are all symptoms. Can you recall any fevers or swelling around your neck?”
Tyler dropped his head. He hadn’t been expecting good news but he wasn’t prepared for this, either. “I think I had maybe a mild fever probably three of four weeks ago. But I didn’t think much of it. I thought it was the flu bug.”
“Most people do.” The doctor shrugged. “Well, I’d like to get some blood and confirm before we get too carried away.”
“Okay,” Tyler conceded, unable to mask the defeat in his tone.
Hastily the doctor prepared the paperwork and handed it to Katie, who seemed to have it more together than Tyler. He wasn’t used to being the weak one. The patient. The one who needed to rely on others. He’d always been the big tough guy who could face anything.
“Thanks for your time, Doctor,” Katie acknowledged as she scooped her handbag up and slung it over her shoulder.
“Anytime,” he confirmed, shaking their hands. “Just one thing, Tyler, if it is in fact the mumps, you should start thinking about anyone that you could have infected.”
“I could have given it to someone?” He barely got the words out. Even the idea that he could be responsible for making someone else sick was abhorrent to him. “H-h-how?”
“Those at risk are someone who could have come in contact with your saliva. A cough or a sneeze would have done it. Also anyone you could have shared food or drink with.”
Nervously, Katie asked the question that was barrelling through Tyler’s mind but he couldn’t put it into words. “What about a…a kiss?”
“A kiss could also carry the virus.”
Katie and Tyler exchanged concerned glances. If Tyler was worried about making others sick before, as the realisation that Ava could be the one most at risk settled in he felt nauseous. “A-A-Ava.”
“She’ll be fine, Tyler. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Katie, the voice of reason, attempted to calm him. Although it didn’t work, it soothed him enough to be able to shuffle from the doctor’s office, pay the bill, and wobble his way down to the car.
Thankfully, Katie drove in silence all the way back to her place. Tyler didn’t know if he had the strength to discuss it right now, so instead of talking, he’d been Googling. Not his brightest idea. After entering his symptoms into the Google search bar, WebMD had diagnosed him with cancer. Another site had him suffering from bipolar, while a third had him with a severe toe infection which had infiltrated his blood stream with the only cure being to amputate. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he tried again, this time searching ‘mumps.’
“Fuck me!” Tyler swore, running a frustrated hand through his hair.
“What?” Katie asked startled.
“Did you know that in men my age there is a fifteen to forty percent chance that mumps can cause infertility?”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Part of the virus can cause ‘painful testicular inflammation,’ which basically means it swells ten days after the virus, but can be up to six weeks. What if…”
“No! Stop right there, Tyler. It hasn’t even been confirmed that’s what you have yet, so there is no point playing the what-if game. So, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go straight to the collection centre. You’re going to get your blood taken. Then we’re going to wait patiently for the results. Then and only then, we will deal with whatever we need to. Okay?”
Hesitantly, Tyler gave in. “Fine.”
“Don’t pout. And don’t you dare think about doing anything dumb, either!”
“Anything dumb?”
“Ava.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
Chapter 20
Ava
Ava had never been so glad to see the end of the day than she was when she stepped out of the frigid building into the sunshine. The day had been long—long and boring. Most of the day had been spent trying to do manual reconciliations, which took Ava less than an hour to complete, but then she had been forced to wait for the others to catch up, even taking it upon herself to help others try and grasp the concepts just to make her feel more productive. Feeling the warm breeze graze her cheek, Ava joined the flow of foot traffic and headed down the street. It wasn’t until she stuffed her hand in her bag, digging around for the car keys, that she recalled her morning. The breakfast show. Tyler. And the car. That car was going to drive her insane. It was too much. Too much too soon. Even though she knew this without doubt or hesitation, she still hadn’t managed to say the words to him. Ava didn’t know what was stopping her or why she was so scared, but the words remained bottled up inside her.
“Fuck me!” she swore, letting her frustrations get the better of her.
Behind her she heard a snicker and immediately covered her mouth with her hand, wishing the words back in, but once they were out she couldn’t take them back, and that’s what worried her the most. Silence was her blessing and her curse. In an attempt to mask her embarrassment, Ava lengthened her strides and headed for the car park.
Thirty frustration-filled minutes later, Ava stumbled through the door of her hotel room, dumped her purse on the table, and kicked off her shoes. Stepping into the shower, she let the scalding water beat down on her head as she sighed dramatically. She remembered why she’d chosen to take the bus rather than drive. Parking was a nightmare. The five block drive had taken fifteen minutes and then anoth
er fifteen was wasted circling the hotel car park to find a space big enough. Her car wasn’t even that big. Squeezing a huge dollop of shampoo in her hand, Ava massaged her scalp, trying to ward off the migraine she could feel building behind her eyes. By the time the water cooled, the idea of going out and finding food seemed like too much effort. Instead, Ava wrapped her hair in a white towel before draping another around her body and grabbed the phone.
“I’d like to place a room service order please,” she requested. “I’d like the bacon cheeseburger with fries and the largest piece of the chocolate mud cake you have.”
“Anything to drink, ma’am?”
“Yes. I’ll take two cans of Coke.”
“Certainly. That’ll be around thirty minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Knowing she had time, Ava slipped on her pyjamas before propping her toes up on the coffee table and applying a coat of hooker red nail polish. For some reason completely beyond her, having shiny toe nails made her feel better. Because no one could ever see them, she could be as wild and creative as she wanted and no one would ever be wiser.
She’d just finished cleaning up when a knock at the door sounded. Stumbling over to open it, she was careful not to knock the still damp polish. When she yanked open the door more forcefully than she’d intended, it almost sent her flying.
“Are you okay?” a deep, seductive baritone asked her as warm fingers wrapped around her wrist, steadying her.
“Ye-yeah. Thanks,” Ava smiled gratefully as she smoothed down her camisole, suddenly feeling very underdressed and very exposed.
“Okay then.” Ava watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down and she couldn’t control the warmth that flooded her. This guy was hot. Way too young for her, but damn if he didn’t look good in that uniform.
Raising her gaze, Ava was stunned when she noticed his ebony eyes staring back at her. Locked in his stare, Ava couldn’t think or function. Noticing his perfect, soft, pink lips, Ava found herself unconsciously licking her own chapped lips.
“Where would you like me? I mean, this?” He tripped over his words and it made Ava’s heart soar. She could hear the blood rushing through her veins and felt it all heading south.
“On the table would be great,” Ava offered, waving him inside.
As he passed by, she couldn’t help but notice the way his pressed black pants pulled across his taut butt. There was no doubt in Ava’s mind, this guy was sex on legs.
“Have a good night, ma’am.”
“Thank you.”
“And if you need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thanks, Jerome.” Ava smiled, noticing his name tag on the front of his shirt.
“Anything at all. We’re here to make sure you’re fully satisfied at all times.”
Still in her pyjamas, her mouth hanging open, she was barely able to hold back the drool. Shaking the inappropriate thought from her mind, she closed the door behind him, letting go of a profound sigh and slumping against the heavy wooden frame. If Ava’s mind wasn’t already thinking things it had no right to, she would’ve bet everything she had that he’d been flirting with her too. Folding her arms across her chest, Ava remembered she was wearing a thin camisole with no bra and her nipples were not hiding from anyone.
With the scent of deep fried, fattening food filling the room, Ava’s stomach rolled over and growled aggressively. “Time to eat,” Ava said, resigned, as she flopped onto the couch and removed the stainless cover before stuffing a handful of fries in her mouth.
By the time Ava had cleared her plate, she was completely stuffed. After letting out an embarrassing belch that she was thankful no one else heard, she laid down on the lounge and flicked on the television. When her own face filled the screen, she quickly changed the channel. There was nothing more terrifying than seeing your own reflection staring back at you unexpectedly. Settling on a bad 80’s movie, Ava settled herself in for the night.
When Ava woke hours later with a crick in her neck, a bad infomercial selling the ugliest fake diamond necklaces she’d ever seen illuminated the screen. Grabbing her phone from the table, Ava was surprised to see it was a little after three and she only had one unread message from Amanda. No word from Tyler. Feeling slightly uneasy, Ava used the bathroom before stumbling her way into the big, empty bed and promptly falling asleep.
The next couple of days crawled by at a snail’s pace. The boring, monotonous task of creating manual transactions on pieces of paper taught her nothing. Despite being a complete waste of time, Ava was glad to be returning home with the much needed qualification her boss required.
Climbing behind the wheel of the Jeep, Ava dodged her way out of the traffic and headed for home. She hadn’t even bothered to cancel her return bus ticket. Two hours later Ava pulled into the service station and refilled the tank, grabbing herself a coffee and a glazed donut. Needing a break, Ava leant on the hood of the car and shot off a text to Amanda.
Ava: On my way home.
Amanda: Sweet.
Amanda: How’s the car?
Ava: OMG! So comfortable but way too easy to speed.
Amanda: Never thought I’d see the day responsible Ava turned into a speed demon. :)
Ava: Tyler’s fault.
Amanda: Speaking of…heard from him yet?
Amanda’s last message caused Ava’s heart to plummet. She hadn’t heard a peep from him since he’d left her in the car park with a set of keys to a brand new car. Ava had tried to call him a bunch of times but each time her call went straight to voice mail. As much as she’d tried to convince herself there was nothing to worry about, the longer it went between conversations the more time Ava had to twist herself into a nervous wreck.
Ava: No.
It physically hurt her to confirm it. But she couldn’t lie. Not to Amanda. And not to herself.
Amanda: Don’t stress. It’ll be ok. He’s probably just caught up with Jonathan.
Ava: I guess you could be right.
Amanda: I am.
Ava: Suppose.
Dropping her phone back in her bag, Ava tossed it on the backseat, not wanting to talk to anyone anymore. She didn’t’ need yet another reminder that Tyler seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. Right now that’s all Amanda was offering. Reassurances and reminders. Instead she climbed back in the car and put her foot down. She was ready to be home. A long, hot bubble bath, a glass of wine, and a good book were calling her name.
All her well made plans went out the window the moment she pulled into her driveway and spotted Tyler’s car idling at the curb. Wishing she looked better, more put together, less like a creased, smudged feral, Ava attempted to pull her hair back in a ponytail and tugged her bags from the backseat.
“Hi.” He smiled but it wasn’t a real Tyler Andrews smile. It was missing the mischief, the sparkle, the happiness Ava was used to seeing there. The realness that made Ava’s heart soar.
“Hey,” she responded weakly. Nerves had taken over. Noticing the crowd gathering across the street and the few drawn curtains with faces pressed against the dirty glass panels, Ava couldn’t stand there a moment longer. “Did you want to come up?”
Ava watched as Tyler dug his hands in his pockets as deep as he could get them. “Sure. Sounds good.”
“Come on then,” Ava invited, her voice trembling.
When she struggled to lift her bag up the steps, wordlessly Tyler took it from her with barely a shrug. Reaching the door, Ava’s fingers shook as she tried to force the key in the lock. Something was definitely off. And not just something, everything. Nothing felt right. Comfortable. Natural. Instead there was a palpable tension between them threatening to knock Ava on her arse.
Finally Ava was able to unlock the door before falling through and dumping her handbag on the kitchen counter. “Would you like a drink?” she offered, opening the fridge.
The truth was, Ava wasn’t thirsty but she couldn’t bear to look at Tyler one
more moment and see that look of complete disappointment and failure etched on his face. The thought she might be the cause of it was giving her conniptions.
“I’m fine, thanks,” Tyler replied politely, setting her bag down behind the sofa before taking a seat.
“Oh, okay then.”
“Ava, come sit down, please. There’s something we need to talk about.”
Chapter 21
Tyler
From the moment he’d stepped foot out of the doctor’s office the words had been racing through his head like a freight train. Trying to find the right way to say it. The right way to explain. The right way to make it okay. And not just for himself. Truthfully, he was the last person he was thinking about. Right now, his primary objective and only concern was to avoid hurting Ava. But Tyler wasn’t a fool. He knew no matter what he said or did next was going to hurt her, and hurt like hell, but that didn’t mean it could be avoided.
Tyler wrung his hands in his lap as he watched Ava nervously shuffle towards the sofa. He could see Ava was freaking out and he was itching to reassure her but he knew there was nothing he could say that would make this better. Make this easier.
“Ava,” he began, turning towards her. “Firstly, let me just say that I’ve had the best time getting to know you. You’re a wonderful, talented, and extremely beautiful woman. I need you to believe that. I know you don’t, but you should.”
“Tyler…whatever it is that you are trying to say, can you please…please just spit it out. You’re making me nervous.”
Gulping down the dread that was filling him, Tyler squared his shoulders and stiffened his spine. “Ava, I need to go away for a while.” The words almost choked him as they tumbled out of his mouth.
On Dry Land (Swimming Upstream #3) Page 11