The Resistance || Money Heist

The Night Before || .003

      "They've all been waiting for you to blow out the candles to the cake. We sang almost an hour ago honey. We need to cut the cake." Her mother tried to reason with her, but the little girl was stubborn. Ava finally looked at her mother, shaking her head a solid and firm, "no". She wasn't going to be backing down anytime soon. Ava's deep stare was interrupted by the sight of dark hair. Her eyes shot straight to an older boy who was walking over to her at that very moment. Without a word, Serena knew that the boy she had been eagerly waiting for had finally arrived.

          "Andrés." Ava's voice was still so soft at a young age. Her mother gave her a moment, stepping to the side to get the birthday cake ready once again. "Where's Sergio?" For a moment, she didn't even notice the young boy missing because her focus had been completely on his brother.

         "In the hospital again," Andrés said. Andrés was a bit older than Ava, and his feelings for Ava were just not there at that time. He looked at her as a little sister, nothing more, but Ava fantasized about marriage with him. She was a young girl head over heels for a boy who was oblivious to it completely.

        "You didn't have to come. You could've stayed with him." Ava would lie and pretend like him not being there wouldn't have bothered her as much as it did. The cake was brought over, she whispered a wish before blowing out the candles, but he just shook his head with a smile on his face. Her party had been extremely fun for both of them. While most of the guests spent time playing in the backyard, Ava and Andrés relaxed in her bedroom with the door wide open.    "Thank you for coming." Ava had thanked him numerous times, but this time it was different. She sat on the bed beside him, summoning all her courage to make a move. She leaned in slowly until their lips finally met. It was her first kiss. For a brief moment, they felt connected, but Andrés quickly pulled away. He stood up from the bed, and Ava's eyes widened with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she blurted out before he could say anything, but he wasn't interested in hearing her apologies. Instead, he muttered "I have to go" and left the room.

           Ava was quickly pulled out of her trance when her name was called by none other than Sergio himself. "Valencia," he said the name that she was given by him, "you okay?" Ava gave him a quick nod and grabbed her half-drunken glass to put it in the sink.

         She turned to face him again when the dish was put away. "Professor," he turned to face her as she said this. "we're going to do great." She was certain of the heist unlike some of the others. He gave her a nod of his head now, agreeing with her completely and for the first time in weeks, she saw a genuine smile on his lips. Ava grabbed a beer out of the fridge for both her and the Professor. They both made their way into the study area, and the Professor sat down at the end of the table. Ava placed the beer in front of the Professor and then took a seat beside him.

         They stayed quiet for a few minutes, both sipping on the beer before finally the Professor spoke up, "You're in love with him then, Phoenix?" Phoenix was a name given to Martin by the Professor himself. It was evident that Ava and Martin had significant differences, and others noticed it too. Ava was uncertain about her feelings towards Phoenix. She was infatuated with him initially, but the emotions she felt around him were not the same as those she experienced in the company of Andres. With Andres, she felt secure and warm. She laughed until she couldn't breathe, danced without music, and experienced emotions that she had never felt with anyone else. Despite loving Martin, she couldn't seem to let go of Andres, and this prevented her from fully committing to Martin.

        "Why are you asking me that?" The question had caught Ava completely off guard, but she didn't give him a direct yes or no either. Ava found it difficult to answer the question. She didn't want to lie, but she couldn't express her feelings in the middle of the room while everyone else was awake, even though they were not in the same room. She couldn't bring herself to confess that she still yearned for a love that never came to fruition.