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I’m not halfway there when the door opens up and they all come piling out to greet us.

“Ava!” Eli shouts as he barrels towards me and wraps his arms around my waist. He’s grown so much since I last saw him.

“Happy birthday, Eli!” I smile, bending down to him. “I have your present in the car.”

“You do?” He jumps up and down on the spot, his eyes moving behind me.

“Yeah.” I smile, standing up and turning to Jackson. “Grab it for me would you?” I ask, not able to hear his reply as another pair of arms are wrapped around me.

I’m passed between everyone and by the time I get to the end of the line, I don’t know what to do because it’s Corey. We said that we weren’t going to tell anyone today so that means I have to act like I haven’t seen him. That in turn means I need to greet him hello, right?

“Hey,” I breathe out, stepping closer.

“Hey.” He winks back and wraps his arms around my waist. “You look incredible,” he whispers in my ear, making my whole body light up.

“Thanks,” I say, clearing my throat as I pull away.

I turn just in time to see Kay watching us with narrowed eyes and a smirk on her face.

“Ava? Help me with the food?”

“Err... sure.”

I leave Corey standing there, aware of his eyes on me.

I love the way he watches me. I wanted to be wanted and that’s certainly what I’m getting with him.

Following Kay through her house, I wait until she hands me a chopping board and tells me what to cut.

I start to chop up some salad, aware of her eyes burning a hole into me.

“So...” Kay says, I turn to look at her and see her brows raised. “How long?”

“How long?” I ask, frowning turning my eyes back to the salad.

“How long have you and Corey been together?”

I gasp and snap my head to her, the knife slipping and slicing through the palm of my hand. “Shit! Shit, shit, shit.” I look down at my hand and immediately regret it as I see all the blood oozing out of the cut, my stomach turns at the sight so I squeeze my eyes shut.

“Oh, crap!” Kay rushes forward, lifting my hand. I open my eyes back up and catch her grimace.

“Is it... bad?” I gulp, the burning pain making me wince.

“Erm... hold on, let me get one of the guys.” I nod and stay there as she rushes out of the kitchen.

I step away from the knife not knowing what to do next. Do I run my hand under water or do I just stay put?

Keeping my hand raised in the air, I lean against the opposite counter, pulling a face as blood drops onto the floor.

What’s taking so long?

“She’s in here!” I hear Kay shout just before she walks back into the kitchen.

I watch as Luke follows her in, with Ty at his back. “What happened?” Ty asks, coming forward and grabbing my hand, his face full of worry.

“Ow!” I screech when he touches it and starts to prod and poke.

“Ah shit, she’s gonna need stitches.” He frowns and turns to Kay. “What-”