AVA
"So, just so I understand, the only reason Maxim disappeared from your life was because he lost all his memories of you?" Britney asked Ava with wide eyes.
"That's what he told me. And honestly, I believe him," Ava said, her shoulders lifting slightly.
"But despite that, you don't want to be with him?" Britney asked, looking more and more confused.
Ava had just finished explaining the whole Maxim situation to her. She'd explained everything thoroughly, but Britney still didn't seem able to wrap her mind around it.
It was baffling to Ava.
"Yes," she said impatiently, placing her empty teacup back on the tray. "I rejected him. Not that he accepted the rejection, mind you. It's crazy, right?"
Britney stared at her for a moment.
The next moment, she brought her hands together with a satisfying clap before crossing her arms.
"Wow. Your situation is, like, so insane. Like actual soap-opera stuff."
Ava's forehead creased.
"Well, I'm glad you're so entertained by this, Britney. It's not like I'm in a lot of trouble or anything," Ava said in a dry voice.
"Sorry," Britney said immediately, suddenly realizing what she'd said.
Ava sighed, immediately forgiving her.
"So...what exactly about this is so hard to believe anyway, Brit?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "He's a criminal and has clearly developed into some kind of criminal sociopath over the last five years. I'm not going to get back together with him."
Britney pursed her lips while regarding Ava with a suspicious expression.
"To be honest, I am still kind of shocked that you aren't taking him back. I mean, you've been hung up on the guy for years," Britney said. "I thought for sure you'd jump at the chance to be with him again."
Ava's cheeks turned pink when Britney said this.
She knew her friend was only stating the facts and her own opinion, but that still didn't take away from the outrage and embarrassment she felt at the statement.
"Come on, I haven't been that hung up on him," she said demurely.
"Yes, you have," Britney continued adamantly. "I mean, it was just the other day that you went to his court trial."
Ava sucked in a breath at Britney's words.
She wondered how the other woman had found out about the thing she'd been trying to keep secret from her and everyone else.
"I don't get it," she said after a thoughtful moment. "How did you—?"
"I saw the trial being covered on the news at the cafe while you were gone. Then I saw someone who looked like you in the corner. The rest was a matter of putting two and two together," Britney told her, her expression sympathetic.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ava asked.
"Well, I kind of got the message that you didn't want me to know when you lied and told me that you'd gone to the mall instead."
Hearing this, Ava closed her eyes and sighed, running her hands over the cream sweatpants she was wearing.
"I'm sorry I lied to you, Britney. I just... I didn't want to talk about it."
"Hey, I get it. It's too personal."
Ava gave Britney a grateful look for understanding before slowly getting to her feet.
She then began pacing between the table and the couch she'd been sitting on, speaking as she did.
"The other day, I didn't want to share the reason I went to the trial, but I do now," Ava told Britney, who waited patiently for her to continue. "I went to Maxim's trial to... I don't know, get some kind of closure. To convince myself that I shouldn't think about him so much anymore."
She let out a small, humorless laugh.
"But it didn't work. I kept thinking about how good he looked and kind of just wanted him to acknowledge my existence, even in some small way."
Ava shook her head.
"I know. It's stupid. I don't get it myself."
"It's not stupid," Britney said quickly. "Maxim was your first love. And everyone remembers their first love, Ava. What you're feeling isn't that abnormal."
Ava looked at her friend, knowing she was trying to make her feel better.
But she also knew that the feelings she harbored for Maxim were something closer to an obsession. And she'd learned to accept them a long time ago because what else could she do?
"The point is," she told Britney, "when I went to that trial, far from helping me get over Maxim, I may have opened a whole hornet's nest."
Britney's expression became more curious.
"He says that seeing me may have triggered his memories about me," Ava said uncertainly. "So, when you think about it, I kind of brought this whole situation on myself."
Britney let out a protesting sound.
"Ava, you didn't make that man sneak into your parents' party. You didn't make him break into your apartment, threaten Blake, or terrorize you like he did," she said.
Ava winced at the word terrorised. Especially since she hadn't felt that way when she let Maxim kiss her.
Of course, she didn't say or mention her momentary lapse in judgment to Britney. It was just too embarrassing.
"Why do I feel so guilty and foolish, then?" Ava asked, still pacing the room.
She could have face-palmed herself because she already knew the reason.
The kiss.
"Maybe because you still have some feelings for him. And there's nothing wrong with that," Britney said when Ava's face fell.
"It's perfectly fine to have feelings for someone and still not want to be with them. What's not okay is when that person tries to force themselves into your life despite knowing you don't want them around."
"You're right. Maxim is the one in the wrong here, not me," Ava said, seeing Britney's point.
She stopped pacing and sat down on the couch, covering her face with her hands.
"Oh, Brit. What am I going to do, though?" she asked, her voice muffled behind her palms. "How do I make sure he stays away from me and doesn't hurt Blake at the same time?"
They had finally gotten to the real reason she'd called Britney in the first place.
"You really think he'd hurt Blake?" Britney asked.
"You should have seen him when he made that threat. I've never seen anyone look so serious in my entire life," Ava said.
She then let out a curse.
"If only all the cops in the city weren't so fucking corrupt, I could report Maxim for—I don't know—stalking and threatening me..." she said.
"Don't forget breaking and entering into your and your parents' places," Britney said. "And looking too damn good to be doing any of it."
At that, Ava fixed her gaze on Britney, getting upset for some reason.
Britney merely shrugged in response.
"What? I know we hate him, but he really is gorgeous."
"I am aware. But how does pointing that out help us?" Ava said in a strained voice.
She told herself that what she felt was impatience with Britney, not possessiveness over Maxim.
"I'm literally just saying," Britney answered. "But anyway, I get your point. I have an uncle who's a police officer, and he's also on the Holloway family's payroll."
Ava immediately brought a worried hand to her forehead.
"Britney, please tell me that you have an idea to help me get out of this because I keep coming up blank."
Her friend immediately looked thoughtful but didn't say anything for a moment.
"Well," she started, "Maxim is a shady person. Maybe we could find some dirt on him that we can use against him somehow."
Ava gave Britney a flat look at her suggestion.
"And how would we do that, Brit? I mean, you're a café owner, and I'm a waitress slash painter. What do we know about gathering 'dirt' on someone?" she said. "Besides, the chances of us succeeding are low since other people more powerful than us have tried to do the same thing and failed."
"Okay, girl. Don't start going off on me. It was just a thought," Britney said defensively. "Wait, here's another one: we let him take you, and you act so awful and undesirable that he has no choice but to dump your ass."
Ava narrowed her eyes at Britney.
"Seriously? " She says. "You know, I thought you'd be better at this scheming thing."
Britney sighed.
"Aves, I know I talk a big game, but at the end of the day, I'm a normal woman just like you, all right?" she stated. "Sue me."
Ava let out a sigh after Britney's response.
"Shit," she declared. "Let's face it, I'm doomed. And in two days, Maxim is going to come and immediately begin turning me into his murderous mafia queen or something."
Britney rolled her eyes at Ava's statement, which she thought was overdramatic.
"He won't, Ava. We won't let him. I mean, you don't have a murderous bone in your body anyway."
They both chuckled loudly at this, not knowing that an actual murder was in store for them in their future.
At that moment, an idea occurred to Ava.
It was one she'd dismissed before, thinking it was a bad one. But now that they had no other ideas, it suddenly seemed like an attractive option.
However, while possible, it wasn't entirely preferable to her.
"Brit, I think I have an idea," Ava said, becoming serious again.
"What is it?" Britney asked curiously.
"Earlier, before you got here, I was thinking that I could go away somewhere where Maxim won't find me. Maybe to another place, another city..." She paused. "Even another continent."
Britney immediately looked at her like she'd lost her mind.
"Isn't that a little too drastic, Ava?" she asked. "I mean, what about your parents and Blake? Me? Not to mention your job and the fact that you've never left Havari?"
"I don't know, Britney. I haven't exactly thought this through," Ava said defensively.
Britney looked even less convinced.
Ava spoke before the other woman could voice her skepticism.
"Brit, whether we want it to happen or not, Maxim is coming for me on Monday, and he also has the power to force me to do whatever he wants me to," she said. "So if going to another city is what it takes to avoid that obviously unstable man, then so be it."
For a moment, Britney was rendered speechless by the fierceness of Ava's words, especially coming from someone who was usually so peaceful.
Ava took that quiet moment to continue explaining her idea.
"Anyway, the only problem with my plan is that I don't have the money... which is where you come in," she said, looking at the silent Britney.
Ava went quiet too, finding the courage to say her next words.
"Could you lend me some cash? Not a lot, just enough to get me settled in another place for about a month. Obviously, I'll start paying you back once I get some work, wherever that is."
Ava winced, realizing how utterly weak her pitch for a loan was.
On the other hand, Britney pursed her lips, looking awkward.
"Aves, I want to help you, but... I just don't have that kind of cash. I mean, all my money is tied up in the café, and even that isn't doing very well," she said. "I'm sorry."
Ava was a bit shocked by this news.
She hadn't known that Britney was having financial problems as well. She'd been so focused on her own problems that she hadn't considered Britney might be going through something similar.
Ava ignored her disappointment at not being able to carry out her plan before nodding at Britney.
"It's okay, Brit. I understand."
"Maybe you could ask your parents?" Britney suggested.
"They'd want to know everything about Maxim, and I just can't bring myself to tell them. It would just stress them out."
After she said this, Ava started feeling considerably more helpless and hopeless, but she didn't let it show on her face.
She didn't want Britney to feel guilty about not being able to help her out.
The other woman must have guessed at her state of mind anyway because she said, "Come on, Ava. Don't look so hopeless. We'll figure something out."
"Like what, Britney?" Ava said, sounding more exhausted than anything. "There is not a single move we can make against Maxim Holloway that will have any effect. He's too powerful."
"But he's not God Almighty. Despite what he wants you to think, he can't do everything he wants. Wait, I actually just thought of something."
Hope surged inside Ava's heart again when Britney spoke.
"What is it?" she asked eagerly.
The other woman leaned forward in a conspiring manner.
"So, the plan is, we take you to—wait for it—my parents' cabin," she said excitedly.
Ava just stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a disappointed sigh.
To think she'd been getting excited about this frankly terrible plan.
"Your parents' cabin?" she said, prompting the other woman to nod. "Britney, what makes you think Maxim wouldn't look for me there? I mean, the cabin is literally in Havari. Also, it's not yours."
"Actually, it's on the outskirts of Havari, and I can use it whenever I want. Also, Maxim doesn't know about me. We met after he disappeared from your life, remember?" Britney said. "He won't look for you at my parents' place."
Ava thought about the idea but shook her head when she still found some holes in it.
"Maxim says he performed a background check on my life for the past five years. I think he knows about my close relationship with you."
"Yeah, but that just means he'll check my place and not my parents' cabin. And we won't tell them or anyone else that we went there."
The more Ava listened to Britney's plan, the more viable it started to seem.
It wasn't perfect or anything, but it was something, at least.
And, most importantly, her broke ass could afford it.
"Wait, exactly how long will we be gone?" Ava asked.
"For as long as we need to," Britney answered.
"And you're coming too?"
"Yeah. I'm not going to let you do this alone," Britney said.
Her statement touched Ava's heart, but she couldn't help worrying about Britney.
"But what about the café?"
Her friend waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh, it'll be fine. Nathan is on a school break for all of this month. I'm sure he can handle the cafe for a couple of days, which is how long it should take for Maxim's fixation with you to pass. I mean, how obsessed can one be after seeing a girl you haven't spoken to in five years, right?" she said casually.
Britney didn't know it, but her words had a hurtful effect on Ava.
She didn't like to think about being Maxim's temporary distraction and him forgetting her after a short period.
It also sounded too... familiar.
Ava immediately told herself to snap out of it.
Maxim was a monster whom she did not want to be with, she reminded herself.
"Looks like we finally have a plan," Ava said softly. "We'll go to your parents' cabin."
Britney nodded along before suddenly pausing.
"Wait, what about Blake?" Britney asked. "What if Maxim hurts him in some way when you're gone?"
Ava's back straightened when she thought about the solution to this problem.
"Maxim won't do a thing to Blake. Because Blake and I will be over before we leave."
"So..."
"I'm breaking up with him," Ava said, answering Britney's unspoken question.