Black Forest by Claudia Hall Christian

Author:Claudia Hall Christian [Christian, Claudia Hall]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cook Street Publishing
Published: 2021-05-06T00:00:00+00:00

“Are you awake?” Ava whispered.

Seth opened and then shut his eyes.

“You seem awake,” Ava whispered.

Seth looked at her. Ava was leaning on one elbow, looking at him. Her face was tear stained and her eyes puffy.

“You’ve been awake awhile,” he said.

“I didn’t go to sleep,” she said. “I couldn’t.”

“Did you take your pain meds?” Seth moved to get up.

“This pain is something they don’t have meds for,” Ava said.

Seth gave her a soft smile. He lay back and held out his arm. She rested her head on his shoulder.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Everything,” Ava said. “Nothing.”

“Did you enjoy the little party?” Seth asked.

“The kids are fun,” Ava said. “Sissy twirled in place when she learned she’d made the summer troupe. I remember the feeling of winning a spot on my own dream team.”

“She’s pretty excited,” Seth said. “She’ll start tomorrow. Sandy’s worried she won’t be able to keep her weight up. We’ll see how it goes.”

“She is skinny,” Ava said.

“She’s gained back enough weight to survive,” Seth said. “Why does Sissy joining the summer ballet troupe make you sad?”

“Oh, it doesn’t have anything to do with Sissy,” Ava said. “I’m being selfish.”

Seth tipped his head up to look at her.

“What?” he asked.

“When I made a team, I made the team with Beth. If I heard first, I was terrified she wouldn’t make the team. She was the same way. By the time we were in high school, we made sure we were together when we heard.”

“So that you didn’t have to worry alone,” he said.

“We would both know right away,” Ava said. “I’d always say, ‘I’ll quit the team if you’re not on it.’ She’d say the same thing. She was . . . an incredible person. She made everything easy.”

Knowing she needed to talk, Seth didn’t respond. He stroked her shoulder and held her close.

“I feel like she’s joined a team without me,” Ava said. “I’m so angry. I want to have a big screaming fight with her and share a pint of Ben and Jerry’s to make up. But she’s not here to fight with. She’s not here. She’s not . . .

“Why did she leave me? How could she do this? I can’t make sense of it. My Beth would never, ever leave me. Ever. But she’s gone. And I’m here. With every breath, I feel like I’m betraying her. I feel like I should quit this team because she’s not on it anymore.”

Ava began to sob. Seth continued stroking her shoulder until her sobs eased. Stretching out his arm, Seth grabbed the box of tissue from the bed stand. When she looked up, he gave them to her. She wiped her face and nose.

“I haven’t seen or talked to her parents,” Ava said. “After what my parents did, I bet they’re furious with me.”

“I saw them when Dale and I brought Beth’s stuff over,” Seth said. “They aren’t angry with you. They understand that your father couldn’t politically manage a connection to them.”

“Like there’s something wrong with them!” Ava said.

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