“I’m gonna kill him!” Viv shouted. “No, I’m going to castrate him first, then I’m going to kill him!”
Grace continued reading, “She called me last night and told me that she’s leaving her husband. We’re going to try and be together for real. I’m sorry, Ava, but I have to do the right thing for me for once. I hope you understand.”
“Doing the right thing for him for once?! He’s been fucking his lab partner since college.” Viv threw her arms in the air.
“Are you okay?” Audrey crossed the room to Ava and Grace set the paper down and followed.
“No.” Viv answered for her. “Of course, she’s not okay.”
“What can we do?” Audrey asked, ignoring Viv.
“Um…” Ava tried to figure out what the next step was. Her brain was…blank. She wasn’t upset, or mad, or…anything. She felt totally numb. “Um…I guess I have to let someone know the wedding isn’t happening.”
“Viv can take care of that,” Grace stated calmy. “You go take a shower. Audrey will get you all packed up and I’ll get us flights out this afternoon. We’ll go to Chicago and take care of this. Together.”
Ava watched as her sisters did as Grace instructed. As the oldest, she’d always been the one to take charge of situations and by default they all just fell in line. Grace was eighteen, barely, when their mother passed away and was able to convince their social worker and a judge to give her custody of all three of her teenage sisters.
Ava walked into the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She waited to feel something. Anything.
Logically she knew that she was in shock, but she still thought that there should be some sort of reaction to Ian’s betrayal and abandonment. But, if she was honest with herself, the only thing she felt was…relieved and grateful. Ian was brave enough to do what she should have years ago.
They’d stayed together because it was easy. They liked each other well enough, and they worked well as a team, but the spark hadn’t been there since…she couldn’t remember when she’d felt a spark. That’s how long ago it was.
For the first time in her adult life, she was single. She was free. The corners of her mouth tilted in a smile.