Resolution (Saviour #2)(54)
“Please yourself.”
We both approach Ava’s bed, she is off of all the breathing equipment I notice and she just looks like she’s sleeping, “Ava baby, Laurens come back to see you and we have some news, we wanted you to be the first to know…”
I motion for Gabe to shush so I can speak, “Ava, I need you to wake up and get better, because baby girl, I need you to be my bridesmaid when I marry your Dad, and if you don’t wake up, well then Stella will just take over and I need you so bad to be on team Lauren.”
“Dya hear that Bub, she finally said yes, you told me to just keep asking and she would say yes and finally, finally Lauren said it.”
“You are joking right?”
Nina is standing behind us, sneering, “You aren’t really going to marry him are you? Only he doesn’t really have a great track record on that front and FYI… if you are stupid enough to go ahead with it…don’t be expecting sex on your wedding night, or any night after for that matter.”
“What is your problem sweetheart?”
Gabe shakes his head at me, “No, no Gabe, I kept quiet the other day so there wouldn’t be a scene but not today, she’s not going to spoil the beautiful love we just made or the amazing proposal speech you just gave, so I’m just curious Nina, what is your problem, is it me? Are you jealous of me, of me being with Gabe, or my relationship with Ava? You stand there making all of these assumptions about what our marriage will be like when really and truly, you barely know Gabe and you most certainly don’t know me but just to make things nice and clear I need you to know that Gabe and I will be getting married, Ava will be part of our wedding and will remain part of our lives, not because she is Gabe’s daughter but because we love her and want her to be part of our lives, she won’t ever be used as a pawn by us, we will never threaten to take her away from you, she will come and stay with us of her own choosing and FYI, we, me and him, Gabe and I, we f*ck like rabbits, we will f*ck like rabbits on our wedding night and we will spend the rest of our married lives working our way through the Karma Sutra and every other sex manual you care to mention – while f*cking like rabbits, and you know why that is? Because he loves me, he wants to marry me and be with me, because he loves me, not because I’m knocked up and threatening to take his child away from him.”
I stand and stare at the sour faced bitch, shaking from head to toe, suddenly aware of the grip Gabe has on my shoulder, “You can let go babe, I won’t hit her. Not in here anyway.”
I turn and look at him over my shoulder and I can see he’s trying not to laugh or even smile; he pulls me around and kisses me full on the mouth, “I f*cking love you. Future Mrs Wilde.”
“Is this how you usually carry on in front of my daughter? Kissing and f*cking in front of…”
“Can you all please stop shouting and talking about sex? It’s gross and making my head hurt.”
CHAPTER 17
The human body is an amazing thing; the way the doctors explained it to us was that Ava’s brain stayed asleep just for the amount of time it needed to heal, then it woke up, basically when she was better. She was kept in the hospital over the weekend so they could get her eating again and she was allowed home on Tuesday; I left that to Gabe and Nina to do and stayed out of the way. Charlie’s funeral was being held the following day and Ava was insisting that she wanted to go, Nina was adamant she was no way going and Gabe felt she should just be allowed to the church service to say her goodbyes and then come home, needless to say, it was the cause of yet another argument between them and I didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of it.
I actually agreed with Gabe, she needed her chance to say goodbye; I was thirteen when my Granddad died and my parents had flown back to England for the funeral and decided, on my behalf, that I didn’t need to go, I begged and cried but we had only been in Australia a few months and my Mum insisted it would be too unsettling for me, considering I was planning on running away and hiding somewhere like Southend or Clacton as soon as the funeral was over, her decision was probably the right one but I do remember for years wishing I’d had the chance to say goodbye and I have dreams even to this day that he somehow came back and I’m sure it’s because I never had a chance to say goodbye. Who knows, I’m not a shrink, but I bet I’m not far wrong and I didn’t want Ava having the same issues I had accepting that her Granddad was gone for good, she was close to Charlie and I just think she should have the right to say goodbye but rather than almost coming to blows with the nasty shrew, Nina, I stayed out of it.
It’s about two o’clock Tuesday afternoon when I finally hear the gates and the garage open, I’d had Jemma and Lu visit me this morning and had fallen asleep on the sofa after they had gone; I sit up slowly as I am having a few dizzy spells but the hospital had said it was normal after a concussion but to call them if they persisted or if I felt nauseous, I have felt a little sick occasionally but it isn’t anything too severe and I don’t want to make a fuss.
When I hear Gabe talking as he comes up the stairs, I assume he is on the phone but then I see Ava appear in front of him, “Hey chicken, what are you doing here?”
I wrap my arms around her and gave her a cuddle; she is a good few inches taller than me now but is all skin and bone, “Dad won the battle over pops funeral so we thought it best if I stay here tonight so we can all go together.”