Chapter 45: The Sign

“Mark?” Avery asked, her tone was low and sad. She wasn’t expecting to see anyone at this hour. He smiled, it was like the first time they met at his office when she decided to ruin John’s life. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and pants. Much in the same colors as what Avery is wearing.

“How are you? Where are you going?” He asked as he looked at her outfit. She chuckled, “Just a walk.”

He cleared his throat, signalling that he was about to ask something important. “Is everything alright? I read the article about the break-up.” Avery lightly smiled, “You know I don’t belong there.”

He looked at her as if she was wrong. “Let’s walk” She raised her eyebrow in confusion. “Aren’t you supposed to do something or go somewhere?” He then pointed a small corgi looking by the tree. “I’m just walking the dog”

Avery smiled as both of them walk. The little corgi followed upon seeing them. It didn’t have a leash but it seemed to be obedient to its owner. “I know what kind of person you are based on our first meeting.” He started.

“But I know you are a good woman so I let you in Lee Technology under my recommendation. For some reason, I knew you and Carson would get along.” She couldn’t say anything as she was guilty of her own plan.

He paused and looked at her. “I am also aware of what could happen, but when I saw the both of you at the party, I knew that I made the right decision.” She looked at him, “What do you mean?”

The dog paused by the bushes of the nearby house to sniff the area. It seems like it has found its spot. Mark and Avery stopped by the tear near the bushes to give the dog its privacy. “You and Carson love each other. That was why everyone wrote an article about you guys. It was like watching a fairytale come true.”

Avery shook her head, making Mark continue. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you. I also know that Carson can be hard headed at times, but I really want you for my nephew.”

She looked up and smiled. It was a good feeling but Avery was torn about her feelings. A part of her was glad that all the drama was over but another part of her wanted to fix things with Carson. Every time she wanted to go to him, she would remember how he looked at her at the restaurant and she didn’t want to come begging for his forgiveness.

“Aha! Success” Mark suddenly said as he watched the dog finish its business. He got a small plastic from his pockets and head to the bushes where he picked the dog’s poop. He covered the plastic with another one and threw it in the garbage.

He turned to Avery who seemed to be in deep thought. “We’re heading home. Want us to take you back?” She smiled and declined the offer. “Thanks for the talk, Mark. Take care.”

Avery continued walking as she looked at the night sky. The night was peaceful but her heart isn’t. Both Jane and Mark were right but Avery couldn’t seem to find the courage to do it, especially now that Carson would obviously ignore her.

She paused when she saw the park. Only a few people were there and it was perfect for Avery’s case. She decided to sit on one of the benches. If her mom was there, what would she tell her? Would her mom convince her to run away or do something about her relationship with Carson? If that was considered a relationship.

Avery got her phone and tried to play a music. She paused when she saw a picture. It was their picture during the party. She must’ve accidentally saved it. She was about to delete it when she saw how happy they were.

Carson was smiling at her while Avery was looking at the crowd. His hand placed on her waist looked gentle and it did felt that way. What they had wasn’t perfect as most of the time, they were holding back. But during their small peaceful moments when Carson would look at her, she would feel that she was at home.

He started as someone who accidentally entered her room to someone she wanted to wake up next to. She couldn’t forget his face, his voice, and his touch. Avery looked at the sky, “Can you at least give me a sign, mom? Something to push me that this was the right thing to do?”

Avery never begged for help but for the first time in her life, she wanted answers or some sort of sign. She had to know what she needed to do next. She waited for something as she looked in the sky. A falling a star or maybe a thunderbolt. But nothing.

She chuckled as she felt silly for what she just did. She took a deep breath and stood up. She needed to get her life back again. But maybe this time she could start her own business. She still has money left. Maybe she can open a small café.

Avery took one last look at the sky before walking. “Thanks for the sign, mom” She was about to take another step when her phone rang. She looked down to see who the caller was and her eyes widen when the name popped up.

“Carson”

Her heart started to beat loudly and her hand trembled. She didn’t know what she should do or say. Why did he suddenly want to talk? Did something happen? Is there an emergency? A lot of things ran through her mind but she couldn’t have the courage to press the button and answer the call.

The phone continued to rang and Avery just stared. Maybe this was the sign. Maybe this was the chance to fix it. She took one deep breath as she moved her finger to answer the call.

“Hello?”