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.