Chapter 18
Jack sighed, thinking how wrong he was to have thought he could make his son forget Alex.
" He's fine, man . He is " He managed to reply as brief as possible.
Liam nodded but Jack sensed he wasn't satisfied so he waited to be asked some questions again. Which Liam did, shortly.
" So... Where is he? Why isn't he here? " Liam asked again and stared at Ava who looked away quickly, not knowing the answer to the question herself.
Jack groaned and muttered " Doctor ordered uncle Alex to remain in bed till he's strong enough to go home so for now, we would be going back home without uncle Alex "
Liam pouted " But I want to see him " He glanced at Ava as if he wanted her to say something, plead on his behalf maybe.
Ava shrugged helplessly and mustered up a small smile " Uncle Alex will come home soon baby, he'd be with us before you know it "
Then she went over to him and pulled at his cheeks lightly " Is that okay? "
Liam looked at her like his whole world centered on her only " Pinky promise? " He held out his little finger and Ava's lips twitched in a smile as she took the little finger in hers.
Jack watched them quietly, lost in his own thoughts. If only his wife could love their son like this lady did even though it's not been long they met. Well, he guessed Mabel loved their son in her own way like she had always claimed. She claimed to love their son but she was too busy to spend time with him. How ironic, Jack thought and sneered.
Ava frowned as she took in his features " Jack? Are you okay? "
Jack's look disappeared and it was replaced with a smile " Oh why, yeah I'm good "
He smiled down at his son " So man, are we good now? "
Liam smiled and nodded " Yeah, we're cool "
" Great, so let's hit the road " Jack replied and they went outside.
In the car, Ava asked " Am I not supposed to be with him? "
Jack didn't need to be told who Ava was referring to as he shook his head.
" No Ava, you need to take a break. I'm pretty sure Alex can take care of himself and I'm sure he would refuse any offer to help him, he's pretty stubborn you know " He said lightly.
Ava nodded with her lips twitched up in a smile " Yeah, that he is "
Jack nodded too and added " Besides, the nurses there can take care of his sorry ass, they're quite smitten with him if I must say "
Ava raised a eyebrow in question " Oh really? "
She couldn't explain why the thought that those nurses were smitten with Alex disturbed her so much. It gave her an unpleasant feeling. You're just jealous, her inner voice snorted. Ava sighed softly, not ready to exchange words with her mind at that moment.
Jack glanced sideways at her, his face not giving anything away but Ava could bet the guy knew what was going through her mind but would rather not talk. He was a very observant man, Ava thought, amused.
" Yeah, so he'll be fine " He answered and started the ignition switch.
" We'll come back in the evening, is that alright? " He added in a bid to make her feel better about the whole thing.
She nodded but her face was sullen " Okay "
They got home and Ava went straight to her room and slumped on the bed, tired. She didn't even go into the kitchen to say Hi to Maggie because she knew that's where Maggie would be at that moment. She thought about the events that had occurred in the past few days. Her abduction, Alex's surgery among the other things that overwhelmed her. Jack's voice drifted clearly from downstairs and his voice boomed across the walls. Ava took a pause in her thoughts to listen. He was obviously talking to Maggie. He was telling Maggie to give Ava a break and let her rest. Maggie of course answered with a Yes Sir which sounded like the words had been programmed into her, like a robot. Ava almost smiled at the thought. She caught herself in time and sighed, knowing she shouldn't be in bed right now but she was as weary as fuck and this wasn't even helping. She had thought taking some rest would help but it sure as hell wasn't. How could she sleep when she knew her job was at stake, depending on the policy of her boss, Alex.
" Oh God " She groaned out tiredly and before she knew what was happening, she slept off.
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" Ava! Wake up! " Maggie fiercely whispered into Ava's ears and the latter's eyes flew open at the sound.
" What? " Ava muttered and winced as a wave of headache swarmed through her.
" I was worried when you didn't come down to eat, are you okay? " Maggie asked in a soft, concerned tone.
Ava summoned up a smile which didn't quite brighten her face.
" Oh I slept off, I'm sorry " She said with a yawn.
Maggie shook her head " No, do not be. Come down for dinner, will you? "
" Dinner? What time is it? And Jack, where is he? " Ava asked all the questions in one breath.
" Jack is waiting for you downstairs, he said you are going to the hospital with him " Maggie replied.
Ava nodded and winced again, feeling as though someone was ringing a bell in her head.
" Yeah yeah " She mumbled and started to drag herself up.
" I'll go set the table " Maggie said and started to retreat but Ava stopped her.
" No Maggie, I'll just eat in the kitchen so I don't keep Jack waiting, we're late already as it is " Ava replied quietly.
Maggie of course wanted to argue but one look from Ava told her she wouldn't succeed in convincing her to eat at the dining table so she nodded.
" Alright, just wash up and come down " She gave Ava a tender smile and went out.
