“I think we had that discussion before.” I replied, as diplomatic as I could.
“I just thought ... After how we were this last week...” she said in a weak voice.
“Ava, what do you think this is?” I asked while waving my hand from her to myself and back, getting more serious now, and she gave me an uncertain look. “This is not us becoming girlfriend and boyfriend. I think I made it very clear that I have no interest in being part of your family anymore, and that didn’t change. Did you think you could make up for the years you were shitting all over me, by spending a week as a decent human being and getting me off a few times?”
“No! ... Of course not.” She did, though. I could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes when she denied it. “But I told you I’ll do anything you want! Just tell me what!” I believed to hear a smidge of disappointment underneath the desperation.
“You know, I’ve thought about this a lot since Danny asked me that same question. And I kinda got the conclusion that there isn’t some kind of great gesture you could pull off, that could somehow magically fix this. All nine of you made it very clear, for a long time, that you had no interest in having me around. That killed any meaningful relationship we once had, and I’m still not sure why I should bother to build something new. The shit with Logan’s tuition definitely just proved that, at least when it comes to Aaron and Claire, I was dead right to not believe the bullshit they told me.”
“Not me, though?” she asked, hopeful.
“I admit ... You, Danny, and John seem to be trying to do better.” I sighed. “When you asked me to help you make dinner, I could tell you never did that before, but wanted to learn. Since I did my own laundry in the house already, I also know that you never did that before either, but you did it here. Most importantly, though, you told me about the installment plans für tuitions, instead of covering for Aaron like you would have in the past. I appreciate that.”
I could literally see her eyes lighting up when I said that. Suddenly, however, she became pensive again.
“What if ... Mom is, like, not happy about Dad taking your money, either?” she said, carefully watching my reaction. “I think she knows about the payment options. And from what she told me on the phone the day before yesterday, I think she’s really mad at Dad because of it.”
“So?” I said, and she looked at me confused. “Okay. Let’s speculate for a bit. Since one of her more valued children left the house, she probably went directly into your room after we left, maybe sat on your bed, thought about you, and did all the other chliché shit mothers do when they miss a child that just moved out. Then she possibly found the financial paperwork you left on your desk.”
“How do you...?” She looked at me in almost shocked surprise, which told me that, what Claire had told her on the phone, was exactly what I had just surmised.
“I spent years trying to understand your behavior. I became quite good at it.” I waved her off. “Anyway, she knew since then. That was six days ago, Ava. In those six days, did she call me? Did she apologize? Did she do anything to get me my money back? No, she spent the last week bickering with her husband, but in the end, she just accepted the money and didn’t do shit about me being fucked over yet again.”
“But she really sounded like she was really mad with Dad. I think...” she tried, though I talked right over her.
“When you learned about what Aaron did, it took all of thirty seconds before you made the decision that I deserved to know, and she’s had six days now. Sure, maybe she didn’t want to show up empty handed, only offering useless platitudes, but did you hear anything about Logan being told to get a job? Did she say anything about applying for student loans? Did she say anything about how her own job hunt was going so far? Is she talking to Logan about transferring here, where it’s cheaper to study, even without the scholarship?” Ava looked down, telling me all I needed to know. “She had a lot of options, made her choice, and she didn’t choose me.”
To my surprise, Ava got out of the bed, walked over to me without bothering to put some clothes on, and hugged me.
“What if, like, I’d rather stay here with you for the Holidays? You don’t have to be alone again.” she asked, quietly.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I won’t be alone. I’ll be with Mia and her parents, working through the Holidays, remember?.”
“Oh ... right.” she sighed before falling silent for a moment. “Then ... you really don’t have any problem with it if I join them?”
I suddenly realized that I could actually use her for something else. I turned to hug her naked body from behind and wrapped my arms around her shoulders to pull her into me.
“No, I really don’t have a problem with you joining them. If they wear condoms.” I let one hand wander downwards and lay it onto her lower belly. “This is mine, remember? Did you ever come around to check my nightstand?” She shook her head, telling me that she never made sure if her dialpak actually held real birth control pills or not. “Do you want to risk one of them knocking you up?”
“Oh!” I heard her grasp. “But ... We never used condoms before...” She looked up at me, silently asking me to elaborate.
“I’m kinda curious to hear how I compare to them.”
“I could tell you that right now!” she giggled, pointing at the drenched sheets and various toys strewn across the bed and floor. “I never came so much or so hard before. And, no, I’m not saying this to make you happy or stroke your ego.” she smirked, wiggling her butt into my groin, enticing an involuntary twitch from my still spent and aching dick.
“Why, thank you, Princess.” I smiled and kissed that spot on her neck, earning me a soft humm. “But I think you should give them a chance to step up their game after telling them that you can squirt with me.” I chuckled. “You remember the talk we had over breakfast the other day? If they think you’re happy with what they give you, they’ll just do more of the same. So, tell them that they can get rid of the condoms as soon as they actually satisfy you the way I did. And it has to be one-on-one, without Claire’s or Danny’s help, since I didn’t have that either.”
“I can do that.” she finally said after mulling it over for a while, though I could hear and see that she was not really happy. I thought I knew what the reason for her trouble was.
“Fine. I’m gonna be perfectly honest with you. Yes, I have an ulterior motive. I think this would be a great way to get some payback from them. I mean, since it was Logan who worked the hardest to keep me out of the family, and Aaron and John were all too fine with enjoying the benefits that came from it, I think it would only be fair to restrict their own access a little. Hence the condoms. And I wouldn’t be against Claire, Danny and Maggie learning what they missed out on. You said you would be Okay with being used for a little revenge. This certainly won’t hurt them. At least not too much, and only their pride.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, in a much lighter voice after I was seemingly honest with her, before showing me a mischievous smile accompanied by a girly giggle. “I’ll make sure to tell them every little detail of what you did to me! And especially for how long you did it to me!”
“That’s my good girl!” I whispered, before giving her another quick Kiss on her neck and hearing her sigh in satisfaction. “But no making stuff up!”
Of course, my suggestion about Ava demanding condoms had an additional purpose, but I was not eager to tell her about that. If Aaron and Logan behaved like I expected them to, they would berate her nonstop about letting them lose the condoms without even trying to step up their game. It would show her who she blindly served for so long, and what it got her. Then it was up to her how she wanted to deal with it.