ARIA'S POV
I get extremely worried when Luke and Joey don't return after an hour. But they come just when I was about to use the hospital phone to call Joey.
"Joey! What happened! How's Ingrid? Is she ok?!" I sit up in my bed.
Joey walks in alone, I guess Luke was somewhere else. He's angry, I can tell. "We can't find her anywhere. We went to the police, but they said we couldn't track her phone until she was reported missing after 24 hours," he sits next to me in my bed. "So we have to wait."
"I'm so sorry, I wish I didn't to stay stuck in this hospital, I really want to find Ingrid, I can only imagine how Luke is," I find myself staring into his eyes once again. I see the anger melt off his face.
"Yeah, he's pretty pissed off, knowing he can't do anything to find Ingrid until tomorrow night."
"Is he still here?" I ask.
"Yeah, he's in the cafeteria, getting us something to eat," he fixes his hair, "I'm really sorry, but I can't stay with you tonight. I would stay here, but I have to go with Luke, he really needs someone right now. The doctors said you'd be released by tomorrow morning, so that's good."
I can feel the heat rise into my face. He was going to spend the night with me. "Yeah, I totally understand."
"Thanks," he awkwardly scratches the side of his nose, "See you tomorrow, Aria." he squeezes my hand, "Goodnight." and walks out the door.
That night I dream of blissful nothingness. I was afraid of having a dream of Ingrid being taken, or a dream about my stabbing.
I wake up, and get breakfast served to me. A couple of pancakes and bacon with some orange juice. I was starving, so I ate every crumb. When it's time to be released (10 am) Joey is there to pick me up. He brings me another one of his shirts to wear since he knew i wouldn't want to wear my bloody shirt. This time he greets me with a hug, and I cheerfully hug him back.
"Hey, Aria."
"Good morning," I smile.
"Luke's over at my house, we'll be going there," he says as we walk back to Satsuki.
"How is he?" I ask, afraid about the answer.
"Horrible. He didn't sleep at all last night. I didn't either," and I notice the dark circles under Joey's usual bright and awake eyes.
"It must be horrible for him..." I mumble.
Joey stays silent. And he stays silent for the entire drive back. Was he angry? Tired? Both? Probably.
He opens the door to his house and I step in. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, except a few blankets and pillows scattered in the living room.
Then Luke comes in out of Joey's room. He has dark blue circles under his tired, red eyes. His clothes are wrinkled, his hair a mess. I instantly feel horrible, like I did this.
"Joey-" he starts.
I walk/run up to him and hug him tightly. He's so tall my head doesn't even reach his shoulder. "We'll find Ingrid. I know we will."
He hugs me back, but only slightly. I pull away, and waltz over to my stuff piled in a corner. "I'll be changing," and walk into Joey's room. Another mess is in there. I ignore it for now and go into the bathroom.
I quickly change into a very casual light blue shirt that hangs off my shoulder and comfy black jeans. No makeup, once again. My face doesn't look too bad. Or maybe I just got used to my unattractiveness.
Jade must be worried out of her mind. I should call her, tell her I'm fine, that I'll be staying at Joey's for a while, at least until I know Ingrid is safe.
I brush my hair quickly and slip on some unmatching socks. I throw Joey's shirt onto his messy bed and wander into the kitchen. Joey's making pancakes and Luke's sitting on the table, staring down into his full plate, not eating.
"Hey Joey," I say, catching his attention, "Can I borrow a phone?"
"Yeah sure," he sets down the spatula he was holding, "You can use mine."
I mumble a thanks and walk back to Joey's room and close the door halfway.
I forgot Jade's number. My phone is destroyed in an alley. I only have two numbers memorized. But I don't know which one is which.
I try my luck and dial the first number I can remember. I bite some of the skin off my lip in anxiety while the phone rings.
"'Sup," a sloppy voice says.
"Shit," I say aloud by accident and fumble around for the "end" button.
"Aria?" the voice suddenly says. "Is that you?"
"I'm none of your business anymore." I say, a tremble in my voice.
"I don't care," the voice turns sloppy again, "I want you back,"
"Now's not the time, Caleb," I half whisper .
"Just, I've been missing you, don't you miss those nights?" he teases.
"That never happened!" I lose it and scream into the phone. "Shut up, Caleb!" I finally end the call.
"Hey," a hear a soft voice say. "Is everything ok?" it's Joey, and he enters the room.
"I-I just," I am at a loss for words. I search for them in Joey's eyes. I swallow the lump in my throat. I blink away the tears.
"Come here," he says and pulls me into a hug.
And I spill everything to Joey.
