One Day 64

<Chapter Sixty–Four 

Chapter Sixty–Four 

Ava’s POV 

+25 Points 

I pressed the phone to my ear, lowering my voice as I spoke. “Yes, please make sure he eats the quinoa. He doesn’t really like the plain white one, and please, no spicy chicken. Just give him the one without pepper…. Yes, Yes. No… No cookies. It would keep him up all night. Yes… Yes….And please check if he’s due for a nap. He always gets a little bit cranky when he doesn’t sleep. Yes. Thank you so much. I’ll be back in no time. Yeah…Thank you.” 

I ended the call, staring at the screen for a second longer than necessary before slipping the phone into my pocket. My palm lingered against the door handle as I let out a soft breath and turned it to re–enter the room. 

Phoenix hadn’t moved. 

She sat by the edge of the bed, her body slightly hunched, her elbows on her knees like the weight of everything she’d ever been through had suddenly grown too heavy. Her head was bowed, but I knew she wasn’t asleep. Across from her, under a pale pink blanket pulled up to her chin, lay her daughter. Sheila. Her back was turned firmly toward her mother. 

I had been standing in this room since early morning. And in all that time, neither of them had moved or spoken. Not even once. It was like a silent war, with both of them too stubborn to wave the white flag first. 

And it was heartbreaking to watch. 

Sheila was awake, I knew that much. Her tiny body was still under the pale pink blanket, but I 

could tell from the soft twitch of her shoulders and feet that she was awake. She knew her 

mother was here. And Phoenix? She looked like a worn–out soldier who wasn’t willing to retreat from a never–ending war. 

It was sad. The two people who needed each other the most were only a foot apart, but it seemed miles away. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what. What could I say that Phoenix hadn’t already been whispering in her mind over the past hours? What could I say to Sheila when she refused to even look her mother’s way? 

I just stood there in silence, my heart aching for them. 

Knock! Knock! 

And a second later, the door creaked open, and in stepped a man who somehow always managed to look like a playboy yet rugged and dangerous, like he belonged in between a world of the mafia and sin. His broad and tall body hovers over me, shrinking me into a 

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< Chapter Sixty–Four 

smaller version of my normal self. 

William Dash. Phoenix’s ex–husband. 

+25 Points 

He paused when he saw me, and with his blank expression, he greeted me with a nod, which I reciprocated. Then his eyes swept across the room to Phoenix and his daughter. 

“Could I talk to you?” he asked gently, directing his question to Phoenix. 

Phoenix didn’t even flinch. Didn’t turn her head. Her head stayed bowed. 

“Can we?” William asked again, with a little bit of force. He looked stressed, but why won’t he? I had caught a glimpse of him hot with his uncle and the rest of his family before finding my way to Phoenix and Sheila. So, because of that, I gave him an awkward smile and then turned toward Phoenix, stepping closer. 

“Phoenix,” I whispered, tapping her lightly on the shoulder. 

She jerked slightly, surprised, as if she hadn’t even realized I was still in the room. Her eyes met mine, tired and red–rimmed. 

“William wants to speak with you,” I whispered. 

Her eyes moved past me to him. The moment she saw him, something in her face darkened. 

“There’s nothing for us to talk about,” she muttered, looking away from him. “I’m not leaving my daughter.” 

William sighed, visibly holding back frustration. “Phoenix, please. It’s just a minute.” 

She didn’t say a word, but you could tell she was holding herself back from how fast her eyes were blinking. 

I nudged her arm with more purpose, giving her a firm look. Then I whispered, “He said it’s brief. Go. I’ll stay with her. I promise.” 

Her jaw tensed. She looked at William, then back at me, then at Sheila, as if debating what decision to make. After a long pause, she rose slowly from the chair, exhaling as if she had just given away the last bit of strength she possessed. Without another word, she stepped out with William, who gave me a grateful nod or whatever it meant before shutting the door behind them. 

Once they were gone, I slipped into the seat she had just vacated. 

“Sheila?” I called softly. 

No response. 

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+25 Points 

“Sheila, sweetie… It’s me. Ava.” I said, hoping that would work, but she didn’t even twitch. 

I waited a second. Two. Still nothing. 

So I reached out and gently stroked her shoulder over the blanket. “I know you’re mad. I know you’re hurt. And I know you think if you stay mad long enough, maybe someone will finally listen. Trust me, you have every right to be.” 

There was a long pause, then I saw her shoulders tremble, just slightly. 

“But sweetie,” I whispered, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “Staying mad forever only makes your heart tired. And I don’t want your heart to be tired.” 

Seconds later, she rolled over slowly, and her little face peeked out from beneath the blanket. Her eyes were red and puffy. 

I opened my arms, and in an instant, she climbed into them, breaking into big, hiccupping cries that shook her small body in my arms. 

“I don’t want to stay with Daddy,” she cried, pressing her face into my chest. “I don’t want a new mommy.” 

“Why not, sweetie?” I asked gently, rubbing her back gently, my heart pulsating painfully in my chest at her confession. “Did she hurt you? Did she say something mean?” 

She shook her head quickly. “No. She’s nice. I just…” Her lip trembled. “I want Mommy and Daddy to be together. I want them to be like Chloe’s parents. They live together and bake cookies. I want that too.” 

My heart broke. 

“Oh, sweetheart…” I muttered against her head, blinking back the sting in my eyes as I brought her tiny body even closer to mine. 

“Why can’t Mommy and Daddy stay together?” she asked, looking up at me, her wet face confused and pleading. “Why does Daddy have to marry someone else? Doesn’t he love Mommy?” 

God! What could I say to that? 

That love wasn’t always enough? 

That sometimes two people tried, but life just pushed them too far apart? 

What could I possibly say to this innocent child? 

Instead, I just hugged her tighter. “I wish I had all the answers, baby. I really do. But 

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sometimes… adults make really big mistakes,” I said softly, rocking her. “Sometimes we say. things we don’t mean, or do things we wish we hadn’t. But no matter what, your mom and dad love you more than anything in the world. I can promise you that.” 

She held on to me, and I rested my cheek against her hair, rocking her slightly. 

I could only imagine how confusing everything must be for her. The instability, the shuffling between her parents, the new woman in her dad’s life, it was too much for a child her age to make sense of. I’m just glad Phoenix wasn’t here to witness this, or it might break her completely. 

I was still holding her when a flicker of movement outside the window caught my eye. 

Across the building, just beyond the small courtyard of the next structure, stood Kyle. He appeared calm, poised in a white shirt that clung to his frame like a second skin and gray joggers. His posture was slightly more relaxed than it had been the previous day. His eyes scanned the area in front of him as if he were searching for someone. For a moment, I wondered if it was me. 

I felt my heart twist and my skin warm up. 

It pulled me back to that moment behind the trees, to the heat of his confession, to the quiet between us in the cabin. He had apologized and left me even more confused than I was before. And then there was the almost–kiss. My skin grew even warmer. How could I have allowed the thought to slip into my mind at that moment, just because he had said some things? It was the shame of it that made me stay up by the fireplace all night and leave at dawn, immediately after the rain stopped. 

I was still staring, lost in thought, when I noticed Leo approach him, then he paused, pointing at Kyle, who touched his face, and in the next seconds, Kyle was heading toward a vehicle parked across from him. 

Instead of entering, he leaned against it, head tilted back toward the sky, one hand pinching the bridge of his nose like he was trying to stop phlegm from falling. From where I sat, it didn’t look like the situation was a normal one. It didn’t. It looked like something serious was really going on from the way Leo pressed something into Kyle’s hand, which I later realized was a handkerchief when Kyle brought it to his nose. 

I didn’t even realize I was standing until I heard Sheila’s voice. 

“Auntie Ava?” 

I looked down to see her staring up at me from my arms. 

“I… I need to pee.” She said. 

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+25 Points > 

I blinked and then smiled quickly, nodding. “Of course,” I said, setting her down on her feet. 

With one last glance out the window to see Kyle already slipping into the car, I guided Sheila to the bathroom. 

Hours passed. And the sun had begun its slow descent into the clouds by the time we were packed in the car, heading home. Phoenix sat stiffly in the front passenger seat, staring out the window while Sheila sat stubbornly at the back, clinging to a stuffed unicorn toy. 

William had agreed to let Sheila stay with Phoenix in the meantime, until they could sort out whatever custody mess had caused all this. That decision had sparked another disagreement between the family, and although it was fun watching a very furious William rudely put his family in place, it was still unsettling because a part of me feared the hatred they had for Phoenix would multiply. After all, it was obvious from the side glare they gave Phoenix that they blamed her for everything. But if Phoenix saw that, she didn’t show it. 

However, as I looked between the woman in the front seat and the little girl at the back, I had a gut feeling this “temporary” arrangement would last longer than anyone expected. It was obvious, even though Phoenix hadn’t said a word since we left the resort. She hadn’t even looked back at her daughter. I couldn’t tell what she was feeling or thinking, but I knew she was hurt by all that had happened, and Sheila hadn’t called for her either. But I knew they both felt the ache and emptiness in the silence. They just didn’t know how to fill it yet. 

I stared out the windshield as I drove, my mind replayed the moment I’d seen Kyle and all the other events that happened before and after that. 

How had things gotten here? 

How had we all come to be in this tangled web of love, regret, pain, and questions with no 

answers? 

And more importantly, how do we move past it all? 

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