⚠️ TW: Brief mentions of SH ⚠️
I'm starting to get really worried.
Arya's been gone for three days and none of us know why.
She's never missed this much school.
She even missed 2 tests.
Ryan is just as worried as I am, she said that Arya hasn't gone to work in the past 4 days.
She hasn't responded to anyone's messages and I'm starting to feel sick.
I mean, what if something bad happened to her?
Fuck.
I quickly whip out my phone and text Ryan to meet me at my car during lunch.
She replies quickly with an "okay".
The class goes by quickly and I do my best to pay attention to my teacher but my mind keeps wandering back to the fact that my girlfriend could easily be in the back of someone's trunk.
Once the bell rings, I quickly make my way to my car and see Ryan there already.
"We're leaving." Is all I say while getting into my car.
"Wait what?"
"Arya's been gone for days and I'm fucking worried Ry! What if something happened to her?"
She hesitates for a moment, looking back at the school and then at me.
"Okay." She nods before putting all her bags in the backseat and making her way into the passenger seat.
"Where should we look first?" I ask.
"The hospital. Her grandma has to know where she is." She replies almost immediately.
She's right, there's no way Arya could go longer than 24 hours without visiting her grandma.
"Okay but I have to get something real quick."
Every time I go to visit Arya's grandma, I bring a bouquet of flowers.
It's not much but I can tell it makes her happy.
I quickly park in front of a nearby supermarket and run inside to grab a bouquet.
"Nice to see you again Xander." Miss Lee the cashier says as she rings up the flowers.
"You too Miss Lee! How's Mittens doing?" I ask while swiping my card.
Mittens is her cat by the way.
Last week the poor thing was sick.
"She's doing better but she still won't eat much."
"Well when my brother's dog was sick, we just fed him little by little until he started begging for more food."
"That's a good idea. Have a great day!"
"You too Miss Lee!" I wave before making my way back into the car.
"Flirting with the cashier I see." Ryan laughs.
"Oh yes, we all know my type are old cat ladies."
"I ship you guys."
We both burst out laughing before we finally made it to the hospital.
I don't know why but the second I get out of my car, a weird feeling settles in my gut.
I try to ignore it but I can't seem to swallow the lump in my throat.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ryan stops me right in front of Grammy's room.
"I don't know, I feel kinda weird," I mumble.
"So do I." She admits.
We both stand there for a few more seconds before finally building up enough courage to walk in.
"What are you two doing?" Someone asks just before we walk into the room.
"Oh uh, we're here to visit someone," I say while pointing to the door.
"There's no one in that room." The nurse says.
What?
"Yes, there is, my best friend's grandmother is being treated in the room," Ryan says while raising an eyebrow.
"The room has been vacant for the last 3 days."
Ryan and I look at each other shocked.
That's when Dr.Davis steps in.
"Xander, Ryan...a word?"
Ryan and I hesitantly follow him towards his office.
"What's going on doc? Did you guys switch her room?" I ask.
"No, Farah Marwan passed away in her sleep 3 days ago." He whispers.
WHAT THE FUCK?!
"WHAT?!" Ryan gasps.
"How?" I ask, still in shock.
"She suffered a sudden heart attack in her sleep. Arya was here-"
"Where is she now?" I ask.
"I'm not sure, she was here a couple of days ago to sign a few papers and collect some of Farah's things."
Jesus fucking Christ.
"I thought she still had 2-6 months!" Ryan says as tears run down her face.
"What do you mean 2-6 months?" I ask her.
"After Hawaii, the doctor pulled Arya aside and told her that Farah's cancer spread a lot faster than they thought," Ryan explains.
"What the fuck? She didn't tell me that!"
"I told her to!"
Holy shit, that must have been the day Alyssa ran away.
I knew something was up with her.
"We have to find her now," I say before getting up and dragging Ryan out of the hospital with me.
"Xander slow down!"
"How could you not tell me?!"
"I thought she was gonna tell you!"
"She hasn't spoken to me in weeks!"
"Alright! Enough! The last thing we need to be doing is fighting! I think I may know where Arya is." She says before pushing past me and getting into the car.
How the fuck could Arya keep this from me?
We're supposed to tell each other shit like this.
Does she not trust me?
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"Give me your phone."
I don't say anything, just hand her my phone.
She puts in an address that's about 20 minutes away.
"It's a special place Arya and I go to if we ever need to blow off some steam." Is all she says.
For fuck's sake Arya could easily be doing something stupid right now.
She's already lost her family and now her grandma who was the last person she had left.
I feel tears begin to form in my eyes and I quickly wipe them away before Ryan notices.
I mean Farah was an amazing woman from the first second I met her.
She was lively, funny, a great storyteller, gave great advice, and most importantly, she brought out a side of Arya that nobody else could.
Since my parents are never home, she was almost like a parental figure to me too.
And I'm sure she was for Ryan as well since she and Arya are best friends.
"THERE'S HER CAR!" Ryan gasps suddenly.
I notice it off in the distance and quickly park next to it.
Ryan walks over to the car and it's a complete mess.
Arya's a very organized person so seeing the car messy like this is making me freak out even more.
"Holy shit, look!" Ryan says while pointing at something in the back seat.
"Is that...alcohol?"
Ryan quickly turns around and starts running into the woods.
"Ryan! Wait up."
God this place is fucking creepy.
Why the fuck am I always the one getting stuck in these situations?
I mean first Asher, then Alyssa, and now Arya!
We both freeze when we hear a loud "UGH!" from a bit further into the woods.
"That's her," Ryan says.
I let her lead the way until we made it past the woods and near some kind of stranded beach.
There is definitely a dead body here somewhere.
"Look!" Ryan gasps while pointing at a figure near a fire pit.
There stands my girlfriend throwing a bunch of shit into the fire.
"Arya!" Ryan runs towards her.
Arya freezes and looks at us in shock.
"What the fuck are you two doing here?" She scoffs before continuing to throw the things from the pile into the fire.
"We've been worried sick! You haven't been answering your phone. We thought something happened to you!" I say.
"Something did happen." She says bluntly.
"We know, we were just at the hospital," Ryan says.
"Arya I'm so-"
"DON'T FINISH THAT SENTENCE! I'm so sick of people feeling sorry for me. People die, so fucking what? I'm fine." She yells.
No tears stream down her face, her voice doesn't crack, she just looks...dead.
"Arya just stop for a second!" Ryan says as she storms over to her trying to grab the piece of clothing from Arya's hand so she doesn't throw it into the fire.
"Get off of me!" Arya yells before shoving Ryan to the floor.
"What the fuck, Arya!" I yell before helping Ryan from the floor.
Arya doesn't say anything, she just continues what she's doing.
What is she even doing?
I look down at the pile and notice a few pictures of her and her family as well as a sweater I remember her grandma wearing when I picked her up for our first date.
"Arya don't do that!" I yell before successfully ripping the piece of clothing from her hand.
"Xander do me a favor and leave me the fuck alone." She groans.
"We just want to help you. We know what you're going through and-"
"How the fuck could you know Ry? Your life is so fucking easy! You have two parents who are still alive! A boyfriend who loves you more than anything, your art!"
Ryan looks taken aback and her jaw drops.
"Arya-"
"And you! Your life is even easier! You're fucking rich, your parents may be shitty but you have an amazing brother! Your fucking popular and great at sports! EVERYONE LOVES XANDER FUCKING MITCHELL!" She screams.
"Neither of you could possibly know what I'm going through! Can't you fucking see, I have no one!" She finishes.
"No one?! You have us!" I replied.
"It's not the same."
"What do you mean 'it's not the same'?"
"It means that you two are just friends, you're not nearly as important as my family."
"Wow. I can't believe you just said that." Ryan scoffs.
"I mean it's true."
"Are you fucking kidding me?! I was the only one there for you after your parents passed away! I was the one who forced you to apply for the Las Flores scholarship! I WAS ALWAYS THERE! And for you to say that I'm not important to you...that really fucking hurt Arya." Ryan yells.
"You're being overdramatic! You're acting like my life would have gone to shit if you weren't a part of it! I would have been fine."
"Arya, you almost fucking killed yourself if I hadn't found you-"
"RYAN! SHUT THE FUCK UP! Just fucking leave and never speak to me again!"
"FINE! Fuck you!" Ryan yells as she turns back and storms back to the car.
"Arya, what the fuck are you doing?! She was just trying to help-"
"Just leave Xander."
"No, you're my girlfriend and I'm gonna be here for you."
"Fine, then I guess I'm not your girlfriend anymore. Now leave."
What the fuck?!
"Arya...you don't mean that."
"Yes I do, I don't need people like you and Ryan constantly on my ass about this. I'm fine and I would rather be alone."
"But I love you." Is what I wanted to say.
Instead, I just stood there staring at her in shock.
"Don't do this Arya."
"For fuck's sake Xander! What about 'I'm not your girlfriend anymore' do you not understand! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" She yells before pushing me back.
"Arya-"
"Go Xander. Now." She says and doesn't spare me one more glance.
So, I leave.
But not before grabbing one of her grandma's necklaces and a picture of her and her parents from the pile.
When I get back to the car, I see Ryan leaning against it crying.
I walk up to her and pull her in for a hug.
We stay like that for about 10 minutes before we finally decide to leave.
We both drive in silence as we think about what had just happened.
I keep trying to convince myself that everything she just said was just because she's mourning the loss of her grandmother but it all just sounded too...real.
I drive Ryan to her house and she mumbles a "thanks" before heading in.
Once I drive off, everything hits me all at once and I finally start to cry.
The one person who had supported me through everything, the one person who didn't judge me for my learning disability, the one person who never gave up on me...
Arya Ali, the first girl I had ever fallen in love with is gone.
----------Author's Note----------
These chapter's just keep getting more and more sad wtf.
I'm sorry for putting y'all through a depression.
Our favs are actually broken up and I don't know how to feel right now.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
Also, thank you so much for 30k reads!
Ahhh I love you!!!
-Pradabagg
Word Count: 1939