Heartkiller

Chapter Forty One: Heartkiller

Paint all your sorrows for me to sing
Heartkiller
Draw your pain and hear me hum it out

November 2, 2013

Avery grabbed two small cans of paint and leaped across the room, almost tripping over the rug. She put the stuff into a box along with the other paint supplies. Ville, having finished the tour in Philadelphia last night, was going to be home any minute now, and she had to prepare the apartment for his arrival. Everything had to be perfect, and, more importantly, she needed to ensure that he wouldn’t happen upon something that would signal the pregnancy. Avery looked down at her stomach; it was still early, and her bump wasn’t very noticeable.

She took three long strides into the bedroom and went to the nightstand to pull out her journal. She’d been documenting the past three months in these pages, and she would give it to him on Sunday. Avery would break the news to him this weekend; it was already marked off on her calendar that she needed to tell him, but he couldn’t find out a moment too soon. She took the notebook back to the study and fit the box into the bookshelf. There was already another box of baby-related items that she’d stuffed in her study months ago. She had wanted to keep out of sight anything that could remind them of their loss, and now she was trying to hide any clues that would reveal the news too early to Ville.

Once everything had been put away, she stepped toward the doorway and looked back at the study. Things certainly looked different since the last time Ville had been home. Her desk had been pushed against one wall and one of the bookshelves had been taken to storage. The remaining furniture would also be moved out of the room next weekend, creating space for the baby. She had started to paint the east wall with an image, but the work was faint in case Ville had ideas about decorating the nursery. She wanted him to be a part of it, too. Avery stepped out of the study and closed the door behind her. He'd find out about all of this very soon.

She walked down the hallway with a hand on her head as she thought about the apartment. Was there anything else she needed to take care of? Aside from the noted belongings, she didn’t think anything needed to be tucked away. Avery perked up when she heard a key in the front door. A smile spread across her face, and as soon as she saw his pale face through the crack in the doorway, she started running toward him.

“Ville!”

He dropped his duffel bag to the floor and caught her when she leaped into his arms. Avery didn’t give him a moment to breathe, reacquainting herself with him with a few sloppy kisses. Her chin brushed against the abrasive stubble that dappled his jawline, but she didn’t mind. Avery inhaled and smiled. The faint cologne he wore lingered in his skin with his natural scent along with the constant smell of cigarettes. It reminded her that she needed to talk to him about his smoking habits, how it would affect the baby inside her, but she would save that for later. For now, she was fixated on him. Ville was here. He was home. Avery held his face in her hands and grabbed his bottom lip in her mouth, sucking on the tender skin.

He chuckled at her behavior, causing them to break apart. “Good to see you, too, Ave.”

“God, I’m so happy you’re back, babe.” she mumbled as she placed several more kisses on his lips. She unravelled her legs from his waist and stepped back on the hardwood floor.

As he slid his backpack off his shoulders, he remarked, “I missed you, darling.”

“I missed you, too.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. He grabbed her by the waist and held her tightly while they rocked from side to side. “Terribly.”

Ville pulled away just enough to see her face. With his left arm still gripping her waist, he tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “How have you been?"

"Woefully miserable and incredibly lonely. Save for that visit from Jesse, this place hasn't seen any visitors."

"Oh, that's a shame. What about Natali? Hasn’t she been in town?"

"Yeah, but she’s busier than I am, so… I mean, I got to see her here and there, but it’s not the same." She took his hand and led him a few steps toward the couch. “How are you?”

"Sweaty, smelly, tired.... Uh, the usual." He cracked a grin. "The guys went to the hotel to check in. They wanted to go grab dinner while they’re here to kind of like celebrate the end of the tour, if you wanna go see them. They’re flying back to Finland tomorrow.”

“Of course! But that’s later. Right now... ” She unzipped her dress on the side, shrugged out of it, and hopped onto the couch arm. “Right now we have more pressing matters at hand.”

“Wow, you are really eager to see me, aren’t you?” he was surprised by how quickly she had gotten to the heart of the matter. Without questioning it, though, he unzipped his jeans, letting them fall to the floor.

“Oh, you have no idea.” Her voice trailed as she caught sight of the tightening of the fabric of his underwear.

Ville leaned towards her slowly, letting the intimacy come naturally to him. He placed a dainty, sweet kiss on her cheek. Her eyes closed at his warm touch, and immediately, all the fantasies she’d been imagining for weeks had come to fruition. Avery was controlling herself; her pregnancy had frustrated her libido beyond belief, but she still wanted to revel in the moment and the feeling of his hot skin against hers.

She bit her lip as he inched toward her mouth, letting his nose brush against her flesh as he traced her cheekbone with it. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards; he could tell by her posture--with her chest wide, her chin tilted upwards waiting to feel his lips on hers, and, most importantly, her legs left wide open--that she was eager, and Ville was amused. No matter how much he wanted her, he decided to take his time, giving him the opportunity to watch her squirm.

A hand snaked its way around her waist, slowly working its way up her back to her bra while his tongue entertained her mouth. Without breaking contact, he unclipped her bra and slipped it off her shoulders. She grabbed it and tossed it aside. Ville’s large hands started to massage her breasts, and he could feel her heart pulsate only a few beats faster than his own racing beat. Cupping them from underneath, he roughly rolled his thumbs over her nipples. Avery inhaled deeply, and her back arched from sheer thrill. Oh, it felt so good.

Still, he was taking his time to enjoy every moment and every part of her. Ville, too, had missed this. The days on the tourbus had been quite lonely, and he would end up relieving himself into the nearest sock; it was nothing compared to this. It was a human moment. He wanted to relish the seconds, but Avery wasn’t having any of it. The last time they had had sex was in Germany, when they were actively trying to have a baby. This was different. This was a need. This was a raw, sexual desire stemming from a mutual passion. Avery pulled her underwear down to her knee and used her legs to skirt them the rest of the way to the floor.

“Fuck me.” she said through grit teeth.

Ville hungrily connected their mouths, pulling her bottom lip and kissing her to create a smacking sound. While they continued to kiss, he freed his hand to remove his underwear. Once he had done so, he pushed her shoulder down so that she lay on the couch. Avery pulled him down on top of her and giggled into the kiss.

“I love you,” she mumbled into his lips, not wishing to lose a single moment to kiss him.

Ville was more tender than she was. For his reply, he brushed her hair away from her ear and whispered ‘I love you’ in a voice that sent chills down her spine. He noticed the reaction he had elicited and trailed his lips down her chest, stopping between her breasts. From his place, he looked up to see Avery shivering with anticipation.

His thin lips spread into a smile, and he rushed up to give her a kiss. That was enough playtime. Ville thrusted into her with one hand clutching the armrest above her head and the other at her waist. He rocked his hips into hers in a steady rhythm, and her eyes rolled back. She moved her hips synchronously with his and held onto his back. Avery opened her mouth, succumbing to the orgasm that ignited throughout her body. Ville finished soon after and propped himself on his elbows, which were placed on either side of her face.

He smiled, trying to catch his breath. "I'm sure the neighbors heard the ruckus."

"Hmm, well..." She panted, "I'm glad to have you back, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Let ‘em hear." Avery kissed his lips, bringing his face closer to hers. "It may have been a while, but we haven’t lost the magic.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Come on… We should get ready to go meet the guys."

“I have another idea.” Ville rolled off her and stood, offering his hand to help her up. “What do you say we head into the shower and finish this up?”

She looked up and scrunched her nose in joy. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s excited that you’re home.”

He brought his lips to her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin as he said softly, “With curves like yours, can you really blame a guy?”

Avery slapped his chest away and laughed. “God, you’re such a cheeseball!”

She started walking toward the hallway, and he called out, “Does that mean ‘yes?’”

With a raised brow, she turned, “With a voice like yours, can a girl ever say ‘no?’”

Immediately, Ville raced behind her and picked her up. His right arm was tucked into the crook behind her knees, while his left supported her torso as he took them to the bathroom. Avery giggled and squirmed until he finally set her down in the bathtub. She turned on the shower to the warmest setting and turned to see Ville getting in. Immediately, they were grazing their lips together as Ville pressed up against her. Their skin was tingling as they yearned to be closer still. It wasn’t enough.

It was a warm welcome, she couldn’t have asked for more, but there was tension. There was, amidst the playful kisses and the usual flirting, an air of tension that coated the interaction. Avery could feel it practically suffocating her, and she wondered if he could feel it too. Could he sense that she was keeping a secret from him? Did he know? Ville kissed her and treasured her, and she returned the sentiment; yet she still felt awkward about holding something secret. She would tell him the good news on Sunday, and she just had to wait until then, praying that nothing terrible would happen to the baby within that time.

After a few more minutes of intimacy, Ville shut off the water. She stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around her body. Her wet locks fell on her back, and she looked in the mirror to see Ville hopping out. Her eyes lingered on the tattoos along his forearm, the ink glistening from the water as he finished tying a towel around his waist. Ville kissed her cheek and looked in the mirror.

“What time are we meeting them?” she asked as she grabbed his watch off the counter.

“Uh, nine-thirty.”

The smile left her face and she widened her eyes. “Sweetie! It’s nearly nine and we’re not even dressed!”

Avery rushed to the bedroom and threw open the closet door, pulling the first dress that her hand landed on; she didn’t have the time to rummage through to find a perfect dress for the occasion. She took it off the hanger and dropped the towel. Once she grabbed a bra from her dresser, she put it on and slipped the midnight blue dress on top of it. Her wet hair was dripping in her face, and she brushed it aside while she reached for some underwear. After she pulled it up her legs and adjusted the skirt of the dress, Avery turned around to see that her husband was still leaning against the bedroom doorframe, watching her with a mesmerized smile.

“Ville… what are you waiting for? What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong. Just looking at how downright beautiful you are.”

He walked to her, grabbed her hands, and sat on the bed while pulling her on top of him. She attached her mouth to his, and he started sucking on her lower lip, causing her to pull away with a scrunched nose and cutting things short. “I’m gonna do my makeup and blowdry my hair; fifteen... Maybe twenty minutes, tops. In the meantime, you need to shave so I don't have scratches all over my skin. And get dressed, mister!”

Avery clambered off him and started for the door, turning only when he heard him mutter, “I love when you get all domineering on me.”

She scoffed playfully but went to the bathroom without another word. They simply didn’t have the time for another of their wry play with words. Avery searched through the drawers to find her blowdryer. She plugged it in and sprayed a heat protectant into her hair as Ville came inside. He wet his face and reached for the shaving cream. She eyed him now and then and Ville caught her glances. It had been seven years, and they were still like two school kids getting ready for a first date. It didn’t take him long to finish shaving, and he brushed past her to the bedroom to get dressed.

Once she dried her hair, she set to work on her makeup. Trying to be efficient with her time, she kept it simple with a winged liner and mascara. Avery opted for a peach nude lipstick; she would be kissing Ville a lot tonight, and she didn’t want to leave any indecent marks on his skin.

As she pulled her hair into a ponytail, she called, “Ville! Are you almost done?”

“Ready, Ave.” he said calmly as he approached the bathroom doorway.

She finished tying her hair out of her face and looked at him. She rolled her eyes; he was sporting his usual attire of black pants, leather jacket, beanie, and scarf with a Black Sabbath shirt. “You’re such a fanboy. Come on.”

Ville wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, letting his warm breath hit her cheek. “Have I mentioned how ravishing you look tonight?”

She blushed. “Several times… And I would love nothing more than to continue what we were doing earlier, but we really shouldn’t keep our friends waiting any longer.”

He sucked on her earlobe. “Are you sure ‘bout that?”

Her knees buckled. If it wasn’t for Ville holding her up, she would have collapsed from his seductive voice. “Oh, regrettably so, my handsome dear.”

They started walking towards the front door of the apartment, where she slipped on a pair of nude flats from the shoe closet and Ville put on his black converse shoes.

“You got the keys, Ville?” she asked as she grabbed their coats.

“Yeah, they’re in my pocket.”

“Then off we go,” she smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

The gang was holed in the corner of a restaurant, an otherwise quiet establishment at the edge of the town near the suburbs. Everybody was there; the band, the stage crew, and even Natali, who had joined them for the last couple shows of the tour.

"And then he comes through the door bustling mad and asks where the fucking coffee is." Mige finished the tale and sipped his beer casually while the rest of the group burst into laughter.

When he saw the couple approach, Burton calmed enough to remark, "Ah, there you are."

"Sorry, she was running a little late from work." Ville excused while he took one of the empty seats.

"Oh, 'work.' Is that what they're calling it these days?" Mige joked.

“Were you guys waiting long?” Avery asked, ignoring his suggestive comment, and took off her coat.

“Ages,” Gas offered.

Natali shook her head. “No, we only got in a few minutes ago. Sit down,” She patted the chair beside her for Avery to scoot into.

“How’s everybody doing?” Avery asked as she sat down.

“Good.” “Okay.” “Tired.” came a round of responses from the table.

“Mige’s wreaking havoc already, I see.” Avery muttered under her breath as she flipped through the menu.

“Yeah, well, what else is new?” he joked.

“Did you already order?” Ville asked.

“No, no, waiting on you.”

"Well, let’s get to it then." Avery motioned for a waiter to come, and he took the order for the group. Once the table had been cleared of menus, she said, "So, I can’t wait to hear all about the tour! I was just telling Ville that I felt bad about missing so much of the US leg."

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s better that you didn’t come, anyway.” Burton dismissed.

“Why’s that?”

“Let’s just say this wasn’t the… easiest tour. There were some difficult crowds.” Gas interjected.

“It’s okay. I can protect myself.”

“I’m sure you can; I’m more worried about the crowd!”

“That bad, doll?” she asked as she took a sip of her water, eyeing his reaction.

“Oh, he’s exaggerating.” he said as he shifted in his seat. “It was like, one or two cities, I think. You know, you, uh, you need a few bad apples to help you appreciate the sweet ones.”

Avery rolled her eyes. Leave it to her husband to dismiss her concerns with an over-used proverb. She turned to the rest of the table. “What happened?”

“They were just some snotty fans in… I think Kansas City it was.” Burton explained. “We weren’t even in the middle of the second song, and they started chanting Volbeat, thinking if they were loud enough, we’d leave.”

“And did you?”

“My mother scolded me to get off my fat arse for three years, and I would shut the door while I smoked another bowl. Those rednecks gotta try harder than that to move a big guy like me.” Mige groaned and patted his large stomach.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t budge. If I’d been there, I'm not sure if I could have controlled myself.”

"It's okay. All part of the experience." Gas, ever the peacemaker, dismissed.

Everybody broke off into separate conversations and Avery turned to her friend, "So, Nat, what are you up to? How's that photo series coming?"

"Pretty good. We’ve booked most of the models and the locations. We’re finalizing everything now, trying to make sure everything is ready for the shoot next week. You know, so far, there haven't been any major speedbumps. Let's see how things go."

"I see. Are you planning to display them in a gallery?"

“Oh, no, no. I couldn’t afford to do this alone on my budget. The whole thing is sponsored by a magazine; the photos will be in their issue sometime in winter. February, maybe.”

“That’s exciting!”

“Yeah, it’s a fashion campaign, and they’re advertising some big designers. They wanted a different take on the photos, so you know, we’re going through that.”

“You’re enjoying it?”

“Oh yeah, it’s good, it’s good. The first couple weeks were stressful as we brainstormed ideas, but now it’s just about getting all the materials ready. Stressful in a different sense, but… what can you do? I’m happy to be working.”

Avery chuckled. “That's good. I’m glad things are working out for you.”

“Thank you. Anyway, how are you? How are your parents?”

"Good, yeah. My mom retired this year, so she and my father are having trouble filling the days."

“Really? I’d think they’d love the opportunity to travel.”

“That’s what you’d expect, but they’re both busybodies… stubborn workaholics.”

“Yeah, I know the type!” Ville chimed in after overhearing.

“Where do you think I get it from?” she playfully replied. “Anyway, yeah, they’re hanging around the house looking for things to do. Oddly enough, they sold the place in the Hamptons.”

“Really?!” Natali asked.

“I know! I protested, saying they should move out there and sell the Manhattan apartment instead, but…” she shrugged. “If they couldn’t find work, they wanted to at least be around the hustle-and-bustle environment.”

"I see. It must give you the chance to see them more often, then, right?"

"You'd think so, but... No, not really. My schedule has been pretty hectic lately." She took a sip of water. She was lying; her schedule was only as busy as she would allow for it to be these past few months. Her attention had been focused in the baby, but she certainly couldn't say that. "That's why I missed so much of this tour, unfortunately."

"Oh."

"Well, it's like you said: I'm happy to be working, I'm happy to have a job."

"Yeah, of course."

Several waiters arrived at the table with everyone's food. One by one, things got passed around the table till everyone got what they ordered.

"Enjoy your meal!" The waiter said.

"Thank you." Came the response from the table.

It was silent at first while everyone dug into their food. After a few minutes, the conversations resumed, and the table buzzed with voices. Throughout the dinner, Avery noticed that Natali had a tense jaw and worried eyes. It seemed like there was something on her mind. She was uneasy about something, but for some reason, she didn't try to bring it up to Avery. In fact, by the light spirit and otherwise playful attitude, it seemed like she was intentionally trying to avoid it. Avery didn't push it; maybe it we something between her and Mikka that she didn't want to discuss.

“Hey, how come Lara didn’t come out tonight?” Avery asked, drawing herself away from the boys’ conversation.

“Oh, no, this is much too late for her. If things went well with the sitter, she should be in bed by now.”

"How has she been doing?"

"Good, she's good. We've put her in school while we're here so that she doesn't become too much of a homebody."

"Yeah, we know too many of those." Avery joked.

"Right?" She giggled. "She's enjoying it though. You should come over for dinner sometime!"

"Yeah, that'd be nice. We'll have to fix something up."

By the end of the night, Natali still hadn’t said anything, and the group would be heading home in a few minutes. Avery was concerned and needed a moment of privacy so that she could ensure her friend was okay. The check arrived, and she took the chance to excuse herself from the table.

“Um, I’m gonna go use the restroom.” Avery whispered. “Excuse me.”

"I’ll join you.” she said, unaware of her intentions.

She shuffled out of the seat and Natali followed behind, heading to the other side of the restaurant. Keeping her eyes ahead as she passed the other patrons, Avery pushed open the bathroom door. They went further inside and each took a stall.

It was an elaborately decorated bathroom that matched the elegance of the restaurant. Dark woods were used for the stalls, and the walls were painted a creamy beige color. The sink was a granite piece with gold detailing on the faucets. After finishing up, Avery washed her hands, pausing to look at her reflection in the mirror. Her gaze travelled to her stomach, and a hand instinctively cupped it. At three months, her bump was barely showing, but Avery could see it. She was going to tell Ville today as soon as they got home. She had planned to wait until the three month mark, which would be two days from now, but she just couldn't wait. Avery couldn't keep the secret any longer because she was too excited for his reaction. She smiled. When she heard the flush of the toilet, Avery quickly retracted her hand so that Natali wouldn’t suspect anything.

Natali came to the sink and started to wash her hands, aware of her friend’s eyes on her back. However, she didn’t try to broach the subject until Avery hesitantly asked, “Is there something wrong?”

She met the blonde’s gaze in the mirror and shook her head. “No, nothing.”

“Natali, you sure?” She bit her lip, bracing herself. “You just seem like something is off, and maybe I’m misreading, but… you’ve got to do a better job to assure me that everything’s okay. Is it Mikka? Or Lara?”

She took her time drying her hands with a tissue, all the while avoiding looking at Avery, and sighed. “It’s Ville. There’s something you should know.”

Her heart sank. The tone of her friend’s voice was enough to concern her. With a quivering voice, she probed, “W-what about him?”

“Look, honey, I don’t know how else to say this, and you know what, it may not even be a big deal. I don’t know. I don’t know if you already know this, but… he’s been drinking again.”

“What?” her voice was low and she tried her best to control the emotion that coated her words. “You saw him having a drink?”

Natali shook her head and looked at her. “No, he wasn’t drinking at the shows that I went to. I don’t know if he was consciously trying to hide it… maybe he didn’t want me to see him, thinking that I’d tell you. I don’t know what it was. But Mikka is the one who told me.”

“How long?”

“Look, I don’t want to start anything between you two, but I didn’t want you to hear it from reading it in a magazine or something.”

“How long, Nat?” She was near tears, and her voice was a dead giveaway of her disappointment in Ville. After everything that had been going on the past few weeks, after how well things had been going in their relationship, this was the last thing she expected to hear.

“For the past few shows, maybe since Arizona or something.”

“How much?” she immediately followed up.

“Two beers, maybe more. Nothing like before, but…”

“But the fact that he’s drinking at all is cause for concern.” she finished.

She breathed a sigh. “I’m sorry, but I thought you should know.”

“No, no, I’m glad you told me.” Avery quickly wiped a tear that slid down her cheek. “I am, I just… I don’t know. I don’t know what this means, and I don’t know I’m gonna what to do about it.”

Natali pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back to soothe her. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I appreciate you telling me. Thank you.” she said and pulled away. Avery looked in the mirror to ensure her makeup hadn’t smudged. She was going back outside to company, and she didn’t want to show any indication that something was wrong. This was a conversation Avery would save for later. She fanned her face to clear the teary eyes. “Come on, let’s get back before the boys start to wonder what we’re doing.”

Avery pulled the door open and led them out. Natali confirmed, “Hey, are you okay?”

She slapped a smile on her face and said, “Yeah, yeah. We’ll be fine. We’ve been through worse.”

Natali wasn’t sure what that meant, but decided not to press the matter. The girls returned to the table just as the waiter took the check and the payment. The boys stood up as the wives joined them, and the group started heading out of the restaurant. With Linde and Mige leading the pack, the group lined their way toward the breezy streets. Though Avery hung in the back with her husband, she avoided eye contact with him, unsure if she’d be able to hold her composure. Ville, though, was aware that something was different by observing her demeanor. He placed his hand at the small of her back and brought his lips to her ear.

“What’s wrong, my love?” he whispered.

“Hmm? Nothing, nothing.” Avery looked up at him with a clueless look on her face. She tried to play it cool, though it was eating her alive to know that he was drinking again. And that he was hiding it; he clearly knew it was wrong to have returned to the bottle. Why else would he keep that from her?

“You sure?” She nodded and readied to walk ahead of him, but he held her close to him. He didn’t believe her. She was different, notably different. A bit shaken up. Tightly gripping her waist, he sweetly requested, “Kiss me.”

Avery turned her head and pecked his lips. She didn’t know what to say; the news was still too fresh for her to react rationally. She certainly didn’t want to make a scene in public. It was a delicate matter, and she would have to wait until she knew how to approach it. They held hands as they walked outside and met the others.

“Alright, well, that was a great time.” Burton said as they huddled together.

“Thanks for dinner, Ville.” Gas added.

“No worries.”

“It was all fun and games, but you know, I’m so sick of you, I don’t wanna see you arseholes for at least three months.” Mige announced.

“Yeah, but we have Helldone in like two months.” Linde pointed out.

“Ah, that’s New Year’s. I’ll be so drunk that you’ll be lucky if I remember what song we’re playing.”

“Yeah, what else is new?” Ville joined in and the group laughed.

“Hey!”

“Alright, alright. Let’s get going before somebody gets hurt.” Gas said, clearing everybody out. The crew members were the first to hail cabs to the hotel, leaving the band behind to say their goodbyes.

"Well, we should head back, too." Burton said.

"Excited to go see your girls?" Avery asked. Her head rested on Ville’s chest, and he had an arm around her waist, keeping her close. The two were attached at the hip.

"Oh yes! This has been the longest I've been away from little Ana."

“Well, I’m sure she misses her father, too.”

“Alright, let’s get going, then.” Linde said, ushering everyone towards the road to hail cabs.

“You guys go ahead. We’re gonna take a walk.” Ville said, and Avery looked at him questioningly. “It’s a beautiful night. Let’s enjoy it.”

“Well, you kids don’t stay out too late.” Mige warned jokingly.

“See you. Have a safe flight out!” Avery waved as the everybody separated in search of taxis. "Bye, Nat!"

The couple split from the rest of the group and started walking down the block. It was a fairly quiet neighborhood in the East Village, at least in comparison to Manhattan where they normally roamed. A slight gust of wind blew throughout, causing her to hug her coat tighter around her body.

Ville wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair above her ear. “You sure nothing’s wrong?”

“Honey!” she looked at him and gave him a kiss of reassurance. She tried to shake the uneasiness, not wanting to alarm him. “I’m fine, we’re fine!”

He dropped it for now and slipped his hand into hers. “I missed you, darling.”

She chuckled. “I know, I missed you, too. We’ve been telling each other that all evening.”

“Well, I did miss you.”

She shook her head, not knowing what else to say. “What time is it?”

He glanced at his phone. “Almost 11:30.”

“Why did you want to take a walk at this hour?”

“Why do you ask? Got some place else to be?”

“No, no. I want to be with you wherever you want to go, I’m just… I don’t know. Taking a walk in the middle of the night is a little uncharacteristic for us, at least when we’re in New York. It’s not really a pastime here as much as it is in Finland. Not very safe, either.”

“Well, I'll protect you, don't you worry about that. And the truth is that, uh, I’m not quite finished with you. Once we go home, we’ll probably head off to bed. I mean, I’m tired, but... I can’t dream anything as good as the real thing, as good as this.”

She cracked a grin. “Fair enough. Although, with your imagination, I’m sure you could conjure something better than little old me.”

“Impossible.”

They walked in silence, holding each other close to remain warm. It gave her the chance to think about what Natalie had told her. Avery bit the side of her mouth. What was he doing with that thing? Save for the occasional glass of wine, Ville stayed away from alcohol. Beer was especially toxic in his life, but now he was hanging around on stage with a bottle of some hogwash. Who knows what was happening behind the curtain. It wasn’t good. It immediately unnerved her, and she wanted to stop in the middle of the road right then to address it. She wanted to know what he was doing--why he was submitting himself to such a vice again.

It didn’t make sense to her. There were other implications as well, it wasn’t just about Ville. With the baby, she was careful to control every aspect of her environment. She had been able to manage her usual stress from work and had also been aware of her diet in order to provide complete vitamins for the baby’s growth. She was already concerned about his smoking; she didn’t want to breathe in the drug, inadvertently affecting the baby’s development. Now this?

She shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts off her mind. Avery would drive herself crazy if she continued to let the ideas fester in her head. She wanted to be present with him now. As much as she wanted to address her concerns now, they were having a good night, and she didn’t want to spoil it. She’d have to worry about this later.

“So did you have something on your mind? Or did you just want to take a peaceful walk?” Avery asked.

“Uh, nothing in particular. Why? Is there something on your mind?”

Avery took sharp breath. “Um, no… No, nothing on my mind.”

“Okay, then.”

“You know, we missed out on a few movies while you were gone. Maybe we could go to a theater and watch something?”

“Sure, that sounds nice. I want to catch that scary thriller film… What’s it called? It came out in July or something.”

“The Conjuring?”

“Yeah, that’s the one!”

“Oh, yeah sure. I saw it with Jesse, but I’d be down to see it again.”

“You saw it with Jesse? How’d that go?”

Avery smirked. “Well, he was at the edge of his seat and trying not to piss his pants, I think.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right. How did you get through it?”

“Uhh…” she laughed nervously. “It was difficult to watch without you there to hang onto for dear life to be honest, babe.”

“Seems like you didn’t really watch it, then.” he teased.

She looked up at him with a sheepish grin and shook her head before burying it in his chest. “Not really.”

“We could go catch it now if you--”

Before he could continue, she gasped. “Ville, look! There’s a photobooth!”

Ville followed her hand to see that she was pointing to some odd metal contraption with splattered paint on the side. It was inside a busy bar at the corner of the block and they could see a group of friends squished into the booth as they took pictures.

“Come on, we should go take some silly pictures!”

“Sure, let’s go.” he chuckled and led them into the bar.

They waited their turn, and she was standing on her tip-toes from all the excitement. She pulled out her phone from her purse.

“Look at what I found the other day, by the way.” she said as she went to her photo reel.

“Wait, what’s that right there?” Ville interrupted, spotting a picture of himself that he didn’t remember taking.

She turned red and hid her phone behind her body. With a sheepish grin, she said, “Nothing.”

“Avery... “ he grinned. “Come on, what is it?”

Ville tried to reach behind her, but she squirmed. The two playfully fought for the phone before she gave in. “Fine, fine, I’ll show you.”

She pulled up the photo he had been pointing to. It was of Ville early in the morning, his hair in a frazzled mess, holding a coffee cup. “When did you take this?”

“When we were on Skype a while ago.” she hid her face in his shoulder. “I took a screenshot on my phone when we were chatting. I needed something so that I could see you when, you know, when I couldn’t actually see you.”

He rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You’re such a dork.”

“I learn from the best.” she teased and stuck out her tongue at him.

“Whatever.” he chuckled. “What was the other thing you wanted to show me?”

“Oh, it’s this…” She pulled up the picture of a vintage record player. It was a dark mahogany color with a black horn and gold detailing on the side. “I saw it on the storefront of that record place on 52nd.”

“Oh! That’s beautiful.”

“I know! I was debating getting it for the longest time. I feel like shopowner thought I was plotting something because I was standing there staring for so long.”

“You didn’t get it?”

“No, in the end, I was like, ‘You know, we just don’t have the space for it.’”

“That’s true, we don’t.”

“We’re gonna make space, though. It’s so pretty, Ville, and it’s an old one. Like it looks like one from the 80s, not some hipster trying to romanticize vinyl. It’s an actual record player.”

“Hipster?” he furrowed his brows. He was unfamiliar with the term.

“Yeah,“ she smiled. “It’s, um, somebody who tries to get ahead of the bandwagon, basically.”

“Ah.”

The couple turned to see the foursome finally get out of the photobooth, stumbling from their alcohol-induced laughter. Ville got inside, pulling her in behind him.

“Okay, now how does this work?” he asked.

“You just put in change and tell it when you’re ready and it’ll start taking pictures--ooh, look, there are props!” Avery pulled out a few things from the side of the photobooth. “There’s a flower, a pair of oversized glasses, a top hat, and a fake mustache--that one’s mine!”

“Okay, I guess I’ll take the, um, the glasses, then.” He took them from her and put them on.

“Mm, handsome.” She grinned and put on the mustache. “How do I look?”

“Umm, different?” Ville offered, choosing his word carefully.

Avery giggled. “Alright, let’s do this.”

Ville fumbled through his pockets and found some spare change, which he inserted into the slot. He then followed the on-screen instructions and the booth starting counting down.

“How about the first one will be just a silly picture?” he said.

“Okay.”

She scrunched her nose and displayed a broad smile, while Ville puckered his lips. The camera flashed and started counting down again.

“You wanna do an angry one this time?” she suggested.

“Yeah.”

Avery held out her right hand in a fist but broke her angry face when she saw the stern look on Ville’s face. It seemed so out of place with the oversized glasses he had on, so she couldn’t keep her composure and burst into a fit of giggles as the camera went off. The couple took a few more pictures and even changed their props to finish the strip. When they were done, Avery got out first and stood, waiting for the set of photos to print out of the side of the machine. Ville got out, and she pulled out the photostrip while they both looked at it.

“Oh my God, this is ridiculous!” she exclaimed. He chuckled in response. “Thank you, baby!”

“Of course! That was fun. Here, you want me to keep ‘em till we get home?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He took the set and carefully put it in his wallet. Ville then took her hand and led her out of the bar. “What’s the next stop, m’lady?”

“Wherever you’d like to go, my prince.” she grinned. “Do you still wanna catch that movie?”

“Nah, it’s a little after midnight. Pretty late for a horror film, but uh, do you wanna go sit in the park that’s up the street?”

“Yeah, that sounds nice!”

They held hands and walked towards the park. Ville pulled out his pack of cigarettes, and she held her breath. She had never worried about secondhand smoking before, but now she was borderline neurotic in trying to control the environment around her. Since he didn’t know about that, Ville obviously couldn’t adhere to the standards she’d set.

“Sweetheart, please don’t smoke.” Avery said tentatively, worried about his response.

Ville was clueless to her reasoning and slipped one in his mouth. “Why not?”

Avery, not wanting to divulge the news in the middle of the street, quickly improvised. She pulled the cigarette out and kissed him, “Because your mouth is already preoccupied.”

"Hahha, fair enough." He slipped the cigarette back into the pack.

They walked further along making their way into the park now. The grass scrunched underneath their shoes, and she leaned close to him. They didn’t even need to say anything. After months apart, they appreciated just being in the company of one another. It gave her the time to digest everything. The baby was something that she’d have to carefully bring up to him. Of course he’d be happy, but how would he feel about her keeping it from him for three months? He could flip out. She was having a good time with him this night, and she wanted to remember it forever. It may very well have been the calm before the storm, for all she knew.

“Babe?”

“Hmm?” He looked down to catch her eyes.

“Will you sing me a song?”

“Of course, kultaseni. Anything in particular?”

They stopped in the middle of a clearing under the stars, and he took her hands in his. No one else was around at this hour; it was just the two of them, the stars, and the moon. Her gaze shifted between his eyes, scrutinizing his reaction as she cautiously offered, “A few lines of Drawn and Quartered… i-if that’s okay. The chorus, just the chorus.”

His mouth parted, as though he caught his jaw before it dropped further in surprise. “Um, sure… Yeah.” He readjusted his beanie. Ville took a minute to find the appropriate starting note and then cleared his throat before he started singing, “Let’s hold these hearts for one another. It’s worth all the wounds, it must be.” He drew closer to her, placing his hands on either side of her waist. The tempo was much slower than the original, and the quiet night allowed his baritone voice to echo, causing every note to reverberate seconds after he’d finished it. “If I’m drawn and quartered, it’s…” he paused and stared into her baby blue eyes. “...only for you. Shall we hold that thought now and forever in all shades of blue?”

The corners of her lips turned upwards as he drew out the final note, and she kissed him. He stood, concealing how baffled he was by the unexpected request, and Avery leaned against his chest. “Thank you.”

His hand instinctively went to her hair, aimlessly twirling a tendril around his finger. “Anytime, doll.”

They stood like that for a few seconds before she pulled away. Tugging his hand, she said, “C'Mon, let's sit at that bench."

They sat next to each other, and she lay her head in his lap while he silently brushed her hair.

"Tired?" Ville asked and she shook her head. "Liar. Do you wanna head home?"

"I'm fine here. Let's stay a little longer."

"Okay."

Avery closed her eyes. She was still thinking about it all, but she remained silent. Ville, on the other hand, had his own inner monologue running. Looking down at her laying peacefully in his lap, he couldn’t help but wonder how he’d manage to land such an amazing person. Through thick and thin, they’d been able to get through it all. Together.

“Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if we hadn’t met?” he asked, breaking the silence.

“What do you mean? You’re my lobster!” she giggled and he joined in.

“What?”

“It’s a Friends reference.”

“Uh, I don’t think I’ve heard of it.”

“Really? I can’t believe I haven’t brought it up before. It’s a good show. Anyway, the lobster thing is kind of a euphemism for soulmates.” she explained. “Like basically saying that no matter what, we would have ended up together.”

“You believe in soulmates?”

“Uh, as much as the next person, I guess.”

“But do you ever wonder?” he reminded of the original question.

“‘Do I ever wonder what my life would be like if we hadn’t met?’” Avery repeated to herself. “I mean, it’s not my favorite thing to think about, no… It’s honestly difficult to imagine my life without you in it. Why do you ask?”

“No, just… wondering. Our meeting was rather, uh, accidental. If I hadn’t come out for that smoke or if you hadn’t been berating at that poor bastard, we may never have met. I wonder where we’d be. I wonder if, you know, if we’d be traveling or if we’d be married to other people… if we’d still be happy.”

“I think… well, I mean, I’d probably still be living in New York and you’d be traveling the world as you do. It’s not like you would settle down here for any reason, so I think you’d still have a place in Finland. As far as being married and being happy… I don’t know. Even if I were, I don’t think I’d be satisfied. I feel like there would be a part of my life that wouldn’t be quite… right. Like,” she sighed exasperatedly, unable to express herself.

“Like you had all the pieces--the formula, if you will--for a happy life, but it still wasn’t perfect?”

“Yeah! Exactly. Sure, I’d have a career and even a husband, maybe… But I don’t think it would be quite as good as this is. This life, our life, is… well, it’s had its bumps, but I wouldn’t change anything.” she caught his admiring gaze and quickly added, “Maybe one thing.”

“Yeah, I see what you’re saying.”

“More than that, though, I think that we’d be different people from who we are today. I don’t know how you feel, but… you and this relationship, they’ve had a profound impact on me.”

He cocked a brow. “How so?”

“I used to be… cold. I cared about the people around me, but I didn’t show it very often. For me, you know, it’s always been kind of understood that the people in my life are important to me, and I didn’t think that I had to do anything to prove that.” She paused to open her eyes and look at him. “But you’ve shown me how much it matters, Ville. Saying I love you, saying I miss you. Time is precious, and you never want to regret failing to express that love to those people.”

“I did all that?”

She smiled. “Yeah. That and more. You taught me what it means to love with the purest of hearts, sometimes to the point of naiveté. You’ve taught me about growth--I mean, I still have a long way to go. I still have to shed the layers a little bit, but… um, yeah. I’m getting there. Being with you has made me stronger. You are, without a doubt, my best friend, and I wouldn’t be half the person I am today if it weren’t for you.”

“Well that’s not quite fair.”

“What do you mean?” she furrowed her brows.

“You give me far too much credit, Ave… I was just curious about how different things would be if we had never met. I didn’t expect the conversation to go this way, but you underestimate yourself, your value. You were a remarkable person long before you met me.”

“Guess we have that in common. Underestimating ourselves, I mean.”

Ville rolled his eyes. “You know that I have you to thank for a lot of things in my life. I admire your motivation, your drive, and it pushes me to work harder so that I can be as good as you are. I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the music, but… I don’t know. My creative process is so deeply affected by this aspiration to be better, and I’m glad. It’s definitely apparent in the final product. You teach me something new all the time; it surprises me, actually. You’ve given me an unprecedented sense of purpose in my life, and you’ve always been there for me.” He paused to take a breath. “And let’s not forget the rehab. I probably wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for you pushing me to take care of myself. I didn’t have anything or anybody to live for, really.”

“You have your parents and your brother, too, Ville.”

“That’s blood. That’s different.”

“Why are you bringing this up now? Things got so… dark all of a sudden.” she hesitantly asked, wondering if he’d be willing to admit that he’d broken his sobriety.

“You are the light of my life, that’s all. You said all these great things about me, and--I don’t know. It doesn’t hold a candle to the impact that you’ve had on me; I hope you know that, Ave.”

“We can’t keep going back and forth about who’s more amazing.” she lifted her head up so they were at eye-level. “Agree to disagree?” He nodded and she kissed his lips. “Good.”

“C’mon, it’s nearly two o’clock. We should get going.”

“Okay.”

They got off the bench and started walking toward the edge of the park. To lighten the mood from such a heavy topic, she decided to bring up their plans for later this month. “Your birthday is coming up soon.”

Ville took her hand. “Eh, it’s a while away.”

“Like three weeks. I was thinking... ” Avery eased.

“...Yeah?” he mimicked her trailing voice.

“Maybe, uh, you know, we could go to Finland and see your parents.”

“You wanna go visit? You miss them?”

“Yeah, I do. I know that I talk to your mom all the time, but it would be nice to go catch up in person. “ Avery continued, insinuating that she had changes to discuss. “Plus, I’m sure they wanna see you. Thirty-seven is a big one.”

“Your words or my mother’s?” he looked at her knowingly.

“Well… A little of both.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” he smirked.

“It has been a while since I’ve been there. The last time was… what? Last year?”

“Yeah, for my birthday last year.” Ville remembered and immediately regretted it. This time last year, she was pregnant. Going back to that place would only underscore that they didn’t have a baby, and he didn’t really want to be reminded of that anymore.

“See! Too long ago.” Avery smiled, oblivious to his thoughts.

“We’ll be there for Christmas this year, right?” he distracted.

“Yeah, but we can go twice.”

“Tickets aren’t cheap, my darling.” he said glumly. He wanted her to drop the idea. He didn’t want to be in Finland for his birthday and drudge up forlorn memories.

“Don’t worry about the money. I just need the okay from you.”

“Your wish.”

His grip on her hand unintentionally tightened as he tensed, and Avery caught his reluctance to the idea now. She didn’t understand why he was so hesitant, though. Her cheerful attitude dropped. “We don’t have to, I, uh, I just thought it’d be nice.”

“Yeah, and we can.” He insisted, if only for her sake.

“No, it’s fine.” She said curtly.

He stepped away to catch a cab. They got inside, huddled next to each other, and she gave the intersection of their apartment building to the taxi driver. Ville rolled down the window and pulled out a cigarette, which he quickly lit. Surprisingly, he hadn’t had his usual dose of nicotine for most of the night, but Avery was still unsettled by the idea of smoking around the baby. As soon as the cigarette hit his lips, she uneasily slipped out of his grasp.

“Babe, please put that out.” she whispered, her tone a little harsher than she meant for it to come out.

“What? Why?” he asked, confused.

“Because it’s--it’s not good for you.”

“Honey, I’ve been smoking since I was sixteen.” he assured with a charming smile. “It doesn’t matter how many more of these I smoke, the damage has been done."

“...Then--then, I don’t know. I suppose it’s not good for me.” she said nervously.

Ville’s hand froze by the window, and the smoke of the cigarette trailed outside. His eyes narrowed as he tried to come up with an explanation as to what she meant. He had been smoking throughout their entire relationship, and he didn’t understand why it was a problem now.

“Ave... “ he started with a low voice. “What are you talking about?”

Her eyes widened since she realized what she'd said. Avery, now that they had moved past the initial rejoice of seeing each other again, was struck by reality. She was no longer stuck in the clouds--in the daydreams of being with her doting husband in the fantasyland of New York City. Now that she was sitting in the cab on their way home, she remembered that she was pregnant. She remembered the news of Ville drinking again and that she needed to talk to him about it. Sitting in such a confined space, Avery remembered that although they loved each other and loved to reminisce upon their relationship, there were things they weren’t telling each other. Important things.

What Natali had told her added to her already long list of worries about the baby. Avery was concerned about her husband’s state of mind as they readied for the new addition, even though he didn’t even know that she was pregnant. She chewed her bottom lip. She wanted to tell him everything, but Avery couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the pregnancy like this. Not in the back of a cab, and certainly not in the middle of the fight that was brewing. That’s not the way she wanted things to go.

He looked at her, waiting for answer. As she subtly scooted away to the other window, she mumbled, “You know what I mean, Ville. Smoking affects the people around you, too.”

Ville was stunned. This was seemingly out of nowhere, and though she deflected effortlessly, it was obvious that this bothered her. Annoyed by her rebuttals, he countered tensely, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“I don’t know. Do you wanna drop that tone?” she returned the stern attitude.

Ville let out an exasperated sigh. He put out the cigarette and rolled up the window. “Where is this coming from?”

“What do you mean?” she said, still refusing to look him in the eye. He’d be able to tell from the look on her face that she was hiding something.

“We’ve been together for eight years, and this has never come up before. What’s gotten into you that you’ve now brought it up twice in the same day? Within a matter of hours, in fact.”

Avery stuttered to come up with an explanation. What could she say other than the truth? Her gaze dropped to her lap, and she blinked several times, dismissing the topic. She looked out the window and muttered, “Nevermind.”

“Hey,” Ville furrowed his brows. “Sweetheart, look at me… What is it? Why does this matter to you all of a sudden?”

“It’s nothing, Ville.” She gave a brazen smile. “Do whatever makes you happy.”

Ville backpedaled. “Avery. Tell me the truth.”

“Because… because we’re... trying for a baby, and I don’t want anything to fuck it up.” The words flew out of her mouth like poison, and she suddenly didn’t care about the cab driver sitting in front of her who could hear every word. Her mind was telling her to abort the mission, to stop talking, but she could tell that it was too late. Ville was fuming, and rightfully so.

“And you think my smoking is going to fuck it up?” he mocked. He thought it was an absurd idea.

Avery was facing the window with her thumb between her teeth as her elbow rested against the window. She was frustrated because she hadn’t meant to ignite the conversation like this. He was pushing her, though, testing her patience. Ignoring his question, she kept her eyes focused on the scenery and away from his face, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Is there something you want to tell me?” she repeated coldly, looking him in the eyes now. Her irises were opened wide to allow as much light inside as possible while she tried to see his face in the dark cab. The passing streetlights would occasionally illuminate his face with an orange glow, allowing her to note his pensive stare back at her.

When he replied, his voice was softer, almost like he was admitting defeat. “Well, you obviously seem to know something, so why don’t you just talk to me straight about it?”

“Because I want to know if you’ll even admit it.”

“Avery.” he warned and she knew not to push his limits anymore.

“I know that you were drinking--”

He sighed. “That’s what this is about? That’s nothing.”

“Don’t you dare start with me right now, Valo.” Her mood was bitter, and she spat each word with a mix of hatred and disappointment. Hardly above a whisper, Avery continued, fighting back tears, “You promised. You told me you were done with the alcohol.”

“And I was! I mean… I am! I am done with it.” he insisted.

“Then why--Why would someone tell me that you were drinking, Ville?”

“It was a slip-up! I couldn’t help it.” he excused.

“What do you mean you couldn’t help it? It’s a temptation you’ve been able to resist before… for several years, in fact. What-what’s changed?” Avery asked. He sighed, unable to answer her. He didn’t want to tell her the truth, and this time, she was the one pushing him. She repeated, “What’s changed? What aren't you telling me?”

Ville unwillingly opened his mouth to explain. “You--you’ve had your time and your peace to deal with what happened in January, and I--I don’t know. I just kind of stowed it away, I guess. And it’s been fine--it’s been manageable,” he corrected, “when we’ve been together."

"But?"

"But when I was on the road, I was--I would wake up sweating from nightmares about it. It got to me… and I needed a drink to help me forget, baby.”

“Then why didn’t you come to me?” she begged, brushing away her tears. “What made you believe that you didn’t have anywhere to turn but the bottle?”

“How could I come to you? You were getting better, you were just getting better dealing with it, and there was no reason to pile onto your plate.”

Avery reeled back, stunned by his confession. She didn’t know what to say or what to think. He was her everything, and she so badly wanted to take away the pain. “How could you think like that? After everything we’ve been through, you’ve always been there for me. Why would you think that I wouldn’t be there for you?”

“Because!”

“Because what?” she seethed. She may have been hurt, but she was definitely still angry.

“Okay, Ave, this... this is getting out of hand. It’s not a conversation to have in the back of a cab. We can talk about it when we get home.”

“Not when we get home.” she said defiantly. “Now. Why didn’t you come to me for help?”

“Because you were--” Ville bit his tongue. No, he couldn’t say that to her face; it would crush her.

“Because I was, what?” She could see him hesitate to continue, so she repeated, “‘Because I was,’ what, Ville? Finish that sentence!”

“Because you were ready to leave me! You were ready to leave this life, and I wasn’t ready to let you go! I didn’t want to put you in that place again.”

Avery froze. This is exactly what she had feared: a lack of communication and a constant worry--all because she couldn’t carry a baby. If she had only been strong enough the first time to keep him out of the trouble, Avery couldn’t even imagine how different the past six months would have been.

He saw the impact of his words, the guilt was clearly written on her face, and he shook his head regretfully. He never meant for that to come out; Ville never wanted her to know about any of this. He tried to put his arm around her waist, and she pushed him away, letting the tears fall.

“No! You can’t kiss me and make it all better.” she cried. “I can’t believe that you’d hold that against me, against our relationship. What can I do to prove to you that--”

It all happened so fast. One minute she was in the middle of a long winded speech fueled by her frustration. She wasn’t angry at him, no. She was angry at herself, frustrated with herself. Everything always came down to her and what she’d done wrong. If only she had done things differently, they wouldn’t be here now. That’s what she was trying to do with handling the second pregnancy: fix things.

The next minute there was 4x4 truck where Avery had been only moments ago. Ville was so focused on the fight that he hadn’t even seen where the truck came from. Given the speed with which it all happened, he didn’t even have the time to react. All he could see was his wife in the backseat of the cab; her eyes were wide open and her mouth slightly agape. The window had shattered, and shards of glass covered the skirt of her dress, slicing cuts across her legs. The door of the cab was crushed, contorting her posture.

She seemed like she was miles away from him; Ville had hit his arm against the side of the cab when it collided with a telephone pole. His right side throbbed from the force, but he tried his best to keep his eyes open and on Avery’s face. He feared that if he blinked, he may never see her again.

At the late hour, there weren’t many other cars in the streets. The sound of the impact dissipated into the quiet night, and everything was still. It took a few minutes, but slowly, Ville began to react. Avery’s body, bent out of shape, was at the other end of the taxi. He grunted as he tried to move to get closer to her. His body was paralyzed in the cramped position in the corner of the car, but he struggled against it to be with her. At the sound of muffled words, he froze. She was saying something. What was she saying?

“Mm…” she said with half-open lids.

“Hm?” was the only syllable Ville could manage to get out.

“No. Stay.” she struggled to whisper. His eyes started to droop as the shock overwhelmed him. As he started to slip away, he could barely make out the words as Avery said, “Love you.”

“Love you. Love you, Ave.” he mumbled over and over again, desperately trying to make sure she heard him.

Ville could hear the faint sirens of the ambulance that approached. They were going to be here soon. They would save them. Ville and Avery would be okay. Ville and Avery were in love, and they would be okay.