When the group had returned, Casey had long returned to his room, he was not sure if Ava was still down by the pool but he would have guessed that she returned to her room once the place began to get noisy again. They did not talk for too long and when Casey had gone back up, he had fallen asleep pretty easily. It was only when Klaire woke him up, that he became aware of everything going on.
“Are you feeling more rested now?” Klaire asked him, as she was laid on the other side of the bed.
Casey groaned in response and Klaire smiled at him. “We went down to the beach and ate a lot of food. There are so many tourists here so it took a while to do the things we wanted. When it’s just the two of us, I want us to take a boat trip somewhere, obviously nowhere too far but still.”
Casey smiled. “Sure, that doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Do you want to go down and get
Ava smiled at Klaire as she sat back down in the room. It was the only room they could get that was away from the noise and somewhat like an office. There were couches and a coffee table, but everything looked tropical. The coffee table was literally made out of bamboo and there were various paintings on the walls of coconut trees and flowers and all colorful things of a sort.Klaire returned her smile with an awkward laugh. She crossed her ankles and leaned back into the couch. There were a few moments of silence and Ava knew that it was her job to move past it all and put on a brave face. Besides, she was over what Klaire had done. Mostly.“Alright. It seems like forever since we had one of these sessions huh?” Ava chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.“Yeah… it’s been a while.” Klaire nodded.“So I think we should just get the rough stuff out of the way first.
To say that Ava had not known peace since meeting Casey and Klaire would be an understatement. She did not know why in her mind, she imagined ever getting moments of peace when she was around Klaire and Casey. She guessed it was because of Klaire's change of behaviour that she had some hope. But as always, it was a problem that was obviously the fault of Klaire. It was actually about her change of behavior. Or, lack thereof, she would say.It was the day after Ava came to her epiphany about Klaire’s behavior. She was spending the day making calls and doing research on the best ways to try and help Klaire. In the past, she had dealt with people who had similar problems but never to the degree that Klaire had it. Ava concluded that it was because Klaire was so famous that it definitely changed the way her brain functioned and differentiated her from the other patients she had.Ava was using the office space she was given by the hotel.
“I’m calling off the wedding.”That was the first thing that Casey said as soon as the door closed and Ava braced herself for the hell-storm that would follow. She was not facing them and wished she could remain so. Ava had never dealt with a couple as problematic as this one. Toxic was not the word she would have used in the past but Klaire’s actions were borderline toxic. She manipulated Casey in order to get him to stay with her. Ava was not aware if it happened in the past but she did not want to assume and so she never brought the relationship to toxic. But problematic was the word she would use to describe their relationship in a heartbeat.“WHAT?!”Ava didn’t even flinch because she knew it was coming. When she sat on the couch and finally faced them, the two were standing opposite each other, heated expressions on both of their faces. But Klaire looked like she was seconds
Ava went looking for Casey, on the second day. She had not seen him at all since their conversation with Klaire and it seemed like neither did anyone else. He could have left the hotel or even the country for all they knew. She had asked the staff if they had seen him but got negative answers from all. There were a lot of empty rooms in the hotel since the guests took up around a third of the space.Two days was long enough to calm down and think things through properly. But with a situation as complicated and dense as this, Ava wondered if he would need more time. But all the times in the past when he was willing to break up with Klaire should help with his decision-making. It would take some time if this were a new thing. If Klaire and Casey had a normal relationship for all the time they were together and then he just found out that she was a fake person, then that would take a while to process, but since it was no news that Klaire was not the best pers
To say that Casey was feeling vulnerable would be an understatement. He had been in pain for the past two days. He knew that he would leave Klaire in the end. He knew that and yet, he still could not come to terms with it. He had used the time Ava had given him to try and accept the fact that he was leaving Klaire for good. The internet in all its glossary was what he used to try and persuade himself against giving up and staying with her. All the comments of people calling her a horrible person, and telling Casey that he is foolish for staying with her and that she is just destroying his happiness, was what he relied on. Even though he knew all of this already. In the time he took, he was sure that Klaire was looking for him, but he had requested that he stay in a little room which the staff used to rest. He knew that if Klaire had found him then he may be swayed or may react in a way that was not very nice. He was furious but he was al
Casey had Ava and Klaire in one shot. Klaire was by the pool, seemingly unbothered and problem-free, hanging out with her friends, laughing and whatnot, and Ava was sitting inside the lounge, scrolling on her phone, seemingly unbothered as well. They had not noticed him yet and while he was building up the courage to go and talk to them, someone spotted him from his hiding place behind a corner and very loudly, called him out.“Casey! Man! I haven’t seen you in days man, you alright?” his friend Luke came up and patted him on his shoulder. “You look like a mess.”Casey gave him a tight smile and only nodded. When he looked past him, he saw that Ava was looking at him and she just gave him a very blank stare before she got up and walked away and Klaire was frozen by the pool. Her friends all had their eyes focused on him. Their expressions were different. Some showed concern and others which were clear amusemen
Klaire acted as anyone would suspect. She was hysterical, tears and snot ran down her face. She begged and pleaded and every second of it made his heart squeeze. But he was doing this for them, not only him. It was best if she got out of a relationship and fixed herself before she got back into one. This was what he had told her but it seemed like Klaire misunderstood it as him getting back with her after her therapy. But he would not be doing that. But there was something so incredible liberation about finally saying it out loud that he was leaving Klaire. In his head, he expected to chicken out and not actually go through with it. He had been with Klaire for so long that it felt strange to go on with her, but he wondered all the things that he would be able to do now that Klaire was not a part of his life anymore. All the things he refrained from doing because she would be upset about it. Like going to the club or to a bar or just having a pleasant conv
Ava saw what was coming from a mile away. How did she know? Because it was Casey and Klaire. She had thought that an entire two days would be enough but she had guessed wrong. Because it was Casey and Klaire. And now with Casey in her office telling her that he was having second thoughts. She had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Now, Ava was finally able to understand why the internet was so invested and yet so done with this couple. It was this painful back and forth with them.She also understood why people were mad at Casey as well as with Klaire. That comment she had seen a while ago had stuck with her. Casey staying with Klaire seemed to be more for selfish reasons and that him staying with her was making her think that how she behaves is ok. It was wrong to let a person continue in such an unhealthy way. He wanted to stay with Klaire despite knowing, and being the one to bring it up, that she needed help.“Casey, do you love K