RUN!

6. Paris

Song: Paris, Texas by Lana Del Rey& SYML

Lee and I stare at each other, our minds reeling from the diary entry we just read. The last time she wrote was the 1st of February but there's a page turn that I guess contained the actual last time she wrote.

"Avery had a best friend," Lee drones, utterly amazed at this finding.

"Has," I correct. "This is definitely helpful, if we can find said Reyna then we would learn a lot about her, like who exactly this 'he' is."

"Do you know any Reyna's at our school?" Lee asks me as he examines Avery's diary.

"No. Except Reyna Rojas but she's a freshman and she most definitely won't talk to Avery."

"Why not?"

"Avery's a senior. She's a freshman, and the type who's stuck on social status. Could you search on Instagram or something?"

"That'll be a flop. We have no picture or last name. Our safest bet is to ask her mom."

Shit. I've been avoiding Mrs. Chan for reasons unknown to me but Lee has a point. Even if Avery was secretive and quiet her mum would probably know a few of her friends. I hope.

"We've got 2 hours before your mum starts buzzing my line. You coming?" Lee raises a brow at me. I roll my eyes at the insinuation that he's the one leading the investigation.

"Of course I'm coming you dumbass."

||

Avery's house is not hard to identify and it's not just because I've been passing the house all week and mentally acknowledging it as Avery's house. It's because the house is packed as usual. There's nothing new from the cops because there's been no new evidence and I probably have the most useful one with me. They don't say it but I know what's underneath their apparent worry and sympathy.

Either Avery ran away or she killed herself. Nobody seems to point out that she could've been kidnapped. It just seems to fit the story.

Lonely and depressed teenage girl jumps off a cliff on a Monday morning.

Except there's been no body, and I don't think the cops have any idea where to search.

"They're gone now- gosh, Mrs. Chan looks exhausted." As he says it my head snaps up and I squint my eyes to get a good look at her. She looks like she's aged 10 more years. Everyone at school knows Mrs. Chan, in fact you could say she is more popular than her daughter. She's definitely one of the most active parents in the PTA group and she doesn't miss any school event. It helps that she looks like a 33 year old working in a bank when she's actually in her late forties and works in a restaurant. As a manager, not a chef. It's one of the things they couldn't take from Avery though, her striking resemblance to her mom. They've got the same moon shaped eyes and a figure so slender you'd think they'd break at any moment. She may have been reserved but she was freaking beautiful and it pissed many people off. Is. She is.

"Come on, let's go talk to her," I say, standing up from the curb.

"What are we gonna say?"

"The truth, I think she deserves that much." I stalk up to her house without wasting anymore time.

When I ring the doorbell I can literally hear her sigh behind the door. She doesn't want to open the door less it be another sympathizer but her Asian hospitality gets the better of her and she opens it anyways. Her mouth parts open, ready to belt out a greeting but she freezes once she actually takes a good look at us.

"Adonis King? Lee Min-ho? What are you two doing here?" She frowns.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Chan. Um-Lee and I, we...wanted your help. We've got some theories but we need you to confirm them." I'm blabbing, I know that much but Mrs. Chan seems genuinely intrigued and maybe the fact we don't begin with a look that is synonymous to I'm sorry for your lost helps.

"Come in," she opens the door. Once Lee and I take our seats she offers us both two glasses of grape juice. An inconsequential fact pops out from nowhere at all when I see the glass. Avery drank this a lot in calculus and I feel like I'm tasting a part of her life by drinking it. I try to keep my eyes in one place but God knows I want to explore every nook and cranny of this pretty pink house, for now though, I'll have to answer Mrs. Chan's unspoken questions.

"I saw Avery that Monday," I start, making it clear why we're here. She sits straighter, she's probably heard those words a million times now. "She was done with her morning jog and sat across our house to get some rest. It was pure luck that I woke up at that time."

"What was she wearing?"

"A grey joggers I think? And a white tank top."

"You really did see her."

"Did she come back home?"

"Yes. She came back, dressed up for school and left."

"Avery never got to school," Lee says pointedly.

"The cops say that too, she never signed in."

After a moment I speak. "I don't think Avery ran away Mrs. Chan, or that she...did anything to harm herself. It's obvious she loves you a lot, you're like everywhere in her locker and she wouldn't want to leave you alone."

"I know that dear," she offers me a weak smile. "But there seems to be no way to find her."

"We found her diary," Lee blurts. It takes her a minute to process it.

"You did? Did you find anything weird?" I'm surprised she doesn't immediately ask us to hand it over.

"We can't say for sure because we've only read one entry. However we believe meeting Reyna would make things much easier."

"Reyna?"

"Avery's best friend," I add, in case she doesn't remember her.

"I know. I've got her number." She starts fishing for her phone.

"Did they ever find Avery's phone?" Lee asks as she does this and she shakes her head. She calls out Reyna's number while I dial and save it.

"They didn't find her phone but her laptop is in her room. Would that help?"

"Definitely."

"I'll go get it." She gets up and climbs the stairs, disappearing after a moment. I immediately shoot Reyna a text.

Hi. This is Adonis King from Isle High. I've got a couple of things to ask about Avery. Meet up?

Next to me Lee snorts.
"There's no way she's replying that."

"If she doesn't I'll find another way to reach her."

Mrs. Chan arrives with Avery's laptop, which is practically covered in Taylor Swift stickers.

"Be careful, the password is my father's birthday."

"What's her father's birthday?" Lee prods when she doesn't tell us the date.

"Huh? Oh there's no date. That's the actual password. My father's birthday. It's the same for all her devices and accounts."

"Oh, thanks a lot Mrs. Chan."

"One more thing," she practically yelps just as Lee is about to open the door. We pause and turn around to look at her.

"Avery, she cut her hair. She's wearing a bob now."