Page 3

Three

Ava

I watched Tyler walk through my house and into my kitchen. He acted like he owned the place, and it made my pussy throb slightly. I’m so tired of taking care of myself. Of being alone. It would be nice to just have someone. I realized it was my fault for being alone, but tonight… I honestly couldn’t do it. Tyler was lost while searching every cabinet for my cups, but I didn’t mind. It allowed me to check him out in the same way he checked me out.

As he reached for a cup, his shirt lifted a little, showing more of his rich tan. He turned around, a small smile spreading across his face. “Ice or no?”

“Ice, please.”

He nodded, went to the refrigerator, and filled the cup with ice and water. Walking back over, he knelt down to place the cup on the table, and I caught a whiff of his cologne. If I could bottle it and keep it forever, I would. He sat close to me, but I immediately scooted back. He lifted an eyebrow and cocked his head at me. “Do I smell?”

“God, no.” I answered a little too fast, feeling my cheeks heat up.

“You blush a lot, Precious.”

I bowed my head, staring at the ground until a rough finger gradually lifted my chin. I resisted flinching away from him. Concentrating on how it felt for him to touch me. How one touch could ignite something deep in my stomach.

“Do you want to tell me about the nightmares?”

“No.”

“Can I know who did this to you?” He asked again.

“Tyler, it doesn’t matter.”

“It matters if someone touched you.”

“It’s not like I belong to you.” I mumbled.

“If you did, that piece of shit wouldn’t be able to walk. Now, Precious, tell me who hurt you.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“You’re the most precious thing I’ve ever seen.”

I laughed. I completely laughed in this man’s face. The man has the face of a fucking god, and I laughed. “I’m sorry. That was just terrible .”

“Ouch.” He feigned personal injury. Playing it up by putting his hand to his heart.

“I mean, really, it’s sweet, but come on, Ty.”

“Ty?”

“Felt right.” I shrugged.

“I call you Precious because you’re the first person I saw when I came home from my first chemo treatment. One look at you, and life didn’t seem so bad. Now knowing someone hurt you? Fuck, don’t you know you shouldn’t be treated carelessly?”

“Cancer?” I stuttered.

“I’m okay. They caught it fast. I had it when you moved in. You probably noticed I stayed home a lot during that first year of you living here.”

“Oh.” I pursed my lips. “I do remember that. But I had no clue it was due to something like that .”

“Stop doing that.” He whispered like he was in pain.

“Doing what?”

“Making that pouty lip.”

“Why?” I pressed. I wasn’t sure who I was tonight, but fuck if it didn’t feel great being a little bratty instead of cowering. Maybe Tyler was safe. Maybe he won’t hurt me.

“Because it makes me want to kiss you.”

What. The. Fuck. “Kiss me?” I coughed.

“You don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?”

“Your beauty. Your worth. I’ve known you for four years now. Watching the way you smile at all the neighbors. How you wave to the kids. You’re a ray of sunshine.”

“That means I can burn you.”

“Burn me, Precious. It’d make me the happiest man in the world.”

What the hell was I supposed to say to that? It’s not that I haven’t dreamed about this happening. I’ve seen him check me out a time or two, but maybe he was just bored tonight. There’s no one else to fuck. I had to be the second choice. How fucking stupid am I?

“You can go now.” The words rushed out as I stood up and backed away from him.

“What just happened?”

“I’m not here for you to just fuck and go on your way. Find someone else.”

“Who said anything about fucking? That’s not why I’m here,” he protested.

“Then why are you?”

“Because despite how you smile and wave to all the neighbors, you’re sad.”

“So… I’m a project?”

“I don’t want to fix you, Precious.” He reached up slowly to brush my hair behind my ear. “I want to remind you why you’re living.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because it seems like no one has before. Let me show you that not everyone is bad. Let me prove to you that you can trust me.”

“How?” I asked softly.

“Keep letting me in.”

“I can try.”

Tyler sat back down, patting the seat next to him. “First step, sitting next to me, okay?”

“Okay,” I sat down. It felt weird to be close to him, to anyone. Something screamed at me to let him in. I can’t even remember the last time anyone did something for me out of kindness, and here he was offering me water. It was small, probably stupid, but for just a minute I forgot I was a fucked-up person. The way he was able to take control of the situation. It gave my brain a break, and I wanted more of that. More of this. “Now what?”

“Nothing. I’m not here to make you uncomfortable. I’m here to prove that you can heal.”

“It was my dad,” I whispered.

“What?”

“My dad. He’s the one who hurt me.”

“How many times?” He asked slowly. Almost like he was trying to control his anger.

“Until I got out.”

“Your whole life?”

“Pretty much. He… he was always like that. My mom died when I was three. I think he resented that he had to take care of me by himself. He would always yell at me, and on the days that I was ‘bad’, he would hit me. Once I got older…”

“Ava, you don’t have to finish that sentence.” He shook his head.

“Yes, I do. Because, like you said, I need to heal, and I can heal. It’s been years; I need to admit this. If not for you, for me.”

“Okay.” He sighed.

“Once I got older, he started making comments about my body. My breasts and ass. I tried to never be home when he would be awake, but I had gotten off work early one night and he was in the living room waiting for me. I wasn’t expecting him. He got up from his chair and came over, and he… That was the first and the last time. Our neighbor heard me screaming and called the cops. I went to live with an aunt I didn’t even know I had. She was nice, but it was kind of weird, you know? We were both strangers to each other. I only lived with her for about a year before I turned eighteen, and I saved enough to move out. Then I saved even more, and I moved here to start over. Everyone was so nice, but… I still couldn’t be a normal human. I act like I have it together, but I don’t.” I took a deep breath, looking up at his expression, a mix of concern and understanding, telling me it was okay to keep talking.

“I don’t have it together at all. I’ve wanted to talk to you more. Sometimes I’d even go outside when you were out there to try, and then I’d get scared and run back in every time. Things happened so fast, and my life kept changing. I don’t have any friends. How pathetic is that? I isolated myself, and I only have myself to blame for that.”

Tyler looked at me, listening to every word I told him. He made a fist, only to release it, and gave me a sad smile.

“You do have a friend, though.” He smirked.

“I do now.” I agreed.

“I’m proud of you.”

“I want to live, Ty. Help me live.”

“It would be my pleasure, Precious.”