Ruined 19

Avery

I woke with the most glorious of aches between my legs. I felt like I had been thoroughly used. Thoroughly and obscenely used, I grinned. My hand reaching across the narrow mattress for him. After last night I was more than eager for round two.

Or maybe it was round three. I had kind of lost track What with all the orgasms.

My hand came up empty. The sheets that were tangled around me were empty. Empty and cold.

Ruin wasn’t in bed with me. He hadn’t been in bed with me for a while.

“Son of a bitch.” Humiliation heated my cheeks as I sat up, scrambling to find my discarded clothes where they had been strewn across the floor in our haste to get as naked as possible as quickly as possible.

Had he left without a word because that’s what I had done all those years ago? Or was I just being paranoid? I knew it was more than likely the latter, I just couldn’t help it. My brain always went to the worst possible outcome. 

It was only then that I heard it. An incessant buzzing sound. My phone. 

“Hello?” I hadn’t recognised the number on the screen and any other day I would have left it to ring off but not today. It could be the police. They may have found Parker. 

Guilt swept through me. I had fallen asleep wrapped in Ruins arms, and for a few hours, I had forgotten that my son was missing. What kind of person did that make me? What kind of mother? 

Ruins voice was lazy, a drawl that said he was smiling on the other end of the phone. “Good morning baby, did you sleep well?” He said it like he already knew the answer. 

“Where are you? I woke up and you were gone.”

“Did my poor baby think I had ghosted her in the middle of the night? I told you, Avery. If you give yourself to me, I plan on keeping you.” His chuckle sent shockwaves spirally down between my legs. How was it fair that he could pull such a reaction from me by just laughing over the phone?

“Where are you then?” I asked again. Not because I was mad at him for leaving. Even though I was a little bit. Just because it was safer than talking about what had happened last night. 

“Truth found that Sandra woman. We have gone to get Parker back.”

I let his words sink in. He had gone to get Parker back and not woken me up to tell me? Did he not think it important or that I would want to go with them?

As if he could read my mind he sighed. “It might not be safe Avery and we needed to move quickly. The best place for you is with Cutter. He can keep you safe until I get back.”

My father keep me safe? It was almost comical. My dad hadn’t done one thing to keep me safe my entire life, so I wasn’t sure why Ruin would think he could be counted on now.  “There’s no threat to me, And even if there was I wouldn’t care. Parker will be scared, he needs his mum.”

“Parker knows me, Avery, he trusts me. Now I need you to trust me enough to stay put and behave.  He will need you when I get him home.”

“What do you mean stay put?” He wasn’t telling me something, I could tell.  “What aren’t you telling me?”

“That Briel woman, she’s bat shit crazy and by crazy I mean crazy obsessed with your ex-husband. Until she is out of the picture I don’t want you alone.”

His words made absolutely no sense. Crazy or not she wasn’t obsessed with me. 

“She has already taken Parker to get Deans attention, Avery.” He sighed, his voice going from low growl to soft purr. Like he was explaining something to a simpleton. “I can’t guarantee she won’t try and take you out of the picture as well.”

“Take me out of the picture?” He meant he wasn’t sure she wouldn’t hurt me or even kill me. Had it really come to this? Hiding away from my ex-husband’s crazy mistress. 

“Just promise me you will stay in the house. If you need to go anywhere take Cutter with you or phone the club and ask for back up.”

“Ok.” I closed my eyes for a second. This was all such a mess. But I could behave. I could do as I was told for a little while, especially if it meant getting Parker back. 

“Did you just agree to something I said Avery? Is hell freezing over?”

“Stop teasing and bring our son home Ruin, just bring him home.”

“And you will….”

I didn’t let him finish. “I’ll behave, just don’t be too long.”

***

My father was at the kitchen table when I finally went downstairs, freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes and this time he looked up as I entered.  “You’re finally awake then.”

I didn’t answer at first. There was one thing I needed before I spoke to my father and that was caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine. 

“I didn’t expect you up for a while yet, the way Ruin kept you awake last night.”

Boiling water sloshed over my hand, causing me to howl in pain. How did he know how late I had been up unless of course, he had heard us? It was mortifying. I was a woman in her thirties and I had never fooled around with a man in my father’s house before. 

“Shut up.” I tried again and this time the boiling water went into the mug and not over my hands. 

“That’s exactly what I should have told you two last night. I’m not exactly keen on listening to that son of a bitch all night Avery but….”

I turned to him, mug in hand. Had he just said but? I was expecting him to scream and shout. To make me feel guilty for feeling something other than despair over my son being missing. I hadn’t expected him to finish his sentence with a but. I raised my eyebrow in question. 

“But I am glad you are happy. You deserve to be happy. Even if it is with Ruin.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my dad?” Heavily I sat opposite him, letting my eyes drift around the small room. I had so many memories in this room, not all of them bad. There had been good times when my mum had been alive. 

“I failed you pretty badly in the past huh?”

There was no way I was going to deny that. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. So I didn’t even try. 

“Where’s Dean?” 

“Your husband wasn’t to keen on listening to you and Ruin go at it, so he went and got a hotel. I’m sure he will be around soon enough. And you let me explain to him why he is the last person to know we found Parker. Me.” He stabbed himself with his bony finger.

“Ok, I won’t argue with you on that… dad.” Every time I had said that word since I had got home it had felt fake. This time it felt more natural.  Maybe my relationship with Ruin wasn’t the only thing I could mend by being home. Maybe there was a chance for me and my dad.

***

Dean was quiet when he finally showed up a little after midday. His face drawn, cheeks drawn in and his eyes hollowed. He looked haunted and half-mad and it just made me feel even worse. I had to remember that no matter what happened between us, he had been a father to Parker. Not a particularly good one but a father none the less. 

He was hurting, it was obvious. 

“Are you ok?”

For a second his eyes flicked to me and then they went back to his phone. Ignoring me.

He had been ignoring me since my father had told him what had been happening.

“Dean?”

Finally, he looked up. But it wasn’t at me, instead, his gaze flickered around the room, lingering a little too long on the open kitchen door. “I’m fine Ava, but I wish you had told me what was going on. I could have saved you all the time and effort.”

His word took me by surprise. “What do you mean?” Leaning forward I let my coffee almost slip from my fingers. 

“I mean Parker isn’t with Sandra. Well, he is but not where you are looking. She’s bringing him here.”

Here? Parker was on his way here and he hadn’t said a word. It didn’t make any sense. “Why would she be bringing him home?”

Dean shrugged. “Why wouldn’t she? Me and you are over, you made sure of that last night. Didn’t you?” He sneered and my stomach somersaulted. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it in my gut. “Which means I am free to be with her, Finally.”

The way he said it, like being with the woman who had kidnapped my child was the only thing he had ever wanted, made me stumble to my feet. “Take me to him, Dean.”

“I won’t take your father along Avery, he would scare any decent company. We should wait until she gets into town.”

“No.” My voice was sharp. “You leave me father to me, just make the call. I want my son back.”