The Fastest Way Back Home (Java)

[ava louise riley]

There was something in his eyes that told her she'd messed up and she believed it. She'd messed it all up on a hunch and not even a good one. Her own eyes filled with pain as she listened to him ask her how she could think that he'd do something like that after what they'd been through. She didn't have an answer. Maybe deep down, she'd always been counting the days until he'd decide she wasn't enough and leave again... like things had been too good to be true, so her mind created some problem that wasn't there so she could leave first. It was stupid, all of it and she wished so badly she could turn back the clock but now it was evident that their problems were more than just some text messages. The woman on the other end didn't even matter anymore in the grand scheme of things. "I guess I didn't think." Ava replied to him, unsurely. Or maybe the simple truth was that she'd thought too much. She'd over analyzed the situation and jumped to conclusions and now here they were.

She watched as he pulled away, saying he should leave. All she wanted to do was go to him and tell him he didn't have to, but something inside her told her that for now it was for the best. They both needed to figure things out on their own before they could figure it out together. She needed to let him go for now. She nodded, standing up again and leaning against the front of the table. "Okay." She said, glad that at least he was still going to be in town. For some crazy reason, being back here, felt like the answer. It was where they'd began, where their family had began and just maybe, they'd find what they were looking for in the bubble. "Did you want me to drop him off to you tomorrow or did you want to come get him? I, uh, have an interview for a job so I think he'd rather be with you than tag along or be with Rachel.."

[jack edward riley]

He didn’t want to talk about it anymore and shook his head when she replied to him. He shouldn’t have said anything to begin with. “I’ll pick him up, just call the diner and let me know when you’re getting ready and I’ll get him.” He assured her with a nod. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her. He wanted the fight to end for now but knew that it wasn’t close to being over. If he were to look at her he’d ask to stay and that was the furthest thing from what they needed. He needed to go to the diner and clean up anyway. As far as he knew they had used the old apartment upstairs as a storage place when they had moved and there was still stuff there that they never brought to Tampa with them along with stuff that had been switched out of The Orchid or diner.

“I’ll lock up behind me. If you have a job interview tomorrow you should go back to sleep and not drink anymore of that stuff. Good luck tomorrow.” He said with a nod in her direction before walking out of the kitchen. If she was going for a job interview than that meant that she was thinking of Pleasant as a long term place to live didn’t it? Like even if he hadn’t showed up she would have stayed here permanently and maybe even contacted him one day to tell him that a moving truck was coming back for the rest of their things and that she wanted a divorce. It was better this way. He had a chance to fight for his family now and he wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[ava louise riley]

She let him move the conversation along, because like him, she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Not tonight, at least. She felt more worn out than she had all week and she knew that it wasn't physical, it was emotional. The coffee wasn't doing anything for that and she knew what she really needed was just a few hours of sleep. She nodded, when he said he'd come by. Was this how things were going to be now? It was so... unpleasant, respectful but unpleasant. So... official, like a business arrangement. "Thanks." she said with a small smile, the first of the night probably if she had to think about it. "He'll like it." She knew that the next morning she was going to have one excited boy, but she knew that they needed to talk more and decide what they wanted long-term from their relationship. Was it done or was there something left to fight for?

She nodded at his suggestion. 'Yeah, I'm just going to clean up." She said to him, knowing he was right. The fact that he'd wished her luck was also nice and kind of unexpected. Had she planned on staying there? Maybe, but all she knew was that even for a short term, she needed to work. She wasn't going to make Jack support them just because she'd chosen to leave, even if that was the way these things usually went. This wasn't a vacation for her, this was real life. "Night." She said to him as he left the room and soon after, she heard the door close and lock behind him. He was gone. Fuck.

She put her coffee cup on the counter and headed down the hallway into her bedroom. She walked over to the bed and sat down, pulling a framed picture from her nightstand. It was them at sixteen, just friends at the time, but even then she'd known they'd have some lasting. Somehow, she'd always known he was the one for her, even when she'd married Blake. Blake had just been the one to ask first. Now here they were and she just hoped that things would work out.

Placing the picture away and shutting the drawer, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Thoughts faded and soon, she found herself asleep for the first real sleep in days.