Forever Fighting | ✔️ | [previously Espionage: double-cross]

Chapter 50

"And that's it, that's everything." Ava looked at Alex expectantly, waiting for some kind of reaction.

Alex didn't give her one. 

She was fuming. 

Never mind, I definitely didn't overreact the first time. This just made it worse.

To be completely honest, Alex had known something was off with Mark, he didn't hide it well. Ava, on the other hand, had been her only true friend, had made her question her beliefs about trust. 

Turns out she had been right about it all before. People only brought chaos and despair.

The anger from the sudden shock had subsided, leaving a silent storm. For all she knew, they hadn't really changed sides. For all she knew this was just a way of gaining her trust. But she had no capacity for trust anymore, there were just too many uncertainties in her life at this point. She now needed time, to wrap her head around everything.

Abruptly she stood up, not really surprising any of them. This was expected. Alex ran a hand trough her hair, knotted from the constant motion.

"Look, I want to believe you, and I do for most of it, but I just need to figure this out." She made to go but Mark grabbed her wrist, tight.

"Alex, we need you to believe us." There was an edge to his voice that put her on edge. And just like that, something inside of her snapped. In one quick, fluid motion, she spun her arm out of his grip, eyes narrowing almost cat-like.

"Don't touch me, don't follow me. I will talk to you when I want to. I will believe you if your story is completely truthful, and trust me I'll know. You are not my friend, you never were, so don't act like you have any control over any part of my life," she spat out. Her voice was low, dangerous. 

Mark sat back as far as the booth would let him, fear apparent in his eyes. With only a brief glance at Ava, Alex turned and marched out of the cafe. She had finally let out some of her emotion. Her vow to not let any show was crumbling along with her resolve. 

Anger was dangerous, she knew that, yet she couldn't stop the fire that had begun to spread. She closed her eyes and breathed in the cooler air. Summer was giving way to autumn and the air held a freshness that summer never help. She hated the heat and the conditions it brought. She loved the time when leaves fell and the world began to change, give itself a whole new look, a new mood, a new personality. Sometimes she wished she had that ability too, but no matter what she tried, she could never change. She was sarcastic, had an extremely short temper and after so many years of being alone, she wanted to trust people and let herself feel close to them. And that had been and always would be her downfall.

Barely seconds after she stepped into the breeze, a pair of footsteps followed her. When she felt breathing on her neck, she turned and found a slightly out of breath Ava.

"How did you manage to get so far in such a short amount of time?"

Alex shrugged in reply.

Ava looked at her, playfully glaring. "Thanks, that info is extremely helpful."

That did warrant a smile from Alex. With her, it felt almost normal, well apart from the knowledge that she wasn't actually her friend and was just working for the agency that will kill her if they don't get the information they need.

Alex began to walk away, Ava falling in step beside her. They carried on in silence, each creating their speech in their minds. But Alex got there first.

"I guess I know why you were acting so weird after the whole mission thing."

Ava looked down sheepishly with one hand on her neck. "Yeah, I wanted to tell you the truth so I thought if I tried to show you something was up, you wouldn't be as angry when I finally told you."