Saving Avery (23 page)

I swallow my emotions and eat in a daze while Nathan goes on and on about the celebrity in California that he's going to be working on. Then before I know it, he's standing and saying my name. "Avery."

Reality slowly returns, and I look up at him.

"I've been saying your name over and over." He moves his hand towards me, and I flinch. I can see the immediate anger in his eyes, but he remains calm. He puts the back of his hand to my forehead. "Are you feeling all right?"

I stare at him. Sometimes it's ridiculous how oblivious he can be after he hurts me. I don't know if he's really that daft, or if he just blocks it out entirely. "I'm tired," I mutter.

"Well, I need to go."

Once again on autopilot, I stand and allow him to pull me into his arms. In my ear, he whispers, "Remember what we talked about. Answer. The. Phone," he says, enunciating each word separately.

I become rigid in his arms. "I will," I promise softly.

He kisses me chastely and throws a fifty-dollar bill on the table. The lunch was probably less than fifteen dollars, but Nathan likes to put on airs. "See you Sunday," he says before disappearing out the exit.

I stand rooted to the floor, unable to decide what I want to do first. I didn't finish eating, but I don't think I can. I feel sick, and my hand is killing me. My purse is on the chair next to me. I search through it until I find a travel container of pain pills. I pop two in my mouth and swallow them down with the iced tea.

Composing myself, I sling my purse around my shoulder and walk through the cafeteria. I feel Max's eyes on me, but I can't force myself to look at him. I will completely break down if he so much as even touches me right now. "Avery," he calls when I walk past him.

I don't stop walking. I push through the cafeteria exit door. I don't want to ignore him, but I know the dam holding back my tears will burst soon enough. I don't want to get Max in trouble. We've been keeping our relationship on the down low, especially at the hospital. I don't want to jeopardize his job or reputation with rumors. I've already been putting him through enough as it is. I just wonder how much is going to be too much for him to handle. I know this is difficult for me, but it has to be a living hell for him.

*

MAX

Avery isn't herself today. She's walking around the hospital in a daze, and it took three times of me calling her name for her to realize someone was talking to her. She told me everything is fine, but I know better. She never met me on the beach last night. I waited hours for her, but she never showed. Something happened last night, and I'm determined to find out what.

I walk into the cafeteria for our usual lunch date, and I stop dead in my tracks outside of the door. Avery is sitting at a table with a man in a suit, and I immediately know it's her husband. He's reaching across the table and clenching her hand in his. I open the door, and he immediately releases his grip on her.

Avery cradles her injured hand in her lap, and it takes every ounce of me not to run over there and punch Nathan in the face.

"I'll be with you in a moment, Dr. Harrison," Pam calls out.

I start stalking towards Avery's table, but the look in her eyes stops me. She stares at me with wide eyes and gives a slight shake of her head. She doesn't want me to interfere.
Damn it!

I clench my hands into fists at my sides, and reluctantly sit down at a table. I ramble off an order to Pam and focus my attention back on Avery. My eyes bore an imaginary hole in the back of her husband's head; and if looks could kill, Nathan would have died ten times over already.

Avery stares at the table for the rest of her lunch, barely eating, barely speaking and not making eye contact with me again. I watch the exchange between Avery and Nathan as he says goodbye. She looks downright terrified of him, and the bastard has the balls to ask if she's feeling all right. When he places his hand on her forehead after she had flinched away from him, I almost lost my shit. I am so geared up by the time he leaves that I can barely sit still.

And so when Avery walks past me without saying a single word after I call her name, I'm ready to explode. I quickly throw some money on the table and leave without saying a word to Pam. I chase Avery down the hall and pull her into a storage room.

I watch her carefully as she paces back and forth in the small space. She worries her bottom lip between her teeth, and she's still cradling her right hand against her chest. I try to quell my anxiousness and rage, but it's next to impossible. I'm tired of seeing Avery hurt. Something has to change. And then she surprises me by saying, "I can't live like this anymore." She stops pacing and stares up at me with watery eyes. "I want to leave him. I'll do whatever it takes.
Whatever
it takes."

The words are like music to my ears. This is what I have been waiting to hear from her for the past month. She's ready. She's finally ready.

She blows out a long breath between clenched teeth, and my anger instantly dissolves as I stare at her pain-stricken face. I close the distance between us and reach for her hand. I gently pull her hand away from her body, and she grimaces. Some bruising has already appeared, and I tenderly move her fingers to make sure they aren't broken. She's in pain, and it almost breaks me to see her like this. "I don't think anything is broken, but he might have done some damage to your blood vessels," I say quietly. "I'll be right back."

A few minutes later, I return with an icepack wrapped in a thin cloth. I pull a stool out from a table and motion for her to sit down. Once she has, I gently place the icepack on her hand. "This should take down some of the swelling. I'll look at it later." I catch my words and frown. "Well, Monday. I'll look at it Monday."

"No," she says. "Later." When I look up at her in confusion, she says, "Nathan came to tell me goodbye. He's leaving for the weekend. He won't be home until Sunday night."

I'm surprised at how much elation and relief I feel at her words. It's like a ten-ton weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. A whole entire weekend with Avery. Just the two of us. I lean down and place a kiss on her forehead. "You don't know how happy that makes me."

"Me too," she whispers.

After a few minutes of silence, I ask, "What happened last night?"

She looks up at me. "H-how do you know something happened?" she asks, and I can hear the strain in her voice.

"You just haven't been yourself today. I was really starting to get worried."

She stares at the wall, her eyes going unfocused. And then she shakes her head as if dispelling a bad thought. "It just…It was really bad last night," she says before releasing a shaky breath. "And even though I wouldn't ever want to relive last night again…something good came out of it." When I raise my brow in expectation, she says, "It made me realize that I'm willing to risk it all if that means I can have a life with you." She stands and rushes into my arms. I hold her as she violently trembles. " I know I said I didn't want your help before, but now I'm asking for it. Will you help me, Max?"

I close my eyes, savoring her words. "Avery, I will do everything in my power to get you away from him." I know in that moment that this has to end. Her pain has to end. And Nathan's hold on her will finally break even if that means losing everything I have worked hard for in the process.

MAX

It's Saturday night, and I decide to take my girl out for a night on the town. After dinner and a movie, we are planning for another fun night of karaoke at the same little dive bar. Only Avery will be singing, though, of course. I couldn't carry a tune even if my life depended on it.

"So what kind of fundraiser is your father hosting?" I ask on the way to the bar. It's next weekend, and I still haven't decided if I'm going or not. I really want to see Avery at every opportunity I can, but I don't know if I'm ready to see her with Nathan again. It's too easy to lose myself to my temper and frustration. I caught just a glimpse of that in the hospital yesterday.

"Oh, one of those stuffy, over-the-top dinner parties where everyone doesn't actually want to be there but feels obligated to attend. It's mostly going to be men over twice my age talking about politics for four consecutive hours while I try not to pass out from boredom."

"I was hoping for something more lively."

"More lively?" she asks with a cocked brow.

"You know, a raging kegger."

She laughs. "Yeah, I don't see my father hosting a
kegger
anytime soon."

"But you can imagine how much fun it would be. All those old men doing keg stands."

"Keg stands?" She looks at me like she has no idea what I'm talking about.

"Yeah. I'm sure you remember all the frat boys doing them from your college days."

Her smile instantly fades, and she suddenly grows quiet. "I never went to college."

My brows knit together. Avery is so smart. Any college would have been proud to have her as a student. I know she would make a great nurse or doctor. She already has all the basics and the bedside manner down pat.

I glance over at her, and I know she's lost in thought. "Have you ever thought about going to college?" I ask.

She closes her eyes for a moment. "Thought about it more times than I could count. But once I met Nathan, my dreams came to a crashing halt. He didn't want me to go to college. And so I became his
trophy wife
instead." She cringes as she says the asinine title.

I fidget in my seat uncomfortably. "You're still young, Avery. You can still have dreams. You can still go to college." I glance over at her in the passenger seat and give her left hand a gentle squeeze. Her right hand is resting on her lap. It's still a little swollen, but it's healing up nicely.

She shrugs. "I don't even know what courses I would take. I'm not really good at anything."

I frown at her pessimistic tone. "I'm sure there's plenty that you're good at if you tried." Then I add, "You can sing."

"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to be recording an album anytime soon," she says sardonically.

Her negative attitude towards herself makes something inside of me snap. The parking lot for the bar is just up ahead, and I'm thankful for the excuse to pull over and stop the vehicle. What I say to her next needs to be said face to face without her looking away or trying to change the subject.

I pull the SUV into a spot and turn off the engine. Turning in my seat, I grasp her hands in mine. "You're incredible, Avery. And you having not the slightest clue about that fact just does something to me. It makes me hurt for you that you don't even realize how beautiful, talented and smart you are."

She looks away, but I'm not going to let her avoid me. Grasping her chin gently, I make her focus on me. When her eyes lock with mine, I continue. "You are perfect in my eyes. Nothing else and no one else should matter." My thumb tenderly brushes over her soft cheek. "You should have as many dreams as you can grasp onto, and no one should ever be able to take them away. If you want to go to college, then go. If you want to sing, then sing." My fingertips move to the nape of her neck. I weave my fingers through her soft hair. "You never know what the future holds. Everyone is destined for something, Avery, and I think ---. No. I
know
that you are destined for so much more. You are destined to do great things in this world and be happy. I just really want you to be happy."

I pull her close to me, and our lips lock in a gentle kiss. I can feel her trembling under my touch. My words have affected her. Good. She needs to wake up and see herself through my eyes for once instead of through the eyes of the monster she's married to.

When she pulls back, her eyes search mine. "I feel like I'm invincible when I'm with you, Max. I feel like everything around us dissolves and nothing else matters."

I smile and kiss her sweetly. "I feel the same exact way." I glance out the windshield at the bar where I first heard Avery's beautiful voice, and I can't wait to hear it again. "Let's go."

We get out of the SUV and weave through the cars of the crowded parking lot. The sign on the way to the front door has Avery's steps faltering. "Open mic night," she whispers with trepidation.

"Hey, you did karaoke a couple weeks ago. Open mic should be a piece of cake," I say in an attempt to encourage her.

She shakes her head slowly. "I don't know, Max."

I pull her in my arms and stare into her beautiful stormy blue eyes. "Hey. Even though I want to be selfish and not want share any part of you, I think everyone should hear your beautiful voice."

She closes her eyes briefly and whispers our newfound mantra, "Only here. Only now."

I give her a gentle squeeze, and she grins. "Ready to knock their socks off?"

She smiles wide and nods.

*

I watch Avery speaking with the guitarist that had just played with a band. The guy leans close to Avery and says something I can't hear. She pulls back from him, smiling and laughing. A pang of jealousy courses through me. I hate feeling jealous, but it's so easy to feel that way when it comes to Avery. I know how great she is, and any guy would be lucky to spend even five minutes with her. She's so easy to love. She just doesn't know it.

After a few minutes, Avery takes a seat on the tall stool by the microphone. She suddenly looks nervous, catching her lower lip between her teeth. Her eyes search the crowd and rest upon me. I smile at her and wink, and she smiles back, instantly seeming to relax a little.

The guy on the guitar strums a few bars and says, "Whenever you're ready, Avery."

She wraps her delicate hand around the mic and leans forward. "This is my first time doing this," she says timidly, and the crowd claps to give her encouragement. I whistle and clap loudly, without a care in the world about embarrassing myself. Avery flashes me a crooked grin, and my heart melts. Then she locks eyes with me before saying, "This is for you, Max."

The guitarist plays the short intro before Avery starts to sing. I recognize the song. It's
Bright
by Echosmith, and Avery is doing a hauntingly beautiful cover of it. Without the loud music in the background like when she did karaoke, I can hear her voice much clearer. And she sounds great paired with an acoustic guitar. The guitarist is really good and harmonizes some of the words with Avery, and I'm suddenly envious that he gets to share this moment with her. But I push my jealousy aside when I realize that her eyes haven't left mine even for an instant. She's completely focused on me, and the lyrics couldn't be more perfect.

She's singing about being in love, and my heart pumps a little faster. This is love, isn't it? This is what love feels like, and I am completely head over heels for this girl.

Her voice sounds pure and innocent, but so powerful and controlled at the same time. Once again, she has commanded the audience's attention, and I'm glad I'm not the only one standing there like a fool staring at her. Everyone around me looks amazed and taken with her. I'm sure if they stopped playing and singing right now, you would be able to hear a pin drop in that bar.

They end the song perfectly, as if they had practiced for weeks on it. Avery's a natural. There's no doubt about that.

I listen as the crowd goes nuts with whoops and hollers and people shouting "
more
". They want more of her, and I know just how they feel. A few minutes with her just aren't enough.

As she talks to the guitarist, I slip to the side of the stage to wait for her. My fingers itch to touch her, and my mouth craves her taste. I am irrevocably in love with this girl, and I'm determined to show her exactly how I feel.

*

AVERY

I finish the song to an exuberant round of applause and then turn and thank the guitarist a million times. He smiles and asks, "That was really your first time?"

When I nod, he shakes his head in disbelief. "Wow. I have to say, Avery, that you are amazingly talented." He stands and sets his guitar down. "My uncle is a talent scout. I know he would love to hear you sing sometime." He pushes a business card into my hand, and his fingers linger on mine for a few seconds. "Your voice is out of this world. A completely natural and rare gift."

I blush at his compliments. "Thank you." I stare at the card, and I feel tears gathering in my eyes. Maybe there is something out there that I'm destined for just like Max said.

The guitarist nervously rubs the back of his neck and says, "Hey, I put my number on the back of the card just in case…just in case you want to go out to dinner sometime?"

I look up at him. "That's really sweet, but I'm taken." And by taken, I don't mean married. Max owns my heart --- completely and eternally.

"Figured I'd give it a shot," the guy says with a chuckle.

The crowd is still going crazy. They want me to sing another song, but all I can focus on is getting off the stage as fast as I can and into Max's arms. My eyes search the crowd for Max, but I don't see him. Then I hear a whistle from backstage. In the darkness behind the stage, I see him emerge from the shadows. I run and jump into his arms, almost knocking us both down. He pulls me back into the shadows and laughs. "You were incredible up there, Avery," he whispers against my ear. "They can't get enough of you." His lips place a soft kiss on my neck, and I shiver. "I know the feeling."

I bite my bottom lip and stare up at him. In the cover of darkness, we stare at each other, and everything and everyone disappears from around us. We are in our own world, and there's only us in this moment. I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss him fiercely. His hands trail down my body and grasp my backside, molding me into his length. He swallows a groan that escapes me as he kisses me. Pulling back, he gazes down at me. "Incredible," he says again.

Grasping his hand, I pull him down the steps and towards the main bar. We are almost to the front door when I hear someone calling my name.

Suddenly, time stands still, and the imaginary bubble surrounding us and protecting us in our own little world shatters into a million pieces. My eyes search for the source of the voice, and I see her moving through the parting crowd. I immediately drop Max's hand and step away from him. A look of confusion and dejection flashes over his features, and I can feel my stomach twisting in knots. I plaster a smile on my face as Barbara approaches us. She is a family friend of the Masons.

She's carrying a mixed drink in one hand and toting her husband behind her with the other. "Avery, hi!" she says with a big smile.

"Hi, Barb," I reply.

She kisses each of my cheeks and steps back. "Nathan never told me how talented you were! You can really sing. I felt like I was at a concert or something," she gushes.

I laugh nervously. I can see Max in my peripheral vision staring at me, but I don't acknowledge him. I'm hoping that Barbara didn't see us together, but I know she probably did. That woman has eyes like a hawk and a mouth that runs a million miles a minute spouting gossip.

"William and I are enjoying a night out. We usually don't come to places like." Her eyes dart around with a sour look on her face. "But I'm glad we did!" She takes a sip of her drink. "I've had about three of these fuzzy whatchamacallits already!"

William rolls his eyes. "More like five," he says with a frown.

Barbara playfully hits in him in the chest. "Oh, live a little, William!" Her eyes roam over to Max, and my heart stops. "I don't believe we've met." She holds her hand out to Max, and he shakes it.

He opens his mouth to speak, but I quickly interrupt him. "This is my…brother. Matt."

Barbara's eyebrows dip low in confusion. "Brother. I didn't know you had a brother, Avery."

"Half brother," Max adds quickly, coming to my rescue at the last second.

She nods and sips her drink. I'm glad that the alcohol is numbing her brain a little so that she believes the lie…or at least I hope she believes it.

"Well, we really should be going," I say to Max.

"I'll see you at your father's fundraiser on Wednesday, Avery," Barbara calls after me as I hurry through the crowd.

I push through the exit and draw in deep breaths of air. My legs feel like jell-o as I make my way to Max's vehicle. I can hear his footsteps behind me, but he doesn't say a word and doesn't try to stop me.