03. His side of the story103.
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Calvin
I wait. I wait patiently for her to come back. I didn’t know where she went, but I can take a
pretty
damn good guess. She was mad; I understand that more than anything. If anyone is
pissed off and
hurt at what Emma has been doing, then it’s me. She has caused me and Gunner more
hurt than
I’m ever willing to admit.
I hear the door unlock, but I don’t move. I’m not even sure what the hell I am doing here.
The boys
are at my house with the nanny. For some reason, I feel like I should be here.
Ava stops dead in her tracks. “Cal, I didn’t expect you to still be here.”
Her eyes were red and puffy. She has been crying; that much is clear. Words honestly fail
me. I
have no fucking idea what the hell to tell her.
“I thought I would wait for you,” I say as she takes a seat. “Where have you been?”
I knew where she went after she realized that Emma was Gunner’s mom. That was hours
ago. I
don’t know where she went after. I’m sure confronting Emma didn’t take almost three
hours.
“I needed to think, so I just drove around,” she whispers. “Gosh! This is so hard for me.
Not only
because I love Gunner like my own and it kills me to watch him hurt, but
also because I see
myself in him.”
I don’t know much about Ava. I was about two years ahead of her in school. We weren’t
friends
back then, and I didn’t pa ention to any girl that wasn’t Emma.
Even now, I don’t know much about her. I kept myself closed off. I felt it would be unfair to
dig
deep into her life when I barely told her anything deep about mine. All I know is that
Rowan hurt
her pretty badly. Just like Emma destroyed.
“Why?” I ask curiously.
Because I suffered the same fate as him when I was younger. I was unwanted. For me, it
was
nuch harder because I was unwanted by both my family and Rowan’s family. I didn’t
understand
why they didn’t like me. I tried so hard to get them to love me, but they never did. In fact,
it got
Jorse as I got older.”
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I didn’t know that about het. Unlike other boys who tried getting close to her so they could
get
close to Emma, I didn’t I thought their tactic was downright cruel Using one sister to get
another
was utterly disgusting
“I’m soony, Ava.”
There was nothing else I could say to comfort her. I don’t even know how to comfort
Gunner when
was
he asks about Emma, so how can I comfort Ava?
“It’s okay It was a long time ago, and I’m slowly starting to heal,” she pauses. “In any
case, this
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isn’t about me. I want to know the truth. How did Emma end up being Gunner’s mom?”
I sigh. I was dreading this question. Not because I don’t want to tell her what happened,
but
because I don’t want to remember the painful memories,
“Well, you know about my love for her from high school,” I start and she nods.
“Yes, definitely. Everyone knew it, just like everyone knew I wanted Rowan.”
This was so messed up. We both somehow ended up with the people we wanted, but in
the end, it
turned out to be a nightmare. Both of us got hurt really, fucking badly. Maybe we should
have
stayed away from them. It seems like Rowan and Emma were meant to be. It’s like Ava
and I got
punished for getting in the way of that.
“We’ll I tried everything to get her to notice me, but she never did. It wasn’t even possible
when
the person I had to compete against was Rowan. Like you said when we met again, I was
nerdy,
Cal. There was nothing S**y about me,” I began, but Ava interrupted me by chuckling.
“Have you seen yourself in glasses? You’re like a woman’s nerdy fantasy. You probably star
in
ladies dreams as either a hot professor or a librarian.”
I laugh at that despite mys
“Maybe now, but not back then. Emma was probably disgusted with me. I mean, come on,
even I
have to admit I looked terrible back then. I wouldn’t have wanted to date myself” I
continued.
“We finished high school, and in the summer before college, I decided to work on myself. It
took a
lot of effort, but I got to the point where I was actually proud of how I looked. I even
started getting
appreciative glances from girls.”
It had been the highlight of my life at that age. It felt good to be attractive. It felt fucking
great.
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“I joined college and continued working further on myself I became unrecognizable I
drowned in
college life. The girls, parties, and booze. Life was great. I had girls all over me. I had my
pick from a large pool. Soon, I started to forget about Emma. There was no use crying over
a girl that didn’t
want me when I could have someone else”
Ava nods her head in understanding. I know she didn’t enjoy college life. Not after she fell
pregnant at eighteen. She then became a mother and wife. She didn’t have time to be a
normal
college student with no worries or responsibilities. At least I got to have that experience
before
Emma appeared back in my life.
“Everything was going great until my grandfather had a stroke and became paralyzed. My
grandfather raised me after both my parents died in an accident. He was all that I had
given; I
didn’t know any other family member alive. I changed schools so that I could be closer to
him. It
was easier to take care of him that way”
Ava’s eyes widens as she swings her finger back and forth. “You transferred to the
university
Emma and Rowan were”
“Yeah.” I simply answer. “I saw them around campus, but unlike before, I kept my
distance. I
didn’t want trouble, and besides, I had a lot going on. I didn’t have any time for
meaningful
relationships except for hookups, and that was totally fine with me. I had locked my heart
after
Emma’s constant rejection. I wasn’t willing to let anyone in”
I still loved her, and it killed me seeing her and Rowan almost every day, but I accepted it.
She
simply didn’t want me. There was nothing I could do about that.
“My grandfather passed away, and it was the most challenging time of my fucking life. I
took a
few weeks off school only to come back to the news that the campus‘ IT couple had
broken up. I
honestly couldn’t belie Especially when I learned that Rowan had cheated on Emma. It was
honestly unbelievable.”
I never expected that. Everyone was sure of their love. Sure that they would stay together
and get
married. No one ever thought that Rowan would sleep with someone else.
“After that, Emma came back as a totally different person. It was like she was dead on the
inside.
The few times you saw her outside her dorm, she looked like a fucking zombie. I wanted to
comfort her, but I knew she wouldn’t let me near her. It was a coincidence that my project
partner
turned out to be her best friend and roommate.”
I didn’t want to be involved with anyone in Emma’s life. When Molly was assigned as my
partner, I
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My eyes shift to Ava She looks captivated Like she couldn’t even remove her eyes from
mine, even if she wanted to
“I tried to stay out of her way. I didn’t want to be a nuisance like I had been back in high
school ! realized you couldn’t force love and Emma definitely didn’t love me”
It had been a sad realization, but a much–needed one.
“You’re right,” Ava says sadly. “If only I’d realized that earlier, like you did. It would’ve
probably saved me from a lot of heartache.”
Grabbing her hand, I squeeze it. “Well, it didn’t work out for me… One day, out of the
blues, Emma showed up at my dorm room and kissed me. It was unexpected, but it was
the best kiss I’ve ever received. I thought it was a dream when she asked me to make love
to her, but it wasn’t. she actually wanted me”
I still remember that day like it was yesterday. She had been a virgin, and even though I’d
slept with countless girls, she had been by far the best. Probably because I had feelings
for her.
“I went to sleep thinking that finally it happened. That, finally she had noticed and wanted
to build something with me. Only I had been wrong. We woke up the next morning, and
she was disgusted with herself. I tried talking to her. I tried telling her that I still loved her,
but she said. she’d been using me to get back at Rowan for sleeping with you”
That was the first time I found out that the girl Rowan slept with and knocked up was Ava.
“You can’t imagine the pain that hit me. I felt crushed. I loved her with my body, only to
find out that she didn’t feel a thing. That she was only using me. The betrayal I felt nearly
destroyed me. We kept our distance ag hat is until she told me she was pregnant.”
I’d been scared, to say the least. I didn’t know how to be a father. For heaven’s sake, I’d
never even been near any babies. It was overwhelming, but I knew I loved the baby
already.
“She wanted to get an abortion, I couldn’t let that happen, so I threatened her.” I take a
deep breath, feeling my throat close tightly against the bubbling emotions. “I took her to
my grandfather’s house. I’d hoped things would get better. That she would learn to love
the baby and
me, but I was wrong.”
“She was hell to live with. I won’t lie to you; during that time we still had S** when the
mood struck her, but it didn’t make up for the ugly way she behaved towards me. She
would curse me,
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I look at the floor. I tried to understand that she was going through a lot. That she was
pregnant. heartbroker, and still in love with another man. That’s why I let her let out her
frustrations on me
“It was hard I wanted to walk away so many times, but then I would remember my child.
Sometimes I would remember the times she was sweet, or when she cried and begged me
not to leave her. I was also hurting while trying help her with her pain.
Ava takes my hand and squeezes it. Lending me her strength as I felt mine diminish.
“When Gunner was born, she refused to see him. She went back to being a stone–cold
bitch. She told me she never wanted to see me or him again. I took my baby and left the
hospital. I didn’t hear from her until probably a year later.
“What did she want?” Ava asks.
I didn’t want to tell her this part because I’m ashamed of it. Ashamed of how I let Emma
use me for years.
“Sex.” I breathe. “She wanted S**. She said she tried sleeping with other men, but she
couldn’t bring herself to. I was overwhelmed with being a single father so I gave in. I
wanted the release.
The next morning, when I woke up, she was gone. She didn’t even want to see her son,
nor did she
say goodbye.”
I continue. “It went on like that for years. She would drop by just to have S** with me. I let
it go so long because I’d hoped she would change. That she would learn to love me and
our son, but she
was only interested in what my body could give her.”
I feel sick to my stomac]
tell Ava everything. I feel disgusted with myself for allowing her to
use me for so long. Most of the time, I hated both her and me. Her, for hurting me and
myself for
being weak.
“The day Gunner saw her, he was about seven years old, and she was sneaking out in the
morning. He had been awake. Gunner asked me if she was his mom. I couldn’t lie to him,
so I told him the
truth. She got angry because I told Gunner the truth and left without even greeting him.”
I’d felt so angry and bitter toward her. So resentful because I had to pick up the pieces of
my son’s
broken heart.
“I called her and told her to give her relationship with Gunner a chance. When she
refused, I cut
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“I wanted a fresh change for me and Gunner, so we moved here, where I was born and
raised. I
wanted a fresh start with him. I just didn’t know that you would be my neighbor or that
Emma too
had moved back home.”
“I’m sorry for everything you’ve gone through, but I’m glad you saw your worth. You’re a
great guy,
Cal, and you deserve someone who’ll love you wholeheartedly,” she says with a smile.
I smile back at her.
“Thanks Ava, you too deserve the world after what you went through with Rowan.”
I pull her int
shoulders.
arms and hug her. I feel so lighthearted. Like a burden had been lifted from my
I didn’t want to tell Ava this, but I was glad when I realized that she would be my neighbor.
I
wanted her to figure it out. I wanted her to tell everyone the truth because I was so sick of
Emma
keeping him a secret. I was glad that now everyone knew what kind of woman she truly is.