PART 6
Grandpa looked at me.
I nodded.
He got out of the SUV.
Ava climbed into the passenger seat.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I looked at her.
“For what?”
“For taking your car.”
I waited.
She looked down.
“And for everything else.”
That surprised me.
“What does everything else mean?”
She wiped her cheek.
“Mom always said you were okay.”
I frowned.
“She said you didn’t care.”
I stared at her.
“She said you had Grandpa anyway.”
My chest tightened.
“So she thought because Grandpa loved me, you deserved more?”
Ava nodded.
“She said you were independent.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t need anything.”
“I know.”
She looked at me.
“I know now.”
I waited.
Ava took a deep breath.
“I knew the car was yours.”
“I figured.”
“I knew Grandpa bought it for you.”
“I figured that too.”
“I knew Mom shouldn’t have taken the keys.”
I looked at her.
“Then why did you take them?”
She began crying again.
“Because I was jealous.”
The honesty caught me off guard.
“Of me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She laughed bitterly.
“Because everyone thinks I’m the spoiled one.”
I stared at her.
“You are.”
She actually smiled through her tears.
“I know.”
Then her smile disappeared.
“But being the spoiled one isn’t as great as it looks.”
I remained quiet.
Ava continued.
“Mom gives me everything.”
“She makes every decision.”
“She tells me what job to take.”
“She tells me who I should date.”
“She even chose what I studied.”
I blinked.
“You never told me that.”
“I was embarrassed.”
She looked at me.
“Do you know why I wanted the SUV?”
“Because you liked it?”
“Because it was the first thing I wanted that Mom hadn’t picked for me.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Ava looked at the dashboard.
“It was stupid.”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
Then she handed me something.
A small key fob.
The spare key.
“I found this in Mom’s bedroom.”
I stared at it.
“Why was it there?”
Ava swallowed.
“She had been planning to keep it.”
I looked toward the house.
Ava whispered, “She was going to sell your old car and use the money to help me.”
My stomach dropped.
“What old car?”
“The one you were driving before Grandpa bought the SUV.”
I stared at her.
“My car?”
Ava nodded.
“Mom said she was going to sell it.”
I couldn’t breathe for a second.
“She couldn’t.”
“She had the title.”
I froze.
Then I remembered.
Three weeks earlier, Mom had asked me to sign some papers.
She had said they were insurance documents.
I had signed them without reading carefully.
My blood ran cold.
“Ava.”
“What?”
“Where are those papers?”
She looked frightened.
“Mom has them.”
I opened the SUV door.
“We need to go inside.”
We hurried toward the house.
When we entered the office, Mom and Grandpa were still there.
I walked directly toward my mother.
“Where are the papers for my old car?”
Mom stared at me.
“What papers?”
“The title.”
Her face changed.
Grandpa noticed.
“Answer her.”
Mom looked away.
I knew.
She had it.
She had been planning something.
I turned toward Grandpa.
“Can you help me check?”
He nodded.
He reached for his phone.
But before he could do anything, Mom suddenly said something that made all of us freeze.
“I sold it.”
The room went silent.
“When?”
“Last week.”
My voice dropped.
“You sold my car?”
Mom nodded.
“I was going to tell you.”
“With what permission?”
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