Heartkiller

Chapter Eight: Under the Rose

I open my eyes with a sigh of relief
As the warmth of summer sunlight dances around me
And I see you with dead leaves in your hands

Saturday, February 17, 2007

“Ave! Are you almost ready?” Ville called from the living room.

He was sitting on the couch reading a psychological thriller, one of his favorites, as he waited for Avery. They were going to the Hamptons to meet her parents today, and he was ready to go. Ville was dressed in a pair of jeans and a navy blue button-up shirt. Instead of his regular beanie, he opted for a knit hat with a soft brim. His hair had been neatly styled, though it flowed freely in its natural curls.

“Almost!” she responded from the bedroom.

He sighed and went to the window for a smoke. He was nervous about the meeting, and cigarettes would bring him much needed comfort. He leaned against the window pane and looked around: there were skyscrapers surrounding him, limiting any possible view of the February sky. The weather was brisk with light winds, but rather warm for the season, reaching almost 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Ville looked out at his reflection in the window of the building across the street; the details were muddled both by the distance and the glass.

“What do you think?” Avery asked as she joined him in the living room.

She spun around to give him a 360-view of her dress. It was a yellow backless haltered sundress that reached her knees and had a pleated skirt. Her hair was left down in waves and her makeup was light.

“You look wonderful, darling.” he replied.

“Thank you.” she said with a smile. "You don't think it's too Southern belle?"

"Maybe a little, but it suits you. I like it."

She spotted the cigarette between his fingers and knew what that meant. Walking closer, she enveloped him into a hug, hoping to ease his anxiety. She pulled away but left her arms around his neck.

“Don’t be nervous. You’ll be fine, I know it.” she reassured.

He exhaled, making sure to blow the smoke away from her face. He pulled her in for a kiss, and she could smell the pungent odor of the nicotine on his breath.

“I hope so.” he said.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Avery took his hand in hers and started to lead them towards the doorway. He crushed the remainder of his cigarette underneath his boot and followed her out of the apartment. They went down the elevator, and she unlocked the car she had rented for the day. It was parked in front of the building, and the couple got inside. After buckling their seatbelts, Avery pulled out into the traffic and started the journey. East Hampton was almost a hundred miles away, making it a two-hour ride.

“I didn’t know you had a driver’s license.” he commented once they got onto the Long Island Expressway.

“I have one, but I haven’t driven in a while.”

“Is it safe to be in the car?” he joked.

“Shut up, Ville.” she replied with a laugh. She then muttered under her breath: “Cross your fingers.”

“What was that?” he asked, pretending as though he hadn’t heard.

“Oh, nothing.”

“Uh huh.” he said sarcastically, knowing full well what she had said.

“I brought a few CDs, if you wanna pop something in. They’re in my purse.”

Ville picked up the purse from the space between them and looked at it. He was intimidated by its size didn’t know where to start looking. She saw him hesitate out of the corner of her eye and giggled.

“In the front pocket, bub.” she directed.

He flipped open the first pocket and pulled out a few CDs. He leafed through them to see what she had packed and ended up popping in a Depeche Mode album. She heard the opening chords of Personal Jesus and was surprised.

“Really? I thought for sure you would have wanted Sabbath.” she commented.

“I can’t listen to Sabbath on anything but a vinyl player, doll. It’s sacrilege.” he said seriously.

“That’s hilarious. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, then.” she said with a giggle.

She merged lanes and settled into her seat. Avery spotted Ville’s leg jiggling up and down with nerves. She put her hand on his thigh and gently rubbed back and forth soothingly. His leg relaxed to a stop.

“You’ll be fine, Ville.”

“I’m not nervous!” he insisted.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“Okay, a little nervous.” he conceded.

“Don’t be. I’ve told them all about you, and they already like you. Besides, I know they wouldn’t give you a hard time.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re the first boyfriend they’ve met since Michael.” she confessed. “I’m sure they’re happy that I’ve finally met someone worth bringing home. They wouldn’t risk ruining that.”

Michael was the married man who had cheated on his family with Avery. Although she was only trying to console him, it didn’t help to know that the last person her parents had met had basically ruined it for anyone else thereafter. She didn’t feel like anybody she had been with was worth bringing home. Until Ville. He was silent and she realized what she had just said.

“That didn’t make things any better did it?” she asked.

“Worse, actually.” Ville admitted.

“I’m sorry.”

She caught his left hand with her right and intertwined their fingers. She drove with her left arm draped at the top of the wheel so that she could maintain control of the car and still hold his hand. Avery absentmindedly rubbed circles with her thumb into his hand as she drove.

“When was that?” he asked after a silence.

“When was what?”

“When did your parents meet Michael? How long ago?” he asked, turning in his seat to face her.

“About five years. Almost six.”

His grip tightened slightly but not enough to hurt her.

“You didn’t--you didn’t date anyone after that?”

She shrugged. “I did. Just nobody I wanted my parents to meet.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She sighed deeply and withdrew her hand. This was a sensitive topic, and Avery thought she had told him as much as he needed to know on their first date. What happened between the time she stopped dating Michael and started seeing Ville seemed irrelevant to her; it was embarrassing for her to admit, and she was hoping he wouldn’t ask. As was usually the case, she had started saying things she shouldn’t have been talking about. If only Avery had kept her mouth shut about the last time her parents had met a boyfriend, the issue wouldn’t have even come up. Now that he was asking questions, she knew she had to tell him the whole story. Avery groaned internally.

“I,um, I was a wreck after the whole affair. You know, when I found out about what happened--about what I did--I was… I felt sick to my stomach. I felt disgusted about myself and ashamed and embarrassed.” She shuddered to shake the memory and continued while focusing on the traffic. “I didn’t date anybody for a while. The initial shock of the revelation wore off, and I became engrossed in my schoolwork. I threw myself into my studies so that I didn’t have any time to think about it all. I was a hermit, of sorts. I was lonely... and after some time I shifted to the other end of the spectrum."

"Meaning?" Ville probed.

"As in, I sort of maybe possibly became... a slut. I had a string of one night stands for about six months. Then I graduated college, started at Sterling-Ellis, and dated bad people. Douchebags, really. They treated me poorly, and so, you know, I didn’t bring them home to meet my parents. Why would I?"

Her voice was strained as she tried to hold back her anger at herself. Avery had gone from feeling sorry for herself to being angry at her actions. A married man? How could she get involved with a married man? She was upset that she could have allowed herself to be put in such circumstances. That’s the kind of person she was; she only blamed herself in all this.

“What do you mean they treated you poorly?” he asked suspiciously, and his jaw tightened. “Did-did they ever hit you?”

Avery scoffed. “Do you honestly think I would have let a man put his hands on me? No… no, nothing like that happened. It was never physical abuse. I dabbled in drugs with guys at some point, but it wasn’t my thing. These people I was with, they--you know, they strung me along and cheated on me. They stomped all over my heart. It was emotional abuse, which, I would argue, is much worse than physical abuse. Punches and slaps, that I can handle, but what these guys did was tie a knot around my heart and pull it tighter and tighter.”

"Why would you do that to yourself if you knew they were bad people?"

She didn't respond and stared straight ahead at the road.

"Ave? Don't tell me you thought you were a bad person?" he urged.

"I didn't think that. I knew I was!" She snapped. "I broke up a family, and I'm never going to be able to forgive myself for that. His kids are growing up without their father in their lives all because some dumb blonde was fucking him when he was already married to their mother, who rightfully divorced his ass. I was a bad person who didn't fucking deserve to be happy after doing something so awful.”

She paused before continuing.

“I deserve to be played with like a toy and thrown off to the corner without a second glance. Why? Because I’m worthless. Because I’m a bad person.” Without stopping for a breath, she blurted: “Even now, I-I barely understand how you could be with me after knowing what I did. Maybe you're just as bad as I am."

Avery was speaking in anger, but there was some truth to her caustic words. She thought Ville was way too good for her; he was a rockstar who could have any girl his poetic heart desired. What was so special about a stuck-up lawyer from the City with a big mouth?

Ville stayed silent. He didn’t know what to say. He was absolutely appalled, both by her poor impression of herself and by what she had accused him of being. Did she really think there were any more skeletons in his closet that he was hiding from her? In the past five months that they had been together, Ville had disclosed everything about his past. From the hash habit he had picked up during touring to the antics he had gone through with Jonna, he had told her everything because he trusted her. Avery had also told him about her, but she had focused on her childhood, school, and college--everything before Michael. Ville found her to be so clever and witty that it drew him in. For her to think that he had anything left to hide was a little insulting. At his silence, Avery snuck a peek at him and saw the hurt in his eyes.

Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck. She thought.

That was a little too much, and she wanted nothing more than to rewind the last five seconds so she could prevent herself from uttering that last sentence. Avery waited for him to say something, anything. But he just stared out of his window to avoid looking at her. She felt terrible and waited a few minutes to apologize. Her hands wringed the steering wheel to release the tension.

"Ville, look, I'm sorry." She said.

He still didn't look at her, tuning out the sound of her voice by focusing on the music. Avery didn't want to continue their journey when he was still upset, and she certainly didn't want to show up to her parents' house when they were in the middle of a fight. She pulled the car over into the shoulder lane so that she could look him in the eyes while she spoke. After turning off the music, she took Ville's hands in hers; he looked at the window past her, but at least now he was facing her.

"Ville, I'm really sorry. I tend to say things I don't mean just to win an argument."

"I didn't realize we were arguing. I thought we were just having a conversation." He said, making eye contact.

"Right, we were, but then I was there again. I was in that moment, looking at the family portrait in his wallet for the first time when I found out, and it just made me so flustered. It made me lash out and say stupid things. It was wrong. I was wrong. I'm sorry."

Avery kissed his hands a couple times and then pecked his lips. She pulled away but held her face near his.

"I'm sorry, Ville. I obviously don't think you're a bad person when I'm driving you all this way to meet the most important people in my life, aside from you. I think you're amazing. You're thoughtful," she kissed his cheek. "You're romantic." And again. "And creative." Again. "And inspirational." She kept kissing his cheek after every adjective but made her way toward his lips. "And sweet. And you're so so good to me. You're the best. I'm so incredibly sorry for what I said. You’re not a bad person."

She kissed his lips, and this time he kissed her back. They pulled away and kept their eyes closed.

"I accepted your apology the third time you said you were sorry. I just wanted to see how far you would go to prove it." He said.

"Ass." She muttered and broke from him to start the car again.

The area they were driving through vastly contrasted the city. The skyscrapers had been replaced by open green pastures, and the crowded streets of New York were nowhere to be seen. The two-lane highway was clear and the next car couldn’t be seen for several hundred feet. Avery and Ville spent the rest of the ride listening to music and stealing kisses. No matter how hard he tried to relax, Ville couldn’t; he was smoking up a storm and nearly finished his half-empty pack by the time they reached her parents’ house. They pulled up in front of the beach-front property and she parked the car.

The three-story English style house was white with blue trimmings. The front yard had a huge lawn and a driveway that curved to the doorway of the home. Avery had parked the car a few feet past the entrance, and they got out of the car. They met at the rear of the car, and she pulled him into a hug.

“Like I said, you’ll be fine. They’re probably more nervous than you are.” she assuaged.

Ville smiled and kissed her. He had a bouquet of flowers for her mother in one hand, so she took his other hand and led them to the door where she rang the doorbell.

“Avery! Hello, hello, I’m so glad you finally made it.” her mother said when she opened the door.

“Hi, mom,” she greeted and gave her a hug. “Mom, this is my boyfriend, Ville. Honey, this is my mother, Grace.”

“Hi,” he said and handed her the flowers. “These are for you.”

“Hello, darling,” she said and hugged him. “Oh, thank you, they’re lovely...come in, come in.”

Grace opened the door wider and the couple walked inside. The foyer had a large spiraling staircase leading to the other levels. The floors were all hardwood of a deep reddish-brown color. There were a few vases filled with daisies and a painting on the wall next to the doorway.

“Your father is in the backyard bringing Irene in.” her mother informed.

“Nana’s here?” Avery asked eagerly.

Immediately he disappeared into the house in search of her paternal grandmother. Grace turned to Ville as she continued.

“Avery has told us all about you. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” he said with a smile.

“Are you really a rockstar?”

“Of sorts.”

“That’s so exciting! You have to tell us all about it over lunch.” she said and led him to the backyard where Avery was.

Avery was the spitting image of her mother. It was like looking at Avery in 25 years. Save for a few grey hairs, she didn’t look a day over 40. Ville followed Grace through the large house to the backyard.

“What are you doing here, Nana?” Avery asked her grandmother who was coming up the porch steps after her morning walk.

“I was tired of being at the senior home. It got lonely there.” she replied. Her voice wavered due to her age as she struggled to speak.

“Well, it’s nice to see you at home. I’m glad you’re here.” she gave her a hug. “I want you to meet someone. He’s inside--oh nevermind, he’s here. Nana, this is Ville, my boyfriend. Ville, this is my grandmother.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Ville said as he bent down to give her a hug.

“Smoker, huh?” she commented.

Ville agreed uneasily, thinking she was pointing out a flaw. Her next words surprised him.

“Can I bum a smoke?” she asked.

“Um, I--” he started to say.

“You shouldn’t be smoking, Nana!” Avery admonished.

“The senior home wouldn’t let me do that, either, and that’s why I got out. I don’t have very long left, and I’m gonna spend my days doing what I want to. If I wanna smoke, I’m gonna do just that, and you're not gonna stop me.” she said with a huff.

Ville looked to Avery who gave him the ‘okay’ signal. He fished a cigarette out of his pack and gave it to her. Once she put it in her mouth, he lit it up for her.

“Ah, that hits the spot.” she said after blowing a few puffs. “Thanks, honey.”

“You’re welcome.” he replied.

“There’s my girl!” a man said as he rounded the corner of the house.

He was a few inches taller than Ville and his hair was dark with shocks of grey. His skin was tan and wrinkled, and he had blue eyes. With the biggest smile on his face, he wrapped his arms around his daughter.

“Daddy! How are you?”

“I’m good, Avery. Nice to finally see you around here. What? Did you lose the address or something? Forget how to get home?” he asked.

It seems that Avery got her wit and sarcasm from her father.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll try and come by more often. I want to you to meet my boyfriend, Ville. Sweetie, this is my father, Easton.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Ville said as he shook his hand.

“Oh, don’t call me sir, boy. It makes me feel a lot older than I am. Easton is just fine.” he said with a hearty laugh. “Come on, let’s get inside for some lunch.”

The couple went inside as her father stayed outside to coax his mother into coming into the house.

“Not so bad, right?” Avery whispered to Ville.

“So far, so good.” he replied.

She walked a few paces ahead of him and led the way to the dining room.

“Where’s Brody, mom?” she asked.

“Your brother is still in Princeton. He didn’t come home this weekend.” she responded as she finished setting the table.

“Why not? Didn’t you tell him I was coming?”

“Of course, I did. He has midterms and things for this quarter, so he can’t be here. He’s studying. Sends his love, though.”

“Uh huh. That munchkin.” Avery joked.

They sat at the table, and Easton and Irene joined them moments later. Everybody held hands around the table for prayer. Ville was unsure at first but went along with it.

“Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food and for the health and safety of this family. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.” Easton prayed.

“Potatoes, please.” Avery said immediately and started reaching for the bowl.

Everybody started to serve themselves, and Easton made conversation.

“So, what’s the life of a rockstar like?” he asked.

“Hectic.” Ville admitted. “It calls for a lot of time spent on the plane.”

“Where have you been so far?”

“Um, we’ve been to Europe, almost all the countries there to visit the main cities especially. We’ve been to...Canada, Australia, a few cities in Japan, and Brazil. We haven’t been to Asia much.”

“Where have you been within the US?” Grace asked.

“We finished up a tour here a few months ago, and we went to California, Texas, and New York obviously. I have a horrible memory, so I really can only remember the major ones.” he said. “Our music is just starting to hit the States, but we’ve got a decent following in Europe. Our last album, Dark Light, was the first Finnish album to hit gold in the US, so we’re making progress.”

“That’s fantastic!” Grace said.

“She has no idea what hitting gold means in that context, babe.” Avery said with a smile.

“Oh, sorry, it means it sold more than half a million copies.” Ville added.

“See, I knew it was a good thing.” Grace said.

“Yeah, but you still didn’t know what it meant exactly.” Avery pointed out.

“It’s not about the money though. I’m just glad people are interested in our music. That’s all that matters.” Ville continued.

“That’s a good attitude to have.” Easton beamed. “Your parents must be very proud of you.”

“They are.”

“What do they do for a living?”

“My mum works for the city of Helsinki, and my dad...” he hesitated. “He owns a business.”

“What kind of business?”

He knew her family was quite religious, as he had just seen after the prayer before the meal, and was apprehensive about this question. Avery saw him struggle to answer.

“He owns a sex shop, daddy.” she answered.

“Oh, fancy. A small business owner. That’s very commendable.” Easton said.

He didn’t seem bothered in the slightest that the business Ville’s father happened to own was a sex shop. He found it strange that Easton didn’t have the reaction Ville was expecting.

“Maybe you and I should drop by one of these days and buy stuff for our collection, honey.” her father continued to Grace.

Ville was drinking water and he choked out of sheer surprise for the statement. Avery patted his back to help him clear his throat, but she had no other response to her father’s words. By this point, she had gotten used to his humor and knew that he was only kidding; Ville, on the other hand, was completely caught off guard.

“I’m just kidding.” Easton said with a laugh. “I think we have enough toys.”

“Daddy!” Avery warned with her hand over her face. She was thoroughly embarrassed.

“Jokes, Ave, jokes. Ville thought it was funny, didn’t you?”

“Um, sure. Yeah.” Ville agreed reluctantly.

“Relax, I’m just pulling your leg, Ville.” he said with a smile. “I’m sure Avery would enjoy it more if we were to talk about her. An embarrassing childhood story, perhaps?”

“Oh, please don’t.” Avery cautioned.

“Did she ever tell you about the time she broke her mother’s pearl necklace and blamed it on the dog?”

“That’s not so embarrassing.” Ville comforted her.

“We didn’t have a dog.” she deadpanned.

“Oh.”

“She was seven, maybe eight, years old.” Grace started to recall. “She was playing dress-up with my belongings while I was at work, and the nanny was busy watching her brother, Brody, who was only a four months old at the time. She was putting on my makeup and perfume. When she tried on the pearls, she stretched the necklace too far and it broke apart. When I got home, she told me that the dog did it, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter long enough to be angry at her.”

Ville turned to Avery for an explanation.

“I don’t know where I got the dog idea from. I knew they existed and that people blamed things on the dog, so I just put it together.” she said.

“That’s funny.” he said with a smirk.

“Hilarious.” she countered, although she wasn’t amused.

The lunch continued with her family sharing embarrassing stories about her while she hid her face in shame. She tried to explain herself at first, but then lost hope when they jumped to the next story. Ville was really enjoying hearing this side of her. He held her left hand under the table to try and appease her, but it didn’t help. When they finished lunch, Avery’s grandmother went upstairs to take a nap while the others went to the backyard for a walk along the beach.

“Ville, why don’t you walk with me for a minute?” Easton suggested.

“Yeah, sure.” he said.

Ville hung back with Easton while Avery and Grace walked near the water.

“So what do you think, mom?” she asked.

“He seems nice, Ave. Really nice. He’s a really good person.”

“So you like him?” she beamed.

“Of course. He cares about you a lot.”

“I care about him.”

“I’m glad you brought him over... Did you tell him… about Michael?” she asked.

The two were at the edge of the water, letting the waves lick their feet. They stood and let the warm breeze overtake them.

“Yeah, I did.” Avery said, fidgeting with her hands. Grace caught them and pulled her hands apart to stop her.

“And what did he say?”

“He was beyond understanding. He said it wasn’t my fault, and that I couldn’t have known he was married.” Avery chewed her lip to release her tension and uneasiness at the topic. “Ville, he’s... he’s been really good to me. I actually sort of messed up on the way over.”

“By doing what?”

“I basically told him he was a bad person for being with someone like me after knowing what I did.”

Grace waited and cleared her throat. “And what did he say to that?”

“He was upset that I would ever accuse him of something so absurd... Then he forgave me.”

Grace didn’t say anything, so Avery turned to look at her mother. She had a knowing smile on her face, like she knew something her daughter didn’t.

“What?” Avery asked.

“Nothing.”

“Ma. Tell me.” she insisted.

“It’s nothing.”

Avery gave up and knew her mother wouldn’t tell her. She turned around to look at her father and Ville standing next to each other deep in conversation.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Avery asked.

Grace looked over her shoulder at her husband.

“You.”

“You think he’s giving Ville a hard time?”

“I don’t think so. I’m sure they’re good things.”

“Right, after that whole thing at lunch?” Avery countered. “Did you really have to bring up the fact that I peed in my bed until I was five?”

Grace chuckled but didn’t say anything. Avery turned to call out to her father when a searing pain shot up her left leg and she fell to her knees, clutching her leg tightly to her chest.

“Ah, fuck.” she winced with pain.

“What’s wrong, honey?” her mother bent down and asked; her voice was heavy with concern.

Immediately, Easton and Ville ran over to see what happened. Avery rocked back and forth while holding her knee to her chest.

“My ankle hurts, I don’t know what happened.” she said and tears fell down her cheeks.

“Let’s get her inside.” her mother instructed.

Ville picked her up bridal style and hurried back into the house. He was careful to make sure her leg didn’t hit anything on the way, and Grace led him to the living room. He set her on the couch that was there, and Grace brought over an ice pack for her to hold against her ankle.

“Let’s see what’s going on.” her mother said.

She flicked her daughter’s hands away so that she could examine her ankle. Although her field of expertise was cardiothoracic surgery, Grace was still skilled enough to discern physical injuries..

“What is it?” Easton asked as he came into the room.

“It looks like a sprained ankle from overextending a ligament.” Grace said. “Honey, just hold this ice pack against it for a while. And here, keep it elevated. I don’t have anything here to x-ray it; you’re gonna need to go to the doctor.”

“No, no, it’s fine. They’re just gonna x-ray it to tell me what you already know. Can’t you just put a bandage or something over it? Just until I get to the city, and I’ll get it looked at.”

Her mother hesitated.

“Yeah, I’ll put bandage over it and hold it together. Ice it for a few minutes first. You can spend the night here and--”

“No, I can’t. I gotta get home, ma.”

“You can’t drive like that.” she turned to Ville. “Do you drive?”

“No, I don’t have a license.”

“I don’t even need my left leg to drive, mom. It’s fine.”

“Why don’t you just spend the night? It’s Saturday. What could you need to be doing tomorrow that’s so urgent?”

“Mom, I can’t stay. Ville can’t stay. We have to go.”

“I can stay if we need to.” Ville cut in and received a glare from Avery. He wasn’t helping.

“Even if he could, the car is a rental, and I have to--”

“You got a rental? Why don’t you buy a car for yourself?” her mother lectured.

“Really? Is that what’s important in this conversation right now?” Avery said impassively. “Look, just do something to keep it bearable until I get home, and I’ll go see a doctor. I swear, I will.”

“There’s no need to swear.” her mother pointed out.

She left to get supplies, and Avery rolled her eyes. Ville sat down next to her and held her hand. Grace returned with some bandages and a clip to hold it in place. She moved the ice pack so she could look at the ankle, and Avery winced in pain. The ice had brought her comfort, and the open air wasn’t helping. Her mother delicately wrapped the ankle with the bandage and inserted the metal clip to hold it together.

“Can I get some painkillers?” Avery asked.

“If I give you anything, you can’t operate heavy machinery, meaning you can’t drive for at least four hours.”

“Okay, I’ll just have to hold the ice pack to it, then.” she sighed. “Anyway, we should get going.”

“Okay, let me help you up.” Ville said.

She stood up on her right leg and Ville put her arm over his shoulders. He held onto her side to guide her and Easton came up on the other side of her to help. Her father mimicked Ville’s posture, and they led her outside to the car with Grace following close behind with Avery’s purse. They stopped in front of the car door.

“It was lovely to meet you.” Ville said.

“Oh, it was. If you ever need anything, just let us know.” Grace grinned.

“It was nice meeting you, Ville. Take care of my girl.” Easton advised.

“I will.” Ville said with a smile.

“Alright, we should get going. Bye guys. Tell Nana I said bye.” Avery said.

“We will. Make sure you give us a call when you get home. Drive safe.” Grace warned.

“I will, I will.” she said with an eyeroll.

Once they said their goodbyes, Avery and Ville got in the car and they pulled out of the driveway.

“Why didn’t you want to spend the night?” Ville asked.

“Because we have to return the car.”

“That’s not until Monday. What’s the real reason? Why didn’t you want to stay?”

Avery sighed. “Because I didn’t want my mother to check on me every five minutes about my ankle and treat me like a child.”

“She’s just trying to take care of you.”

“I know, but I just don’t like being babied like that. My mom tends to go a little overboard.”

“Sounds like a good mother.” he countered.

She changed the subject. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? Aside from my sprained ankle.”

“No, it wasn’t.” he chuckled. “You’re grandmother was rather quiet though. I hope I didn’t offend her or anything.”

“I’m sure you didn’t. Nana’s been rather moody these days. My grandfather passed away a year ago, and she hasn’t been the same since. She’s the last of my grandparents left. My favorite, too.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, she was really fun. When I was younger, she took me to the circus when it came into town. When I got home from school, she would take my brother and me to the ice cream parlor. My mother would get angry for having dessert before dinner, but my grandma always waved it off and told her to let us enjoy our childhood. I don't know, she was always really good to me... What did my father say to you, by the way?”

“When?”

“When he pulled you aside for a one-on-one. I hope he didn’t give you a hard time.”

Avery merged onto the highway, and they started their journey toward the city. They had spent four hours at her parents house, until her ankle decided to stop the party.

“No, no, he didn’t.”

“Well, what did he say?”

“That’s between the two of us.” He said with a hearty chortle.

“Are we gonna play this game? Really? I was turning around to see what you were talking about. That’s what made me sprain my ankle.”

“Is that supposed to soften me up and convince me?”

“...Maybe.” she said reluctantly.

“It didn’t. Look, I know my flight is Monday, but do you want me to stay for a while until your ankle gets better?” he offered.

“What for?”

“To help you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m gonna be heading back to work. I’ll go to the doctor, and he’ll end up giving me a brace or something for a few weeks, but I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”

“No, go ahead, Ville. You’re in the middle of recording an album... you have things to be doing for yourself. Don’t stop your plans because of my stupid ankle. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“If you ask me one more time, I’m gonna instate a Kissing Ban.“ she said with a smile.

"That's as much a punishment for you as it is for me." Ville pointed out.

"I think I could last."

"I don't think you could."

"Try me." She threatened playfully.

"I'd rather not."

"Thought so." Avery said smugly.

♠ ♠ ♠

The longest chapter so far! What did you think?