______Ryder's POV______
After seeing Avery, I decided to head home and start thinking of ways I could get Avery's fish back. Honestly, I'm starting to get a little jealous of Nemo... Don't judge me. When I get home, I hop out of my car, and head inside. As soon as I walk in I'm greeted by my mom.
"Hey sweetie! How was your day?" She asks, pulling me in for a hug.
"My day was great, mum. Did anything interesting happen today at work?" I ask her, kissing her forehead.
My mom works for the hospital, so usually people would run in with the weirdest injuries... One guy got his head stuck in a bucket... Don't ask.
"Not really, honestly. How is your girlfriend doing? What was her name again?" My mom asks.
"Her name is Avery, mum. And we are going great... Just a little bit of a school issue, but it's nothing that I can't handle." I tell her, only being partially honest.
"Avery? What's her last name... I have a co-worker who has a daughter named Avery that she mentions sometimes. She works in the ER department with me."
"Her name is Avery Hart. That would be awesome if you were friends with her mom, it would make meeting her family a lot easier..." I tell her.
"Yea! I know Diana Hart... That's her moms name... What a small world, right?"
"Yea... But hey, I need to go and do some homework... Call me down when dinner is ready, okay?" And with that, I kiss her on the cheek and head upstairs.
I need to fix this Natalia/Nemo dilemma... I need to be able to get into her house and get Nemo... Suddenly, it's as if a lightbulb went off in my head, and I pull my phone out and jump onto my bed.
I cringe, and shut my phone off. The only thing going through my mind is, Avery, you are doing this for Avery. That thought alone made all of this worth it. I would move Heaven and Earth for her. I know we haven't been together for long, but something about her makes me smile every time I think of her. Snapping me out of my thoughts, my mom shouts, "Ryder sweetie, dinner!"
"I'm coming mom!!"
Galloping down the stairs, I rush to my designated seat at the dinner table, and sit down. My mom walks in and sets the plate of veggies, meat, and fruit on the table. She makes sure I eat right.
"Where's dad?" I ask mom.
"Don't worry sweetie, he'll be here soon." My mom promises, with a small smile.
I just nod my head in understanding.
My dad has his own company... It's called Slade Empire. Since my family's last name is Slade, that's where the name came from, obviously. It's been our family business for generations. My dad plans on handing it down to me one day... But I don't really want it... I want to be able to start up my own business, not take something that's already been created, ya know?
"Honey, I'm home!" I hear my dad's voice echo through the house. I just chuckle. Every single day my dad says that, he's been doing it for as long as I can remember.
My parents file into the dining room and we all are seated.
"Hey! How's my boy doing?" My dad asks, as he pats my shoulder from the seat next to me.
"Great dad, schools great-"
"-Avery is doing great too." My mom cuts me off. I give her a playful glare and watch as my fathers eyebrows shoot up in curiosity.
"Avery? Who's this Avery character, son?" My dad asks.
"She's my, uh... She's my girlfriend dad..." I manage to mumble.
"Girlfriend? Is it a serious relationship?" He interrogates.
"Yea dad, it's a serious relationship. It hasn't been a long one, but I've known her for a while and I really like her..." I rant, with a smile on my face the whole time. I could go on and on about everything that's great about Avery.
"She's sounds amazing, when can I meet her?" He asks.
"Soon dad, I plan on introducing her to you really soon." I promise, with a huge grin on my face.
______Avery's POV______
I'm sitting on my bed, doodling in my notebook when my phone buzzes. Curious, I pick it up.
^ picture of the text message Natalia sent to Avery ^
I look at the text message she sent me, once again, and tear up once I see that it's real. How else would she know about the plan? I can't believe Ryder would betray me like this. Wiping a tear from my eye, I get off my bed and grab a bag from my closet. Filling the bag with clothes, I think of something to tell my mom so she wouldn't worry as to where I would be. Once the bag is filled, I sling it over my shoulder and head downstairs. Grabbing a pen and paper, I write a note to my mom:
Mom, I'll be out for a while. Don't worry though, I'll be safe. And yes, I brought a charger with me so my phone won't die. You are the only person I can talk to right now... I can't tell you where I am going, because I honestly don't know. I just need some time to clear my head and think about a lot of things. I love you...
~Avery
As soon as I finished the letter, I placed it on the counter and walked out to my car. You may think I am over reacting, but if I were to confront Ryder about it, he would probably lie about it... When in reality, I have the proof right in front of me... Thanks to Natalia. She was right though, she won... I guess Ryder was lowkey on her side the whole time. That just doesn't seem like something he would do... I guess the person I fell for wasn't the person I thought he was.
Putting the keys in the ignition, I blast the radio and drive away... Driving to wherever my car will take me.
_______Next day_______
Ryder's POV:
I drive to school the next morning, missing the company of Avery sitting in the passengers seat. I hate how we can't even give a second glance in the hallways now, that was the worst part of yesterday. Especially now, since Natalia thinks I like her. She is probably going to cling to me the whole day... Hopefully Avery won't get too angry. After all, I'm doing this for her. I take a deep breath and pull into the schools parking lot, mentally preparing myself for the day.
***********************
The day felt excruciatingly long. The fact that Avery wasn't in school didn't help either. Now that I think about it, I haven't heard from her all day... The even weirder part was that when I asked Brooke where Ave was, she didn't know either. I'll just have to go to her house after I go to Natalia's. On the way to Natalia's I decide to call Ave.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Voicemail.
That's weird. I think to myself. Pulling into Natalia's driveway, I prepare to grab the fish and make a run for it. Walking up to her front door, I internally cringe at what Natalia must be thinking right now. I knock on the door, and not even a second later, Natalia opens it, smiling widely at me.
"Hey babe." Natalia says, as she plants a kiss on my lips and pulls me into her house. While she shuts the door, I wipe my lips and silently gag, but as soon as she turns around to face me, I fake a smile and wave nervously.
"Hey, do you still have Nemo?" I ask her, while taking a piece of her hair and playing with it in between my fingers.
"Yea, of course. You wanna see him?" Natalia offers, slightly distracted by my actions.
"Hell yea." I say.
Natalia leads me upstairs, and into a dark room. She turns on the light, and sitting on her dresser, is Nemo swimming into the walls of his fish tank.
"Do you think that I could take him? Cause you know, if someone finds out that you took him, you could go to jail. However, since your so damn fine, I can take the fall for you." I offer with a wink.
"You'd do that for me?" She questions, slightly breath taken.
"Of course I would baby." I answer, trying not to cringe at the pet names.
"Yea... I guess you could take him. Thank you Ryder!!" She squeals and jumps into my arms hugging me. Hesitantly, I hug her back.
I pull away slowly.
"I'll take him now, so he would have more time with me than you, so none of the evidence could trace back to you." I tell her, walking over and picking up an empty cup and placing Nemo in it. I tape the top of the cup so he wouldn't fall out of it while I was driving.
"I'll see ya soon." I tell Natalia, making my way out of the room.
"Bye babe." She says, pecking me on the cheek.
I get out of the house as fast as I can, and as soon as I get back in my car and set Nemo in the cup holder, I gag and wipe my cheek. Driving to Avery's house, I grin in accomplishment. Pulling up to her house, I see flashing lights everywhere, and cops swarming the whole property. Parking the car, I grab Nemo and run out over to Avery's mom.
"What happened?" I ask breathless.
"Avery... She's gone." She tells me, before being pulled away by the cops.
I stand perfectly still, with Nemo in my hands. This must be a scam... I think to myself. Running inside, I dump Nemo back into his original tank and look around the house.
"Avery!!" I shout.
Looking over to the kitchen, I find a note on the counter.
Mom, I'll be out for a while. Don't worry though, I'll be safe. And yes, I brought a charger with me so my phone won't die. You are the only person I can talk to right now... I can't tell you where I'm going, because I honestly don't know. I just need some time to clear my head and think about a lot of things. I love you...
~Avery
She left... She really is gone... But why? What happened? Did I do something wrong? I go into the garage and see if she went in her car, or took a cab. I open the garage door, and the garage was empty. Dory was gone as well. Wherever Dory is, Avery should be there too. I need more answers. Pulling Mrs. Hart away from the reporters, I give her a worried look.
"What happened? Is Avery hurt? Why did she leave? Did I-"
"Woah woah woah... Slow down. I don't know why she left... All I know is that I had to work late, so when I came home, I didn't even see the note. When I came back from work today, I saw it on the counter and immediately called the cops."
"Can I use your phone?" I ask.
"Sure, she said she'd only answer for me, so maybe she'll answer. You seem to really care about her."
"I do." And after I said that, I took her phone that she held out to me, and walked into the empty house. I clicked on her contact, and started calling her.
Ring.
Ring.
Ri- "Hello?" Her voice rings through the phone.
"A-Avery?!" I stutter into the phone.
"Ryder?" She whispers.
"Yea baby girl, it's me. Where are you? I've been worried sick all day."
"Don't baby girl me, Ryder! Natalia told me what you did. Don't play stupid." She shouts
"What did I do?" I ask, my eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.
"You told Natalia our plan. She sent me a picture of your text message with her. I have the proof." She explained.
"The text is fake! I would never betray you like that. I even got Nemo back for you, it was torture trying to get him back..." I try and reason, hiding my anger.
I hear her sniffle through the phone.
"Love, where are you. I'll come and get you, okay? I don't care if I have to fly across the world, I'll do it to get to you." I promise.
"I-I'm at this lonely playground about an hour and a half away... Ryder I'm scared... Please hurry..." She starts crying through the phone.
"I'm sorry." She squeaks through the phone before the line cuts dead. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and when I pull it out, I find that Ave sent me her location. Giving Mrs. Hart her phone back, I mutter a quick "thank you," before running to my car and jumping in. I set my phone in front of my steering wheel, so I could see where I was going.
I'm coming baby girl.
A/N:
Hello my fellow fishies! There's an extra long chapter for you lovelies. Everything went from 0-100 real damn quick. More is coming soon!! Read my friends book "Yours Truly" by missycasper and read all of the amazing books on my other amazing friend dreaamer16 account.
Xoxo - Batman