Dismount (Off Balance 5)

I had found my phone in the nightstand and put it on the charger, knowing I would need to call Avery the second I got out. I desperately needed to talk to her.

Not having use of both hands proved to be challenging. My hair had thinned out a lot from the illnesses, but I still had a mop on my head and washing it wasn't easy. Neither was dressing with one hand. I brushed my teeth, then I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling bathroom mirror and looked at myself. My skin looked ashen, and there wasn't an ounce of life in my green eyes. I looked frail and malnourished. Dehydrated.

I shook my head and stepped out of the bathroom. I climbed into bed and scooted under the covers. The nurse had advised me to take the sling off when I slept. I did a few slow stretches to extend my arm, but I hadn't tried to touch it or move it much before that. The tips of my fingers were numb as I reached, and the ache at the center of my elbow was relentless. It made me nauseous, but I pushed myself to do a few more and deal with it. I didn't want to rely on pain medication if I didn't have to.

Exhaling a heavy breath, I picked up my cell phone and turned it on. All my notifications popped up one after the other. I ignored them.

I pulled up my favorites in contacts and hovered over Avery's number. My thumb trembled as I pressed down.

"Adrianna!"

Jesus. It didn't even ring.

Tears burst out of me and I cried at the sound of her voice. "Ave?"

"I've been waiting for your call!" Avery was frantic. "Are you okay? How are you? What the fuck happened!"

"I'm sorry I couldn't call before," I said in between sobs. "I didn't—"

"It's okay, I don't care about that. I spoke to Xavier and he filled me in. I've been a nervous wreck waiting to hear from you. If I didn't have school tomorrow I'd already be over there."

I rolled my lips between my teeth. "He's in jail."

"No." She gasped.

"Yes. My dad pressed charges."

"What happened? Did he really find you?"

I closed my eyes and pictured his face when he walked into my condo and saw us. I can still feel the shift in the air and his rage.

"Yes. They fought, Ave." I couldn't hide the guilt in my tone. "Well, Kova didn't hit back but I think—"

"Kova would've knocked Frank out cold."

"Yeah, and I think Kova knew that, which is why he didn't fight back. He just blocked everything for the most part."

I told her how Dad was keeping an eye on my phone calls and had a tracker put on my car.

"What's your address again? You need a burner phone. I’m going to have one sent to your condo because this is serious, and when he gets out you need to be able to talk to him so you can get your stories straight."

I hadn't even thought of that. I gave her the info she needed, and she said the phone would be here in two days.

Then I gave Avery a play-by-play of everything, from the news about Katja and the lies she’d told Kova, to how he’d said he was divorcing her, and when we’d spotted Dad and Sophia in that little town. She was shocked that Dad was with Sophia just as much as I was. She asked if they were dating and I told her I didn't know, which was true. I told her how nice and empathetic Sophia had been toward me. I also said how awkward it was too since I wasn't used to it. The worst part was reliving the moment when Dad told me I lost the baby.

"Christ on a stick." Avery was quiet for a few beats. "This is like a soap opera. It's almost too much to believe. Did you really tell your dad everything?"

"I did, including that I love Kova."

"Oh. My. God."

"Yeah," I said, mortified.

"I don't know if I would've gone that far, but at least you cleared the air."

"I went a little further than clearing the air."

"Shit. What did you do?"