Tangled

Unshift 279

Unshift 279

279 Ava: Best Friends Together Again

Kellan nods reluctantly, trudging off the porch with slow steps. I shake my head, still smiling, and step inside.

“Lisa?” I call out. "It's safe to come out now. I've banished the big bad wolf."

A muffled curse comes from the direction of my bedroom, followed by the sound of shuffling feet. Lisa appears in the doorway, wrapped in'a towel, her wet hair dripping onto the shoulders.

"Is he really gone?" she asks, peering around me suspiciously.

I nod. "He's outside. I told him to give you some space."

Lisa's shoulders relax, and she pads over to the couch, sinking into it with a heavy sigh. "Thank God. I thought he was going to break down the bathroom door. I had to kick him out because he kept peeking in to make sure I was okay. While showering"

"Yes, I'm not surprised." I toss a few things at her to wear. Shirt, pants, underwear. "These aren't fancy, but none of us got to bring our wardrobe."

"I never realized what a luxury clothes are," Lisa agrees, unperturbed by the mismatched and style-less choices, hopping into the bathroom to get dressed. "Do you happen to have a hair dryer?" "Nope."

"Damn. Oh, well."

Lisa emerges from the bathroom, striking an exaggerated pose in the oversized clothes I've given her. The baggy fabric hangs off her frame, accentuating how thin she's become.

"How do I look?" she asks, her voice playful but strained.

My heart clenches painfully in my chest. "Fabulous as always," I manage, forcing a smile. "You could make a potato sack look good."

shadow of its former self, but it's there. She flops onto the couch, and I join her, our shoulders touching. For a moment, we just sit there, the silence heavy with unspoken words. "How are you really doing?" I ask

right now, if that's okay." She reaches for my hand, squeezing it tightly. "Can we just focus on the fact that I'm here? With you? God, Ava, I missed you so much." Guilt crashes over me like a tidal

interrupts, her voice gentle. "Don't do that

and painful. "There was no way to get to you. We didn't know where you were, and then we did, but we were powerless to save you immediately, and then... then there

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Ava: Best Friends Together

had to be there. I felt like I was

mine, her face somber. "Ava, stop. You don't need to explain. I get it, okay? I hate that our... our selfishness brought all this tragedy to Westwood. If anyone should be apologizing, it's me. I was with you every step of the way, whining and complaining. I'm the

to form words. We lapse into silence. There's so much I want to say, so many

sit, hands clasped, lost in

"So, do you have any coffee

so, but we'd have to let Kellan in. He's been feeding and

grin flashes across her face. "Though the food is always

"Still, he orders it."

that

"And olives."

and adds extra

too unhappy with

on her face disappears abruptly. "No. What the fuck, Ava. You don't understand. I was just standing there, and then this giant wolf comes out of nowhere growling and ready to tear us apart. All the other wolves don't even fight him, and

Ava. Not a peck. Not a smooch. He just grabbed me like this-" she moves her arms in the air around an imaginary figure, "-and just swooped

forward, resting my chin on my

eyes. "Okay, yes. It was mind-blowing. Like sex, but with only mouths. But everyone was watching. And then he picked me up

hide my amusement, I ask, “Did he

me within an inch of my life if I was ever kidnapped again. Oh, and then he threatened to