Seventeen

I have never felt rage like I feel now. My blood is boiling in my veins, my heart in thumping hard in my chest, vibrating my head. My hands are furiously shaking and there is tension in my arm from the massive urge to slam my fist into the closest object. I'm so filled with rage; I feel I can take on an entire army with a single blade and my fist.

I reach out in a flash and snatch the papers out of their hands angrily, my eyes scanning the words like a mad-man.

"Ashton, wait! Don't read it," Charles cries out and lunges for me, but I rush over to the other side of the room before he can reach me, my eyes still ripping across the page. It is all there, in plain detail, the exact run down of the job he was supposed to fulfill, how much he received before the job, and how much he was paid after it was done.

After he had run over an innocent girl, and almost took her life.

For what?!

Why had my mother done this? If this had happened now, I might have understood why, but why back then? She had no idea what was going on, though I always knew she might have sensed something, it still had nothing to do with Ava. She had no reason to hate her in anyway. So, why go so far to get rid of her? Literally.

"I have to tell Ava," I whisper. Charles jumps in front of the door before I can move.

"Brother, you really think that's a good idea?" he asks.

"Why would it not be? Our mother tried to kill her! I think she has every right to know," I cry, tossing the papers to the side and scattering them. Lucas runs behind me to try and pick them up, not damaging them.

"Exactly! You love her, do you not? How do you think she is going to react when she finds out your own mother was the one who tried to kill her? And for what reason was there? You have no idea, and you're going to go storming in there like the hero, when you're just going to push her further away from you, this time for good! Do you really think she will want anything to do with you when she finds out she can't even trust her child's grandmother? How do you think she is going to look at you after that?"

I can feel my anger bubbling in my chest, my blood pulsing in my veins.

"She won't want anything to do with you. She won't even be able to look at you!" Charles continues to shout.

"That isn't true!" I try and shout out, but I can hear the doubt in my voice, only infuriating me further.

"It is and you know it. Tell her this, and she won't want anything to do with this family. You won't ever get to see your daughter again!"

That is enough to tip my anger into dangerous areas, and all I see is red.

"Shut the fuck up!" I shout and punch him square in the jaw, not comprehending what I'm doing, until I feel my knuckle collide with his face. Charles staggers back, his eyes wide with shock, as I feel mine are as well.

It has been a long time since I have laid a hand on my brother, and it has never been out of pure anger, always play-wrestling. The anger in me doesn't die down, even after that vicious hit. I storm out of the room, feeling like the walls are closing in on me, with Lucas and Charles staring at me like I'm about to break apart in seconds.

I rush up to my room and take out my phone, staring down at Ava's number on the screen, taunting me.

I made a promise to myself to be open with her from now on, knowing that hiding things and trying to deal with them on my own, will just make things more difficult when she does find out.

How could she not? This is the piece of evidence we need to send my mother to jail for good. To finally be rid of her. Of course, there is now the issue of having to come up with a lie on how we got this information, and how we got all the other impossible details about the hired driver, from Lucas.

But I don't want to think about any of that. I just want to be with Ava, I just want this nightmare to be over.

***

I have been pacing my bedroom for hours, deciding whether or not I should consider Charles words, or stick to my promise. He and Lucas were on the phone and laptop, searching for the best lawyer this country and our money has to offer. With the three of us pooling together, finance won't be an issue. Finding someone who can beat my mother's team of lawyers is the main problem.

I've already told Ava our plans to get back at my mother, she is already going to find out one way or another, that it was my mother behind the whole accident. She has been behind everything this entire time; Ava's accident, her disappearance, and me never having the chance to see my daughter grow up.

My mind made up, I grab my coat and phone and rush out the door. Charles and Lucas are still occupied in the living room, the door slightly open. I tip-toe past and run to my car, tearing off before they can hear the engine start. I drive straight to Ava's apartment, considering how late in the afternoon it is, her shop will be closed. I knock viciously on the door and she answers with a bewildered expression.

Her face relaxes when she sees its me, then it's replaced with a frown.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I have something I need to tell you, and it isn't going to be easy to hear." It isn't going to be easy saying this. I don't want to imagine the down-side of this outcome. She gives me a puzzled look, but steps aside to let me in. I nervously walk into the living room and see Emily is nowhere.

"Where is Emily?" I ask.

Ava nods her head towards the hall. "She had a big day at daycare, they had some animal place come and visit and give a show for the kids, so she's taking a nap. She sleeps like a rock, so we don't have to be that quiet," she says and leads me towards the couch. She walks off to the kitchen and comes back a few minutes later with two cups of tea, perfect for the conversation we're about to have.

Yeah, she can throw the hot tea in my face when I tell her.

I try and banish the negative thoughts from my head, not wanting Charles words to get to me before I even think of what I'm going to say; though I spent the better half of the last 2 hours thinking of what to say, and all the different outcomes each conversation might have. None of them being good.

"What is it you want to tell me?" she asks, her eyes wide and innocent. I feel my heart clench in my chest, tightening painfully the more I stare in her green eyes. I can do this.

"I told you how we're trying to build a case against my mother, and that's why I also need you to stay at my house until this all blows over," I say and she nods, having received most of my messages, but never responding. "Well, Charles and I found something suspicious and decided to call Lucas to try and find out more."

"Wait, Charles and Lucas are here? Where?" she asks, and perks up, her eyes brightening.

"They are back at my place, trying to find the best lawyer available. You can see them, if you let me keep you safe for just a few days, I promise," I plead with her.

She shakes her head. "Don't try and change the subject, tell me what you need to tell me."

"Alright," I say and take a deep breath. "Lucas was able to find a key piece of evidence we need against my mother, to hopefully be enough to put her away for a long time. We found a document stating information about an e-transfer she had made to an unknown man, for two large sums of money. After Lucas did some digging, he discovered who the man was, and what my mother had hired him to do–" I stop and choke, my throat closing up instantly before I can utter the words.

She looks at me with anticipation. "Well, what was he hired to do?"

Before I say anything, I give her a hard, passionate kiss, knowing it might be my last one.

"Your accident three years ago wasn't an accident, that car purposely hit you," I spit out quickly, pulling away. She looks completely lost, like she barely remembers the accident at all. "When you tried to run away from Lucien after your birthday party, it was all planned. My mother hired someone to purposely hit you that night, it wasn't an accident."

I can see my words registering in her head, and she pulls away immediately. I feel the storm coming, and I don't want to brace myself for it. I try to reach out to her, but she pulls away, and a piece of my heart breaks off painfully.

"W-what are you saying?" she asks, still moving away. "T-the hit and r-run accident? The one that put me in a coma, and caused me to lose all my memories for months? That was-that was because of your mother?"

She stands up and starts pacing the room, distress and fear plastered on her face.

"Ava, I'm so sorry," I whisper and try to approach her.

She puts her hands up and backs away. "Don't Ashton, please. Don't touch me right now," she whispers, her voice panicked. My heart breaks even more at the sound. I want to bring her into my arms, hold her and tell her everything is going to be alright.

"Do you understand now why I want you to stay with me? Why I want to keep you and Emily safe?" I say.

"Are we really talking about this right now?" she cries. "You just told me your mother tried to kill me, while I was being held hostage by your uncle! Is there anyone left in your family that doesn't want to kill or harm me in some way? How do I know you butler doesn't have it out for my daughter now?"

I want to believe she is upset and saying these things out of anger, but it doesn't make it hurt less.

"I'm sorry, Ava. I know I have a messed up family, I don't even want anything to do with them. That's why, I want to go through with this and finally end everything, so we can live together without fear or worry." I quickly walk up to her, thankful that she doesn't pull away again, and cup her face lovingly. "So our daughter can grow up happy, without any drama or fear I her life, just two loving parents who will do anything for her. I will do anything for the both of you, no matter what it takes," I promise her, making sure she is looking directly into my eyes, so she can see the determination and truth in them.

I see her bottom lip start to tremble, so I run my thumb along it, feeling her soft skin under mine.

"I won't ever let any harm come to either of you, until the day I die. I love you, Ava. You always have and always will be everything to me, and now you have blessed me with a beautiful daughter, and given me every dream I could ever imagine. I'm not ever letting that go, or ever letting anything destroy it. I promise on my life."

"Ashton, I can't keep living in constant fear that your family is out to get me, I want this to stop. Now," she says, her eyes filling with tears slightly. I pull her into my chest, running a soothing hand through her hair.

"Then please, stay at my place so I at least know I don't have to worry about the two of you while this is happening."

She pulls away from me, giving me another puzzled look. "Does your mother know what you're doing?"

"Not yet, but it won't be long until she finds out something is wrong. Amber has already left the country, but I haven't told my mother yet. When she does find out, I expect shit to hit the fan fast, and I want to make sure you aren't near her and somewhere safe when it happens," I say and look towards the hall, where I'm glad to see Emily hasn't emerged and is still soundly sleeping.

Ava is right; she does sleep like a rock.

"Okay, fine, we will stay with you. But only for a week, I can't leave my shop closed any longer than that," she says and lets her shoulders drop, showing me she isn't going to fight me anymore. My heart flips in my chest and I quickly pull her to her bedroom and tell her to pack. While she does that, I run over to Emily's room, where she is still passed out, and quietly pack a small bag of clothes for her as well. Ava soon joins me and helps me pack what she knows she will want, then wakes her to tell her we're having a sleep-over.

"Really? Where?" she asks and rubs her eyes, barely awake.

"At my place, sweetheart. Would you like that?" I ask. Her face breaks out into a smile and she cries out in joy, leaping in my arms. I chuckle and pick her up along with her bag, Ava leading us towards the door with the rest of the stuff. We pile everything into my car and race off. I can see the fear still behind Ava's eyes, so I grab her hand and squeeze it lightly, not letting go until we reach my place.

Lucas and Charles's vehicles are still in the driveway, and all the lights in the house are on. I can imagine they searched the entire place, and have been blowing up my phone since I left. I knew to turn it off before I reached Ava's, already expecting them to call me.

As soon as we enter the front door, the living room doors bang open, and I can hear footsteps fast approaching.

"Ashton, you son of a bi–"

"Charles!" I cry out as he rounds the corner, hoping to drown out what he says before Emily hears it.

He halts mid-step, his eyes landing on Ava instantly. They widen to the size of golf balls and his mouth drops open, not so conspicuously ogling her. I walk over and punch him in the arm, giving him a harsh glare when he snaps out of it.

"Hi, Charles," Ava whispers, smiling nervously and waving.

He shakes his head and rushes over to her, engulfing her in a hug, surprising both of us. He had never shown but emotion or interest in her in the past, it was shocking to see him show so much now.

"It's so good to see you, Ava. We've missed you," he says and pulls away, grinning at her. I can see the nervousness melt away from her face, and her eyes sheen over with tears. They hug once more, before he looks down and notices the small girl clutching Ava's leg. He bends down and smiles gently at her.

"Hello, my name is Charles," he says and holds out his hand. Emily looks up at Ava and she nods, encouraging her to say hello. She turns back to him and holds her hand up to high-five his, a small smile spreading across her face. He turns to me with a bleak expression. "Does she know?"

I shake my head silently. He doesn't need to say more, for me to know what he is asking.

Emily still doesn't know I'm her father.

"Where is Lucas?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

Ava's head perks up and a little smile appears on her face. I gesture her to follow me as Richard comes and collects the bags for us to bring them upstairs. I lead Ava and Emily into the living room, where is Lucas has two desktops placed on my coffee table, and papers scattered all around him, hunched over and tapping the keyboards like a mad man.

She steps further into the room, leaving Emily with me, and slowly walks towards Lucas.

"Hello, Lucas," she says quietly, giving him an awkward wave like she did Charles, unsure of how he would react to seeing her. His head shoots to the side, his eyes already wide with shock and confusion. It takes him a second to register who is standing in front of him, before a grin breaks out on his face.

"A-Ava? Is it really you?" he asks, but runs to her and engulfs her in a hug before she can respond. Ava lets out a small chuckle and hugs back, tears now flowing down her cheeks. I grasp Emily's hand and walk towards him, letting him see her for the first time. His eyes widen again, and an even bigger grin covers his lips.

"You must be Emily; I've heard so much about you. You really are as beautiful as your Daddy says."

Everyone in the room stands still once the words have left Lucas's mouth. I can feel the tension wafting off Ava from where I stand, and feel it building in my chest as well.

"Who is my daddy?" Emily asks.

Shit!