Chapter Eight

“Mr. Sambora we have the results from the tests and scans on your daughter and it seems she has been very lucky today, if she wasn’t wearing a helmet her injuries would have been much worse.”  Richie let out a sigh of relief at the doctor’s words relaxing into the seat in the doctor’s office.

“However she does have a concussion, which should take about a week or so to heal. Tonight she should be woken up every two hours and asked simple questions like ‘where are you right now’ just to make sure there is no brain damage.”

“But you just said she’s fine!” Richie’s eyes widened.

“And she most likely is, but we can’t see everything on a scan Mr. Sambora. She also has bruised ribs which will be tender for about two weeks. She should rest and not do any running or other sports. She should stay in bed for the first week.” Richie nodded slowly. His little girl on bed rest

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“Babygirl!” Richie exclaimed as he entered the room and wrapped his arms around the young girl’s shoulders carefully. “How are you feeling?”

Ava grimaced at the hug and pulled back. “I’m fine dad, no biggie.”

 A frown appeared on her father’s face and he looked her over. “Dad it’s nothing. Just a concussion and some bruised ribs. I’ll be good as new in no time.” She spoke while Richie took a seat next to her and grabbed her hand.

“It’s okay. I was just so worried when I got the call, your mom is on her way too.”

The teenager frowned. “Why’d you call her? I’m fine.” She sighed. The blood drained from her face and she fiddled with her thumbs.

“She’s your mother babygirl. She loves you and has every right to know what happened.”

“You do realize that she’s gonna blame you and Lynn right?” She cocked a brow and Richie frowned.

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“How the hell did you allow this?” Heather raised her voice with every word while making grand gestures with her hands. “I knew this was a horrible idea right from the beginning. What about school, huh? Just because you never finished high school doesn’t mean she can just go without it too!”

Richie lowered his head and felt his temper rising. “Ava is happy with her horse, loves the animal even.” He spoke while raising his head to meet her eyes. “This was an accident, it was no one’s fault.”

“Is she here too? That little groupie you have training that animal? Please tell me you at least fired her straight away.”

“No way in hell. Jocelynn is doing a great job with both Oliver and Ava. This wasn’t her fault!” He raised his voice a little, trying his best not to yell.

 “Just because there’s been an accident doesn’t mean that she’s not doing a really good job!” Dark circles around his eyes showed worry for his daughter and anger for his ex-wife. As soon as Heather arrived and was assured by Ava that she wasn’t dying, he took her into a quiet hallway to talk to her about what to do next.

Heather’s eyes were widened and her lips pursed together in a tight line. “I’m taking her home with me. If you wanna see her you can come visit. Until she’s completely recovered she’s not coming near that horse and it’s trainer.”

Richie felt his temper rise to dangerous heights. “Like hell you will! We didn’t do anything wrong Heather! It was completely safe for Ava to go for a ride with Oliver. Any horse would’ve done the same thing when that deer appeared! You’re not taking my daughter away from me!”

He felt his Jon’s hand on his shoulder and turned around, almost ready to blow up again, but before he could say anything Jon threw him a look and turned back to Heather. “Heather surely Ava can come visit in the weekends like she always has. You have shared custody, any changes you should discuss with the lawyers.” Jon spoke calmly, trying to calm down the situation.

Heather huffed and turned on her heel without another word. “Bitch.” Richie muttered as she was out of earshot. He rubbed his temples trying to calm down the raging headache that just started.

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“Ava I’m so sorry about all this.” Jocelynn spoke as she sat down next to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Ava grinned. “Like I just fell off a horse.”

Jocelynn smiled. “At least your sense of humor didn’t fall out. I’m really glad you’re okay and the way you handled yourself with Oliver today. It could’ve ended way worse if you’d started freaking out too.”

“Thanks Jocelynn.” Ava tried to stiffle a yawn.

Lynn got up from the seat and squeezed Ava’s hand. “Rest for a bit. I’ll see you when you get home.” Turning around she left the room and saw Ava close her eyes as she shut the door.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” Looking up, she made eye contact with the blonde woman she had nearly knocked to the ground.

“What the hell were you doing in there with my daughter?” Lynn’s eyes widened as Heather stood in front of her with her hands on her hips and one eyebrow cocked up. “I’d like for you to stay away from her. You’ve caused more than enough damage already.”

Lynn frowned and sighed. “I don’t blame you for thinking that, you don’t have enough knowledge about horses to know you’re wrong there.” She spoke slowly. “Also you are not the one to tell me what to do. I genuinely like Ava, she’s a good kid.”

“How dare you talk to me that way. You’re nothing but some groupie who’s trying to fuck my daughter’s father. My ex-husband. He doesn’t fall for trash like you, he has better taste than that.” Heather sneered. “You should go home to New York. Bother people out there.”

Jocelynn merely grinned. “Right. I’ll see you around Heather.” She turned to walk towards the exit and heard Heather huff in frustration behind her, only causing her to smirk. As she was heading towards her car she was lost in thoughts about what to pick up for dinner when someone reached out and grabbed her arm from behind.