Chapter 85

Ava’s POV

I heard the familiar rumble of Ezra’s car engine before I even saw the headlights sweep across my bedroom wall.

My heart did its usual, traitorous thing where it skipped and raced all at once.

I hated how my entire body seemed to recognize him before my brain could even catch up.

I sat up straighter on my bed, shoving the throw blanket aside. I hadn’t even bothered with the TV tonight, hadn’t opened the book on my nightstand.

I had just… waited like some lovesick teenager who couldn’t breathe until she knew he was home safe. Pathetic, really but then again, Ezra had never been just anyone.

The sound of his footsteps in the hallway tightened my chest. When the door opened, he looked… wrecked.

His hair was mussed from running his hand through it, his jacket slung carelessly over his arm, and his eyes… those stormy eyes that usually made me melt looked darker than I’d seen in a long while.

Something was wrong.

“You’