That’s when I realized my phone was blowing up, so I’m standing beside the bed while Ava sleeps. Leaving the room right now to search for my glasses means time away from her. I can’t handle that after what we just did.
The fuck was intense. I’d go so far as to say it was life changing, but that’s not my head talking. That’s my heart, and it has no right to be involved in any of this.
I glance to where Ava is resting on her side before I shift my gaze back to my phone. Most of the messages lighting up the screen have to be from Jos. Roxy is spending the night with her, and although Jos is a phenomenal big sister, she’s always looking for advice on how to entertain Roxy.
I stretch my arm out in front of me, angling it down toward the light being cast from the bedside lamp. I’m hopeful the gained distance will allow me to read the messages.
“No! Stop!”
My phone falls from my hands onto the bed the second I hear Ava yell.
For the briefest of moments, I think she’s engulfed in the grips of a nightmare, but that thought is gone as soon as I watch in horror as she tugs on the sheets, her limbs getting caught in them before she tumbles over the side of the bed.
Her head hits the small table holding the lamp.
The thud echoes through the room, as do her shouted chants. “Stop it, Harry! Stop it!”
I crawl over the bed, racing to get to her.
Once I’m there, I drop to my knees in front of where she’s cowering in a ball with her back resting against the small table.
“Ava,” I plead. “What is it?”
Struggling to cover her naked body, she glares at me. “You can’t do that to me.”
There is no way in hell she’s going to be able to tug the blanket in her fist off the bed on her own, so I reach up and give it a hard yank. It’s fucking heavy, but I pull it off, resting it over her.
She skims a hand over her cheek, brushing away fallen tears. “Why would you do that to me? I trusted you.”
Confused, I fall back on my ass on the floor, even though all I want is to wrap her in my arms.
Her hand moves up to cup the side of her head where she hit it.
She closes her eyes briefly. “I thought I could trust you, Harry.”
“Ava,” I whisper her name. “Look at me.”
Her eyelids drift open lazily, and panic shoots through me. “I’m scared that you have a concussion. Let me take you to the hospital.”
“No.” She shakes her head, her hand still planted against her left temple. She sniffles. “I’m okay. Why, Harry? Why?”
I want to wipe her tears away, but I can’t touch her. That’s not what she needs. I can see that she’s traumatized, and at this moment, I’m the fucker who caused this.
I shift back to give her more room because I won’t crowd her as I ask the question that is sitting on the tip of my tongue. “I need to understand, Ava. I want to understand. Please tell me what…”
Her hand moves from her head to the edge of the bed. “I was naked. I was completely naked, Harry. I didn’t have any covers on me, and you were taking pictures of me.”
My head shakes from side to side. “Fuck no, Ava. I swear to you I would never do that.”
Her arm stretches out in front of her while her other hand clings to the edge of the blanket, holding it in place to shield her body from my view. “You pointed your phone at me. I saw it when I woke up.”
I scurry up and over the bed to grab my phone. It takes me all of two seconds until I’m back in front of her on my knees. I shove my phone at her.
She glances at it but doesn’t reach for it.
I poke at the screen, desperately trying to find the photo app, but the entire screen is a blur. “Fuck. I can’t find the app. Look for yourself, London. I didn’t take a picture. I would never fucking do that to you.”
I drop the phone on the blanket, but it tumbles to the floor.
“I was trying to read my messages,” I explain in a trembling voice. “My eyesight is shit up close. My phone wouldn’t shut up, so when you fell asleep, I thought I’d check out who the hell was so impatient.”
She buries her face in her hands as sobs rock her small frame. “Oh, god. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Seeing her like this kills me, so I move in to comfort her. A sigh of relief escapes me when she reaches out to circle my neck with her arms. I cling to her, holding her close to me as she cries.