Addicted

Chapter Thirteen: A Long Few Days

It had been a few weeks. The last few days had been extremely stressful for everyone. Avery had gone missing. Again. Megan was extremely on edge as she felt like she could be doing more but was stuck waiting at their house with Carlos in case Avery showed up. Megan was sitting at the kitchen counter on her laptop with her headphones in doing one of her online courses when Carlos walked into the kitchen. Megan saw him standing across from her and pulled out her headphones.
"They're going to find her, you know? She's going to be okay." Carlos tried to reassure the teen.
"Yeah, I hope so." Megan said quietly as she went to put her headphones back in. Just then Carlos' phone dinged, alerting them to a new message. He picked up the phone from the counter.
"What is it?" Megan asked, sensing someone was up.
"They found her friend Jason. Apparently she's been staying with him for a few days, but he hasn't seen her since yesterday." Carlos informed the teen as he read part of the message out loud. Megan sighed.
"What aren't you telling me?" Megan asked him on edge. Carlos hesitated before he answered the teen.
"Apparently she's been off her meds for a little while." Carlos told her. Megan didn't know what to say.
"Knowing that she's definitely in LA is a step in the right direction." Carlos told Megan.
"Yeah..." Megan said quietly as she closed her laptop.
"I'm going for a walk." She said as she walked out.
"Megan." Carlos called out, but it was too late. The front door slammed shut, making him sigh.
"Come on Avery, please come back." He whispered, as he took a moment to compose himself.

Megan returned to the house later that evening and let herself in using the spare key. She ignored Carlos and went straight up to Avery's room where she had been staying. She curled up on the bed and wrapped herself in one of Avery's blankets and finally let the tears flow. She was terrified. She had no idea what Avery was going through, especially since she was off her meds. All she wanted was for her to come home safely as nothing else mattered. Carlos thought about going to check on Megan as she came in but decided to give her some space as it had been a rough few days. Eventually, Megan cried herself to sleep.

The next morning, Megan woke up just after 8. After going to the bathroom, and pulling on a hoodie, she headed downstairs. She found Carlos sitting in the lounge, with his laptop on his lap, his phone on the arm of the couch and the news on in the background.
"Morning kiddo." He said as he spotted Megan in the doorway. He saw her tear-stricken cheeks and how tired she looked. He patted the couch next to him. Megan walked over and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Is that Avery?" Megan asked, seeing what was on his laptop screen. Carlos nodded and shifted the screen so she could see it better.
"Yeah. LAPD put out an alert a few days ago when they suspected she was there." Carlos explained. Megan looked at the screen sadly.
"Do you want some breakfast?'' Carlos asked the teen.
"I'm not really hungry." Megan said, shaking her head.
"Pancakes it is." Carlos said getting up as he ignored her. Megan couldn't help but smile slightly as she got up and followed him to the kitchen. They made casual chit-chat as Carlos made them some breakfast. Right as Carlos handed Megan a plate of food, his phone dinged. Megan looked at him as he picked it up.
"They found Megan." He said happily.
"Really?! How is she? Is she okay?" Megan asked quickly.
"Said she's been taken to the hospital to get checked out and for dehydration. She's sedated but stable. They're waiting to hear more from the doctor later today." Carlos explained as he read the message out loud once again.
"Thank god." Megan sighed.
"See, I told you she'd be okay." Carlos told the teen as he squeezed her shoulders supportively. Megan nodded as her phone went off once, quickly followed by another ding.
"Ones from TK making sure I'm okay...the other's from Max. Crap." Megan said as she suddenly realised what day it was.
"Everything okay?" Carlos asked her.
"Yeah. I just completely forgot I was meant to meet with Max yesterday. He tried calling me, but I didn't answer." Megan explained as she replied to Max's message.
"He said he can meet today so I'll go meet him for lunch." Megan told Carlos now that they knew Avery was okay.