It wasn’t just Claire’s, but all three pairs of eyes locked on to me, that grew wide as they realized what all that meant. So, I pressed on.
“Same thing for Logan. He claimed things would change when you all sat right next to him, but what did he then actually do? Now that he left to get his rocks off elsewhere despite knowing full well how much you could need his support at the moment, what would you need to do if you wanted him to stay?”
Now their expressions soured. But they knew I was right. Logan had absolutely no reason to not be with his family at that moment. And there was certainly nothing important enough to simply abandon his distraught mother, or to not check on his recently shot little brother, if he actually cared for either of us.
“Getting either of them back into your life, and being part of my life, are mutually exclusive concepts.” I continued. “They don’t want to share you or Ava, and they don’t want me back in their lives. So, you have to make a decision for yourself.”
All of them sat there shell shocked. They never thought we had reached that point, but that was their own fault. I didn’t raise Logan to be a pampered child who never had to fear the consequences of his actions, they did. I also didn’t marry a man who would cast out one of his children simply to maintain the female-to-male ratio in his secret incest orgies.
But Claire knew exactly where we stood now. She had the happy life with two of her kids, a husband, and her parents on one side, and the long hard road to redemption without her husband or parents on the other. Either way, in the end she would most likely lose either Logan or me. I had given her every incentive I could think of to take the easy road.
Well, I could think of one more incentive, actually. After what I heard Claire and Ava talk about when I found them on the couch in my living room, and after what I read in her letter, I knew she was concerned about my love life. She felt responsible for me being unable to move on from Tess, because none of them was there to help me properly grief. I would have to show her that this wasn’t the case. Only then could she truly decide what she wanted for herself, without being influenced by fearing the consequences of leaving me behind.
“And what about your sister?” Danny asked. “She is planning to completely devote herself to you, you know?”
“Yes, she told me something along those lines. She’s in for a surprise of her own. This morning, in the bathroom, she showed me a side of herself I never knew existed. I have to admit, if that’s how she normally acted at home, I can somehow understand how Aaron and Logan were tempted to let it escalate. She knows exactly how to press someone’s buttons. But then again, maybe she wouldn’t be that way if Aaron and Logan hadn’t escalated it.” I shook my head. “Anyway, she seems to think we’re gonna pick up right where we left off before Christmas, and I’d take care of her sexdrive. That’s not gonna happen.”
I heard John clear his throat. Whether it was about my declaration of not fucking Ava, or because he also felt the temptation to use Ava beyond her safe boundaries, I couldn’t tell.
“Uh ... Why not? You don’t ... want to?” he carefully asked.
“Dude, look at me. Did you listen when I talked about being in constant pain? It’s gonna be another four whooping weeks before it’s safe to take that sling off. And even if my healing comes along so smoothly that they can stop packing my leg in a week or two, it’s gonna be a while longer before I can walk or even stand without a cane. How many positions do you know that have no risk of a body part slamming against your thigh, chest, or shoulder?”
“Oh.” he commented. “Wow, that sucks.”
“Yeah. That’s what sucks about all of this.” I commented with very audible sarcasm, seeing Danny throw her husband a withering look as I got out of the armchair. “I think we covered everything. Take your time to talk it through. I’m gonna call an Uber to get home.”
And with that, I left them behind in their stunned silence and pulled out my phone to order a ride home. Halfway there, I decided to check in with Mia. It had been almost two weeks since she proposed our ‘Let’s see where it takes us’ relationship, and I thought that was enough time for her to make sure she actually wanted it.
“Hey.” I greeted her after she picked up the call.
“Tim? Everything alright?”
“Yes, why?”
“You said you’d call if you needed anything. I was a little worried that I hadn’t heard anything from you for so long. And a little insulted.” she chuckled. It made me smile.
“Sorry about that. Ava and my mother moved themselves into my apartment to look after me. So, I was alright. Don’t know how long they’ll stay, though.”
“Oh? That’s ... nice of them.” I could hear a slight tone of irritation in her voice.
“So ... I’m calling because ... how are you?”
Why was this so hard!? Oh, right, because I never asked a girl out before! Mia seemed to pick up on my blundering attempt. There was a moment of silence on the other end.
“What?”
“I kinda wanted to hear how you are.”
“Really?” Now she sounded amused. “Interesting.”
“Why is it interesting?”
“Well, it kinda sounds like you’re missing me.” She spoke like she was sharing a secret.
“Mhm. What if I am?”
“I’ll be over in an hour!” she said excitedly, and the line abruptly went dead before I had the chance to say anything.
About fifteen minutes later I got an unexpected text from Nora.
“Just be honest with her. No matter what she asks”
I furrowed my brows for a moment, but quickly made up my mind. If she wanted to go into details, she would have done so with her first message.
“Okay. No matter what, I’ll be honest. Has she eaten already?”
“No. Though I’m sure that topic will come up anyway, Lover.” Followed by a devils emoji.
And my brows furrowed again. But, again, I decided to simply see what would happen.
Back in my apartment, I found Ava sitting on the couch.
“So...” I started, a little awkwardly. “I kinda have someone come over. Wanna make some snacks together?”
That made her perk up in obvious interest.
“Who’s coming over?” she asked as she got off the couch.
“Mia.” I avoided looking at her, and could feel my neck get warm.
“Oh. That makes sense.” She said it so matter of fact, like it was the obvious conclusion, that it gave me pause.
“It does?”
“Of course. You saved her life! I would be surprised if she wouldn’t want to ... thank you.” she grinned, as we got to work.
I decided on making some Bruschetta and had Ava start on removing the seeds and watery insides from the tomatoes, while I gathered the spices and herbs.
“So, where’s Mom?” she asked casually.
“Still with John and Danny at their house. I’m not sure when she’ll be back.”
“Did something happen?” she asked, obviously concerned, and her hands stopped moving.
“Not exactly. We had to clear the air, and now she has to make a decision. You do too, for that matter.”
“I do?” Now she sounded even more concerned.
“When you said that you wanted to devote yourself to me ... I admit, it was hot as fuck.” She showed me a mischievous grin upon hearing that. “But you need to understand that I won’t be able to do much for the next four weeks. That’s when I’ll probably be able to move my arm again without cramping up in pain.”
“Oh!” her eyes got big.
“The leg could take even longer. And...” I sighed. “If Mia and I ... Right now, we only want to see where it takes us. We won’t be a couple or even exclusive. But if we find ourselves heading for exclusivity, I will honor that.”