Ava approached the first window she saw on the left side of the house. She kept her steps quiet, creeping up to the outside wall of the house and carefully looking through the corner of the window into the house. She saw a small living room with Gavin tied to a chair right in the middle. One man was guarding him with what looked like a pistol in his hand, the sight sending fear surging through Ava. She hadn't realized that they had guns on them. That meant she had to be even more careful. She moved on to the next window toward the back of the house, immediately hearing laughter through it. She gazed through the clear pane to see the two other men in the kitchen eating and talking to someone on the phone.
"We have him, sir. We'll bring him home to you. Don't worry," one of the men spoke into the phone before taking a bite of the sandwich he had recently made.
Ava knew she had to stop them before they dragged Gavin onto a plane and sent him back home to his father. If he got on that plane, she would never get him back, and she didn't want to go on this adventure in her life without him. She needed him beside her, and she was determined to get him back. She walked around to the back of the house to see another window, one that led to an empty bedroom. She was about to leave the window when something caught her eye on the dresser near the bed: an unlit candle. She knew a lighter had to be around somewhere, and what was more distracting than fire? She knew it was highly dangerous because the fire would spread quickly, but it would give her the distraction that she needed.
Ava tried to push up on the sliding window, but it wouldn't budge. It was locked. Ava cursed beneath her breath, feeling nearly too pressured to think. She glanced around the house, knowing it couldn't be the Ukrainian men's home. They had to have crashed it while the actual owner was gone. She spotted a small shed a few feet behind the house, prompting her to rush open and pull open the old wooden door to see a variety of gardening tools. She grabbed a pair of gardening scissors to tuck in the waist of her shorts and then grabbed a hand hoe. She headed back to the window, prying the thin blade beneath the windowpane to jiggle the latch on the inside. She shifted and angled the blade every which way until the latch bumped off of the lock, her free hand lifting the windowpane up.
Wanting to remain as quiet as possible, Ava celebrated in her head. She kept the gardening tool in one hand as she used her other to quietly hoist herself through the open window to tumble onto the bed. She paused for a moment before quietly shutting the window and getting off of the bed to approach the nightstand by the bed. She opened the drawer to find the lighter that she knew had to be in the room somewhere. She lit the vanilla scented candle and crept back through the window to get on the outside of the house where she was safer. Without another thought, she threw the candle onto the bed, watching the sheets immediately catch fire.
"I've just committed arson," Ava breathed out, a look of disbelief crossing her face as she watched the fire spread and spread, the smoke eventually setting off the smoke alarm, its shrill beeps sounding loudly throughout the area. She moved away from the window, making her way past the kitchen window to see the two men rushing toward the bedroom. She peered through the living room window to see the man guarding Gavin run off toward the bedroom as well. She saw her window of opportunity, prompting her to unlock that window like she had done the bedroom one. Once the latch gave away, she shoved the pane open and crawled in, rushing over to Gavin's side and removing the gardening scissors from the waistband of her shorts to start cutting the ropes that held him hostage.
"Ava?" Gavin mumbled, a confused look crossing his bruised face as he gazed down at her.
"It's me. I've got you," Ava murmured hurriedly, cutting through the last rope so that she could pull them off of his body to free him from the wooden chair. She looked up at him, feeling a brief wave of relief. "Let's get you out of here," she told him, her hands perching on his knees.
"Thank you," Gavin told her, his voice nearly a weak whisper.
Ava smiled at him before standing. She reached forward to grab his arm, helping him to stand and placing his arm around her shoulders so that she could support his weight. She brought him away from the chair, wanting to get him out of the cabin quickly. She knew the fire had to be crawling its way out of the bedroom at that point. She could hear the shouts of the Ukrainian men as they tried to conceal the fire somehow. She turned toward the door, helping him shuffle toward the exit as quickly as she could with his sneakers grating against the wooden floor.
"Stop right there!" A voice boomed out from behind her.
Ava stopped in her steps, dread filling her as she turned to see one of the men pointing a gun right at her. Soot covered his face and stained his brown hair, his breathing a little wheezy from inhaling all of the smoke that was pouring toward the living room. "You're not taking him back. I won't let you," she told the man firmly as she stepped in front of Gavin to put a barrier between him and the man. She couldn't let him go back to those horrible conditions he had worked so hard to escape from.
"Then I'm going to kill you," the man growled back, not wanting to deal with her. He reached out to grab her arm, ripping her away from Gavin and tugging her close to him.
"No! Let her go!" Gavin shouted, reaching for her, but his fingertips just brushed hers.
Ava crashed into the Ukrainian man, a pained huff rushing from her at the rough collision. She flailed against him, trying to break herself free from his grasp, but his grip was like steel. She tried to hit him with her free hand, but it was like punching rubber, her hand immediately bouncing off. Suddenly, pain exploded throughout the right side of her head as he smacked her with his open palm, a pained gasp breaking from her lips as her knees buckled. She felt him keep her upright with the grip on her wrist, her eyes squeezing shut to fight the throbbing pain.
"We have to get out of here!" A voice rang out, the other two men stumbling out from the smoke starting to consume the small house. They coughed heavily, their hands rubbing at their burning eyes.
"We have to bring Gavin to Raymond!" The man holding Ava growled at the other two.
The other two men looked to Gavin, who looked ready to fight his way free despite his injuries. "He can fetch his own son. I'm not dying today," one of the men commented before rushing out of the house, the other man trailing him.
"Cowards!" The man holding Ava nearly snarled the words, his anger making his grip tighten on her wrist.
Ava knew she had to get away from the man or she'd risk getting really hurt. She felt something cold against her hip, her memory catching up with her as she realized that the gardening scissors were tucked in the waistband of her shorts. She reached her free hand down to grab the handle, holding it tight before driving her hand upward in a last resort move. She buried the scissors into the man's stomach, an anguished cry breaking from him that rang in her head. She felt his grip give, allowing her to crash down to the ground. She quickly scrabbled away from him, throwing herself into Gavin's arms so that he could hold her.
The man fell to the ground after pulling the scissors out, his hand clutching at the bleeding wound to try to stop the blood from continuing to flow out.
"We have to get out of here," Gavin's voice came near Ava's ear. He grabbed her hand and headed for the exit, dragging her outside and away from the house that was increasingly become aflame. Smoke rose in the air as the flames crackled and ate away at the structure. He brought her farther down the driveway, coughing a little to try to clear the smoke from his lungs.
Ava collapsed to the ground with him, trying to catch her breath and get a grip on herself. She couldn't believe she did what she did, how the thought came to her so naturally. Her instincts had taken control, likely saving her and Gavin's life. She turned her head a little to gaze at Gavin, a worried expression adorning her face. "Are you okay?" She asked him, aware of all the damage he had endured.
Gavin cracked a smile at her, moving a little closer across the ground toward her until his shoulder met hers in a gentle touch. "Without you, I wouldn't even be alive, Ava. I'm more than okay," he murmured, his words coming out softly, sincerely. He gazed at her with an expression of pure admiration, his eyes seeming to glow.
"I'm glad you're okay," Ava told him, meaning the words with every fiber of her being. The danger that they had faced was finally up in flames, burning to the ground as the fire consumed and destroyed. They were free for now until his father heard of their escape, but at least they had a good head start. "Are we going to be okay?" She found herself asking, wondering what their next step was going to be.
"I ran illegal substances and weapons for my father. I continued that business here with a few local dealers, including Darren. I only continued that business to make money to disappear. Do you want to disappear with me? This window of opportunity we have before my father tries to make another move might be all that we have, but I totally understand if you don't want to come with me," Gavin explained to her, revealing the last few pieces of the puzzle he had kept from her.
Ava stared at him for a moment, taking some time to soak everything in. Things started to make more sense, especially the connection between Daren and Gavin. "Where would we go?" Ava asked him, giving him a warm smile. There was no other person she wanted to disappear with. College was great, but what she liked about it was living a new life, experiencing a new adventure, and learning new things. She could do all of those things just by being with Gavin. There would no longer be a tense and bland life for her, and that sounded like the dream she always strived to achieve for herself.
"I think I have somewhere in mind. Just got to call a friend to deliver a package and then it's smooth sailing to a whole new adventure for us. They won't ever know about us. We'll just be ghosts," Gavin replied, leaning forward to rest his forehead on hers.
Ava would miss her friends, but she knew she would figure out a way to reach out to them. They would understand. Her parents would lose the daughter they never really cared to raise. Sticking with the one person who understood her fully was the best option, and she was going to take it without a second thought. "Let's disappear," she told him, her eyes trailing down to his alluring lips. At his responding smile, she leaned forward to capture his lips in a searing kiss, finally acting on all of the emotions she had been feeling for longer than she had realized. She could fade off into the background of everyone else's lives to live an even greater life with him. All she wanted was an adventure, and she had finally got it.