Page 77 of The Burdens We Share
I scoff, “I did not. Nobody else suspected me.”
“And I’m not nobody else. I know you better than everyone, remember?”
Valid point indeed.
“I don’t have much time. I really need to go,” I rush the words out. I don’t even know how much time I’ve wasted with her.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll walk inside that house and tell Dallas exactly what you’re doing,” she threatens, menace in her voice.
My jaw drops, “You wouldn’t.”
She winks at me, “I so would and you know it.”
I weigh out the consequences. Aria running back inside and telling Dallas what I’m doing is more of a problem than me disobeying orders from my stalker. At least if I tell her I still have a fighting chance at getting Brody home. I take a long breath, “Fine. You win,” I start. “I got a phone call a couple hours ago from my stalker.”
Her face contorts into confusion, “How? He’s in jail.”
I shake my head, “Apparently the wrong guy got locked up. He was just biding his time letting me think he was locked up, but he was free the whole time, watching me and waiting.”
Aria looks as though she comes to a sudden realization asher eyes widen in fear and her skin pales. “He took Brody,” she whispers as if afraid to say it any louder.
I nod, “He said he would let her go if I gave myself to him, so that’s what I was going to do. I had to sneak out because he threatened her if I told anyone or if I didn’t come alone.”
She covers her mouth with her hand, “Oh my God,” she mutters into her palm, the words coming out muffled.
I give her a long, sad look, “So this is why I need you to go back inside, okay? Please. Do this for B.”
She shakes her head, lowering her hand, and suddenly, rage fills her eyes. “No. I’m going with you and we are going to get our friend back and then we’re going to get that motherfucker locked up where he belongs.”
“If he sees you-”
“He won’t,” her voice leaves no room for question. She’s so confident in her words, that I almost believe them myself.
I shake my head at her, “It’s too risky.”
She laughs, “When have we evernotdone anything risky in this band?”
Again…valid point.
I know she’s right, yet I’m still afraid. I’m afraid for Brody’s sake, but I know if she were in my position and I was the one that was taken, she would do everything in her power to get me back, and Aria would be right by her side. What the three of us have is rare. We’re best friends, but more like family. We have an unbreakable bond and even after all the fucked up shit we’ve done and been through together, we’re still standing. While the world beneath our feet has changed, the only thing that remained constant was our friendship. And I refuse to lose that friendship.
I know it’s reckless and definitely stupid, but I raise my chin as I say, “Fine. Let’s go get our drummer back.”
Dallas
MY EYES ARE ONfire. I swear if I stare at this screen a second longer, they’re going to melt and pour out of my head and I’ll never be able to lay my eyes on my beautiful little devil again. I can’t have that so I close the laptop and rise from my seat.
Harvey glances up at me in question and I briefly explain, “I’m going to take a quick break and check on Ivory,” before I head upstairs.
As I walk away I hear Slater add, “I should check on Aria. She’s been in the bathroom a while.”
I make it up the stairs and to my bedroom, anticipation growing in my chest as I start to feel lighter with each step. As I get closer to her, I feel my unease start to settle, replaced by this swell of an emotion I’m unsure of. Part of me knows what it is, an emotion more complex than just four little letters, but I can’t voice them to her yet. I want to voice it when the time is right, and while her friend is missing, it isn’t exactly the best time.
I open the door and step inside, flicking on the lamp on my side of the bed. I expect to find her curled up in my sheets, a pink blanket I got just for her wrapped around her like a cocoon, but my stomach falls when I find the bed empty and the blanket folded on her side of the bed. “Ivory?” I call out into the room, loud enough for her to hear me if she were in the bathroom.
No response.
Unease settles in my gut and I stop breathing as I focus my gaze back on her empty side of the bed as if I can will her there. The only thing on her side is her phone. I kneel on the bed, pressing my hand on my pillow for support as I reach for the pink case, but stop when I hear a crinkling sound that sounds a lot like paper. It came from my pillowcase. I lean back and grab the pillow case, opening it and peering inside. I find a folded-up piece of paper and already feel my chest splitting in half, myheart tearing free. Something is wrong.
