Carly!

Hailey's P.O.V.

Avery and I are cuddled up in his bed after having dinner and watching a few movies with his mom. I snuggled in closer to him, nuzzling his neck. I had become very smitten over these last few days with him, we have barely been apart since that night at the carnival. He looked down at me, the sweetest smile on his lips, making me blush. You would think by now I would have learned to control my blushing around him but no. I swear since we started seeing each other, it has become worse. He looked a little lost.

"Are you okay?" I asked moving, resting my head on his stomach, linking my fingers through his.

"Sorry. It is Carly's eighteen today. We always said for her eighteenth we would do something crazy." He said sadly.

That is the first time he had brought her up since he went off on Joshua about it. He had still not told me what went on there.

"What happened with Carly? You mentioned her once, but you never said anything else about her." I asked.

I was not nosey, nearly curious. One thing I did know was that she meant something to Avery.

"Carly and I were best friends since we were toddlers. She was my rock through all the hell. She never thought twice about putting me in my place." He said, laughing at the last part.

"Were you two together?" I asked softly.

I was not sure if I should be asking these questions or not.

"No. Never. The thought of it is wrong; she was like my sister. We were only ever best friends. I miss her like crazy. I hate what that son of a bitch did to her; he ruined her." He said, the anger in his eyes clear to see even at the thought of Joshua.

"Avery, what did he do to her?" I asked quietly.

I felt his full-body tense when I asked.

"Sorry. It is none of my business." I said, deciding to leave it there.

I went to move, to sit up but he stopped me. He pulled me close to him again. He looked down at me.

"No secrets remember kitten?" He smiled, "It is not that I don't want to tell you. It is just the thought of what he did to her makes me angry. It makes me wanna kill him." He added.

"He hurt her badly, didn't he?" I asked and Avery nodded.

He took a deep breath.

"Joshua got her the same way he got you. He was the sweetest guy, treating her like the most beautiful girl in the world. He was telling her he was madly in love with her. She fell madly in love with him in such a short time. I never trusted him from the moment I met him. She was already crazy about him, and there was nothing I could do. Anyway, after six months she gave him everything. He was the first relationship she had been in, the first guy she had sex with. After he got what he wanted for a couple of weeks, he dumped her, announced all over Facebook that he took her virginity. That he was using her and never loved her. He did to her what he did to you in a way, well except luckily you never gave him everything." He said, stopping to take a breath.

Who does that? Who posts things like that on Facebook? I understand why she fell for him; he knows what he is doing. I am glad I never gave into him. I knew he was a horrible person but what he did to her was a hundred times worse than what he did to me. Poor girl. Why did I never hear about any of this? Then again, two years, I never used Facebook. I kept my head down at school.

"That is horrible. Poor girl." I said sadly.

"She was utterly destroyed, hid away for over a month. She then started picking herself back up, getting back on track. That all came crashing down again when she found out she was pregnant with Joshua's baby. She was about three months along when she found out. That broke her all over again, after a couple of weeks though she grew to the idea of being a mom even at only sixteen. She loved the baby. I went to her appointments, her and her baby were doing great." He added before stopping for another breath.

Is Joshua a father? What? Poor kid, having a father like him. My heart was breaking for Carly even though I never knew her.

"She finally found the courage to tell Joshua about the baby. He reacted badly. He told her to get rid of the baby. She would never have done that though, as I said, she learned to love the baby. I told her I would help her with the baby as much as I can. Her parents told her that too. She knew she would be okay if she had us. The next day Joshua had told everyone that she was pregnant, claiming the baby was not his. Telling everyone she was a slut. She started getting hassled from the girls from her school and our school. A couple of girls even threatened her in a way. And if that was not bad enough he then went and posted a naked photo of her all over social media for everyone to see, calling her a slut and saying the baby could be anyone's." He added, and I could see it was upsetting him.

I reached for his hand, squeezing it. I could feel my tears building up with hearing about her story. At seeing how upset it was making Avery. Also realizing that could have happened to me if I did give him everything.

"In the end, she ended up losing the baby. The doctor said it was due to all the stress of what he did, it broke her; she was destroyed. She became a shell of herself, pushed everyone away, including me. Her parents finally moved the family somewhere else because if they never did I do not think she would have survived. We still talk from time to time, but I have not seen her since she moved about a year and a half ago now. I think seeing me would remind her of all the bad that happened here. I miss her like crazy. Every time I see his fucking face, I want to kill him. I mean, physically kill him. I lost her because of him. I had become very fond of the baby too, and it broke my heart when she lost the baby." Avery finished off, by now he was crying.

It made me wanna kill Joshua too. How can someone be that cruel?

"Avery, I am so sorry. How can one person be that cruel? I can only imagine what it would feel like to lose Layla. To lose a baby." I said, stroking his face.

"I just wish she would see me, you know because I do not know how she is. I only know what she is telling me. I am sorry I put all that on you. Sorry I am crying like a girl." He said sighing, running his hands through his hair.

I reached over, wrapping my arms around him, hugging him tightly. He buried his face in my tee, clinging to me.

"Don't be sorry for any of that Avery. You can talk to me about anything. It is why I am here, well one of the reasons. Maybe in time, she will be able to see you again...poor girl. I do not blame you for wanting to kill him. And never apologize for crying, there is nothing wrong with it. I am here for you, remember that. No matter what, okay?" I said, stroking his hair.

He pulled away from me, laying on his side, facing me. He reached over, running his thumb over my cheek.

"You are amazing, do you know? I do not deserve you. I am hoping within time; she will come back or let me go see her." He said.

"Yes, you do. Hopefully." I smiled, caressing his cheek.

He closed his eyes, moving into my touch. He sighed before leaning in, kissing me softly for a moment before pulling away from me, pulling me into him.

"What are the chances of you staying here with me tonight?" He asked hopefully.

"Very high chance. My parents are out of town for the night for work." I giggled.

"Yeah! I have missed not having you next to me, kitten." He smiled.

"Me too." I blushed, making him chuckle.

He and I got ready for bed, snuggling up under the covers. I could tell he was still upset, but all I could do was be there for him. I leaned in, placing a few soft kisses on his chest. I swear I felt his heartbeat louder in his chest. I smiled to myself but never pointed it out. I looked up at him to find him looking down at me with the sweetest smile on his face. He gave me a quick wink before pecking my lips.

"Let's get some sleep kitten." He smiled, "Night, baby." He added.

I get all giddy when he calls me baby. Kitten, I am used to...baby not so much.

"Night, night handsome." I said.

He pulled me tightly into his body, making me sigh in utter content. I think I may be falling for him hard and fast.