A Beautiful Fate (36 page)

Ari looked at me with a worried expression. “I can’t help but feel as though I am taking an opportunity away from you, betraying you, Ava, and if you don’t want me involved in your company, your family’s company, then I understand.”

“I have nothing to do with
baio
. It is nothing but a last name to me. If that is what you want to do then do it. Don’t let me hold you back.”

Ari let out another breath. “OK… well Margaux wants me to start this fall while I take classes. She doesn’t care which office I work out of, so I’ve narrowed my choices down to schools in California, Chicago, New York and London.”

“So which are you thinking of choosing?”

“Umm… I guess I’m just waiting to see where you land before I commit to anything.”

“Oh,” I said, “so what does that mean exactly?”

“Listen Ava, I want to be with you. You make me happy. I know there are some obstacles in the way but I just don’t see any future for me without you in it. I am not going to let you out of my sight while you are being hunted. I am going with you. From now on, we are going to be together. I have explained all of this to Margaux and she understands that you are going to be in my life and I in yours.”

“Ari, I just don’t think it will be that easy.”

“Yes, it will, Ava.”

“I don’t even know where No. 6 is. I have no idea how to find him. I have tried to see his plans, but he is blocking me in some way. I have no idea of where to go or when to go. I’m scared, Ari, and my biggest fear is that something might happen to you.”

“I can help you if you’ll just let me. No one said you have to deal with the Kakos on your own, and besides, I’ll be a way better roommate than August.”

“Well, that is true,” I smiled. “But let’s just say you’re right and that we should take care of No. 6 together. What do you have in mind?”

He thought for a moment.

“If you don’t know where this guy is, then you should use that to your advantage. Don’t let him know where you are. Stay ahead of him for a while. Let’s travel across the country or backpack through Europe or hide out on the gulf. Let’s just take the summer and run away for a while. We can come back here, to California, this fall and worry about him then.”

“Ari… I don’t know.”

“Come on, Ava, you don’t have a better plan...just try it with me.”

“Ok,” I said, “I will; let’s do it.”

I couldn’t bear the idea of leaving him again. Every time the thought crept into my mind, I felt pain in my heart and so I was selfish. I wanted Ari so much that I agreed to put his life at risk for my happiness.

A huge, beautiful smile spread across his face and he grabbed me and pulled me down with him on to the sandy beach. The dark blue water lapped at our legs.

“I love you, Ava Baby. Wherever you are is where I want to be.” He kissed me. Our kiss was long, slow, and sweet. I wanted it to never end.

Eventually, we made our way up the beach to the Alexander’s deck. The party had died down and all the remaining guests and family members were now inside the house. Ari grabbed a light blanket and we nestled up on the deck, in the hammock and fell asleep; both of our bodies were caked in sand.

Chapter 21

I woke at dawn, blinking my eyes and yawning. I was stiff and could feel the hard rope material of the hammock pushing firmly into my skin. Ari was still deeply asleep. I noticed Rory, across the yard, on the deck behind his house. Julia was wrapped up in his arms and he was covering her in kisses while she smiled and giggled at his affection. I quickly looked away to give them privacy.

A minute later, they took off for a run. That’s when my own personal truth really dawned on me. Ari was right. I did need his help. I couldn’t keep my life teetering on the delicate point of balance I had created any longer. I was miserable in London without Ari. But I had to learn to keep the proper distance between him and my problem with the Kakos family, or what was left of it. I also had to work on keeping my mind clear and sharp when Ari was near me. When I was with him, he was my whole world. I am positive that Margaux had been right – if I hadn’t been so pre-occupied with Ari, the Kakos would never have gotten to Lauren in the first place.

I was running these thoughts through my mind when August walked out onto the deck, holding a cup of coffee and the paper in his hands. I spoke up so that he would be aware he wasn’t alone.

“Morning, August,” I said quietly – and he jumped about ten feet in the air anyway.

“Oh,
merde
, Ava!! You scared me. I didn’t know you two were out here; I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said as he turned around to head back inside.

“No stop, you aren’t interrupting anything. First of all, Ari is asleep and secondly, what you are seeing here is not a compromising situation, it’s just what hammocks do to people.”

“Oh, really?” He gave me a smug little stare. “You could have fooled me. Look at yourself. You’re in a bikini at six in the morning, you’re covered in sand, and don’t even get me started on your hair.”

I took my hair and threw it in a messy bun at the nape of my neck.

“No reason to get nasty,” I said as I made my way off the hammock to join August at the wrap-around couch by the outside fireplace.

“Ok fine, so dish,” he said, “what did you do last night?”

“Nothing,” I shrugged, “we just went to the beach for a while and then came up here and fell asleep on the hammock. It was completely innocent.”

“Whatever, Ava,” August said as he rolled his eyes at me. “I thought we were friends; you don’t have to lie to me.”

“What is that supposed to mean? I’m not lying. Our relationship just isn’t like
that
yet.”

August let out a great big laugh and I had to turn around to make sure he hadn’t awakened Ari.

“What?!” August managed to choke out. “Let me get this straight. You have killed five people, your arms are covered in bullet-hole wounds and tattoos, you sleep in this guy’s room when you’re in town and you haven’t even gone to third base yet? What’s the hold-up?”

“I don’t know,” I said biting my lip.

“Ava, you can tell me, I promise I won’t tease you anymore,” August said, and wiped the little smirk from his face. He underlined his good intentions by straightening up in his chair and giving me his full attention.

I paused for a moment, playing with the fabric of my seat.

“Uh, ummm…I mean…I know Ari loves me. But he said he would wait and he is being really patient with me. It’s just.. I don’t know…well actually there are lots of reasons. Things just seem to always get in the way.”

“Like?” August asked.

“Well, for starters, I don’t want my first time to be at his parent’s house; that’s just creepy. And I know this may sound dumb, but I am only seventeen. I have my whole life to make it perfect and I don’t want to rush our relationship. Plus, he has more experience than I do. I guess I’m worried I’ll do something embarrassing...and well, the truth is, I’m scared.”

“Ava,” August began, “I am not trying to sway you one way or the other, so please don’t take this the wrong way. You are the smartest and most mature person I have met. I totally get everything you are saying, but don’t stress about this. Sex is supposed to be a fun thing, and no matter where you are in life, as long as you truly love him, I think your first time will be special.”

He went on. “Clearly, what you and Ari have is more than just ‘a relationship.’ I mean, I knew when we were in London that you were nuts about the guy, but I had no idea your relationship was so intense. Your little embrace last night had all of the guests gaping at you in awe. Seriously, Ava, you could hear a pin drop; people just couldn’t take their eyes away from your show of love for each other. You have some strong chemistry or something. Your love… it’s just, it’s so powerful. The way you two look at each other. It’s almost as if there is no one else in your universe. I have never seen anything like it before. Frankly, I’m jealous.”

I blushed.

“You should have seen Ari when he got home and found out you were here. Ava, he nearly killed me.”

“What? No way...what happened?”

August rubbed what remained of his fat lip.

“He came home from class and I was in the kitchen with Lauren, Rory and Julia. You wouldn’t wake up and Aggie and Andy went to check on you for the hundredth time. They really wanted you to wake up and surprise him. Ari was just staring at me and no one wanted to talk because we were all so afraid we would ruin the surprise. Ari demanded to know who I was so finally Rory introduced us.”

“Oh, boy.”

“Yeah, I didn’t realize how badly Rory could botch up an introduction. ‘Uh, hey Ari,’ August said, impersonating Rory, ‘This is August, Ava’s boyfriend... um, I mean, roommate.’”

“Ari put his fists up and his eyes I swear turned red. Rory tried to hurry up and correct himself, but it was pointless: ‘I meant flatmate...and now Ava’s unconscious and we can’t get her to wake up.’ Then he told Ari how everyone saw you in your underwear. I swear Ava, Rory can be a complete fool. Ari yelled and ran at him, then punched him and gave him that black eye.

“It was like out of a movie. Aggie and Andy came running back into the kitchen and Julia started screaming. I tried to stop Ari from punching Rory again, so he turned and hit me instead – hence the fat lip. Aggie told me later that Rory and Ari hadn’t spoken to each other since Ari found out that Rory and Julia visited you in London. Ari is super mad at the both of them for visiting you without telling him.

“Anyway, Aggie calmed Ari down and explained the situation to him. As soon as she finished, he left the kitchen to find you and refused to leave your side until you woke up. He wasn’t lying when he said that he was crazy about you. He is beyond crazy, Ava. You are his soul mate.”

August stopped to catch his breath, then added, “Nevertheless, you’d better figure this whole sex thing out because I don’t want to spend another six months with you, listening to how you wish you had.”

“Oh, uh… that reminds me. Ari is coming with us this time, so if you have something else in your life that you would rather be doing than babysitting, this will be your big chance.”

“Oh, my gosh, Ava, are you firing me as a friend?”

“What? No way...it’s just, you must be pretty sick of me by now.”

“Ha! Hardly! There’s never a dull moment around you, what with fire and poison and killing and such. So what is the plan, anyway?”

“I don’t know exactly. I think maybe we’re going to try to hide out for a while. I could use a break. If we can get a glimpse of what No. 6 is planning, we might be able to stay ahead of him. Honestly, it’s all I can think of to do right now. I could really use a murder-free summer.”

Rory and Julia, back from their run, came up the steps to the deck.

“What are you two going on about?” Rory asked, a little out of breath. I recapped the conversation Ari and I had had the night before and, surprisingly, they both agreed that Ari and I should remain together. More than that, they both wanted to come along. Since Julia and Rory’s college semester didn’t start until mid-August, their summer was wide open. I tried with little success to imagine the five of us in one flat.

“You guys can be the ones to talk to Ari about it; I’ve got to get into the shower; this sand is killing me.” Normally, I would have gone running to get my thoughts in order about leaving with Ari, but I had decided to put running on the shelf for a few weeks, at least until I was able to put some of my weight back on. Besides, I was exhausted; all those months of sleepless nights in London were finally catching up with me.

The shower, turned on as hot as I could stand, took all the sand and grime from my skin. The strong spray was so revitalizing that I had to force myself to climb out and dry off. I used Ari’s robe to get down the hall to his room.

I dressed then tucked my feet underneath me in the chair in Ari’s room, and opened up my MacBook. I had to figure out exactly where we needed to go. I knew right away that Europe was out of the question. I had spent too much time there already, and after my romp in the sand the night before, I wasn’t going anywhere near the gulf. There was no way I could handle a road trip, especially if Rory and Julia got their way and tagged along with us. I sat and tapped my fingers on my lips, thinking of somewhere I could go and be somewhat hidden away, somewhere private and unassuming. I found myself wishing I still had my place in Chicago; it would be the perfect place for all of us to stay together, and a place where I could easily blend in. Margaux, of course, sold my home three days after my mother passed away to a colleague of hers who worked for the Chicago
baio
office.

That’s when I remembered my mother’s note about our home in Montréal. After she passed, I was ushered to her bank. My mother had left all of her assets to me and I needed to get all my affairs in order before my move to California. My mother and father had left me a rather large fortune. There were millions of dollars spread out between several accounts. I also had trust funds left to me that were set to pay out when I turned both eighteen and twenty one. My mom set me up with a college fund that would pay for any private university of my choosing. I remember sitting in the cold bank office off State Street wishing I could give every last cent away for one more moment with my mom. This, of course, could never happen.