Heartprints in the Void
⊰ 11 ⊱ Ava

After the confrontation with Cade in the parking garage, I threw myself into my work. I spent the better part of the week reading up on how firewalls work and how firewall rules are implemented on the company's firewalls. And just as Cade asked, I submitted my change request to him.

To my surprise, Cade approved my change request on my first try, and I managed to get through my entire presentation with only a little bit of armpit sweat and without crying through change management's line of questioning. *Look at me. Adulting and shit.*

Because of the direct impact that changes have on network infrastructure, all changes must be made overnight in the case of an outage. While any other week-especially after having worked last weekend I would be annoyed at having to spend my Friday evening working, I'm particularly excited to finish implementing the configurations I planned out.

I hold my breath as I make the final click to complete my change, watching the screen switch to the firewall rules section where I replace that my change has been successful.

*Boom! Call me Tony Stark 'cause I be Starking.*

"Eww. Oh my God, I'm so cringe," I audibly say to myself as I close out of the system and shut down my computer.

I lean back in my chair, a sense of accomplishment washing over me. But the feeling is short-lived as my mind drifts back to Cade and our heated exchange in the parking garage. I can't help but wonder if he treats every employee the way he treated me that night.

I shake my head, trying to dispel the thought. I refuse to let him under my skin, not when I'm finally making progress in my career.

At the sudden knock, I snap my gaze to the front door, shutting my laptop on the two-person kitchen table. I furrow my eyebrows, trying to recall if I've been expecting something or someone tonight.

With my curiosity piqued, I near the front door and look through the peephole to replace Ava looking at the peephole cross-eyed.

"You got games on your phone?" She says through the door.

I burst out laughing, shaking my head as I unlock the door. "Why are you like this?" I say between chuckles as I pull the door open.

She screams, throwing her arms around me as she exclaims, "Ah! I missed you!"

With a smile on my face, I hug her back, asking her, "What are you doing here? Isn't it like a 5 hour drive from your house?"

She hums, loosening her hold on me as she says, "Yeah...*but* when you told me about *he who must not be named*, I planned to come see you."

I step out of her way, motioning for her to come inside as I tell her, "Aww...you didn't have to do that."

"I'm sorry it took me so long," she's sincere, moving to set her bag down on the couch. "I hope it's okay that I just kinda showed up without telling you. I can get a hotel if -"

"No! Of course, it's okay!" I cut her off, shutting the door and locking it as I turn to look at her. "I was just surprised because I wasn't expecting you to come visit. I'm so happy you're here!"

It's always a pleasure to see her. I'm not much of a 'people person', but on the rare occasion that I make a friend, I care very deeply for them.

Hence why she's one of my only three friends.

"Make yourself at home," I tell her as I move to put my laptop in my backpack. "I was actually just done working, so I'm free for the rest of the weekend."

She smiles cheerfully, frantically turning until her eyes land on a curious Bubbles who emerges from the bedroom to greet her.

"Bubbles!" She squeals as she lowers herself to hug and pet him. "You giant goofball! Don't drool on me, please," she mutters as she draws her lips between her teeth and turns her face away from him. *Yeah...good luck with that.*

I chuckle softly, eyeing her as she straightens on her feet. What used to be her long, dark brown hair is now shoulder-length, ombre silver hair that emphasizes the delicate shape of her face and hazel-green eyes. The maroon lipstick she wears matches her shirt and compliments her leather combat boots and black jeans.

*I don't care what anyone says. I have the prettiest best friend in the world.*

"So...what we doin' tonight?" She asks as she lowers herself on the couch. She reaches into her purse, pulling out what appears like a pack of candy. In the next moment, she tosses it at me, saying, "We can stay in and go do some hoodrat shit tomorrow tonight, ya feel?"

I arch a brow, laughing at her as I catch the small plastic package. "You're funny," I tell her as I study the small bag that reads **Stoner Patch: Watermelon*'.

My eyes widen, swiftly averting my gaze back to her as I gasp. "Where did you get these?!"

She smirks, leaning back on her seat, saying, "Remember that trip to Vegas we took like three months ago?"

"No, you didn't..." My voice trails off, realizing that she had to have had the THC-infused gummies with her on our flight back. "Ava!"

"What?" She laughs, insisting, "They didn't even go through my carry-on. It's fine."

I shake my head at her, pulling the package open as I eye her.

"Oh, don't look at me with those judgy little eyes. You're just mad you weren't brave enough to do it yourself," she teases me.

I shrug, taking a gummy from the bag as I admit, "You're not wrong."

"So...you gonna tell me what the deal is with you and your new *boss* or do I have to wait till you're stoned and emotional?" She nudges at me, catching the pack of gummies as I toss it back at her and chew the one in my mouth thoroughly. I roll my eyes at her, walking over to the fridge to draw two cold water bottles from it. "There isn't much to say, really..." my voice trails off as I turn back to her. "He treats me like any other employee."

*If he corners every other employee in the parking lot and threatens to fire them.*

I don't realize that she's shooting me the all-too familiar 'you ain't fooling anybody' look until I'm handing her a bottle. "What?" I challenge her as I move to lay on the reversible chaise of the couch. "I'm serious. He treats me just like any other employee...when we're in the office."

She arches a brow, chewing on the gummy she throws in her mouth. "It's the 'when we're in the office' for me," she says. "What about when you're *not* in the office? Did something happen?" *Oh...you don't want to know...*

I refrain from saying anything more, knowing that if she wants the whole truth, she's going to have to wait until I'm *stoned and emotional*.

Sure enough, an hour goes by and I replace myself staring at the ceiling, feeling myself grow lighter by the second. It's as though I'm a delicate flower, floating on the surface of the still-ocean. I am in a box, and I am made of glass. *I'm in a box.*

"Wow..."

I turn my head to the side, looking at Ava as she stares at the TV playing Pixar's *Finding Nemo*.

"The colors are soooo pretty..." her voice trails off. "It's like, it's like a cartoon."

I giggle helplessly, watching her as she slowly averts her gaze to meet my own. "It *is* a cartoon, A," I tell her, flicking my hand at her. "You silly goose."

"No, but like...it's a cartoon," she argues.

"My life is a cartoon," I say softly, sighing. "Did I tell you that this dude drugged me at the bar the other day and Cade took me to his house?"

Her jaw hits the ground and as hard as she tries to do otherwise, her eyes remain hooded as she raises her eyebrows.

"Yuuuup." I pop my lips, pointing at her as I say, "And then it was so confusing 'cause he asked me if I was gonna walk out on him again, but like...I never walked out on you, my guy. You know? I think he's lost his damn mind. Talkin' 'bout some damn 'Are you always this careless?'. Uh...no, the fuck? I was perfectly fine until you showed up and now I'm walking around like I got room temperature IQ."

I pause momentarily, realizing that I've very audibly said exactly what I was thinking. Without moving a bone in my body, my eyes hesitantly glance over at Ava who's hugging herself with her mouth wide-open, laughing soundlessly. "Are you okay?" I ask in monotone.

She doesn't answer, rocking herself back and forth as she fights to catch her breath. "You said room temperature IQ!" She howls, throwing her head back in tears.

I can't help it, and now I'm laughing hysterically with her. I'm wiping tears from my face, trying to hold myself together as she recomposes herself for the tenth time in the past 10 minutes.

"Whew, anyway..." I clear my throat, telling her, "That man's fine as hell too. Like, I thought he was hot *before*. Now? I'd call him Daddy."

She sticks her tongue out, mimicking the infamous Cardi B, "Call him Fa-ther."

*Why are we like this?*

In unison, we arch a brow, shooting each other the same look until she folds and laughs hysterically.

"Ava," I gasp, quickly sitting up in my excitement as she snaps her head to look at me. "Then he took me to my car, and tell me why this man looked SO pissed off when I told him that I don't know what I did to make him hate me? It's like he was triggered by me even asking why he broke things off with me."

Ava furrows her eyebrows, her gaze briefly shifting from one side to the other in her confusion. She questions, "Uh...why? You were his fiancé. The least he could do is give you an explanation?"

I sigh, shaking my head as I tell her, "I don't know, A. I look at him and it's like I don't recognize him anymore. And I'm not trying to be dramatic, but like...he's not the same man that I knew."

She hums thoughtfully for a long moment and takes a sip from her water. When she does respond, she shrugs her shoulders, saying, "I couldn't tell you, Elys. I know that I'm 4 months away from graduating with my Psych PhD, but all I can think is his mom's death must've hit him pretty hard."

I shake my head, arguing, "No, Ava. It's not that. I'm not talking about him being sad. I'm talking about watching him very visibly get so angry at me for trying to talk to him about us. *Something* happened, and I don't know if it was something I did or maybe..." my voice trails off, and I pause for a moment, thoughtfully.

"...maybe his dad did something to him? David made it clear that he wanted me to stay away from Cade."

She tilts her head side to side, thinking to herself before saying, "Maybe he had him hypnotized." *Seriously?*

"No, like I'm serious," she quickly adds. "People still think it's basically science-fiction, but I've always lowkey suspected that the government's been experimenting with hypnosis. His dad is the owner of Sinclair Enterprises, and isn't it like the largest manufacturer of firearms for the military or whatever? Maybe he did his military thing and had Cade hypnotized."

...

*She's high out of her mind.*

She can tell exactly what I'm thinking by the look on my face, arguing, "No, like I'm deadass."

In the next second, she scoffs, throwing her hands up as she says, "You know what? Fine. Don't believe me. But I bet whatever if you went through those restricted files at your job, you'd replace some shit. Mark my words, you'll say, 'Sorry I didn't believe you, A'. And I'ma be like, 'Mmm, I told you so'."

*Yeah. Okay.*

"Anyway," I mutter and pucker my lips. "I'm hungry. Want pizza?"

It's like she's just woken up bright and early on a Christmas morning, cheerfully saying, "Ooooh, pizza? Yes!"