AVA
She rushed to hug Britney the moment the door opened, then promptly burst into uncontrollable tears.
Britney sighed and held her, not at all surprised to find Ava in this state. She'd been through enough breakups herself to know how devastating they could be.
She patted Ava's back soothingly while the other girl cried into her shirt.
"Oh, honey. Was it that bad?" Britney asked.
Ava pulled away just enough to look at her, her face already wet with tears.
"It was worse, Brit. B-Blake actually... h-hates me now."
With that, she started crying all over again, her face red, tears and snot running down her cheeks indiscriminately.
"Oh, Aves," Britney sighed, gently rubbing her shoulders. "Come in. You can tell me all about it in the living room."
She ushered the woebegone Ava into the house, keeping an arm around her shoulders as they went.
By the time they reached the couch, Ava was sobbing inconsolably. She sank into the cushions beside Britney, who immediately reached for a box of tissues and handed it to her.
It took a while for Ava to stop crying and get around to telling Britney what had happened at Blake's house.
When she finally managed to get ahold of herself, everything came tumbling out in a rush.
She told Britney how Blake had proposed to her, for real this time, how she'd rejected him, and about the big argument that had followed. She told her about all the accusations Blake had hurled at her, too.
By the time she finished, fresh tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"It's all my fault, Brit. I shouldn't have led him on like that."
"You were trying to make things work between you two," Britney said in her defence. "That's not a crime."
"That doesn't matter!" Ava cried. "I hurt him."
With a guilty expression, she buried her face in Britney's handkerchief, sobbing loudly into the fabric.
Britney opened her mouth to console her, then closed it again. She realised that, right now, nothing she said would convince Ava to stop blaming herself.
So instead, she pulled Ava into her arms again and held her tightly as she cried.
"It's okay, sweetie," she murmured, rubbing her back. "Let it all out."
Ava didn't need to be told twice. She cried in Britney's arms until there were literally no tears left for her to shed. After that, all she could manage were a few sniffs every now and then.
When she stopped making even those noises and all movement, Britney began to wonder if she'd cried herself to sleep.
Then Ava spoke in a rough voice, startling her.
"Let's get out of here, Brit."
For a moment, Britney was too stunned to respond.
"What?" she asked, looking down at Ava.
Their eyes met.
"I said, let's go to your parents' cabin. Right now."
Britney bit her lip, looking confused by the request.
"But, Ava... don't you need more time to recover from your breakup with Blake? Doesn't it feel too soon to do this?"
"No." Ava pulled away from Britney's embrace, wiping away her tears. "I'm ready to go, and I'm especially ready for all of this to be over."
"I don't know, Ava," Britney said seriously. "Why not take some time to process everything?"
"We can't risk doing that, Brit. Maxim is coming for me tomorrow. There's no more time for us to waste."
Britney sighed slowly and nodded.
"Okay, I see your point."
"Have you finished packing?" Ava asked without missing a beat.
"Yeah." Britney nodded. "I've even put our luggage in the trunk."
"Good. Let's get going, then. I'll call Maxim and tell him about all this once we're on the road." Ava paused before adding, "Hopefully, he'll accept defeat then."
"He isn't going to be happy to hear about this," Britney said.
"Oh, I hope not," Ava replied coldly. "He's the reason I'm in this mess. Why should he be happy?"
With that, Ava awkwardly got to her feet. She felt weak, as though all the crying had drained what little energy she had left.
"I'll be in the car until you're ready."
---
MAXIM
"I'd like to make a reservation for two for tomorrow night, please," Maxim said into the phone, his voice smooth as butter.
He was laying in his bed at home, speaking to a reservation agent for one of Havari's most exclusive restaurants.
It had taken him quite some time to settle on taking Ava to this place, but after much deliberation, he'd decided it was fancy enough to impress her without being so extravagant that she'd feel overwhelmed.
He could only hope he'd judged it right. Everything needed to be perfect for their first date in five years.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we're fully booked for the next two months," the woman informed him politely. "Would you be interested in making a reservation for a later date?"
"No," Maxim said firmly. "It has to be tomorrow night."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. We're completely booked."
Maxim frowned.
There was nothing he disliked more than being told no, yet lately, it seemed to be happening to him a lot.
And it was always in relation to his relationship with Ava.
Maxim opened his mouth to enlighten the reservation agent about his identity and how easily he could make her regret being so unhelpful. But before he could get the threat out, his phone vibrated in his hand.
He lowered the phone from his ear and glanced at the screen.
Another call was coming through.
From Ava.
Maxim blinked.
Then he looked again, just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.
But no. A real-life miracle was happening.
Maxim shook his head in disbelief.
He'd already resigned himself to not speaking to Ava until tomorrow. He'd even assumed he'd be the one to initiate their next conversation. He hadn't expected her to call him that evening.
Was the world ending? he wondered.
"Sir? Are you still there?" the reservation agent asked, still on the line.
Maxim pressed the red button, ending the call without another word.
The restaurant could wait, he decided. Ava was another matter entirely.
Maxim brought his phone to his ear and spoke eagerly.
"Ava?"
"Hi, Maxim."
Her voice was cool, crisp, almost detached.
Maxim immediately wondered if something was wrong.
But he couldn't get the question out.
He'd been wishing for this moment so much that it was taking him a minute to process the fact that it was actually happening.
He cleared his throat again.
"Hey, how are you today?" he finally asked. "Is everything okay?"
"How can everything be okay in a world where you exist, Maxim?" Ava asked sweetly.
Maxim let out a relieved breath.
If Ava was still talking to him in that disdainful tone, perhaps everything was okay.
But that still didn't explain why she was calling him or why she sounded as strange as she did.
"I'm... I'm a little confused, Ava. You're calling me, which means you must be angry with me, but I can't remember doing anything wrong. At least not today."
She let out a cold chuckle.
"You're right, Max. For once, it isn't you who did something wrong. It's just me."
Maxim's forehead creased.
"What do you mean?"
"I broke up with Blake earlier today."
A slow grin spread across Maxim's face.
Now this unexpected call was starting to make sense.
Ava had broken up with Blake, and she was probably feeling guilty about it. Now she was calling to take her frustration out on him.
Well, he didn't mind.
He'd happily serve as her punching bag for something like this.
"So, how did the poor guy take it?" Maxim asked, genuinely curious.
"Not well," Ava replied curtly.
"Don't worry too much about him, Ava. He'll get over it."
"I know. Blake's a tough guy."
Maxim caught a hint of admiration in her voice, and his smile faded a little.
It didn't thrill him to know that the woman he loved thought so highly of another man.
"And how are you holding up?" he asked, steering the conversation away from that pick-me, Blake.
Ava fell silent for a moment, seemingly surprised by the question.
"About as well as anyone can after a breakup, Maxim," she replied quietly.
Maxim clenched his fist, anger rising in him again.
Why did she have to be sad about breaking up with someone who, frankly, didn't have anything special about him?
It didn't make any fucking sense.
Maxim took a deep breath to calm himself. Blake was out of the picture, he reminded himself.
And Ava was all his now. He should try to be there for her.
"I know it was hard to let him go, sweetheart, but you did the right thing," he said, forcing himself to sound comforting.
"The right thing for you, you mean."
"Not for me, Ava. For us."
Ava snorted.
"There will never be an us again, Max."
Maxim sighed loudly.
How many times were they going to have this conversation? He was starting to grow tired of it, especially when he knew perfectly well that part of her still wanted to be with him.
"We've been through this, Ava. I will have you, one way or another."
"Well, for that, you'll have to find me first," she replied with a smile before giggling.
Maxim's own smile faltered.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that I've left Havari, Maxim."
She sounded smug now.
"And I've left you."