Not So Broken (West Coast Campus Series Book 3)

Chapter 16

Cameron

Just after three o'clock, Ava comes bursting out of her room, an explosion of pink trailing right behind her.

Her hair is pinned back with one of those pink flower clips, matching the pink lace top and Reeboks she's glowing in.

Ava glances at me from where I stand in the kitchen, her nose scrunching as she smiles. Curls bounce behind her as she practically skips around the apartment, humming as she throws things in her tote bag.

"Okay." She does a twirl, putting her hands on her waist as she poses, hip jutting out. "I'm ready."

A chuckle breaks through. "I can see that."

Standing straighter, Ava bites her lip, twiddling her thumbs. "Is it okay if I take my hearing aids out?" Her confidence slips. "They've been a huge pain in my ass today."

Is she seriously asking me if it's okay if she takes her hearing aids out?

Too exhausted to dissect that, I walk over to where she stands, planting my hands firmly on her biceps, ignoring the way she freezes under my touch.

"Ava, you don't have to ask. If they're bothering you, or even hurting you, then take them out." I clear my throat. "I don't want you to be in pain."

Pausing for a moment, hand hovering in the air, I gently move the loose curls away from her right ear and slip my fingers around the device like I've watched Ava do many times.

Ava's eyes widen, and besides her sharp intake of breath, she doesn't move to stop me. I take the other one out just as carefully and slowly as I did the last, my thumb brushing her scar accidently. Her hands clench tightly at her sides.

I catch her looking at me with many emotions fleeting through her eyes. Longing? Sadness? I can't tell. There's so many.

Ava takes the hearing aids from my hand, placing them in a special case she pulled from her tote and placing them right back in the bag. I would ask her to leave them here, tell her she doesn't need them but I leave it to rest for now.

"You okay?" I talk slowly and clearly just like Rhys told me to, smiling when she continues to stare at me like she's seen a ghost. Ava just bobs her head.

Mike emerges from his room then, glancing between the two of us and snickering, poking his head into the fridge. "Put something behind the headboard when you get back, will 'ya?" He snickers again.

"Will do. Just make sure you have your headphones on standby. I can be quite loud." I wink, grabbing Ava's hand loosely and all but dragging her out of the apartment and onto the street.

Her voice cracks when she speaks, a smidge louder than it usually is. "You never told me where we're going."

I suddenly think of how weird it must be for her to know she's talking but never actually hear herself-or only bits and pieces since she does react to sounds without her ears in.

"That's the point." I say. She huffs.

I'm actually taking her to Novelty Nook-or is it Nooks? I can't remember.

Since all I did from the age of thirteen to eighteen was hockey and bouncing between jobs as an excuse to get out of the houses I was placed in, I have quite a lot of money saved up.

Quite a lot. Emphasize a lot. And since I'm not paying for school or equipment, Ava can buy as many god damn books as she fucking wants to. She could buy a whole ass library and I wouldn't blink an eye.

"Can I ask you something personal?" I blurt. She raises an eyebrow, eyes on my lips the whole time. "Your hearing aids? Have you always needed them?"

Ava sighs, almost out of relief like she thought I was going to ask her something else. "No. I switched over to better ones five or six months ago-I was wearing cheap, whacky ones since I was sixteen before that."