“Did the boys tell you I’ve been checking up on you?”
Ava nodded her reply.
“Good. That means my monthly bill texting USA will be worth it.”
Jasmine chuckled, but the comment made Ava uneasy. Why was she going to all this trouble? It meant the world to Ava to think she cared, but it was hard for her to accept. The only people in her life that showed her that she meant something were Ruben and Chris. And, after her family turned their backs on her, she barely believed anyone outside of their triangle valued her.
“Did you need anything? A drink?”
Water, please.
“Ok,” Jasmine smiled and got up, giving a slight giggle to Ruben who’d entered the room. “Now if you would just point me to the kitchen?”
As she disappeared, following Ruben’s directions, Chris came from the same hall. He was on the phone with the Police, trying to get advice on how to get rid of the people outside.
Ava tapped Ruben on the arm and then gestured to the kitchen where Jasmine went.What’s going on? Did you know she’d be here?
Ruben shook his head and shrugged. “I didn’t but is it so difficult to imagine? She obviously still cares about you, from all the messages she sent me. Is it really a problem?”
No, it wasn’t. It was... wonderful. Just to think that someone else cared.
Jasmine returned with the water, complete with ice and a straw, sitting down next to Ava, happily chatting with the boys as if the mob outside didn’t exist. Ava sat, content to sip and watch the conversation of which she was both a part of and not. She listened and took in what was being said, but she was more focused on the fact Jasmine had given her own thigh a brief scratch, lifting her skirt higher and now her and Ava’s knees were touching.
Ava was awoken from her daydream by Jasmine’s conversation with the boys. Married. Perhaps it was the fact she hadn’t gotten over Jasmine being in the same room, but the admission didn’t seem to have sunk in. Ava was sure she hadn’t heard her right, but her brain checked it for her. Jasmine had said she was married now. To a guy.
“Have you given any thought to what you’re going to do? Are you going to meet with them?”
Ava cleared her head, looking at each person. The question was directed at her from Chris.Sorry... what?
Chris held up his phone. “The second I hung up from the cops, I had a call come through. It surprised the hell out of me actually. I thought it was more media. I didn’t know how you’d want to handle it, so said I would ask you.”
Ava gestured to herself.Me?
“Yeah. We have to make sure there’s no conflict of interest here or breach of contract. I mean, there shouldn’t be. After your last fight, you’re basically a free agent.”
Ava scrunched her eyebrows and made slight shadow boxing movements.Free agent? Was it another fighting organisation?
“No, sorry. I should’ve known you didn’t hear it. It’s a talent agency in Sydney. They saw your fight, and they want to chat when you feel up to it.”
Why?
“They didn’t say. I’m guessing they want to tell you in person. So, whenever you want, I’ll make an appointment with them.”
How can I when I can’t even talk?
She looked from one to another as she mouthed the question, but it was Jasmine who spoke. “Well, if I can throw my two cents in, you don’t have to talk. Just listen.”
Ava let out a sigh and rubbed her aching leg. She had to talk to a doctor as well now that she was back. This was just another conversation.Why not?
20
A few days later,Ava sat in the office of Gary Coleman, owner of the Coleman Agency. She had to be helped into the office by her boys, but even though they stayed in the room with her, they only served as moral support and her voice when needed. She’d had a doctor’s appointment the day before, and while the news could have been worse, it could’ve been a hell of a lot better.
The splint and wiring had to stay in for at least another week, and she would need extensive therapy to allow her to move free of pain. It would be months and months of work, and her leg might never be the same.
Her doctor had said she should consider herself retired. Ava Beckinsale would never step foot into another MMA match. She’d told herself to wait until she got in the car to break down, but she hadn’t lasted that long. She’d spent the last twenty minutes of her appointment shaking, with tears pouring down her face, being held by Ruben and Chris. That night, she’d gone to bed early but had struggled to sleep due to the mumbled sound of shouting from downstairs. She had never heard the boys fight, and it had been horrible to think they were. She’d wanted to go down and see if there was anything she could do, but had feared it wasn’t her business.
“Now, Ava. I’ll cut right to the point. I have several opportunities, one in particular, that I’d love for you to consider but certainly nothing too extravagant,” he said, holding his hands up briefly.