Pure Redemption (Tainted Legacy) (8 page)

“That sounds kind of scandalous,” he muttered.

Ava choked on a laugh. “
It’s probably not what you’re thinking.”

“So I don’t have to worry about you taking advantage of me?”
he demanded.

Ava was momentarily speechless at the very
un
-Gabelike comment that had come out of Gabe’s mouth. Then the corner of his lip quirked up and Ava started to laugh. “Was that a joke?”

“Not if it was a bad one,” he
said, favoring her with a half-
smile.

She turned off the light and tried to get comfortable a decent distance away from him. “I’ll only take advantage of you if you want me to,” Ava assured him, teasing him back.

He was quiet for a moment.
“I’ll ge
t back to you on that.”

In the darkness of the room she was left to wonder if that was a joke or if he meant it.

Chapter 6

He blinked himself awake, startled by the pressure against his side. It was a girl. It was a beaut
iful, warm, sweet s
melling girl and it seemed that
she had attached herself to him.
And he was holding on to her just as tightly.

His memories of the night before came trickling back. He remembered going to bed, talking with Ava, eating while Ava anxiously watched him. He could remember riding in her car and how hard his heart was hammering each time she glanced at him. And to be honest, it seemed she had a hard time keeping her eyes off of him.

Before that, walking into the church and seeing her sitting at the altar. Her eyes were closed and words shot from his mouth before he could stop them. She had been so startled. An instant fear had settled over him because of the look that had crossed her face. And before that…walking into the church…coming down the sidewalk…letting the steeple guide him. The backward flow of memories stopped. And then there was…nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

His body tensed. He had not realized—until the moment Ava had asked—that he had no memory. He had no memory of not remembering. He clenched his teeth at the irony.

He glanced
at her, sleeping beside him. Her head was on his shoulder. Her leg was thrown over his and her arm was around him.
Her warm breath on his neck was causing a commotion within his body that he wasn’t quite sure
how to deal with just
yet.
He
gently
tugged his arms free, trying to put some space between
them but in her sleep, she just snuggled in again.

She’d told him his name was Gabe Castille. He was nineteen, almost twenty. His birthday was August
thirty-first
. He’d lived near Hunter Falls only since the start of the year. He’d met Ava in March. He’d disappeared near the end of May. These facts rattled around in his mind like an unfamiliar melody.

She knew him. At first he was inclined to not believe her. But then he realized that he had not even remembered his own name. It seemed a little ridiculous to argue that he couldn’t have ever known her—because he couldn’t imagine it being possible to forget her—if he didn’t even know, didn’t remember, himself.

But he didn’t know her
now
, not really.

The picture was irrefutable evidence that they had a past. The relief he had felt at the sight of it was immeasurable. The driver’s license corroborated some of what she’d told him, making him feel inclined to simply believe the rest of what she’d said.

Having her body draped over his felt indescribable. It was comforting and yet, at the same time, it felt wrong
. W
hile she may have known him at one time, she didn’t know him now. He didn’t know himself now. How could
she
? And would she want to be lying across a stranger?

Carefully, he tried to nudge her away. She made a small sound, almost a whimper and her grip on him tightened. Then her body jerked minutely and her eyes flew open.

“Gabe,” she said on what sounded like a sleepy sigh. She s
quirmed closer
and squeezed him tightly. He reflexively tensed again as he wondered if she should be doing that. His r
eaction caused her to pull away. She was
more awake now. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, sliding her hand out from where it had gotten itself tucked inside of his shirt. “You should’ve shoved me off,” she said, embarrassed.

“I tried,” Gabe admitted. “You just latched on tighter.
”

She
crinkled her face in embarrassment
and nodded in understanding as she sat up, edging herself away from him.

“I’m sorry,” she said again. “It’s just…you can’t imagine
how I feel having you back. I mean, back here.
In Hunter Falls. I missed you so much,” she said
through trembling lips.

He was startled by the sight of tears in her eyes. She turned her head. Her dark curtain of hair covered her face as he sat up as well. He struggled to think of something to say. Something to do.
What was he supposed to do
? he wondered. He had no idea. Had he made her cry?

“I shouldn’t have tried to push you off,” he said, feeling somewhat stupid for the comment.

She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “No. It’s fine. I shouldn’t have been…” she sighed. “Oh my gosh. This is so…”

Awkward.

He wasn’t going to say it. He didn’t need to. Instead, he needed to say something else.

Before he could think of what, his stomach rumbled. He was surprised when Ava’s lips curled into a delicate smile.

“Hungry again.”

He nodded.

“Come on then,” she said. She motioned
with her head. “I’ll make some pancakes. I think I even have some chocolate chips left to put in them for you.”

He followed her out to the kitchen and she started pulling things out of the cupboards.

“Do you need help?” he asked as he gave everything a cautious once-over.

A small laugh erupted from her at the thought of Gabe trying to cook. “No. I’ve got it under control.”

“Then do you mind if I shower again?” he asked, somehow feeling as if he hadn’t gotten all of the grime removed the night before.

“No. Go ahead. I should have breakfast ready by the time you’re done. I put the extra clothes I brought home in the bathroom already. There’s a shelf behind the door. You’ll find them there. And anything else you’ll need,” she told him as she set a box of mix on the counter. “Maybe later I can take you shopping. We can get you a few necessities, something decent to wear.”

“You don’t have to
do
that,” Gabe said.

She walked over to him. “I want to.”

He nodded, turned to leave but stopped. “And then what?” he finally asked.

“What do you mean?”

“What…Where do I…I mean…”

“Gabe,” Ava said, grasping his hands in hers, “if you’re trying to ask where you’re going t
o go, you’re not going anywhere.
”

“You’ve been too nice to me already,” he said as he slowly shook his head. “I can’t keep taking advantage of you.”

Her eyes grew wide and panicked. “No, it’s not like that! Please, promise you’ll stay. At least until we get thing
s
figured out.”

A part of him felt as though he should refuse. He really didn’t want to be a burden to her but he could tell by the look on her face that if he did refuse, that would hurt her. She had shown him nothing but kindness. But it was something else, something more than that, something he didn’t quite understand that made him realize that the very last thing he wanted was to hurt her. He couldn’t do it.

H
e realized that he didn’t really want to leave.
And it had nothing to do with the fact that he had nowhere else to go.

He nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay. For a while.”

***

“One day?!” Ava muttered to herself as she wiped her hands off on the dishtowel. Her friends couldn’t allow her more than one measly day alone? She knew she should be grateful that they cared so much but at the moment she was only intensely aware of the wave of aggravation that grated across her nerves.

She covered the platter of pancakes and placed them on the table.

As she went to the door she wondered if she could keep them outside if she stepped out onto the porch. She just needed to convince them that she was okay. That she just needed some time alone.

“Hey!” she said with false cheer as she swung the door open. Her friends, standing side by side, frowned back, blocking her from stepping out.

“Where were you?!” Julia demanded as she squeezed her into a hug. “You told everyone you would be there! We were so worried when you didn’t show up last night! And you didn’t answer your phone!”

Oh, that. She’d forgotten all about the party. And her phone? She wasn’t even sure where it was it. In her car? Probably.

“I…” she began but faltered at coming up with anything.

“What’s going on with you?” Molly asked, not trying to hide her suspicion.

“What do you mean?”

She
pushed her way through the door, circling Ava but her eyes scoured her face. “I was
expecting you to be moping
. All gloom and doom like. But you’re not. Something’s up.”

Ava shrugged, not wanting to flat out lie.

“You look…well, maybe not happy. But you don’t look so devastated.” She squinted at Ava, making her fidget. “Your eyes!” Moll
y said, sounding almost accusatory
. “They’re all sparkly. Lately they’ve been all dull and dreary.”

Molly was so busy assessing Ava that she wasn’t paying attention to anything else. Julia, however, was. Her eyes darted to the bathroom door.

Julia gasped as her hand flew to her mouth.

The shower was no longer running but Ava realized the shuffling sounds from within were evident. She scooted around her friends, putting herself between them and the bathr
oom despite the fact it wouldn’
t do much good.

Julia’s gasp snatched up Molly’s attention. Her gaze swung to the bathroom door as well and then her nose twitched and her eyes became huge. “Did you make breakfast for someone?”

Ava’s hands landed on their shoulders as she smiled and tried to nudge them back outside. “Thanks for stopping—”

“Not a chance!” Molly said as she ducked out from under her. She pointed to the door, her lips jumping into a huge grin.  “You met someone! Who is it?
Who
?!”

“Is it Dawson?” Julia asked. Her eyes were wide and interested. “He was worried about you last night, too. He mentioned he might need to stop out here and check on you because he was expecting you to be there and you weren’t.”

“Wh-what? No!” Ava stammered. Grateful beyond words that he had, for whatever reason, decided against it. “
Nonono
. But you two need to go. We can talk about this—”

“Ava, I need a new razor,” Gabe flatly stated as he emerged from the bathroom.

Julia’s face immediately creased over in curious concern while Molly’s eyebrows shot up and her eyes grew even wider. The both craned their necks, trying to peer over Ava’s shoulder to ascertain who, precisely, the masculine voice was coming from.

“Oh my…
” Julia muttere
d as she gently pushed past Ava.
Molly
was
trailing only inches behind. “Gabe.”

He held the pink disposable razor in one hand and a wet washcloth in the other. Little pools of blood were scattered across his face where the cheap razor had nicked him repeatedly. His eyebrows quirked as his eyes darted from the strange people before him to Ava
.

Several of the nicks began to pool over and blood trickled down his face. The unpleasant feeling seemed to jolt him back to awareness. He swiped the washcloth across his cheek even as he lurched backward and disappeared behind the bathroom door.