by Lulu Pratt
“Why wouldn’t you cash it?”
“I don’t want your money,” I say. I flex my abdomen muscles, searching for strength anywhere I can find it.
“Yeah, yeah, you’ve made that awfully clear, Ava. Next time you don’t want someone’s money, destroy the fucking check,” he leans his head back, looking out the window as my heart shatters for the second time.
“What are you talking about? The check is in my jewelry box where it’s been since you gave it me,” I say, trying to understand why everything is spinning out of control and I’m losing everything. Not only have I lost my best friend, but the only man I’ve ever loved is dropping me off, probably to never speak to me again, over something I have nothing to do with.
In the heavy silence, I start to think over the day’s events. Petra brought the check up over our lunch, so I bet she has something to do with whatever is going on. Logan must think we’re in cahoots with each other, out to rob him or something.
No matter how I try to wrap my brain around it, I can’t begin to understand his reasoning. I’ve had every opportunity to take advantage of him and not one time have I done so. Instead, I’ve given him as difficult a time as one could give in my situation, refusing gifts and returning cash at every opportunity.
Looking out the window, I refuse to let him see me cry after the way he’s spoken to me. I can’t believe he would ever treat me like this. The thought makes me think of Petra, and all she said about him. She was right, I don’t mean anything to him, because you don’t treat someone this way when you love them.
Yes, I’ve kept a secret from him, but he kept one from me too, and I didn’t curse him or treat him like an animal. All I have is my reputation, and he didn’t care about that in the least bit.
Logan has more money than he can spend, and he’s upset over a check that he gave me, treating me like I stole the money from his sock drawer when it’s less than the cost of the car he drives around like a toy!
“Babe,” he says, pulling me away from my confused thought. However, I refuse to even look in his direction. I’ve had enough for the day, and cannot take another second of this emotional roller coaster I’m on.
“Ava,” he says my name sternly before wrapping his fingers around my wrist.
With a swift jerk, I fling his touch away, not wanting to feel him ever again.
“You’re going to ignore me?” he asks, his voice calm now that he’s apparently gotten over his temper tantrum.
“Can you please let me out on Third Street?” My voice cracks as I call to the driver, who looks over to Logan. My eyes turn just in time to see him shake his head.
“Ava baby, don’t cry,” Logan says in a gentle tone.
“Fuck you!” I yell, shocking myself with my bluntness. His jaw tenses, but I don’t care. I’m sick of being the victim while everyone in this awful city just walks all over each other. It’s like none of them know how to treat a person, and quite frankly, I’m sick of it!
“You’re all just mean,” I say in a moment of clarity, and a shadow of a smile crosses his face.
He smiles!
“Go ahead, you can laugh, Logan. Petra did the same thing. You two are one and the same. You just want to use people, because you don’t know how to accept that someone could actually love you after all the foul shit you both have done. I’m not a foul person, and I won’t be made to feel like one because I got caught between two mean people. You can joke about it if you want, but I don’t care. Kindness will take me much further than the deceit and carelessness you two embody.” Crossing my arms, I look out the window, my eyes now dry from the longest day of my life.
“Ava, I love you, I really do. And I know that you’re a good person and I’m not. That much I’m sure of. I believe everything you’ve ever told me, it’s just too much of a coincidence. I can’t imagine not being able to trust the person I spend the rest of my life with, and right now I don’t feel like I can trust you.”
His words feel like a shot to the chest and I just keep my eyes on the houses passing by the window.
By the time the car pulls to the curb in front of my house, I feel no more weakness, only vindication and strength, like I’ve broken through a glass ceiling of numbness after not dropping another tear from his words that tore through my heart.
I may have lost the two people I thought I loved most, but at least I got to tell Logan how I really felt. And now was my opportunity to give Petra the lashing she deserved, as I notice her Mercedes in the driveway.
“Here,” Logan hands me my purse.
“Thank you,” I say in a tight voice before nodding to the driver and thanking him for the ride.
Without another glance in his direction, I walk out of Logan’s life without so much as a goodbye.
I thought it was a forever type of love I’d never have to live without, but he’s just who Petra warned me about.
Taking a deep breath, I unlock my front door, ready to face the woman who has just destroyed my dream.
Chapter 38
AVA
THERE’S A LOUD shuffling as I climb the stairs to see Petra moving about as she throws things into a suitcase. The anger boils over as I approach her bedroom.
Glancing up, she doesn’t even hesitate when she sees me walking into her bedroom, brushing right past me on her way to her closet.
“What did you do?” I ask through clenched teeth, ready to give her a piece of my mind just as I did Logan.
“I did what you should’ve done weeks ago.” She chuckles, shaking her head as she dumps random items into the open suitcase.
“What, Petra? Swindle some man out of something?” I say to her. I roll my eyes in disgust, although there should be no shock.
Petra has always been a user – every one of her friendships is about what the person can do for her. You must have some utility to be in Petra’s life, because she doesn’t respect love or appreciation. No, that’s not good enough for her. To be valuable in Petra’s book, you need to get her free drinks, or sneak her into clubs, anything to show you’re worth keeping around. We weren’t even friends until she realized we were studying the same subjects and interested in the same careers, and for the first time I see how she used me to open the practice she couldn’t afford on her own.
“Ava baby, he ain’t gonna miss this,” she looks at me with sympathy, and my blood boils as she calls me the nickname Logan gave me.
“Miss what? The brooch you stole from his house like a fucking scavenger?” I yell after her as she walks to the closet before spinning on her heels from my accusation.
Her eyebrows rise, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s pride in her eyes as she walks so close to me I can see her chest rise and fall.
“The baby girl has finally learned to cuss. Listen, Ava, Logan won’t miss that brooch either, so you’re barking up the wrong tree if you’re looking for some remorse,” she says to me before returning to her closet as I closely follow behind her.
“That was his grandmother’s, Petra! Give it back, because you may think all he cares about is money, but he can’t buy another one of those,” I plead, my heart still wanting to make what I can right, despite her carelessness.
“I don’t care about that brooch, Ava, I can buy a hundred of them now,” she says, carrying a load of clothes to her bed before dropping them into the suitcase.
“What are you talking about?” I yell, the frustration boiling over as she goes on about her business like she hasn’t just ruined everything in my life.
It’s the twilight zone, watching a girl who looks and acts like a stranger, although I’ve known her for years. We’ve spent so much time together, and I’ve ignored so many signs and red flags about who she really is because I accepted her without question.
All this time she claimed to be teaching me how to spot the deceitful people in LA, when it’s her I should have been looking out for. A thief and a liar living right in my home, working together every day as she took advantage of who knows who else
.
“Ava, have you checked your jewelry box lately, sweetheart?” she asks in a tone that mocks my own.
The room feels like it is spinning, as everything comes together right before my eyes. Petra cashed the check from Logan. That’s why she mentioned it earlier. That’s what Logan got a call, and that’s why he dumped me at my house without so much as an apology.
“You cashed the check.” It’s more of a realization than a question, and Petra nods slowly like I’m late to the party.
“There you go,” she says slowly, bumping by me on her way to the closet.
“And where are you going?” I ask, glancing around the room, confused as to how she thinks she’ll get away with this.
“Wherever the hell I want, Ava. I’ve told you over and over, when opportunities come, you seize them! You could’ve cashed that check weeks ago and took yourself on a trip instead of waiting for Logan to give you what he feels like, when he feels like it. You wanted to be naïve like he could really care about you, when he doesn’t care about anyone! So, I did what needed to be done,” she says as she raises her hands as if the explanation makes everything okay.
“Petra, I knew you stole that brooch weeks ago, but I never crossed you. I lied to the man I love to protect you, because I always wanted to look out for you, but you don’t give a damn about me. You ruined the only thing I wanted for some money? Some money that he would have given you without a question asked,” I say to her as I shake my head at her short-sightedness.
For me to be the green one, as she calls me, I can’t wrap my head around her ridiculous plan. And to know that she is the reason Logan cannot trust me, while I risked everything to protect her, shifts my feelings from hot anger to raw hurt.
“Ava, you may think that, and I think it’s great that you see the good in people. One day you’ll understand that there are just some bad people, and Logan is one. He’s a dog, and the only way we could have ever got anything from him was to use him, like I tried to teach you. And don’t come at me with your loyalty argument, you were supposed to protect me and lie to him. That’s what friends do.”
“Petra, I didn’t need to use Logan, because he loved me. He would have given you money to make me happy, just as he’s tried to spoil me. I don’t want his money, because that’s not what matters most. You’re so money hungry you can’t even see when someone truly cares about you. From the moment I told you about Logan, you knew I liked him, but you were mean and nasty about it, speaking down on someone you don’t even know.”
Petra continues grabbing clothing from drawers and shoving them into her suitcases.
“It makes no sense how angry you are at a stranger, Petra. You’ve let your anger destroy a friendship, a partnership that truly meant something. I would have done anything for you! But it’s out of my hands now. You’ve ruined my relationship with Logan, but at least I know the truth. Good luck making it anywhere with that money, because Logan’s security is gonna be on your ass, but I guess you know that, which is why you’re rushing like the thief in the night that you are. Enjoy your life on the run, bitch.”
I turn to leave, accepting that there’s nothing more I can say or do to help or change the way she sees things. Petra is just an unhappy person, and she always has been. My emotions are so scattered, I feel myself shaking as I make it to my room, looking around as I begin to wonder what the hell I’m going to do with myself.
Petra is leaving, which means my life as I know it is done. She’s half my business, and I can’t continue without her. I won’t even be able to afford rent without her living here with me. That, in addition to losing Logan, is almost too much to bear.
My hands cover my eyes as the tears build, but they refuse to fall. My body is wrecked with hurt, and maybe there’s too much pent-up aggression to be sad any longer.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I feel frozen in time, as if everything is moving around me, but I’m paralyzed, just watching it without any say in what happens.
That’s been my life since I moved to LA, but especially since I met Petra. She’s taught me how to dress, where to go, who to date and everything else. I trusted her and she betrayed me in a way I thought was utterly impossible.
Just as the sadness begins to flood through me, I hear her footsteps in the hallway as she makes her way to my bedroom.
My heart is racing and my hands grow sweaty preparing for another confrontation. I’ve said everything I have to say to her, but it seems she’s still not satisfied.
Well, she’s got another thing coming if she thinks I’ll be the victim she’s used to, ready to sit and hear what she has to say like her kid sister.
No, there will be no more of that.
Rising to my feet, I cross my arms defiantly, preparing for my door to fly open, and when it does, I’ll look her straight in her eyes, because the words are eager to spill from my mouth.
Chapter 39
AVA
“RELAX, PLEASE just let your guard down. I don’t even know where this angry woman inside you came from, but I guess I’m partly to blame,” Petra says as she opens the door with a smile, and for the first time in weeks, I feel like I’m looking at my best friend.
“I guess I’m just sick of being taken advantage of.” A tear falls down my face as the boldness melts away quicker than it formed.
“I swear I didn’t mean for you to get involved in any of this. I should’ve just left you at home that night, but it was so last minute, and everything just happened so fast.” She looks up at the ceiling, recalling the memory.
“What are you talking about?”
“Ava, I knew Logan when I was little,” she begins, and my heart drops. My instincts told me there had to be a longer history between them, but I couldn’t figure out how.
“My mom worked for his family as a maid at their Bel Air estate when I was younger. Logan was a spoiled brat, and he always treated me like shit whenever I came around. His parents were complete assholes, and would yell at my mom whenever she had to bring me to work with her, threatening to fire her although they knew how badly she needed that job, and they barely paid her anything to begin with. One day, his mom claimed that someone stole a diamond pendant from her, and because my mom had cleaned her room that day, she fired her on the spot without even allowing her to explain herself. I was there, Ava, and I watched her humiliate my mom in front of all the other workers who were my mom’s friends.”
The hurt is evident in Petra’s eyes, and a tear even rolls down her cheek as she remembers her mom’s embarrassment.
“Two weeks later, Ms. Draper found the diamond. She announced it to the whole staff, but claimed someone had put it back, trying to save my mom’s job. No one had put it anywhere but her. She had so much money and jewelry she couldn’t even remember what she did with it. But my mom was out on her ass because of that misplaced diamond pendant. We lost our apartment and had to move in with my aunt, before getting kicked out of there and living in a shelter. When the other workers told Ms. Draper, she swore it was none of her business, but she was the one who told all her friends my mom was a thief, making it all but impossible for her to find another job.”
“Petra, I’m sorry that happened to your mom. You never told me any of that. I didn’t know you had such a tough childhood.”
“Logan grew up to be a dickhead, no shocker there,” she sighs. “I would hear stories about him wrecking a Range Rover in the school parking lot, and showing up with a new one the next day. He was a dog to girls, never respecting anyone because his parents didn’t teach him to care about anything but money. When I got the call from Johnny that he could get me in Logan’s charity event, I saw it as an opportunity to finally get what my mom deserved. I didn’t mean for you to get caught up in it, Ava, because never in a million years did I think you would meet Logan there. I didn’t even think he’d be there! And then you liked him, like you really, really liked him and I knew he was a bad guy, but you just wouldn’t take my word,” she says as she shakes her he
ad as mine begins to hurt.
Blinking slowly, I begin to put together all the pieces of the puzzle. Petra set all this up on purpose, because she wanted to get Logan back about something his mom did when he was a child? Everything was a lie. The party wasn’t random, she didn’t just happen to drive down that street, and she went in there with the intention of stealing something, which is why she left me the second we got in.
All those awful things she told me about Logan were complete lies. Rumors she’d heard about him from high school. Petra always told me that LA was a small town, and now more than ever that was obviously true. She’d been jealous of him her whole life, for something he couldn’t even help. That’s why she told me to cancel all my clients for him. Not because she knew I liked him, but because she wanted to swindle him for as much money as she could to make up for her mom losing a job twenty years ago.
“So, let me get this straight,” I step forward, closing the distance between us before continuing. “You’ve been lying to me about everything. You knew about that party before we even left the house, and you never really thought working with Logan was good for my resume. You were afraid that Logan would recognize you, which is why you ran every time he came around, making yourself look like a lunatic. It never even occurred to you that he was just a kid when your mom worked for him, and there were plenty of other kids, so you weren’t even a flicker on his radar. And you did all of this in some masterful plot for revenge, completely disregarding your friend, roommate and business partner who was unknowingly wrapped up in the middle of it.” I squint my eyes trying to make sense of her ridiculous plan and illogical behavior.
“Ava…” she begins and I cut her off.
“You left me out to dry, Petra,” I say, my hands balling into fists as my chest heaves with anger.
“You were collateral damage,” she says with a shrug.
It’s not the words that enrage me, and it’s not her careless attitude either. What pushes me over my limit is that she thinks it’s okay to talk to me this way.
