Chapter 151: Ava: The Truth Comes Out (I)

"Ava?"

Disoriented after returning to Lisa's apartment, I can only blink as Lucas steps inside, looking concerned.

"Hi." The greeting feels stilted, but I'm still regaining my bearings.

There's something about Sister Miriam's talk about payment that bothers my mind, trying to pry loose some memory—but I shove it aside, needing to focus on the man in front of me.

It's dark in the apartment, but the TV is still going. Selene shakes herself before heading to the couch, leaving me with the soft impression of her presence in my head.

"You didn't answer your phone," Lucas explains, looking a little awkward as he stands there in the doorway.

"I didn't hear it." Now that he's in front of me, the idea of telling him everything… Is a lot harder.

It isn't that I don't want to, but that it's just—how do you even approach this kind of conversation? Especially knowing how much responsibility weighs on his shoulders.