“Hi, buddy,” I say in a high-pitched voice as he licks my face from top to bottom. “Hi,” I repeat, as he wiggles in my arms. I’m trying so hard not to drop him.

He’s the biggest and fluffiest Golden Retriever on earth, and he’s a sucker for sweet talk.

“Daddy missed you.” I tap his nose, and he licks my finger. “Yes, he did.”

I step in, close the front door, and put him down. Ava steps out of the bedroom. She’s dressed only in a white t-shirt and underwear, and it’s such an Ava thing to do. She loves to walk around the house as naked as possible. I loved it too, for a while.

Now it only makes me laugh, knowing how she must spend her time. Especially now she has the entire place to herself.

“Oh, hi. I didn’t know you were coming.”

I open my mouth to say something, but a shirtless man appears from the bedroom and I just nod. I’m not surprised. There’s a big chance she was with other guys before we broke up. Can’t blame her either.

“Who’s this?” the guy questions, raising a brow at her.

“I’m Elias.” As soon as I say my name, his face clears in understanding. “I’m just here to grab Avocado.”

Ava’s face drops. “You’re not taking him.” She’s fighting me, but not really.

“You can come visit him.”

I had Avocado before I met her, and although I know how much she loves him, that doesn’t mean she gets to keep him. She’s free to see him whenever she wants, but I’m not going to be apart from him any longer.

The guy leaves the room, looking awkward.

“I–”, she starts.

“Ava,” I warn. I’m not going to back down.

It’s weird how I don’t feel jealous of the guy. I actually think it’s good for her. We didn’t work. Things like this just happen, and a high school romance doesn’t always lead to marriage. Living in a family like mine, you’d believe it does. You’d believe that loving someone is enough. Well, it’s not.

Although my parents have been together since they were fourteen, a love like theirs can be hard to find. Not all of us can marry our first love.

Ava nods and steps towards us, her eyes welling up. She picks up Avocado, hugs him, and kisses his head.

It must be hard for her. It was the same for me. Stubbornness was the one thing keeping me from him. Guess the need to be anywhere but in the same house as her was strong enough to do that, but it would’ve felt weird to do otherwise after the way we ended things.

“I’m going to miss you,” she whispers, inhaling his scent.