Chapter 103

His side of the story103.

+15 BONUS

Calvin

I wait. I wait patiently for her to come back. I didn’t know where she went, but I can take a pretty

damn good guess. She was mad; I understand that more than anything. If anyone is pissed off and

hurt at what Emma has been doing, then it’s me. She has caused me and Gunner more hurt than

I’m ever willing to admit.

I hear the door unlock, but I don’t move. I’m not even sure what the hell I am doing here. The boys

are at my house with the nanny. For some reason, I feel like I should be here.

Ava stops dead in her tracks. “Cal, I didn’t expect you to still be here.”

Her eyes were red and puffy. She has been crying; that much is clear. Words honestly fail me. I

have no fucking idea what the hell to tell her.

“I thought I would wait for you,” I say as she takes a seat. “Where have you been?”

I knew where she went after she realized that Emma was Gunner’s mom. That was hours ago. I

don’t know where she went after. I’m sure confronting Emma didn’t take almost three hours.

“I needed to think, so I just drove around,” she whispers. “Gosh! This is so hard for me. Not only

because I love Gunner like my own and it kills me to watch him hurt, but

also because I see

myself in him.”

I don’t know much about Ava. I was about two years ahead of her in school. We weren’t friends

back then, and I didn’t pa ention to any girl that wasn’t Emma.

Even now, I don’t know much about her. I kept myself closed off. I felt it would be unfair to dig

deep into her life when I barely told her anything deep about mine. All I know is that Rowan hurt

her pretty badly. Just like Emma destroyed.

“Why?” I ask curiously.

Because I suffered the same fate as him when I was younger. I was unwanted. For me, it was

nuch harder because I was unwanted by both my family and Rowan’s family. I didn’t understand

why they didn’t like me. I tried so hard to get them to love me, but they never did. In fact, it got

Jorse as I got older.”

1/6

+15 BONUM

I didn’t know that about het. Unlike other boys who tried getting close to her so they could get

close to Emma, I didn’t I thought their tactic was downright cruel Using one sister to get another

was utterly disgusting

“I’m soony, Ava.”

There was nothing else I could say to comfort her. I don’t even know how to comfort Gunner when

was

he asks about Emma, so how can I comfort Ava?

“It’s okay It was a long time ago, and I’m slowly starting to heal,” she pauses. “In any case, this

isn’t about me. I want to know the truth. How did Emma end up being Gunner’s mom?”

I sigh. I was dreading this question. Not because I don’t want to tell her what happened, but

because I don’t want to remember the painful memories,

“Well, you know about my love for her from high school,” I start and she nods.

“Yes, definitely. Everyone knew it, just like everyone knew I wanted Rowan.”

This was so messed up. We both somehow ended up with the people we wanted, but in the end, it

turned out to be a nightmare. Both of us got hurt really, fucking badly. Maybe we should have

stayed away from them. It seems like Rowan and Emma were meant to be. It’s like Ava and I got

punished for getting in the way of that.

“We’ll I tried everything to get her to notice me, but she never did. It wasn’t even possible when

the person I had to compete against was Rowan. Like you said when we met again, I was nerdy,

Cal. There was nothing sexy about me,” I began, but Ava interrupted me by chuckling.

“Have you seen yourself in glasses? You’re like a woman’s nerdy fantasy. You probably star in

ladies dreams as either a hot professor or a librarian.”

I laugh at that despite mys

“Maybe now, but not back then. Emma was probably disgusted with me. I mean, come on, even I

have to admit I looked terrible back then. I wouldn’t have wanted to date myself” I continued.

“We finished high school, and in the summer before college, I decided to work on myself. It took a

lot of effort, but I got to the point where I was actually proud of how I looked. I even started getting

appreciative glances from girls.”

It had been the highlight of my life at that age. It felt good to be attractive. It felt fucking great.

2/6

+15 BONUS

“I joined college and continued working further on myself I became unrecognizable I drowned in

college life. The girls, parties, and booze. Life was great. I had girls all over me. I had my pick from a

large pool. Soon, I started to forget about Emma. There was no use crying over a girl that didn’t

want me when I could have someone else”

Ava nods her head in understanding. I know she didn’t enjoy college life. Not after she fell

pregnant at eighteen. She then became a mother and wife. She didn’t have time to be a normal

college student with no worries or responsibilities. At least I got to have that experience before

Emma appeared back in my life.

“Everything was going great until my grandfather had a stroke and became paralyzed. My

grandfather raised me after both my parents died in an accident. He was all that I had given; I

didn’t know any other family member alive. I changed schools so that I could be closer to him. It

was easier to take care of him that way”

Ava’s eyes widens as she swings her finger back and forth. “You transferred to the university

Emma and Rowan were”

“Yeah.” I simply answer. “I saw them around campus, but unlike before, I kept my distance. I

didn’t want trouble, and besides, I had a lot going on. I didn’t have any time for meaningful

relationships except for hookups, and that was totally fine with me. I had locked my heart after

Emma’s constant rejection. I wasn’t willing to let anyone in”

I still loved her, and it killed me seeing her and Rowan almost every day, but I accepted it. She

simply didn’t want me. There was nothing I could do about that.

“My grandfather passed away, and it was the most challenging time of my fucking life. I took a

few weeks off school only to come back to the news that the campus‘ IT couple had broken up. I

honestly couldn’t belie Especially when I learned that Rowan had cheated on Emma. It was

honestly unbelievable.”

I never expected that. Everyone was sure of their love. Sure that they would stay together and get

married. No one ever thought that Rowan would sleep with someone else.

“After that, Emma came back as a totally different person. It was like she was dead on the inside.

The few times you saw her outside her dorm, she looked like a fucking zombie. I wanted to

comfort her, but I knew she wouldn’t let me near her. It was a coincidence that my project partner

turned out to be her best friend and roommate.”

I didn’t want to be involved with anyone in Emma’s life. When Molly was assigned as my partner, I

3/6

15 BONUSMy eyes shift to Ava She looks captivated Like she couldn’t even remove her eyes from mine,

even if she wanted to

“I tried to stay out of her way. I didn’t want to be a nuisance like I had been back in high school ! realized

you couldn’t force love and Emma definitely didn’t love me”

It had been a sad realization, but a much–needed one.

“You’re right,” Ava says sadly. “If only I’d realized that earlier, like you did. It would’ve probably saved me

from a lot of heartache.”

Grabbing her hand, I squeeze it. “Well, it didn’t work out for me… One day, out of the blues, Emma

showed up at my dorm room and kissed me. It was unexpected, but it was the best kiss I’ve ever

received. I thought it was a dream when she asked me to make love to her, but it wasn’t. she actually

wanted me”

I still remember that day like it was yesterday. She had been a virgin, and even though I’d slept with

countless girls, she had been by far the best. Probably because I had feelings for her.

“I went to sleep thinking that finally it happened. That, finally she had noticed and wanted to build

something with me. Only I had been wrong. We woke up the next morning, and she was disgusted with

herself. I tried talking to her. I tried telling her that I still loved her, but she said. she’d been using me to

get back at Rowan for sleeping with you”

That was the first time I found out that the girl Rowan slept with and knocked up was Ava.

“You can’t imagine the pain that hit me. I felt crushed. I loved her with my body, only to find out that she

didn’t feel a thing. That she was only using me. The betrayal I felt nearly destroyed me. We kept our

distance ag hat is until she told me she was pregnant.”

I’d been scared, to say the least. I didn’t know how to be a father. For heaven’s sake, I’d never even

been near any babies. It was overwhelming, but I knew I loved the baby already.

“She wanted to get an abortion, I couldn’t let that happen, so I threatened her.” I take a deep breath,

feeling my throat close tightly against the bubbling emotions. “I took her to my grandfather’s house. I’d

hoped things would get better. That she would learn to love the baby and

me, but I was wrong.”

“She was hell to live with. I won’t lie to you; during that time we still had sex when the mood struck her,

but it didn’t make up for the ugly way she behaved towards me. She would curse me,

4/6

15 BONUS

and the baby

I look at the floor. I tried to understand that she was going through a lot. That she was pregnant.

heartbroker, and still in love with another man. That’s why I let her let out her frustrations on me

“It was hard I wanted to walk away so many times, but then I would remember my child. Sometimes I

would remember the times she was sweet, or when she cried and begged me not to leave her. I was also

hurting while trying help her with her pain.

Ava takes my hand and squeezes it. Lending me her strength as I felt mine diminish.

“When Gunner was born, she refused to see him. She went back to being a stone–cold bitch. She told

me she never wanted to see me or him again. I took my baby and left the hospital. I didn’t hear from her

until probably a year later.

“What did she want?” Ava asks.

I didn’t want to tell her this part because I’m ashamed of it. Ashamed of how I let Emma use me for

years.

“Sex.” I breathe. “She wanted sex. She said she tried sleeping with other men, but she couldn’t bring

herself to. I was overwhelmed with being a single father so I gave in. I wanted the release.

The next morning, when I woke up, she was gone. She didn’t even want to see her son, nor did she

say goodbye.”

I continue. “It went on like that for years. She would drop by just to have sex with me. I let it go so long

because I’d hoped she would change. That she would learn to love me and our son, but she

was only interested in what my body could give her.”

I feel sick to my stomac]

tell Ava everything. I feel disgusted with myself for allowing her to

use me for so long. Most of the time, I hated both her and me. Her, for hurting me and myself for

being weak.

“The day Gunner saw her, he was about seven years old, and she was sneaking out in the morning. He

had been awake. Gunner asked me if she was his mom. I couldn’t lie to him, so I told him the

truth. She got angry because I told Gunner the truth and left without even greeting him.”

I’d felt so angry and bitter toward her. So resentful because I had to pick up the pieces of my son’s

broken heart.

“I called her and told her to give her relationship with Gunner a chance. When she refused, I cut

5/6

Gunner.”

+15 BONUS

“I wanted a fresh change for me and Gunner, so we moved here, where I was born and raised. I

wanted a fresh start with him. I just didn’t know that you would be my neighbor or that Emma too

had moved back home.”

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve gone through, but I’m glad you saw your worth. You’re a great guy,

Cal, and you deserve someone who’ll love you wholeheartedly,” she says with a smile.

I smile back at her.

“Thanks Ava, you too deserve the world after what you went through with Rowan.”

I pull her int

shoulders.

arms and hug her. I feel so lighthearted. Like a burden had been lifted from my

I didn’t want to tell Ava this, but I was glad when I realized that she would be my neighbor. I

wanted her to figure it out. I wanted her to tell everyone the truth because I was so sick of Emma

keeping him a secret. I was glad that now everyone knew what kind of woman she truly is.