Nothing but Heartbreak

12. Sickeningly cute

"Ava!" My mom's face lit up as I walked into the kitchen.

She didn't even pause as she rushed forward and pulled me into a tight hug.

"You act like you never see me." I laughed as I wrapped my arms tightly around her.

"I don't get many spontaneous visits for you, did you get married again." She stepped away from me eyeing me closely.

"I don't think even I am dumb enough to make that mistake twice." I waved her off and sat down at the table.

"What kind of trouble did you get yourself in this time?" She questioned going back to preparing dinner.

"Why do you think I have to be in trouble or have something wrong to come and visit?" I shook my head.

"Because I know my daughter."

She wasn't entirely wrong to think so. Since moving out I had a pattern of showing up whenever my life got chaotic. If something happened with Harlan or if I got stressed about work. Any type of overwhelming thing happened and I'd be walking through my family home joining them for dinner.

"Can I ask you something?"

My mom turned around to look at me again.

"Of course." She smiled.

"How did you move on from dad?" I asked

I watched as she sighed. It was hard to remember what it was like when my parents were still together. They got divorced when I was six and the little that I do remember was all the bad bits. I remembered the fighting leading up to them separating, I remember the night my mom told me. She had fought with my dad and he had stormed out of the house. It had taken my mom five minutes after the sound of the door to walk to my room and sit down. It was a short conversation but I remember all of it. That day had changed everything in my life, my dad had moved about a week after the divorce was final and after he left I barely talked to him. The occasional phone call on holidays or the more preferred method, a card.

"I am afraid I might not have the answer you are looking for. I loved your father but the end of our marriage was bad and I was ready to let him go before I had even signed the papers. After he left I felt sad, I mourned the idea of him more than the actual person. But I did not let myself get caught up in old feelings because I had you and I had to be strong for you." She explained.

I just sat there. I had no clue what I was going to do. Moving on from Harlan seemed easy in theory but no matter what I did nothing worked. He would not leave my head and he sure as hell would not leave my heart.

"Look Ava I'll give you some of my wise wisdom. If you love someone and you think they are worth it then you have to fight for them. You deserve to be happy and if someone makes you happy then hold on and don't let them go."

"How do you know if they are worth it?"

Was Harlan worth it? My heart told me yes, he was worth all the pain even if it meant just a few moments with him. My head told me no, it reminded me of all the pain I already went through and how it would be better for me to find someone who was less complicated. I needed something easy, a relationship that would not bring me any more pain.

"That is something you have to decide for yourself."

--

About an hour after I showed up at the house the front door opened again. My stepdad Bennet walked in followed by my little brother, Travis.

"Ava!" Travis yelled sprinting at me.

I beamed at the younger boy and wrapped him up in a hug. Not being home as much made it a lot harder. I missed my brother a lot and it hurt to think that he was growing up without me around. The age difference was hard, he was twelve years younger than I was. He was about to be a teenager and I was already in my twenties, starting my life.

"I missed you kid." I ruffled his hair.

"I'm not a kid." He grumbled smacking my hand away.

"It's nice to see you Ava." Bennet said as he pulled me into his own hug.

"It's nice to be home." I nodded.

Bennet had basically been my father figure when I was growing up. Him and my mom started dating when I was eight. He was there for me all the years my dad wasn't.

"Jade and Kieran come back from their honeymoon?" Bennet asked me.

"Yeah they had a blast which is no surprise they are practically obsessed with each other."

"They are just in love honey." My mom laughed shaking her head.

"There is nothing like the feeling of being newlyweds. Finally getting to marry the person you love. It's the best feeling in the world." My stepdad said walking over to give my mother a kiss.

"Do you remember our honeymoon? We spent the whole week laid out on the beach drinking cocktails." I watched my mom melt into her husbands arms.

"Best trip I've ever been on." He nodded.

"You guys are sickeningly cute." I groaned.

My mom just rolled her eyes at me. Being home was like the perfect reset for me. I was with my family, the people I loved. I tried to push the idea of Harlan out of my brain as I just focused on being around my mom, Bennet, and Travis.

I could get over how obnoxiously in love my mom and her husband were. I was happy for her, she deserved that kind of happiness. Seeing it in front of my face only made me sort of sad thinking about how I might never get that kind of love in my own life.

But I would try not to think about that for now.

A/n:

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and if you did don't forget to comment and vote!!

-Cora Leigh