𝕂𝕖𝕖𝕡 ℍ𝕚𝕞 𝕊𝕒𝕗𝕖

Chapter 7. Old Feelings Die Hard

"I love you so much."

"I got into Top Gun!" Ava squealed, holding the letter in her hand. Her parents just stood there, staring at her for a moment. They both looked at each other with disgust in their faces. "You cannot go." Her mother said, crossing her arms. Ava's face dropped as she felt like she was about to cry. "Why not? Is this another one of your bullshit beliefs?" Ava asked as she pointed an accusing finger at her parents.

Her parents just rolled their eyes as she continued to yell. "I got in because I worked hard! And because I'm a good pilot!" Ava yelled as she poked herself in the chest. "You are the female. Your duty is to stay home and take care of your family!" Her father yelled back at her as he stepped closer to her. "If your brother didn't get in, then you sure as hell aren't going!" Her father proceeded to yell at her. Ava felt the tears in her eyes welling, but she refused to cry.

"If you can't respect our beliefs, then you are not our daughter anymore." Her mother said in a calm voice as she stood up straight, staring at her daughter. Ava felt a tear fall down her cheek. She quick wiped it away with her hand. "Fine. Then I'll grab my things and leave." Ava said as she proceeded to storm up the stairs to her room, ready to leave behind this so called family.
____________________________________

2012:

Ava and Bradley were sitting across the table from each other at a restaurant together. The pair had been going on dates for two weeks now, but both were still to shy to make the next move.

The pair just sat there as they ate their food. They both had a busy day so they were very hungry and mostly focused on eating.

"So, you never really talk about your parents." Rooster said, breaking the silence. "I mean. We've been hanging out for two weeks. I figured you would've mentioned them once." He shrugged as he proceeded to cut a piece of chicken.

Ava sighed as she put her fork down, hoping she wouldn't have to have this conversation for awhile still. "Well, I technically don't have parent anymore." She said as she shrugged and looked down at her plate.

When she looked up, Rooster was staring at her with a confused look. "My parents disowned me about five years ago." She said as she proceeded to take a bite of her salad, an unreadable expression on her face. "Oh, I'm sorry." Rooster said in a shocked tone.

Ava waved her hand in a dismissive manner as she finished chewing her food. "It's fine. They didn't believe in women working. So when I got a job, they said I wasn't theirs anymore." She said in a nonchalant voice.

Rooster just stared at her in disbelief for a moment. Trying to break the awkwardness, Ava proceeded to ask him a question. "What about you? You mentioned your dad a few times. What's he up to now?" She asked while taking another bite of her salad.

Rooster took a deep breathe before revealing the truth to her. "Uh, well. My dads dead. He passed away when I was four." He paused for a moment before continuing. "And my- my mom passed away about four years ago." Rooster said as he looked into his lap, choking back tears.

Ava gave him a sympathetic look as she reached across the table to grab his hand. When Rooster felt her hand touch his, he looked up. "I'm so sorry." Ava squeezed his hand, throwing him a half smile. After the awkward silence that conversation brought on, the two decided to finish dinner in silence.

-

After dinner, Rooster drove Ava home. The pair played Somebody That I Used to Know and sang the whole ride home. The two were laughing and talking about some stories about Rooster's time in flight school.

When Rooster pulled into Ava's driveway, she pulled over to give hug and a quick kiss. "Goodnight, Ava." Rooster smiled with Ava still in his embrace. "Goodnight, Bradley." Ava responded as she pulled away.

Ava was about to step out of the vehicle, but then she turned back to face him. "Do you maybe wanna stay the night?" She asked him sheepishly.

Rooster smiled as he turned off the car and pulled the keys out of the ignition. "I would love to." He said as he stared at her lovingly.

The duo both walked into the house together. But the first thing that Ava noticed when she walked in the house was the photo of Devon hanging on the stairs.

She looked over at Rooster he wasn't looking at it just yet. Looking back and forth between the picture and Rooster, she was trying to think of how to hide the photo.

"Hey, Brad." She spoke with her eyes locked on the photo. "Yeah, what's up?" He asked as he came up behind her and kiss the back of her head. "Can you go into the kitchen and get me a bottle of Advil?" She asked as she turned to face him, a nervous smile on her face.

Rooster looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "I have to go to the bathroom, and I have a headache." She said, answering the question she knew he wanted to ask. "Of course." He nodded as he headed to the kitchen.

Ava ran up the stairs and grabbed the picture of Devon off the wall. She ran into her room and grabbed a box from under her bed that was labeled Shark. Ava sighed and looked up at her ceiling before she opened the box.

Inside was Devon's items that meant the most to her. His dog tags, sunglasses, photos of the two of them together. "Hey, Shark." Ava spoke in a whisper. "I gotta put you away for the night." She continued as she put his picture in the box. "I love you so much." She quickly but the box back under the bed and ran into the bathroom.

"Hey, Ava!" Rooster called as he walked up the stairs. He walked up to the bathroom that Ava was in and knocked on the door. "I can't find the Advil." He called out to her from the other side of the door.

Ava was fighting back tears as she sat on the bathroom floor. "That's okay. It's in here." She called out to him before quickly covering her mouth with her hand, not wanting any sobs to escape. 

Rooster sighed. He could tell that there was something wrong but he didn't want to push. "Okay." He spoke quietly before walking away, hanging his head in defeat.

As soon as Roosters footsteps were below her, she let the tears fall. She covered her mouth as she whimpered into her hands. She hated that she was hiding this from Bradley. But she still wasn't ready to tell him.

A/N

Now we get to know a bit about Ava's family. And this poor girl just CANNOT catch a break. I say that as if I'm not the one putting her through all of this (oh well). But our girl is going to have a happy ending at some point I swear, just not yet.

Let me know if you have any likes or dislikes and I'll try to add it into my next chapter. If not, I'll update again in 2 weeks :)

~ Jo