AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 18
Ava waslucky that she was swamped with work the next week. Victoria had plenty of clients, and Ava was busy every day at the office. Each day after work, she spent time with Tim. He took her to lunch twice, the movies to see some romance and on Thursday, they went to dinner. Today, he had taken her for coffee because he was busy tonight and now she was bored. Next week he would be involved with school. She also realized that she missed spending time with Samantha and Rachel.
Samantha had been helping Robert scout new locations for another gym. She had already helped him open his second and third locations over the past couple of years. Each location was bigger than the one he first opened.
As for Rachel, she had been assigned light bed rest ever since she started spotting and Rigo rushed her to the hospital. The doctor told her she needed to take it easy and stop working so much. Rigo promptly put her in bed and hired two new assistants. She hadn’t spotted in the two weeks she was in bed and was itching to get out.
And of course, Xander was still in LA and wasn’t sure when he was returning to the city. He had been involved with doing research for the lawsuit. He had seen the referred attorney, Kaycee Colon, who had agreed that they had a strong case. He had delivered his research to her and told her he was working on more. Ava looked forward to the evenings when she had phone sex with him. His days were filled with doctor appointments for Lidia and Brett, research and keeping their house in order.
Brett had the cast removed from his arm, and an x-ray revealed it was healed. He was to start physical therapy the next week. Lidia was scheduled to have the wiring in her jaw removed mid-week of the week after that. She was dying to have some solid food and had lost several more pounds off of her already thin frame. Another couple of weeks and Xander might be able to move forward with his plans to come back to New York.
Ava anticipated hearing from Xander and prepared herself for their evening interlude. She heard her phone chirp indicating an email or text had arrived. She saw an email from Xander. She excitedly opened it hoping he had sent her a dirty picture. Instead, she was devastated by what she read.
Ava,
I knowthat you will be very unhappy to read this. After much soul searching these past few weeks, I have realized that you aren’t the person I want to have beside me for the rest of my life. I think we got caught up in this fairytale of how everything would be back to what it was before I left New York.The sex was great and intense. I would never deny that. But that is all it was for me, sex. You were wrong not to believe everyone; I was a player and still am. I lied to you about never sleeping with women while we were apart. I slept with quite a few, and there were several that gave me just as intense pleasure as I’ve had with you. I also cheated on you a few times when we were together. Abby was correct; I did cheat on her because I was always looking for “the one.” Like her, you are not that person.
You werea nice distraction for the three months we were together, then again in Saratoga and our short weekend here in California. I need someone who isn’t so attached to their family. I don’t want our families looking over our shoulders every time we do something, wondering if I am going to cheat on you.
I can never giveyou the life that you want. You need someone who is stable and won’t use you like I have. Don’t wait for me because I’m not coming back to you. Don’t contact me. I’ve blocked you from my phone. Please don’t enlist my family or friends to assist you in getting back with me. I know this is the best thing for both of us. Sorry.
Xander
Ava droppedher phone and ran to the bathroom to throw up. This can’t be true. How could he write such horrible things to her? They had just spent a wonderful weekend together. He proclaimed his love for her many times before and since they had gotten back together. She read his journals, saw his sketch pads, the pictures of her in his apartment. How had he come to this decision so easily when it was obvious that he loved her?
She checked the email address, and it was correct. It had come from his email. She wanted to call him, but he had said he blocked her from his phone. She wanted to call Lidia or Peter or even Suzanne and ask them to talk to him. The only one that knew they had been together was Lidia so it would be a surprise to the others. She curled up in a ball and cried herself to sleep.
Several hours later, Xander picked up his phone that he had left on his bed. He had just come home from the UCLA law library. He checked for messages and what he found in his email was shocking.
Xander,
I can’t beginto tell you how hard it is to write this email to you. I have been going back and forth with indecision since I met up with you in Saratoga. I think that it’s a mistake for us to get back together. My father will never let us be together, and my family hates you.
What happenedin Georgia cannot be erased, and it will always be a sore spot between us. If you had come clean to me earlier, the accident never would have taken place. Because of your selfishness, I can never have children.
Maybe I should have realizedthat you were wrong for me before this. I spent the last four years chasing a false reality that was never going to live up to everyone’s standards. I need someone more stable. You were correct in believing you needed to stay away from me for my own good, for our own good. We are wrong for each other.
Please for my sake, don’t text, call or contact me in any way. I blocked you on my phone. I need to move on and start the next chapter in my life. Our union can never be.
Ava
He kept lookingat the email in disbelief. How could he not feel her indecision when she was here? She gave no indication that this was what was on her mind in those last hours. He deserved it for what he had done to her. Her words clawed at his heart especially the line about her not being able to have children because of him. She was right; he ruined her. He sat on the bed and scrubbed at his face with his hands. Then he threw the phone across the room, and it smashed against the wall into pieces.
“Xander, are you alright?” Brett called from downstairs.
He leaned out the bedroom door and told him that he was fine. He went to the corner of the room and cleaned up the pieces of the phone. He would have to get another one, and he would change his number when he did.
“Fuck her. I don’t need this shit.”
Then he sat on the corner of the bed with his forehead in his hands as he cried. He needed to start a new life without her for his future. He made a snap decision to stay in California. At least he could try it out.
The weather was great, and he could stay with Lidia until he found a job and his own place to live. He was sure she wouldn’t mind though he would have to field questions as to why he wasn’t going back to New York to be with Ava. He could just say it didn’t work out, and they decided to part as friends.
Lidia might believe it but if it were Suzanne, she surely wouldn’t. It didn’t matter to him, his life on the East Coast was over. Time to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather three thousand miles away from his past. He made sure Lidia and Brett had dinner, and he went to bed early without eating.
* * *
Ava wokeup late with a splitting headache and her pillow wet from tears. She had fallen asleep out of exhaustion and must have cried all night. They were done and over. Her sense of foreboding had come to fruition. She had clung to that tiny shred that they were going to get back together. Now she was fed up with him. She had done her crying. He had cheated and used her. She shouldn’t have been so naïve and trusting. He was so convincing all the time. Making promises to her that she thought were true. I guess family ties means nothing to him.
