What was she doing here?
“Ava, I know you’re in there. Please, open the door.”
She kept the bolt across the door but opened the other locks. With Smokey refusing to hand in her key, she’d called an out-of-town locksmith to come and change all the locks and to add in a few others for safety measure. She didn’t feel safe. If someone wanted to get into her house, they’d find a way to do it.
“What’s the matter?” Ava asked, looking at Abriana through the small space she’d made.
“I wanted to come and see you,” Abriana said.
“You’ve seen me.” She didn’t want to get too close to Abriana. She was married to one of the club, and Ugly Beast hadn’t exactly been her biggest fan.
“Ava, please, don’t … don’t do this. It’s only me here. Ugly Beast will go as soon as you let me in.”
She couldn’t see much of the road or anything of the street behind Abriana, so she had no choice but to release the lock.
Opening the door wide, she saw Ugly Beast sat in the car. No one else was around.
“What do you want?” she asked.
Abriana winced. “I know we haven’t been close. We haven’t had the time to get to know one another. Raven told me what happened.”
At the sound of her name, Ava flinched.
“Shoot, I know it must hurt you for me to say her name.”
“I’m fine.” She had to get over it.
“You’re not fine. I wanted to come and hang out. Maybe we could talk.”
“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I want nothing to do with the club.”
“I know. Er, I’m … I’m club, but I’m not. I’m Ugly’s wife and I have his child. He’s the love of my life, but I’m not club.”
Ava rubbed at her temple. Her eye was still covered. The swelling had reduced significantly but hadn’t completely disappeared.
“I’m not in the best place to receive guests. It’s nothing personal. I just want to be left alone.” She wore a pair of old sweatpants and a large shirt that had a couple of holes in the front. The clothes were ugly but comfortable. All she wanted right now was a bit of comfort.
“Please, let me be your friend.”
“Abriana, you’re club. You might not wear the patch or be there for meetings or whatnot, but you’re club. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Abriana took her hand. “You need a friend. I know you want to push everything that reminds you of him and the club away, but I’m me.”
Before she knew what was happening, Abriana had stepped into her home and closed the door.
“Now, Ugly Beast will drive off and he won’t be worried. I had your back. Ugly Beast told me what was happening, I told him there was no chance.”
Ava was hit with a wave of exhaustion. If Abriana wanted to stick around, then fine, but she didn’t have to sit and listen. She went back to the sitting room, picked up her melting tub of ice cream, sat down, and tried to ignore the woman who entered the living room.
Even though her life was in tatters, her house was still very clean. She couldn’t stand living in filth. She liked neatness and order. Those were the two most important things.
Love and friendship were too hard. She’d tried to experience both and they’d failed her.
Abriana took the seat opposite her.
“How is Bella?” she asked. So much for ignoring the other woman. She didn’t want to be too rude.
Abriana smiled. “Growing so fast. I don’t think it’s fair that they get to be babies for such a short time. You don’t have any children, do you?”
“I’m thirty years old. Even if I had a kid at eighteen, it would still be living with me.”
“Right, of course.”
“How old did you think I was?”
“No, I was making conversation. You were married before.”
“Yep, to an asshole that with everything that happened, Smokey makes look like a saint. Who would have thought it?” Ava laughed, even though amusement was the furthest thing from her mind.
She wasn’t happy. Sadness overwhelmed her.
“I’m so sorry for what they did. I know Rav— I mean, she is really upset about what happened.”
“I get that the two of you are best friends, but I don’t want to hear about her.” She had some more ice cream, but she suddenly started to feel sick.
“I know. This is so awful.”
Ava got to her feet. She didn’t need to hear how awful it all was. She’d lived it. Every hit and bad word that came her way.
Even what Smokey had said to her. “You were only ever a decent fuck and you weren’t any good at that. You were easy, but I’ve had better.”
Ava reached up and touched her hair. Raven had cut it all off.
She had yet to go to the hairdresser’s to try to repair the damage. She’d loved her hair. The natural blonde locks had been a joy to brush at night. What remained of her hair, she currently had pinned to the base of her head. She stopped in the kitchen and stared around at the clean counters. Everything was in order.