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Ava wasn’tsure what her father was doing. He had told her several times that she was better off without Xander. She had told him during those times that she wasn’t better off without him. She needed Xander the way she needed air to breathe. Often the conversations became heated, and it was easier just to agree with him.
Please don’t tellhim about us yet. I need to work that into a conversation. I need my family to be accepting of you. I’m sorry to put this burden on you at this time, but it’s important that we tell him together.
I promiseI won’t say anything. I haven’t told anyone else. I need to go. It’s very early here, and I want to get to Lidia’s before the traffic gets busy. I haven’t slept in almost two days. I’ll text or call you later. I love you.
I love you, too.
Ava didn’t feelthe need to tell Xander that she was sick. When they were together, he became a mother hen when she was ill or injured. If he found out she was sick, it would cause him more stress than he already had in California. She could take care of herself. Robert, Rachel, Sam and Jacob were around if she needed help.
She got home and stripped off her clothing. The chills were coming more frequently now, and she closed the air conditioning vent in her bedroom. She opened the pajama drawer in her dresser and got out a pair of flannels. It was hardly the weather for it, but she was freezing. She crawled into bed and got the digital thermometer from her nightstand. When it chimed she checked it, and it read one hundred point eight. Shit, I truly am sick, so I guess I will be spending the rest of the day and weekend in bed. She pulled the covers over her and went to sleep.
The incessant vibrating of her phone woke her up. She checked the clock by her bedside, and it was after five. She had slept all day and still felt horrible. She was bathed in sweat, and her sheets were damp. She got out of bed to change, and the thermostat in her room was registering eighty-six degrees. Upon checking her phone, she saw that Tim had left several messages. Dammit, I completely forgot to let him know I was sick. He’s probably waiting for me in the park. She texted him.
I’m so sorry. I’m sick and got into bed earlier today. I thought I would only sleep a few hours, but I slept all day!!
Ava, you know you don’t have to lie to me. If you don’t want to go running with me then just say so. I have been waiting for you for the last fifteen minutes.
Tim, why would I lie to you? I am sick. My fever was over one hundred the last time I checked. I went to work this morning, and they told me to go home right after I got there.
He didn’t texther back, and she was just fine with it. She didn’t feel like arguing with him via text or any other mode of communication. She changed her pajamas and was lucky that the sheets had dried by the time she got back to her bed. She sat down and took her temperature again. This time it read one hundred one point four.
She decided that she better take some aspirin before she went back to sleep. She also needed something to drink. When she was all settled, she set the air conditioner on low and got back into bed. The next time she woke it was well after nine o’clock. She had been sleeping most of the day and evening. Her fever must have broken because she was sweaty but very warm. She kicked off the covers, sat up to remove her pajamas, then pulled off her panties and went back into bed, pulling just the sheet over her.
Saturday morning was no better. She went to the small bath and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her tongue was white. She felt warm again and took another aspirin. The chill had returned, and she dug in her drawer for a t-shirt. The first one she pulled out was that same now-threadbare shirt that Xander had packed in the suitcase he had left in her apartment four years ago. She slipped into it, thinking of him.
* * *
Tim was agitated. First, Ava had told him that she was back with that guy Xander than she stood him up for their run in the park. He was sure she was lying because she sounded fine the day before when she dumped him. Yes, they had only dated for a week, but he was sure he had finally gotten through to her about moving on from the guy. What dumb luck for her to break down in the same town in which Xander was now living. Tim had so many plans for their relationship. She was a real catch: beautiful, intelligent, sexy. She also had a large inheritance that would help supplement his teacher’s salary if they ever married.
When she had dumped him, he was cordial about it. He didn’t let her know how disappointed he was. It was reminiscent of the times in high school when girls would say they wanted to go out and would meet him somewhere. He stood around like a jerk waiting for them for hours. When he saw them in school, they would claim they never made a date with him. He thought those days were behind him.
He had been married, but his wife had died; he was glad to be rid of her (a fact he neglected to tell Ava). His wife had gained a lot of weight after their first year of marriage. She also was an incessant whiner and complainer. She had nagged him constantly about making more money, but when he asked her to get a job she said it was up to him to support them. She spent most of her days watching television, and he was lucky to get a hot meal when he came home. She had gotten cancer, and within less than a year she was gone. He had been relieved.
Now he was going to have to figure out a way to win Ava back. He knew that he had a lot of competition from Xander. The man had everything. Looks, brains, a career that would make him much more money than Tim ever would. Xander also had history with Ava. Tim used to have many conversations with her while sitting on the dock at camp. She had told Tim that Xander was her first and she was still deeply in love with him, even after four years of no contact. It was going to be hard to get her to shake him, but he had a plan.
