* * *
The next four days flew past in a blur for me, it's like the universe couldn't wait for me to go to the police station on Friday. School has been good, maybe because I don't bump into Brittany anymore or every time I look at Jaxon, he's already smiling or winking at me. Like he knows when I'm about to look at him.
The last couple of weeks with him have been interesting, since our date we have hung out more but nothing has happened in the sense of us kissing or anything like that. It's left me severely confused. I wanted to ask him yesterday when we were sitting in the secluded park, which has become a bit of a ritual for us every Wednesday. However, the moment I looked into his eyes, I couldn't force the words out. I chickened out, instead telling him about my meeting I had tomorrow, changing the subject completely.
I had spoken to the principle to let them know that I wouldn't be in Friday because of this very reason. It was school holidays but I had put my hand up to participate in extra curricular by helping with setting up stages for Drama. Her response was "No worries. I understand. I will need to confirm this with your father though. I hope you understand." This honestly made me chuckle a little, it's been a while since anyone has been able to say that to me. It felt good to hear it to be honest, so of course, I encouraged her to call my dad. So, now here I was at work, counting down the hours for my meeting tomorrow. I shook my head slightly to regain focus before I started to clear the table that was in front of me.
"Avery, have you had your dinner break yet?" Tom asked.
I smiled guiltily at him before shaking my head. My twenty minute break has been pretty consistent and always at 7pm. The problem with that, everyone knew when I didn't take my break. Tom walked over to me before taking the tray off me, "Go take your break. Besides, there's someone who wants to see you, waiting in the break room."
Confused by who it could be, I made my way into the break room. I was smiling from ear to ear as soon as I opened the door, there was a perfectly set up dinner table with plates for two. As I opened the door wider, there he stood with his hands in his pockets. I walked over to him with a smile on my face, he wrapped his arms around my waist as soon as I came to reach.
He placed a soft kiss on my temple before whispering, "Want to have dinner with me?"
I let out a light chuckle before nodding, "I would love that."
"It will be the quickest dinner we have ever had." He added as he pulled out the chair for me. I playfully slapped his shoulder as I sat down and really took in the layout of the table. There were two plates each with a silver dome protecting the food, two candles lit up with a small bundle of roses in a skinny vase. I smiled up at him as he took a seat across from me.
"Dinner is served, ma' lady." He said as he removed the dome, revealing a delicious looking steak with a side of mash and grilled vegetables.
"Where's your car? I didn't see it when I was parking." Jaxon asked as we began to eat our dinner.
I let out a sigh before shaking my head, "Something's wrong with the battery. Happened to me last night so Drew's taken it to look at it for me."
"How did you get here?" He asked as he stopped cutting into his food.
"I walked." I said, before taking a sip of the water.
"On your own?" He asked, worry evident in his tone. I let out a chuckle as I nodded my head.
"Where the hell was Isaac? Why didn't you tell me, I would have dropped you off." He said.
I leaned over to hold onto his hand before whispering, "Thank you but I'm a big girl. I can handle a twenty minute walk in the dark. Besides, it was rather nice."
"Not the dark I'm concerned about. It's the leech that lingers around you that concerns me." He said as he lifted my hand up to kiss. After that was said, we spent the next couple of minutes talking about everything from school to finding Drew a girlfriend. Before I knew it, it was time for me to get back to work.
"Don't try to escape tonight. I'm taking you home after your shift ends." He added as we both got up from our seats.
I placed a quick soft kiss on his lips before smiling up at him, "Fine. I'm not going to argue. See ya later stud."
"Not argue? Who are you and what have you done with my Avery?" He asked hand on heart as he mocked being shocked, before smiling at me.
"I'll see you later babe." He added. I let out a chuckle before winking at him and leaving. Just like that, my mood for the rest of the night shifted and I couldn't wait for my shift to end.
When my shift ended I went into the locker room to grab my bag and jacket. As I turned to walk out and find Jaxon, there he stood leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed smirking at me.
"You ready?" He asked as he reached out his hand.
I smiled at him before walking up to him, taking his hand, "Yes. I am."
"Let's take you home." He said, before letting go of my hand to wrap it around my shoulders.
It was a peaceful drive to my house. He kept a light hold onto my hand as he drove. He only let go when he parked in front of my house, before turning his body to face me.
"I've been meaning to ask you something." He said before falling silent. I turned my body to face him, show him that he had my undivided attention.
His eyes alternated between my arm and my eyes, "Why do you still wear the bandage? Shouldn't it have healed by now?" He asked.
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I looked at my arm, unsure of how to respond.
"Can I remove it?" He asked. I looked into his eyes before nodding slowly and bringing my arm closer to him. I watched as he peeled the bandage off slowly as it was one of those extra sticky bandages. For extra security. I watched as he lifted my exposed arm to take a closer look.
"I'll be honest. It's not that bad. You can hardly see it unless you look really carefully." He whispered.
"It's bad. I can see it practically screaming at me." I responded. My heart was beginning to beat faster the closer my arm got to his face.
"I think it's more of a self conscious thing, babe." He whispered, before planting his lips softly over the scarring and placing soft kisses along my forearm. My eyes didn't leave his lips as he continued to move his lips alongside the scars on my forearm. Tears started to form as I watched how delicate he was being.
He lowered my arm slowly before facing me, "I hope that takes some of the pain away." He whispered. I knew he wasn't referring to the physical pain.
A loan tear fell as I leaned over to place both of my palms on either side of his face, embracing him into a soft kiss as our lips met. Without hesitation he wrapped his arms around my waist and deepened our kiss. Our kiss lasted a few more seconds before slowing down as I slowly backed away.
"What are you doing tomorrow night?" He asked.
Not wanting to lie, I answered truthfully, "I'm with Detective Watson."
"Want me to take you?"
I looked into his eyes as he said those words before nodding, "I would love that."
* * *
I stared down at my coffee cup as the steam slowly reached my face, making me inhale the smell of the coffee.
"Let's take it from the top." Detective Watson said as he cleared his throat to regain my attention. I looked into his eyes as I let out a sigh before looking over at Jaxon who squeezed my hand in encouragement.
"I dropped Alena at Jaxon's house before going straight home. I sat in my car in the driveway-"
"Why?" He asked.
My eyes flickered over to the cop that sat in the corner, typing vigorously.
"My mum had messaged me so I was responding to her."
"Did you see anything?" One of the cops asked.
"Yes. I saw my psycho ex walk into my house and then proceeded to follow him inside." I responded almost immediately with one eyebrow raised, Jaxon snickering as a result of my comment.
"I went inside, didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Went upstairs and started cleaning out my sisters room first."
"Why were you leaving?" Detective Watson asked
I let out a sigh as I shook my head before responding, "I had received a message from him not long before that."
"Saying?"
"I'll see you soon baby"
"Was that when you tried to see me at school?" Jaxon asked. I looked into his eyes as I bit onto my lower lip before hesitantly nodding. I watched on as the frown deepened on Jaxon's face as he looked down at his coffee cup.
"Do you still have these messages?" Watson asked as he leaned forward against the table.
I nodded slowly, "I have the old SIM card in my side draw."
"We will need to restore your messages for evidence." Watson added before jotting down something on his notepad. The idea of the cops reading my messages really bothered me, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it.
"What happened next?" Watson asked.
"I went downstairs to get a snack. It was at this point that I had noticed the TV on, but couldn't remember actually turning it on. When I looked to my right, he was leaning against the doorway of the kitchen." I shook my head as the shiver ran up and down my spine just thinking about that night again.
"What was the first thing he said to you?" The other cop interrupted.
"He said Boy, have I missed you Ava. You're looking good baby"
"Asshole." Jaxon mumbled underneath his breath.
"Go on." Watson spoke up after a few minutes when I didn't continue.
"Why? I already told you guys what happened after that in hospital."
Detective Watson shook his head before taking a seat in front of me, "You only told us someone had broken into your property, spoke to Isaac and then shot you. We found out about your scars on your arm through the hospital."
"You spoke with the hospital behind my back?" I asked, anger evident in my voice.
"We can because it was an official investigation." Watson said as he folded his arms across his chest.
"We need to know the exact conversation that was had. Word for word. It's extremely important for the case. No more secrets, Avery" he went on to add.
I let out a sigh before reluctantly nodding in agreement. Jaxon reaches over to hold my hand before caressing it in encouragement.
I smiled at Jaxon before making eye contact with Detective Watson. I was ready to tell him everything that happened that day, not leaving a single thing out. They all needed to know what kind of monster Noah was.
It took a few hours but we finally managed to hash out every single detail about that night, what I was wearing, what he was wearing, word for word conversations, drawing diagrams to show where we were with each conversation, etcetera. However, once that was all said and done, I felt relief. Relief that I finally let it all out of my system. I looked over at Jaxon and smiled to myself as he held my hand while we walked back to his car in perfect silence.
He opened the passenger door before leaning back, allowing me to enter. As I sat down he held onto the door with his left hand and leaned his right hand on the roof of the car, "What are you doing tomorrow night?" He asked.
I thought for a second before shaking my head, "Nothing."
"Not true." He whispered.
I smiled at his comment and instantly knew where this was going, "No?"
"No."
"What am I doing tomorrow night?" I asked.
He leaned down until he was at eye level with me, he slowly moved forward until his lips barely touched mine, "You're going out with me." He whispered.
I smiled before leaning forward to kiss him softly, "Nowhere else I'd rather be." I whispered back.
* * *
A/N: What did we think?! What's our favourite part? Let me know! Don't forget to hit that vote button for your girl!
Next Chapter: We have another date ahead of us! First one went smooth, what are the chances the second date will too?