“Morning, Sleepy-head.” Donavan grinned the next morning as I limped out into the living room of his house.
It was strangely quiet, and I had the feeling we were the only two in the house. My eyes moved around the small room over to a digital clock above the TV. It was late in the morning, which made sense that no one was home.
He moved over on the couch, patting the empty space next to him. I collapsed into the soft, warm cushions.
“How’re you feeling?”
“Horrible.”
He gave me a sympathetic look, “It’s always going to hurt worst when you first wake up. Should I change the bandages?”
“Give me a little bit of time.” I shook my head, “I’m starving.”
He stood up, moving toward the kitchen as he talked, “We have Fruit Loops, Cheerios, Fruit Loops, a kind of old banana, Fruit Loops, apple—”
“Do you have any Fruit Loops?” I teased playfully.
He turned to face me, “No, sorry we’re out of those.”
I rolled my eyes as he winked, turning around to get me a bowl of cereal.
“Milk?”
“Sure.”
A few seconds later, Donavan returned carrying a nearly full bowl of Fruit Loops. The colorful circles floated atop one another in the pool of white liquid beneath. They looked delicious. I took the bowl from him, resting it on my lap gingerly.
He resumed his original spot on the couch.
“Have you heard anything from the police?” I asked between mouthfuls of the sugary flamboyant ‘O’-s.
He shook his head, “I called Ronnie while you were still asleep, but he says no word from them. We’re completely in the dark.”
I bit my lip, staring into the bowl as I chewed.
“He said to check your cell phone. He gave them your number from the work records.” Donavan suggested hopefully.
Instinctively, I moved my hand to my pocket, before I realized I had left it back in my rom. “I don’t have it.”
“Did you lose—?”
“It’s at my house.”
He was silent for a moment while I took another bite and chewed slowly.
“Do you want to drive down and check things out?”
I nodded. “I need to know if she’s alive.”
We agreed to wait until he could replace my dirty Band-Aids and apply more medicine to my skin before we left the apartment. It was strange to see Donavan acting so maturely with me. I liked the change, but wasn’t entirely comfortable with the seriousness yet. My mind kept anticipating his sexual jokes like normal, but none were made.
He took his time so as not to hurt me as he peeled off the blood-stained old ones. He told me to take a shower before he put any new Band-Aids on so that the water would clean the wounds. Handing me a towel, he retreated back to the living room to give me privacy.
The water stung at first, but I could feel it cleaning my body as it rain down. It was tinted red at first, but eventually cleared out to its normal color. I took my time, wasting as much of the hot water as I could.
I changed into the clothes he gave me. He said they were small on him, but on me they bagged dramatically.
“Hey.” I said, entering the living room.
He looked up from the television, walking toward me. “Are you ready to get all patched up again?”
I nodded.
He motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs and got to work re-bandaging my body. I tried to keep it as normal as I could manage, moving my body for his benefit. Donavan’s eyes were fixed in concentration on my war wounds as he swabbed and dabbed my cuts.
“How’s your face feeling?”
“Horrible.” I mumbled.
“It doesn’t look any better.” He smirked, glancing up at me from under his lashes, “You’re going to have a killer scar.”
I grimaced, “Awesome.”
“Don’t worry,” he laughed, “I think scars are sexy.”
I almost kneed him in the chin on instinct. His joke brought back the Donavan I knew, but there was something lacking in it. He still seemed worried, but it felt almost like he was forcing his normal personality on me.
I pushed the feeling away, settling for a soft smile.
“Come on.” He said, once he finished. A good half an hour had passed since I had eaten breakfast, making it lunch time for most.
I followed him out to his car, taking my time so as to minimize the pain involved. My body ached with each step, and it seemed that sleep had only made it worse from yesterday. Sensitive bruises decorated my arms and legs from where the ropes had been tied, and cuts were patterned up the rest of my body.
I tried my best to ignore it.
It was a silent ride over to my house. My heartbeat quickened with each block as we neared. Unwanted thoughts entered my head on the fate of my grandmother. They knew where I lived. They were probably waiting for me.
The neighborhood was silent as we pulled into it. Donavan drove slowly despite the near empty roads as we approached my house. The suspense was murder.
He parked the car, getting out first. Donavan followed me as I walked up the front of my house, stopping in front of the door. I pulled out the key from under the mat, ignoring the snort from my companion at our unoriginal hiding spot.
“Grandma?” I called as I walked in.
Silence greeted me back.
I bit my lip, forcing myself not to assume the worst. She may have been out to eat with her friends, or at the police station looking for me.
An array of options was before me.
Donavan closed the door behind us as I walked further into my house slowly, “Grandma? Are you home?”
I glanced back at him with worry in my eyes.
“Let’s look around a little.” He suggested, “Maybe she’s not wearing her hearing aid.”
Despite knowing she didn’t wear one, I went with his suggestion. There was a possibility that she was in a position where she couldn’t hear us.
“Should we try calling her phone?” He asked.
I shook my head, “She doesn’t have one other than the house phone, and that would be a little redundant to call.”
He nodded understandingly.
“What if she’s dead, Donavan?” I asked with a weak voice. I led the way up the stairs, having no success on the first level.
“She’s not dead.”
“How do you know?” I spun on my heel, nearly screaming the words. I hadn’t intended for such emotion to fill those words, but it had.
He grabbed my shoulders, holding me still. Only then did I realize I had been shaking in fear since I’d entered the house.
“Trust me. She’s fine. We just haven’t found her yet.”
I nodded, taking in a deep breath to calm myself. I was acting irrationally. We hadn’t finished searching the house yet.
I need to calm down.
“Avery?” A voice called down from the opposite end of the hallway.
I spun around, my voice hopeful, “Grandma?”
“Where in God’s name have you been?” She exclaimed, coming out of her bedroom. Her hair was crazy, and she was still in her nightgown this late in the day. “I had the police come to my door at one in the morning saying that you had been in an accident or something—Oh!”
I didn’t listen to any of her words. My eyes started to water at the sight of her safe and sound. I threw my arms around her, pulling her to me tightly.
“I was so worried.” I whispered just soft enough for her to be unable to hear.
“My, what’s gotten into you?” She hugged me back hesitantly.
“I…” I pulled back, wiping my eyes with the back of my tears, “I was just worried about you, that’s all.”
“What for? Avery what happened last night? Where did you go? Why were the police involved? What happened to your face?”
“I’ll explain later.” I lied.
There was no way I could honestly explain anything that had just happened to us. She wouldn’t believe me to begin with.
Her eyes moved to the boy behind me, narrowing slightly, “Who is this gentleman standing in my hallway?”
“This is Donavan.” I said, pulling back, “I work with him.”
She nodded, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Donavan.”
“Same to you, ma’am.” He said politely.
“Avery, what happened?”
“Ma’am,” Donavan said, stepping in, “Avery really just needs sleep right now. She’s been through a lot, and I don’t think pounding her with questions is really helping.”
She turned her attention to him, “Do you want to explain what happened to my only granddaughter?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean—”
“He doesn’t, Grandma. And he’s right.” I said, smiling weakly. Now that I knew she was safe, a wave of exhaustion hit me. I wasn’t sure how I was so tired after sleeping for so long, but I was regardless. “I am beat.”
She pursed her lips.
“Donavan, thanks for taking care of me.” I smiled gratefully. He shrugged it off casually, a grin on his face.
“No problem.”
I walked him to the door, giving him a hug. “I’ll see you at work. Tell Ronnie I’ll be back next week.”
“Don’t come to work before your eye’s healed. Wouldn’t want you scaring away our customers.” He winked.
I playfully pushed his shoulder. He waved, leaving.
My grandmother stood by the stairs, watching. I took my time walking past and heading toward my room.
My room looked the same.
It was hard to believe that only the night before Tyler and I had been arguing over me heading into danger with him. While I hated what happened, I was glad I went. But a stab of guilt hit my heart that I may have been the cause of his death.
I still didn’t know of his well-being.
I picked up my phone, scanning through the notifications. Two calls from my Grandmother using the house phone, a text from Ronnie explaining that the police requested me at the station today, and a text from Jake with a simple heart on it.
Another wave of guilt flooded over me as I realized I would have to either end my relationship with Tyler or with Jake.
Collapsing on my bed, I closed my eyes, trying to find a comfortable position on top of the sheets.
A crinkling noise evaded my ears, causing my eyes to open.
I had rolled onto a small piece of paper with only a few words scribbled onto it. My eyes scanned over the note, taking in the words with great emotion. I wasn’t sure how it managed to get into my room, but I couldn’t have been more thankful it did.
The note was scribbled from my hero in his familiar, neat script.
“I’m OK.”
I grinned, tucking it close to my chest. I could live with that alone.