Not So Broken (West Coast Campus Book 3)

Chapter 3

Cameron

Ava's been living with us for over a week now and I swear she's a ghost.

She trains the same hours as us weekly, usually staying afterward by herself to practice even more before floating down to the bookstore and adding fifteen more hours on top of everything else she does.

I already knew Ava was an extremely colourful person, spreading it everywhere she goes so it's no surprise when the apartment is hit with her sunny and bright touch.

As freshman in college, the colour of our furniture never really mattered to us so we also went with white. It was cheap and we thought it looked nice.

How fucking wrong we we're.

Ava has taken our apartment and has transformed it into something almost like a home.

She's added pink pillows and throws to our couch, boutiques of flowers sitting in pink vases spread throughout.

Pink plates and bowls now sit in our cupboards, along with matching utensils and pot sets.

Ava's also tied little bows to the hooks of our shower curtain. Added a heart shaped key dish. Candles. A vacuum.

It's always light pink. Not hot. Everything's a light and delicate pink like she is which makes me love everything a smudge more.

All these little things she probably thought we wouldn't notice but I do.

Everywhere I look is her.

But I haven't seen her in what feels likes months.

When she's not at the rink or the bookstore, she's tucked away comfortably in her room reading or going for very long walks around Stanley Park, gone for hours at a time just walking. But she always comes back with a bigger smile than the one she left with so I wonder if they mean more than a walk to her.

I pace in front of her door, debating whether or not to invite her out tonight with the team. I know she's extremely sensitive towards loud noises from when she tutored me those two times but I've never thought of Shaw's as a loud bar, even when they do open mic.

"Ava?" I knock, my voice soft.

She doesn't answer so I assume she's taken her ears out. I hesitate for a moment before opening her door just enough to slip my hand through the crack, padding around for the light switch.

I've seen in some shows where they flick the lights on and off a few times to let the deaf person know when they're entering a room so I give it a try. I assume it works when I hear her roll over with an oomph and I hold back my laugh because I'm pretty sure she just rolled off her bed, taking a step back away from the door.

A second later, she stands there with her hand holding the door open firmly, smiling. "Hi, Cameron. What'd you need?"

There's a slight blush to her cheeks as she stares up at me, her eyes bright.

Her fucking eyes. Memorizing. One green and one blue. Both so radiant and filled with energy.

"Yes, I know I have heterochromia." She smiles, not fazed by my staring. "Did you need something or...?"

I rub at my eyes. "I was just wondering if you wanted to come to Shaw's with the team?"

"Will Maeve be there?" She bites her lip.

"Yep." I nod eagerly. "Along with Kyla and Allie."

Her brows dip, eyes narrowing. "Kyla and Allie?"

"You met them at Christmas. Kyla's the tall one who flirts with everyone even though she's been dating Seth for, like, a year and Allie's the real quiet one, really nice? She's dating Noah." I explain, watching the way the crease between her brows eases.