The Ones Who Saved Us

Chapter 22

Arya's POV

It had been a little more than twenty minutes, and Ava still hadn't returned from the bathroom. Once the five of us had regrouped, we had split up to go look for her. With each passing second and minute, I was growing more worried about where my friend was. I had called, texted, and left countless voicemails, but Ava hadn't answered a single one. It wasn't like her to disappear without a trace, without letting at least one of us know that she was okay.

Raphael soon sent a text telling us to meet by the exhibit where Ava and I had been in before she disappeared. We had all checked the bathroom area but didn't think to investigate the exhibit since I had been there the entire time, but hopefully Raphael found her.

I needed for her to be okay.

Raphael and Marco were leaning against the wall of the hallway that led to the bathroom. In Raphael's hand was a small piece of metal that was barely visible to the naked eye. He beckoned us over and said, "This was a piece of the bracelet Ava was wearing earlier. Somehow it broke."

"Fuck," Cara muttered.

Just then, Marco's eyes widened as he pointed out the window. We all turned in that direction to see Ava who was running down the street, her back hunched over unlike her usual perfect posture.

What the fuck happened to her?

Pulling out my phone, I pressed my thumb on Ava's contact number to call her only to be met with an automated voice telling me to leave a voicemail. "Ava, where are you?" I frantically asked. "I just saw you leave the museum in a hurry. Did something happen?" I paced around the exhibit when my eyes landed on the last person I expected to see.

Cameron. And suddenly, the broken bracelet was starting to make sense.

"Oh, shit. Cameron's here. Did he hurt you? Fuck, Ava, please answer me. I swear to God, I will show up at your house even if I get into trouble with my parents. I don't give a fuck. I need to know that you're okay and safe. Please call me."

When I ended the call, my first instinct was to walk over to Cameron and punch him for whatever he did to Ava, but I was stopped by Raphael grabbing my arm. Turning me around, he shook his head and said, "You're not doing this, Arya. Let me handle him."

I shoved Raphael off of me and glared at him. Pointing in Cameron's general direction, I said, "That fucking asshole did something to her, and I'm not letting him get away with it."

Marco shook his head, saying, "Arya, you don't know that. This could just be a coincidence."

"No, not with him," I muttered as water welled in my eyes. "He tried to rape me, and he might have tried the same thing with Ava."

"He what?" Cara yelled. "I'm going to murder him."

"Stop it, Cara. You're not helping," Raphael said. Turning to me, he pulled me into a hug. "I'm so fucking sorry, Arya. You can go deal with him. We'll be close by if you need us."

As I walked away, Jamal yelled, "Punch him in the face for me."

"And kick him in the balls for me," Cara added.

I ran after Cameron whose back was facing me. Grabbing his shoulder, I turned him towards me, my fist connecting with his face to wipe the smug grin from it. The blow barely affected Cameron, though, as the smugness was replaced by an amused smile. "I missed you too, printsessa."

"Fuck off," I said. Narrowing the gap between us, I narrowed my eyes at him and asked, "What the hell did you do to Ava?"

Cameron's hands balled into fists as he clenched his jaw. "I told her not to say anything to you, but I guess I'll have to teach her a lesson."