Sweet Temptations

Later that evening, Ava and Olivia sat in complete silence as they ate their dinner at the dining table. Nora and Leo were already fast asleep in bed and the only sound that was heard inside the room was the constant ticking from the clock on the mantelpiece. Ava pushed her plate away from her and sighed. Her appetite for food no longer satisfied her. She was more worried about Fernando. Earlier when Ava, Olivia, Fernando and the kids arrived back at the house after the football game, Fernando had completely stormed off and went straight to his room. He hardly said a word to the girls or his children. The utter slam of his door had already said enough. The two girls thought it was best to leave him be and here they were 5 hours later, still no sign of the Spaniard.

"Do you think he's alright?" Olivia asked. Ava shook her head and sighed again.

"I honestly don't know."

"I hope so. Anyway, I better go. It's late enough as it is. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine. You go, don't worry about me." Ava reassured.

"Call me if you need anything. I'll see you on Monday." Olivia said and she left the room leaving Ava to her thoughts. The clock chimed 9 o'clock which brought Ava out her gaze. 'Time for bed' she decided. She collected the plates and took them through to the kitchen. Too tired to do the washing up, Ava placed the dirty pots inside the dishwasher, turned the lights off and made her way upstairs to get ready for bed.

-

Ava changed herself into a grey tank-top and her Lepel Fiore lace shorts. Putting on her black silk coat, she was about to get into her bed when she suddenly stopped herself. A part of her wanted to go see Fernando while the other part of her was telling her not to. Biting her lip, she walked out her room and made her way to his room. Ava stood outside Fernando's door contemplating whether to knock or not but before she even decided, her knuckles had already knocked on his door. She closed her eyes and silently prayed he wouldn't answer. She hoped he was sleeping.

"Who is it?" Fernando's deep voice asked from the inside.

"Dammit!" Ava whispered to herself. She regained her composure and took a deep breath. "It's Ava."

The sound of something dropping and footsteps were heard heading towards the door. The closer they got, the more nervous Ava felt. The door-handle slowly turned and the door shot open revealing a shirtless Fernando. Ava gasped and looked down instantly embarrassed as he leaned against the door frame. Luckily for her, he was wearing grey sleepwear joggers that hung just below his hip bones.

"Si?" He asked.

"Oh! I-I- um." Ava stuttered feeling slightly self conscious. She could feel Fernando looking at her in her unusual nightwear. His eyes lingered on her legs as he caught the sight of her black lace shorts peeking out from under her silk coat. This was the first time he'd seen Ava like this especially on how much skin was on display. "I was checking to see if you were asleep, well I mean you hadn't come down earlier and...I've hardly seen you since this afternoon, er..and I made dinner. I was just worried." Ava spluttered. She let out a sigh of relief but silently cursed herself for her horrid explanation. Fernando simply smiled and stepped aside to let Ava inside his room. She walked past without hesitating.

-

No one had spoken since Ava entered Fernando's room. She didn't know exactly what to say to the Spaniard as she watched him sit on the bed. His shoulders were slumped and his soft brown eyes no longer had the warm feeling they normally had. They looked lost and empty. Ava knew he was hurting.

"Look, what happened today wasn't your fault. Things will improve-"

"I appreciate the kindness Ava, but if that's why you're here, you may as well leave." Fernando didn't mean to snap. He wasn't angry at her, he was more angry at himself than anything.

"I understand you're hurting, the pain you are suffering from."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do!" Ava argued back. Fernando was left stunned by her outburst. He'd never seen Ava so angry. The way she knitted her eyebrows and crossed her arms were clear she was being serious. "I've been in your position. I know what it's like because I've made mistakes before but at least you have multiple people by your side when I didn't," she gulped and walked towards where Fernando was sitting. She knelt down in front of him and lifted up the sleeve on her right arm. His eyes widened in shock as he took her wrist in his right hand. He traced one of his fingers over the faint scars.

"When you said you had made mistakes Ava, I wasn't expecting this."

"I was fourteen when it happened,” she started. “I had no friends, my foster family hated me and I didn't trust anyone. They tried to starve me. They left me to die. Before I received any more punishment, I ran away. If I hadn't...who knows what would have happened to me." Fernando's grip on Ava's wrist tensed.

"Bastardo," he muttered. Ava gave a slight watery chuckle. A tear ran down her rosy cheeks.

"That wasn't the end of it," she continued. "Sometime after I moved in with your parents, Jose sent me to school. In my final year, I got bullied. Mainly because I was a know it all. I was pressured into things I didn't want to do and I mixed in with the wrong crowd. On the outside I acted as if I was tough but on the inside I was actually screaming for help. Things got really bad where I drank, I smoked and mostly stayed out late. I literally pushed everyone away from me." Ava licked her lips and rubbed the tears from her eyes. "One night, I was coming home from a party and I heard screaming. Me being stupid, I followed the voices and they led me to an alleyway. A girl my age, she was beaten-"

"Latoya?" Fernando asked. The girl nodded. Ava had mentioned she had a best friend from when she was telling the male about past stories from her life in Spain.

"I didn't catch who the guy was there but the state of his clothes told me otherwise. Of course she saw me and she yelled. She told me to run but it was too late." Fernando pulled Ava into his lap as she broke down; he placed his palms on her cheeks thus he could look at her. He looked up the girl with so much sorrow. He could see the pain her eyes. He was hesitant to ask but he needed to know.

"What happened?" Ava gulped and placed her hands over his.

"Later that night I returned back to the house. No one was up so I went straight to my room. I was terrified. How are you supposed to tell someone about what you saw or how you got the bruises on your skin? I couldn't look at myself. I looked disgusting. So I did what I thought was best, I punished myself." Ava sobbed.

"That's how you got the scars." Ava looked down at him and frowned. She felt shameful for telling Fernando. She didn't want him to judge her for turning to self harm. It wasn't the answer. However, Ava trusted Fernando and the way he was making her feel now, made her feel safe.

"I truly hated myself back then. Israel caught me, but I got such a bollocking off Jose the next morning," she chuckled and Fernando smiled.

"I bet you did too. My padre can be quite furious."

"He sent me to therapy after that and it took me a while to settle in. I was in there for so long that I no longer knew myself. I just felt like a complete stranger. After being in there for what seemed like forever, I did learn something while I was in there." Ava placed her arm around Fernando's neck and played with the end strands of his blonde locks. "We learn from our actions and we face the consequences; by doing so, it helps us improve. It makes us stronger. I learned from mine and I've regretted the choices I made ever since. I never realised how alone I actually am."

"You're not, not any more.” Fernando told her. “You no longer have to be afraid."

"I'm not." Ava confessed. Fernando leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was full of emotion. It was short and sweet. Ava broke away and slowly opened her eyes.

"Quédate conmigo esta noche," he breathed.

"What if one of the kids walks in?"

"No lo harán." Fernando pulled her down with him and she curled up beside him. His arm wrapped around her waist and rested his chin on her head. Soon they drifted off into a calm and peaceful sleep.