House of Cards (6 page)

Chapter 10
: No worse job than big brother duty.

Gabe’s POV

“Yeah, I’m waiting in the lobby for them to bring him down. I promise I’ll keep you updated
, Sis,” I tell her, trying to sound reassuring. I’ve been on the phone with Avalynn for the past hour. I don’t know how to comfort her, tell her that everything is going to work out; that he’ll remember everything and things will go back to normal. I can’t find it in me to reassure her of something that I don’t know for sure will happen. I do know, however, that she is a mess. I’ve never seen a woman cry so much in my entire life. Gram would have come to the hospital herself if I would have let her, but she was sick this morning. She could barely even get out of bed, so I brought breakfast to her. I’ve been staying in town for a couple of days, wanting to be near my brother and the FAM. It’s where I need to be right now.

Avalynn responds in short sentences. She
starts to ask me to tell Daxton that she loves him, but quickly takes back her statement. She claims to understand why we are keeping the truth from him, but I don’t fucking get it. Sure, I don’t want to be the one to send him through a backwards spiral, but I feel like if anyone can pull him out of this funk, it’s Ava. I’ve never seen my brother love anyone as much as he does her. Not even Krissi, contrary to popular belief. His love for Krissi was young, immature, and deceitful. Ava and he have created something completely pure and real… something I hope to have someday.

When I see the nurses wheel Daxton over, I let Ava know I’ll call her
with an update later and I quickly hang up the phone. I smile at my baby bro, happy to see him looking so much better.

“What’s up
, little man?” I ask him teasingly. He doesn’t look impressed. I wouldn’t expect anything different from him and it cracks me up.

“Never heard that one from any of the ladies
.” he retorts, causing me to laugh more.

“But seriously dude, you look much better.” I place my hand on his shoulder and grip.

“Don’t get all emotional on me now. I’m going to get enough of that when I see Gram and Krissi.” He says, shaking his head. “Krissi?” I ask. I know that he asked her up to the hospital, but I kind of assumed she’d be honest with him - at least about the fact that they weren’t together anymore.

“Yeah…you know…brunette, hot as hell…my girlfriend?” He looks at me odd
ly, like I’m the one who’s lost their mind.

“She’s not telling you everything dude
.” I respond and instantly regretting saying it.

“What are you talking about?” He questions.

“Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying.” I don’t want to be the one to tell him. I can’t hurt him anymore than I already have. This is finally my chance for redemption, to build that relationship back up with my brother that I’ve missed so badly. That fling with Krissi wasn’t fucking worth it. It’ll be something I’ll always regret - not to mention the fact that she never gave a damn about me. She used me to temporarily fill her void. Fuck that shit, I deserve way better.

I walk behind Daxton to push the wheelchair to my car, but he stops me.

“I can walk.” he states determinedly. I don’t argue - I know better than to argue with his stubborn ass. I’ll be right behind him, in case he falls, but I’m going to let him attempt to do this at least. He puts the brakes on and stands unsteadily, swaying back and forth for a couple of minutes to regain his balance, before putting one foot slowly in front of the other and walking to my car. I’m proud of him. He makes it, but seems extremely exhausted by the time I finally get him in the car. He doesn’t complain about it though; he’s always been a fighter. When our Mom left, it was him who comforted me. I’m the big brother, but I’ve never been able to act like it. He’s always been the strong one. I admire him more than he knows.

Before I have a chance to start the engine, Daxton stops me to ask a question.

“Who was on the phone? It must have been a chick by the grin on your face while you were talking.” Daxton winks at me and I almost throw up, suddenly feeling guilty. I have no reason to feel this way, but I hate withholding information from him when we are finally getting on a good level. I’m trying to take into consideration that it is for his best interest health wise, but I’m not so sure it’s best in every facet of his life to keep the truth from him.

I gulp and contemplate how to respond.

“Its okay brother, I get it. No need to explain. We all have our secrets.” he says with a smile. As much as I’d like to refute his statement, I think about the look on Gram’s face when she first heard about the accident, how much progress Daxton has made since, and I decide to seal my lips.

Regrettably,
I take him to his apartment. Krissi is waiting next to her car in skinny jeans and a tight red shirt that leaves little to the imagination - she’s obviously in it to win it. I can only hope that Daxton’s memory comes back before he does something he’ll never be able to forgive himself for. I know for a fact that hurting Avalynn would be his biggest regret.

“Do me a favor
, Dax,” I request seriously. “Just take things slow with Krissi. Like I said, you don’t know everything - take my word for it man.” He nods his head, looking out the window mesmerized at her before glancing at me with a facial expression saying he’s not going to take anything slow. Simply, that scares the fuck out of me. There’s nothing I can do, though. Not without potentially hurting my brother and pissing off my entire family …again.

He gets out of the car slowly, without my help
, and makes his way over to Krissi. She helps him inside and turns around to smile at me. I don’t return the gesture. I really just want to flip her dumb ass the bird, but I refrain. Definitely don’t need to get into it with Daxton over her.

As soon as they are out of sight, I lose my shit. Pure anger boils inside of me
; I’ve never felt so fucking confused in my entire life. I push everything I’m feeling down to the bottom of my stomach and muster up enough calmness to call Avalynn and let her know that he is home and safe. I don’t tell her about Krissi, I just can’t yet - it would kill her. Damn, it’s tough being the deciding factor on everyone else’s fate. I’d like to worry about my own damn self for once. This must be my karma for fucking up to begin with; I guess it could be a lot worse.

Hell, I think I’m going to stay single for a long while. All this drama is even hurting my heart.

Chapter 11:

T
rying to make it through.

***Faith***

I never
in a million years thought that I’d be spending my Friday afternoon hanging out with a six year old. But, here I am, picking her up for the third day in a row. I don’t mind, the kid definitely has spunk. I’m growing more attached to her every day that we spend together. It’s not like I have much of a social life lately, unless you count wallowing in self-pity at the bottom of a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Yeah, I’ve sunk that low, and I absolutely hate this part of myself. 

 
              Tripp decided that with everything going on amongst our friends it was best we went our separate ways. It seems like he is afraid to step into enemy territory. I understand where he’s coming from, to an extent, but all this outside crap has nothing to do with us. But whatever, I wasn’t one of the clingy fan girls he was used to messing with anyway. I was that throw-your-middle-fingers-up-in-the-air-bitch that everyone loved to hate. Regardless, it still hurt and I admittedly miss him, as much as it pains me to say it. I would never admit the hurt to him though.

 
              My bene-friendship coming to a close was hardly front page news compared to everything else going on, so I vowed to put all my personal shit aside. Ava and Abby needed me and they were far more important than what I was feeling. Besides, if he didn’t want me, it was his loss. In the words of a famous youtube video that I cannot stop watching,
‘Ain’t nobody got time for that.’
 

 
              Pushing Tripp far from my mind, I put my poker face on. Ava was slowly breaking down before my eyes and I wasn’t going to push her further over the edge.  Whenever I got to talk with her, she always made it a point to ask how I was doing and never brought up herself. I could tell that she was slowly dwindling away as the light had completely escaped from her eyes, turning them into a dull grey abyss. She never mentioned his name; it was almost as if he never existed at all. I knew that she was seeking counseling a couple of times a week and I was really proud of her for that. She had finally shared a bit of her sordid past with me, but she was still, for the most part, a closed book. I never pried, but I was a willing listener when she needed to talk.

Tonight she had another appointment
with her sub conscious and the couch. Sometimes she just needed to be alone. Even the smallest noises triggered her to break down. So I offered to take Abby out to the mall to do some shopping. Money was one thing that I didn’t lack and I was more than happy to splurge on this little girl if it put the smile on her face.

 
              Abby doesn’t really understand a lot of what was going on. Ava constantly gives her made up stories about what happened and changes the subject whenever Abby brings him up. It isn’t my place to step in and tell her the truth, so I try to leave well enough alone - even if I don’t completely agree with Ava’s way of thinking on the matter.

I am absolutely
tired of seeing my friend give up on her happiness, though. It boggles my mind how someone so amazing can’t see what a catch she is. I want her to fight for them. Either that, or give the fuck up and move on with her life. Daxton is a great fucking guy, don’t get me wrong. We have our moments, but we are basically like siblings with the way that we fight. But Avalynn is my best friend and the girl is beyond amazing. If his memory never returns and he chooses to be with Krissi, then Avalynn better move on too. I cannot stand to see her this way. I know I can’t intervene; she needs to make these choices for herself. Nobody can do it for her. 

 
Ava greets me when I enter her home with a small wave as she bends down to kiss Abby on the cheek goodbye. She doesn’t say anything to me, but, at this point, she doesn’t have to. We had gotten on a pretty idiot proof schedule. I watched Abby several times a week now to help out. Ava just can’t spend that much alone time with her. She needs a chance to get away. I don’t pry, I just let her go and step in when I’m needed. That’s the best that I can do for now. I can’t fix this but oh how I wish I could. We are both so fucked over in love right now it’s not even funny. It makes me sick to my stomach to think that a car accident, where nobody died, completely changed the course of both of our lives. I’m going to stick with my philosophy on what’s meant to be will be and just see what happens.

Abby
runs to me and reaches her hand out to latch onto mine. She doesn’t seem sad in the slightest to be away from Ava. I think her poor mood is beginning to wear on her Abby, too. It kills me to see that happening because the two of them are like two peas in pod. I wish that Ava could see how much Abby mirrors her actions - she wants to be just like Avalynn. I think to me that would be the greatest form of flattery. I wish that Ava could see how amazing she really is. All I can hope is that she snaps out of this shit. Sooner than later, please.  

I lead Abby out to my car and strap
her into the back where her car seat sat. I’d gotten a booster seat for her about a week or so ago. She has been riding with me so much that I was getting tired of transferring the one from Ava’s car into my own constantly.  When she was firmly strapped into place, I walk around my car to climb into the driver’s seat. I’ve decided that an outing to the mall is just what the two of us need today. I know that shopping always helps to clear my mind. Money has never been an issue for me, so I use it to my full advantage.  

“How you doing, Ab? Ready for some retail therapy?” I ask her excitedly. She seemed glad to be getting out of the house and so was I. 

“Can I get a toy
, Auntie Faith?” She asked me nervously. She knew darn well I would get her precious little self-anything she wanted. She had recently taken to calling me auntie and I couldn’t help but laugh every time. It was adorable and I would never have any nieces and nephews of my own so I took full advantage. 

“Well of course
, Abby girl. Aunt Faith might get a couple of new toys, too. I love shopping!” I exclaimed. 

“Can we get Mommy a toy, too? I fink that’ll make her feel alllll better.” She looked down sadly at her feet.
 

“We can do that. I’ll let you pick out whatever you think Mommy would like. You have the best ideas
, Ab! What would Mommy and I do without you?” I tried to cheer her up, placing a big, goofy grin on my face while looking at her in the rearview mirror.

“You would cry a lot
, I fink. I’m the coolest kid for always!” She shouted that last bit and I couldn’t help but crack a huge smile. She gave me a huge smile back and even shot me a thumbs up. She was the coolest kid “for always,” I couldn’t deny her that. If I ever have kids, they better be half as cute as her or else I’m taking them back to the stork for a refund.

We pulled up at the mall no more than ten minutes later. I shut the car off, got out
, and walked around to grab Abby from her booster seat. I set her on the ground with ease and grabbed her hand. We walked into the first store that had toys and went in search for something perfect for Mommy. I highly doubted that Ava would be able to utilize anything in here, but it was the thought that counted. I was going to give Abby free range on this one - that alone would melt Ava’s heart, no matter what it was that she chose to get her.