Mia's POV
Did I just hear what I thought I heard? I didn't respond immediately, needing a few moments to process Ava's words.
This Ava, the one sitting here in her condo after being released from the hospital, is not the Ava that I've come to know since she met Rowan Andrews. That Ava had shrunk herself to fit the little cage that Rowan built for her. I had watched the strong, confident Ava shrink herself bit by bit, until she was no longer the girl I knew.
The shy, nerdy, extremely intelligent twelve-year-old sitting beside me in a grade nine class, matured into a strong, confident, force of nature. She had a naturally witty, dark sense of humor, which often got the two of us into trouble with our teachers. I can't count the number of times we were called to the principal's office to
