“You’ll miss me,” he teases.
“Yeah, like a hole in the head. What’s going on here?” Helen questions.
“Ave’s sister was taken.”
“You okay, babycakes?” Marvin asks her, shoving me aside and wrapping her in a hug.
“When Bay is back I will be.”
“How about I hang with you for a few hours…as long as that’s okay with my keeper?”
“Do you promise to stay with Avery and not wander off?”
“Cross my heart, hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.”
“You leave her room and I might just do that. I’ll come collect you just before lunch.”
“Thank you, Helen,” he says, his tone super cheeky. Helen shakes her head as she walks away. “Come on, let's get you into bed.” He says this with a suggestive eyebrow shrug. Ave and I both laugh, but we follow him back to her room.
Avery does as she’s told and climbs into bed. Marvin takes the chair by the window and I climb on to the bed with her.
“Young love, it’s so nice to see,” Marvin says. “Now, what are we gonna watch while we wait for your sister to be rescued?”
“Your choice,” Ave says, her voice quiet. I can tell she’s shrinking into her head again and just as I think that, her body shakes in my arms, she’s crying again.
“Ohh, Avie,” I say, this causes her to cry harder.
“Bay is the only one who…who calls me Avie,” she blubbers; pushing her head into my shoulder, letting it all out.
“I’m so sorry, Ave.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s those guys’ fault.” She lifts her head. “What if I don’t get her back? I don’t know how to exist without her.”
“She’ll be fine.”
“Doc’s right,” Marvin agrees, “If she’s half the woman you are, then those fools are in for a treat. She’ll be back before lunch.”
But Marvin wasn’t right, it's now been three days since Baylor was taken and she’s still yet to be found. It’s like she disappeared off the face of the Earth. Avery is beside herself with worry right now, and I’m worried about her. If we don’t find Bay soon, I don’t know how Avery is going to cope.
39
Avery
She’s been gone for four days now. Ninety-six hours and there’s still no sign of my sister. I’m going out of my mind. I’m sick to death of hearing people say, “Everything will be fine” or “Bay is tough.” I know she’s tough, but my mind is racing right now. One minute I’m calm and think yes, she’ll be home soon, and the next, I’m screaming and crying with fear that she’s dead. I’m on an emotional roller coaster right now. Everyone is hovering around me like I’m going to fall apart at any second, I’m fine…ish, apart from wanting my sister back. I want some space. I just want to be left alone and with Flynn heading into work today, I might just get some peace. But noooo, I can’t be trusted on my own so I agreed to go to the hospital with him. I’ll hang with Marvin for the day.
I’ve been here for three hours and Marvin has kept me entertained, and my mind off Bay. He’s just drifted off to sleep, so I take the opportunity to get some alone time. I head across the road to Starbucks since the coffee in the cafeteria here is toxic waste. With my coffee in hand, I’m walking back to the hospital when two men in suits approach me. “Avery Evans?”
Hesitantly, I really. “Yeeees. And you are?”
“I’m Agent Hall and this is my partner, Agent Oates.” My eyes pop open at this, and I giggle. They both look at me in a ‘yes we know our names are funny’ way. They are talking but I’m not listening, I’m singing “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” by Hall & Oates to myself. It isn’t until Hall, I think, says, “Ma’am, can you come with us, please?”
“Is this about my sister?”
“We aren’t any liberty to discuss that here with you.”
“Just tell me if she’s okay.”
A look passes between the agents. “Yes,” one of them sternly answers. With that one word, I can finally breathe easily again. “Avery, if you come with us, we can tell you more.”
“Can I let my boyfriend know what’s happening?”
“No, not right now. Time is of the essence here, Ms. Evans.”
“Fine, I’ll come…but I’m texting him as soon as we leave.”
“Fine.”
“Actually, can you show me ID before I get in a car with you? Stranger danger and all that shit.”
They both show me their identification, and much to their amazement, I quickly grab a snapshot of Hall’s. Thank you, Cress, for teaching me the art of the quick sneaky pic. “For security,” I say and I quickly send it to Flynn.
AVERY - Going with Agents Hall and Oates, yes that’s their names. It's about Bay. Call you soon **attach ID picture**
No sooner do I send the message and my phone starts to ring. I answer but before I can say anything, Flynn bellows down the line, “Are you fucking crazy going off with strangers?”
“They aren’t strangers. They are agents, Hall and Oates, and they have information on Bay.”
“You are making me fucking crazy.”
“It’s about Bay and I’ll be fine. Besides, you have a pic of Hall’s ID. If this was a setup, they would have taken me like they did Bay, rather than talk to me and ask me to come with them.” Just as I say this, the police station comes into view. “Look, we’ve just arrived at the station, see I’m fine. I’ll call you as soon as I’m done here.”
“You better. Please be safe and remember I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Hanging up, I sigh. Suddenly I’m nervous. “Is Bay here?”
They ignore me and quietly we walk into the station. They take me into an interrogation room and when the door opens, my eyes well with tears. “BayBay,” I blubber as I take her in. Her clothes are torn, her hair’s a mess, and her face—her gorgeous face—is black and blue and swollen. Racing over to her, I wrap my arms around her and she returns the gesture.
Together we cry with relief at seeing one another. Pulling back, I gently grip her cheeks in mine. “Are you okay?”
She nods. “Yeah, I am.”
“What happened?”
“Long story.”
“Bay,” I warn.
“I’ll tell you, but first, I need you to sit and listen to what I have to say.”
I sinking feeling develops in my stomach. I’ve never seen Bay like this before. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
She shakes her head. “Probably not, but, Avery, I need to do this. I need to make amends for my actions.” She swallows deeply. “I need to do this for Kye.”
“Who is Kye, Bay?”
She sniffs. “He was ‘the one’ and because of my actions, he died. It should have been me but he protected me. I tried to walk away after that but I was in too deep. Way too deep.” She licks her lips and looks at me. “Avie, this is my chance to put things right. This is my chance to make up for his death.”