ruby || j.d

PART 2 -- Chapter 12 -- Down In The Forest

The Dun household was not as bright as it usually was. There was a thick tension and sombre mood hanging in the air like tinsel on a Christmas tree.

"Oh Xena," Laura came up and embraced her, a sad smile plastered to her face.

"Hey Laura," Xena replied, hugging her back

Laura stepped back and looked down gloomily "You haven't heard from him, have you," She said more like a statement rather than a question, like she knew.

Xena shook her head woefully and exhaled frustratedly. "Should we look for him?"

"Yes. But I think we should report him as missing to the police," Abigail appeared beside Xena

"Missing?" Laura shook her head in shock

"Mom, it helps us to find him. People are then aware so they can look for him or at least keep an eye out," Abigail put her arm around her mother's shoulder

"I suppose so," She agreed

"I wanna look." Xena spoke up

"Are you sure? Maybe you should go with Jordan," Abigail smiled slightly

"Yeah, we can cover more ground," Xena nodded

"Jord," Abigail yelled

"What?" A voice echoed from the living room

"Come here,"

"Coming,"

Jordan appeared next to them, the TV remote tightly gripped in his hand.

"Hey Xena. What's up Abs?" He leaned against the wall casually

"Hey," Xena replied with a small grin

"Josh has been missing for a while so we're gonna go to the police," Abigail said as Laura shuddered

"Oh right," Jordan stared at his feet sadly "You think he's alright?"

"I, I really don't know..." Abigail shrugged

"I think we should look for him." Xena spoke up, Jordan's head lifting

"Well we can go see what the police say, you guys can look for him." Abigail snaked her arm over her mom's shoulder and hugged her.

Xena and Jordan stepped outside into the cold afternoon. Despite the sun shining brightly in the sky, the breeze still pricked at Xena's pale and goose bump ridden skin.

An awkward layer of silence trailed after them until Jordan spoke up.

"How'd you meet Josh?" His chocolate brown eyes narrowing with interest.

"Funny story, actually," Xena chuckled "I was at the grocery store and my bag split open and everything went everywhere. I was so humiliated. Then Josh gave me his spare bag and out of embarrassment I rushed off and left. The second time I went running and he bumped into me. It was weird to see him a second time less than a day before the first. He asked me for a coffee and I said yes. The rest is history," She sighed gently and smiled at herself.

"Wow. Never knew he was so confident and romantic," Jordan chuckled.

"We're not dating," Xena laughed.

"I thought you were?" Jordan furrowed his brows confusedly.

"No. He kissed me once but we didn't really talk about it. I mean I ran out on him when he did and it was super awkward for a while," Xena looked down at her feet "I never really thought about what it did to him."

"I'm sure he's let it go. If he really values your friendship he wouldn't let it get in the way,"

"I dunno," Xena wondered in doubt

"I do though. That's the way my brother is." He shrugged

"Hmmmm." Xena looked up to the pale blue sky

The pair had scoured the whole neighbourhood by the time it was sunset. There was no indication that the lemon haired boy had been in the area recently.

Xena and Jordan waltzed into the house, Abigail lounging on the couch.

"Hey," Abigail yawned, sitting up slightly "Nothing?"

"Unfortunately, no." Jordan replied

"Oh," Abigail sank back into the couch "Well the police think this is linked to the abductions,"

"What?" Xena shakily interjected

"Yeah, I know. I didn't believe them either," Abigail replied

"Well wh, what do we do now?" Jordan asked worriedly

"I don't know. Wait. Search. Advertise." She dragged her hand down her face

"I need to go home," Xena said, already walking away

"I'll call you, please say safe!" Abigail called after her, as Xena ran out.

She ran down the street all the way home in a state of confusion and, well she wasn't even sure about the other half. She was confused and stressed? Whatever it was, it didn't feel good.
The front door swung open, the image of Tyler and Jenna cuddling appearing in her field of vision. She ran straight past them in a puddle of tears up to her room.

"Xena?" Jenna yelled

Violent sobbing racked Xena's slight frame as she collapsed to the floor.

She wondered how this happened. She blamed herself because she was the one who had troubles. She was the one who brought James into the equation. If Josh hadn't helped her, none of this would've happened. She always poisoned everything pure in her life, including herself.

Xena's skin was tight from dried tears. Frustration and exhaustion plagued her mind. She crawled into her bed with all her clothes and makeup on, not giving a damn whether she broke out or stained her pillowcase with concealer.

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"Josh!" Xena screeched for the the millionth time, her vocal chords burning from inside her throat.

"Hey! Ma'am?" The woman reached her hand out

"Don't touch me," She slapped the woman's hand out of the way violently

"We asked you to stop screaming and come over here. Now please, we can't have this get out of hand for both our sakes," The woman stepped closer

"No no no! No!" Xena batted the woman's arm away again until the woman grabbed her

"Grab her other arm," The woman called to her accomplice

"Let me go," She wriggled and flailed about, trying to free herself of their grasp

"Ma'am,"

"Stop," Xena freed an arm and slapped the woman. She stumbled back, clutching her cheek.

"For god's sake," The man jabbed Xena in the neck with something

"S," Xena sputtered as she went limp. She fell to the ground in a heap, the dirt around her body making a cloud beside her. The pair were not taking any care at all. They hauled her up and dragged her through the dirt and into the van.

"Stupid girl," The woman muttered as she slapped Xena's cheek. "That's for before."

The Twin Valley van sped off down the road, disappearing into the night. 

hope you guys liked it? it's bad i know, but this is me trying to cohesively play out the plot? sorry! anyways, hope you enjoyed .

fact number something: my fave colours are yellow and blue 

until next update, 

K.R x