Sweet Temptations

When both Lucia and Vincent slowly awakened, they didn't notice Ava's presence until she started coughing repeatedly. Ava had been hit again, multiple times. She was sure she had a broken hand from when William stood on it and a few broken ribs from when he had kicked her. Ava was slowly becoming weak.

William had wondered off somewhere after hearing sounds from outside, leaving the trio unoccupied. Using the last of his strength, Vincent knelt on his knees and crawled over to where Ava was sitting. He firstly checked to see if the fragile girl was breathing. When Vincent touched her shoulder, Ava shot up but flinched at the sharp twinge of pain from her rib.

"Are you okay?" Vincent asked, becoming very alerted. His thick English accent stood out.

"I-I'm fine." Ava stuttered. Vincent offered her a soft smile before he spotted one of her hands locked up in a handcuff. He tutted and reached for the knife hidden inside one of his coat pockets. Vincent used the blade to cut the chain. The handcuffs snapped and Ava's hand was free.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"Ah, Vincent," Lucia groaned as she managed to crawl her way over to where he and Ava were sitting before she noticed the weapon he was holding. "Darling, I thought I told you to stop carrying that knife around with you, it's dangerous," she warned. Vincent rolled his eyes and smiled down at Ava until it quickly vanished as he noticed the fresh blood stain on her shirt.

"Sweetheart, she's bleeding." Lucia's gaze followed Vincent's and she instantly felt concerned. She took the scarf from around her neck and pressed it down on Ava's rib cage. Ava cried out.

"Oh honey, how did this happen to you?"

"What is she even doing here in the first place?" Vincent asked. Ava merely watched the two curiously.

"I happened to be inspecting the area and I heard voices," Ava lied. "I came up here and that's when I noticed the pair of you unconscious, next thing I know I'm like this."

"Well, we need to get you out of here as soon as possible, you're losing a lot of blood."

Lucia awkward stood up slightly regaining her balance using the wall to help her up. She watched Ava intently as a dash of curiousness hit her. "Stay here, I need to go find some material or something to stop the bleeding, this room is old and it's full of dust, we have to make sure her wound doesn't get infected." Lucia explained.

"Be careful sweetheart." Vincent warned. Ava looked to her mother and gulped as she watched Lucia hobble off. "Bricks of steel that one." Vincent said breaking the silence between the two. "So uh, I never got your name."

"Oh, I'm Ava." She replied, sending him a kind smile. Vincent froze before composing himself from the sudden shock. Ava caught on from the look on his face. "Is there something wrong?" She asked.

"No not at all, it's just...I had a daughter who had that name."

"Had?"

"It's a bit of a long story really." Vincent said.

"We've got time, I'd love to hear about her."

Vincent stared at Ava and he let out out an awkward cough. "I haven't spoken about my daughter for so long, she's not something I bring up very often." Vincent looked down and fumbled with his fingers. It was a force habit of his when he got nervous. Ava noticed and she knew straight away she'd had learnt the habit off of him. He took a deep breathe before he opened up his past history about her.

"Ava was a pleasant young girl." He started off. "She was intelligent, bright, mischievous. Such a fun loving character. Ava had this sweet melodic laugh, her smile warmed everybody's heart and her eyes would twinkle when she got excited. Though, she was never the type to express her emotions, Ava kept her feelings to herself, she was never the one to tell people how she felt, even for a four year old." Vincent chuckled and Ava watched her father in awe as she listened to him talk about her.

"Every Wednesday after she finished nursery, I'd take her horse riding down in one of the fields, oh she loved it" Vincent paused as he glanced up at the ceiling. "When we returned back home, Lucia would scold us both because we were either covered in mud or leaves- but she still loved it either way."

There was silence between them again as Ava imagined herself as a young girl riding on a small sized black horse in a sunny field. She'd remember wearing her smart riding outfit that consisted of black and white which had her initials on the front pocket of her black velvet jacket. Ava smiled to herself and looked to her father who had an upset expression of his features.

"When you said 'had' exactly? What happened to her?" She asked. Vincent gave no reply which made her worry. "You don't have to tell me," she quickly responded.

"No no, it's fine." He reassured. "A few months after Ava had turned four, our family was under threat. We were no longer safe in our own home." Vincent tried to control his sadness as he gradually broke down. "Lucia and I would never forgive ourselves if anything had happened to her and we had no other alternative so we did what was best."

"You gave her up to protect her." Ava said and Vincent nodded.

"I hated myself for it." came Lucia's voice, walking back into the room and sitting beside her husband. "It's been seventeen years since we last saw her." She notified. "We've looked and searched everywhere for Ava but we simply cannot find her anywhere; it's all our fault."

"Don't say that, you did what was best for her and I'm sure she's grateful for it."

"Still, it gives her a right to hate us," said Lucia. Ava frowned at them and before she was about to speak up, more footsteps entered the room. William stepped out of the shadows. "Well, the family is bonding at last." He said smugly. Lucia's head whipped round to face her husband then looked to Ava and back to William with confusion.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"I heard your conversation, about little Ava." William replied, looking directly at Ava herself and a shiver ran down her spine. "It's a real shame that you cannot find her but really you don't have to anymore because, well she's closer to you than you think."

Lucia and Vincent both looked towards the girl who gulped and flicked her eyes down in shame. William smirked. Her father moved over till he was directly in-front of Ava. He lifted her chin so his eyes stared down into hers. Ava could sense her mother eyeing her.

"It can't be." Vincent whispered.

As her father stared back at her, Ava felt single drops run down her cheeks. "You used to read my favorite book 'Stellaluna' before bed every night," She said. "You taught me how to ride my first bike at the age of 3. When I'd trip and fall, you'd always kiss it better." By now Ava had begun to sob. "Me and mum loved baking in the winter because you'd always steal the cookies; you'd run off down the garden to hide in the back shed and I'd chase after you." Ava let out a teary chuckle as she watched her father come close to tears.

"It really is you, my little girl, you're my Ava."

"Dad." She cried softly, falling into his arms. Vincent held her tight as the moment he'd been waiting for finally arrived. After so long, he was reunited with his daughter and he loved her so much. Lucia watched the two as they both hugged one another. When Vincent pulled away to look at his wife, his reaction changed instantly.

"Lucia, she's ours," he confirmed. "Look at her."

Lucia stared deeply, taking in every detail of Ava's looks into account. A flashback entered her mind as she saw herself picking up a younger girl with short blonde hair with a ribbon on the top. She wore a daisy printed dress. The girl bursted into sweet cheery giggles as the woman picked her up and held her in the air. Lucia choked back a sob as she soon realised the girl in front of her grew up to be a young beautiful woman, her daughter.

"Ava!" Lucia sobbed before she joined her husband, together consoling their daughter. The trio continued to hug as the family was once again reunited as one. Everything was perfect until William shattered it.

"Sorry to interrupt your lovely moment, but I didn't bring you here for a reunion," he said, sighing rather loudly. Ava became stiff as she noticed William holding a gun. Her hand interlocked with her fathers and he soon caught on what she was looking at. "Move." He instructed Vincent and Lucia. When they didn't, William yelled again, urging them to break apart. The couple moved over so they were on the other side, leaving Ava on her own. William turned to face them as Ava watched silently. He had his back to her. Ava crept, desperately trying not to make a sound. Somehow she had managed to pick up the pole she'd found earlier. Ava walked bit by bit until she was right behind William. She raised her arm slowly, purposely getting ready to swing. "I've been waiting for this and now finally I have my chance." William said, pointing his gun at the pair. "And no one is going to stop me."

Ava was about to swing until William shot round. A gunshot echoed the room. The pole fell from Ava's hand as her body jolted from the force of the bullet. Her hands grasping her stomach and her breathing became hard. Ava looked to her parents who had horror on their faces.

"You son of a bitch." Lucia screamed. Ava saw her mother get up and then her eyes flicked to William who still had his gun raised.

"No!" She gasped sharply. Ava's eyes widened as William was about to fire again. She pushed herself till she ran in front of her mother and a second gunshot fire rung. Ava couldn't move and she couldn't speak as she fell down to her knees, gasping for air as the second bullet shot at her abdomen.

Voices drowned out as Ava begun to struggle to keep herself alive. Her mother cradled Ava in her arms and her brown eyes filled with tears. Vincent's own hands applied pressure to the wound. He locked eyes with his wife and then down to his daughter who's life drained by the minute. The expression of pure fear on their faces as Ava's eyes fluttered closed. She opened her mouth to say something, and Lucia leaned in close to catch it.

"I-I'm sor-" She tried, but she couldn't speak. Ava's eyes suddenly fell closed and Lucia felt the grip she had on Ava's hand loosen. Ava now lay between her parents motionless. Everything moved slowly. William was eventually arrested and taken outside. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Police overcrowded the room as they escorted the Garcia family out. Vincent carried Ava in his arms and when he saw the ambulance crew in sight, he desperately pleaded them to save her. Her parents comforted each other as they rode inside the ambulance with Ava who lay still on a stretcher.

-

Back in Cobham, three policemen had stayed back with the Torres family and Ava's friends as they all anxiously waited for news. The sound of a mobile ringing broke the silence as one of the men answered. The call was short and briefed. The man hung up and looked to the group who sat patiently.

"That was my colleague, he's found Ava along with two other victims who have been confirmed as her parents," he said. Sighs of relief filled the room but they were quickly vanished. "Unfortunately," Fernando gulped and braced himself for the worst. "Miss Garcia is in a critical condition. The ambulance is on their way now and she will immediately be in surgery when she arrives at the hospital."

"Surgery?" Latoya asked.

"I'm sorry. I advise you all to go to the hospital, the police and doctors will do everything they can for you there and they will inform you on everything that has happened."

Fernando felt repulsively sick. He swallowed hard and held back the tears that were trying to release. Olalla offered an arm of comfort around Fernando but he shrugged her off. He wasn't in the mood and right now, he wanted to be alone.

"Perdón." Fernando mumbled. Juan and Latoya silently watched him leave the room as Olalla called after her husband but received no reply.