Chapter 86

Ava’s POV

I was halfway through drinking a glass of wine when Alex’s voice floated from the hallway.

I had gone to visit him before I went back home.

“Ava?”

I glanced up, caught off guard by the seriousness in his tone.

He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, his brow creased the way it got when he was worried about something.

“Yeah?” I asked, carefully smoothing a shirt that wasn’t even wrinkled.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, “When was the last time you talked to Emily?”

The name hit me like a punch to the stomach. I forced my face neutral, busying my hands so I didn’t have to look at him right away. “Um… it’s been a while. Why?”

“She mentioned you’ve been distant.” Alex tilted his head, studying me with that frustrating big-brother gaze that always saw too much. “I just… I think you should check in on her. You two used to be glued at the hip, and now it’s like you’re avoiding her.”

“Because I am,” I