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She takes two steps forward and I match her, meeting her in the middle and wrapping my arms around her waist. I breath her in, not being able to get enough of her and knowing this could quite possibly be the last time I see her in a long time.

Shaking those thoughts from my head, I lean down and whisper, “Hey, birdie.”

I hear her snort against my chest and I chuckle. That’s been my nickname for her from the moment I laid eyes on her, I haven’t got a clue where it came from, maybe it’s because she was always trying to escape herself.

She pulls back slightly and looks up at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I missed you,” she says, barely audible but I hear her loud and clear.

There hasn’t been one day that I haven’t thought about her. I always asked about her in a roundabout way when I video called Kay.

I lean down and whisper in her ear, “I missed you too.” Then I pull back, letting my arms drop from around her.

I’m all too aware of the audience that are watching us and I don’t want them to think something of nothing.

“Right!” Elena claps her hands together, causing Ava to jump. I can see the three brothers watching her out of the corner of my eye and I know they caught sight of it too.

Frowning, I shake my head, not dwelling on it. I’m going to enjoy spending time with my extended family and not worry about Ava.

At least, I’m going to try.

We all follow Elena into the dining room, watching as she sets an extra two places.

I can’t believe that Corey’s here, I have no idea how to feel about it. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him, I always envisioned us meeting under different circumstances; when I’m me again. I guess we can’t control everything, something which I’m slowly trying to get to grips with.

He hasn’t changed one bit, apart from the stubble that’s on his face. I lift my hand to my cheek, swearing I can still feel it’s scratchy texture there. My eyes flutter closed as I remember him whispering in my ear.

When I open them, they automatically find him. Looking away, I turn to the brothers who are stood on the other side of the room and make my way over to them. I haven’t seen Ty since I went to college.

“Hey,” I say when I come to the edge of the semi-circle they’ve formed.

“Ava.” Ty smiles and throws his arm over my shoulders. I feel so short standing next to all of these giants. “How’s college going?”

“Good.” I reply, skimming over the fact that things are getting better but still aren’t as good as they could be.

The apartment has been my sanctuary for so long but lately, I hated being there. Especially when Jess and Scott were there, they’ve started to come back more and more often now, and although Scott tried to act like nothing ever happened, I can feel the tension when we’re all there together.

Jess is different when he’s around, I don’t know if it’s always been there and I haven’t noticed, or whether it’s a recent thing, but she’s not her usual bubbly self.

Even when it’s just me and Jess things are awkward, there’s something unspoken between us and I know it’s not because of what went down at the bar, it’s something else. I can feel it, sense it.

“Dinner’s ready!” Elena calls from the kitchen.

Ty steers me towards my chair next to Trevor who’s sat at the head of the table, with Jackson to my right and Charlie and Ty opposite me. I keep my eyes up this end of the table, not trusting myself to look down at Corey.

“I’m so glad you’ve come home,” Trevor says quietly, placing his hand over mine when I’ve sat down.

“Me too.” I smil

e.

Elena and Kay start to bring in the huge amount of food they’ve cooked and we all eat. I don’t take part in any conversations, preferring to listen to them instead.

Everything is going well until Trevor asks how Jackson’s job is going.

Butterflies take flight in my stomach and I place my fork down gently on my plate. They know that we met at his work but Charlie said that he hasn’t told anyone what Scott did or that Jackson was arrested.

“Yeah, it’s going good.” He nods, shoveling another forkful of potato in his mouth.

“Think you’ll be able to keep this one?” Trevor chuckles.