A Broken Fate (The Beautiful Fate Series book 2) (28 page)

I heard a knock on the door and Ari left my side to yank it open, “oh,” I heard Ari say, “hello, officer.”

“Mr. Alexander, do you mind if I have a moment alone with Ava?” I heard the familiar voice of Detective Scott say.

“Ava,” Ari said as he turned around and opened the door all the way revealing Detective Scott. He looked the same as always, with his dark hair slicked back, wearing his presumably expensive suit. I nodded my head at Ari to let him in the room.

“I
’ll be right outside the door if you need anything, okay?” he asked, smoothing my hair.

I smiled at him.

“Ari, I’m okay, really. I already feel a hundred times better. He probably just wants to know if I am going to press charges against you.”

I tried to say the words playfully, even though I was sure that was why Scott was there. I mean why else would he be? I had told the hospital
’s staff the truth, that my husband elbowed me in the ribs. I was sure my statement had not made us look good. Ari looked grief stricken as he walked out of the room.

“Merry Christmas, Ava,” Detective Scott said as he took a seat next to the hospital bed.

“Merry Christmas,” I said with a half-smile.

“So what happened?”

I recapped the evening and Detective Scott laughed aloud. He was already well aware of my extensive list of injuries, since he had shown up every time I had been in the hospital. He was well aware of my preexisting rib damage. I guess you could say we had a sort of friendship growing.

“So, are you planning on pressing charges against Mr. Alexander?” he asked.

“No, of course not,” I said, feeling a tiny bit appalled.

“I had to ask, Ava; it
’s my job. Is there anything else I should know?” he asked, giving me a good hard look in the eyes.

I shook my head from side to side and let out a “nope.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I
’m sure. Why, what are you getting at?”

Detective Scott put his elbows on his knees and scooted the little rolling stool a tiny bit closer.

“Ava, I know
who
you are,” he said so quietly that I could hardly hear him.

“I think you have mistaken me for someone else,” I said, and tried to hide the shocked look on my face.

“No, no I haven’t. I know exactly who you are, Ava. I knew who your dad was, too. I just want to let you know that if there is anything you need -- all you have to do is call.”

He handed me another one of his cards, wrote his cell phone on the back, and stood up to walk out of the room.

“There’s another one,” I blurted out. “No. 7. And I know who it is; I just need to, um, get rid of him.”

Scott nodded at me. “Who is it?”

I bit down on my lip, unsure then responded, “Margaux Baio.”

Detective Scoot peered down at me. “Are you
sure
about that?”

“Positive.”

He ran a hand through his slicked back hair.

“I wish you all of the luck in the world, Ava. If there is anything I can do, please call.”

I nodded and swallowed hard.

“Oh, and Happy New Year,” Scott said as he walked out of the room.

Ari came in right after he left and Aggie and Andy trailed in behind him. Aggie was still beside herself and her eyes were bloodshot and moist.

“Oh, Ava, I am so sorry.”

She took my hand in hers and held it, too tightly. I looked at Ari to see if they had made up yet. He shook his head no, so apparently he was still mad at her.

“It
’s alright, Aggie; you didn’t even do anything. Where’s Max? Is he alright?”

“He
’s fine. He’s at home getting ready for Santa. Collin and August stayed back with him.” I nodded at her. I guess I could have been more friendly, but to be honest she hadn’t been particularly nice to me for quite some time, and I didn’t feel the need to bend over backwards to make her smile again. Besides, I was still in pain – and everyone knew I am grouchy when I don’t feel well.

I put my head back against the bed and closed my eyes.

“Ari, I just want to go home. Can you please find the doctor and get my release?” He brushed a kiss on my forehead and left to go find the on call doctor.

I turned to Andy.

“Hey, do you know Detective Scott?” I asked, showing him the LAPD business card.

“Yeah, I know him. I see him all the time at the courthouse.”

“Is he Greek?”

“Yeah, I guess he is. Why do you ask?”

“He knows who I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he came in here and told me he knows
who
I am,” I said making a scissors gesture with my pointer and middle finger.

Andy tapped his lips with his fingers as Ari and the doctor came back into my room.

I watched Ari hold his breath as the doc checked me over one last time so I could go home. Doctor Miller prescribed some painkillers and urged me to take them to prevent another pain-induced anxiety attack. He added that I should follow up with Dr. Phillips after the holiday and I grudgingly agreed.

Ari drove me home while Andy and Aggie went to fill my prescription. I stood at the counter in our kitchen with my back to the door. My hands were pressed down firmly on the marble counter top for support. It was cool and smooth against my hot, sticky palms. Ari and I were discussing Detective Scott. He thought Scott
’s knowledge of who I was probably accounted for why I had been asked so few questions after the deaths of No. 1 and No. 2. I agreed. My story had been full of holes but Scott never really seemed to have doubts about it. He had known that I was a Fate from the start.

I heard a small knock at the back door but I didn
’t turn around. Ari walked passed me and yanked open the door.

“If we come over tomorrow, we
’ll be late, so don’t wait around for us,” I heard him say in a clipped tone.

“Oh…ok,” his mother responded.

Ari shut the door and turned the lock. He came back to my side and opened a small, white paper bag. He pulled out two pill bottles, opened them and placed two pills in front of me. One was a large oval with a big V on it; the other was a small circular white pill. He opened a bottle of water and waited for me to take my meds. I took the painkiller then pointed to the small white pill.

“What
’s that?” I asked.

“Anti-anxiety.”

I looked at the pill for a minute then flicked it across the room. It pinged against the oven, then skidded across the kitchen floor, and finally came to a stop underneath the refrigerator. Ari looked angry, but he also looked too tired to fight anymore.

We went to bed. Ari encased me in pillows then gently wrapped his arms around me. I stayed awake fighting off the effects of the medication. Ari could tell how emotional I was feeling, so he stayed awake and calmed me down by telling me stories of how nervous he used to get when he came to my dorm room at night. And of how he would get a stomach full of butterflies each time he saw me in the halls or rode with me in the elevator. I listened to his soft, sweet words until my eyelids grew too heavy and I gave up and lost the battle to sleep.

I woke up the next morning in a fog and my side ached like crazy. Ari traced his fingers down the side of my face.

“Merry Christmas, Baby,” he said quietly.

“Mmm,” I said nodding my head, “Merry Christmas.”

“How are you feeling this morning?”

I took a deep breath and quickly regretted doing so as shooting pain radiated through my body.

“Fine,” I answered.

“You promised you would never lie to me, Ava.”

“Okay then, Ari,” I said, grinding my teeth. “I feel awful. My side hurts like hell, and I am in an incredibly bad mood.”

“That’s better,” he said as he climbed out of bed. I watched Ari walk out of the room only to come back moments later holding pills in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He helped me sit up and he held his palm open waiting for me to take the meds. I stared at them for a moment, wanting nothing more than to knock his hand away and send the pills flying. I resisted the urge, took the pain pill, tossed it to the back of my throat, and swallowed. I looked at the other pill and then, defiantly, at Ari.

“Ava,” Ari said, brushing a stray stand of hair off my forehead, “I know that you don
’t think you need this and maybe you’re right, but please just try the medication.”

I kept firm my face unchanging and waited for him to take the pill away.

“I know you are strong, we all know that and no one is arguing with you. No one will think you are weak if you take this, I promise. Just please, Ava, do as the doctor told you and try the meds for a while. If they don’t help, then I promise you can stop taking them. Please give this medication a chance. Do this for me.”

I wanted to scream and yell and kick and I may have had my ribs not hurt as much as they did. I blinked and felt a stupid tear run down my cheek.

“Oh, no. Don’t cry, Ava.” Ari wiped my tear away with a kiss, causing the floodgates to open; tears poured down my face, my eyes swelled and my nose turned stuffy. He crawled back in bed with me and softly held me to him, wiping away all the tears as they fell. I sat there and cried until I ran completely dry. I was upset because he was right. I probably did need the pill but I was more upset that I was in the situation to begin with. I was mad that I couldn’t figure out what to do with Margaux and that I had a sense of impending doom that I couldn’t shake. I was angry that I could feel this pain and was too weak to be able to deal with it on my own, without pain medication and antianxiety crap, as I had been able to do in the past.

I began to feel the loopy feeling that the painkillers cause and then gave up on my fight and took the stupid little white pill. We sat in bed for a while longer as I tried to fight
off the painkillers. I absolutely hated the way they made me feel. My eyes were droopy, my nose itched, my head was clouded and hazy. My arms and legs seemed to weigh a ton. Ari chuckled and I smiled at him.

“What?” I said, dragging the word out much longer than necessary.

“Nothing,” he smiled, and suppressed a laugh.

“Do you want to go next door today or not?”

“Ari, you know we have to go. You know we should have been there hours ago and you also know that you owe your mom an apology.”

“I don
’t know that I owe her an apology, Ava. I think she needed to be reminded of a few things and now we are back on a level playing field. You are my wife.
You
are my family now.”

I put my head back against the headboard, closed my eyes, and let my mouth hang open.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” I said, opening one eye to look at him. “I just don
’t feel like getting dressed.”

“Ok,” he said with a smile, as if taking on a challenge. “I
’ll do it for you.”

I bobbed my head up and down in agreement and closed my eye again.

Ari got up and went to the closet. He put on a pair of gym shorts and some Nikes then pulled on a hooded sweatshirt, something he wouldn’t be caught wearing outside our home in a million years. In fact, even when he is lounging around in the house he wears jeans and a fitted tee shirt.

I watched Ari disappear into the closet again. He strolled back out moments later with one of my bras, matching underwear, a pair of my black leggings and a black and grey baseball tee. The outfit was close to something I would wear to Pilates. He threw the ensemble on the bed. Ari peeled my shirt off my back and held up my bra and underwear. I blushed.

“I’ve never had any experience in putting any of these
on
before.”

“Ari!”

“I’m just saying….” he smiled.

Ari slid my clothes on slowly one article at a time. I giggled the whole time he dressed me, and in between giggles, I let out little cries of pain. He got me out of bed and we went to the bathroom to wash our faces and brush our teeth.

“Turn around,” Ari said and made a circle motion with his pointer finger. I turned facing away from him. He began to gather my hair up in his hands. After a few failed attempts, he tied a hair tie around my hair in a ponytail. The ponytail was a tad high for my taste but Ari beamed at his handiwork. He tugged at the end of my hair playfully.

“Too cute, Ava.”

“Thanks.” I smiled a large, toothy smile at him.

“Are you ready for your Christmas gift?”

I cocked my head to one side.

“You already gave me my gift. My iPad.”

“I said that was
one
of your presents. I have a few more to give you… This gift was a bit last minute but I think you’ll like it. Collin helped.”

“Ok…”

“Follow me.”

Ari grabbed my hand and we walked out of our bedroom. He turned left towards the study. We walked down the hallway and he stopped in front of the study door.