The Girl in Cleats

⚽️Chapter 27⚽️

"Ok so this one says he ran away, and this one says he died in an explosion." Dustin says, holding up two scraps of newspaper articles.

"Hm. Well, his friend said he ran away. We can trust that better." I say, turning my attention back to the box I'm looking through.

"But what if his friend just decided to say that?" Alexis says.

I sigh and look up. "Look, guys. I think he's still alive. And we need to find him."

Alexis looks nervously at Dustin and I roll my eyes, saying "If you don't want to help me, I'll do it by myself."

"We just think you should involve the police or something..." Dustin says, not meeting my eyes.

I purse my lips and continue sifting through the box stubbornly. Suddenly, something catches my eye. "Guys... look at this." I say.

"Kiera, the police are trained for this kind of thing, we can't-" Dustin says before I interrupt him, "No look." 

I hold up an envelope that says "Aiden" in pretty handwriting. Dustin raises an eyebrow, "Does that mean he..."

"Yea, he ran away to see whoever this girl is." I say, opening the letter. 

"Kiera, maybe you shouldn't read it." Alexis says, putting a hand on my arm. 

I look up at her and say, "Alex, I need to find my brother." 

She nods and removes her hand. I slowly pull out the letter, afraid of what I'll uncover. 

Dear Aiden, 

Hello love, the house is prepared for you to come visit. Our kitty misses you, he will be happy that you've come home. I will be waiting for you at the house. 

"It's just a letter for when he comes to visit for Christmas or something." I say, letting out a sigh. 

"Or is it?" Dustin says, taking the letter out of my hand and looking at another piece of paper. 

"What do you mean, Dustin?" Alex says, looking over his shoulder. 

"Look at this letter, it's talking about visiting the house, and the cat. Was your brother a cat person?" Dustin says, looking at me.

I think about it for a second and then realize... He wasn't a cat person. In fact, he hated cats. "No, he wasn't. He hated cats with a burning passion of a thousand suns." I say, dropping my voice for a dramatic effect. Dustin and Alex laugh, and I feel the weight of the unknown slowly lift. Having friends really can make life better. 

We find three other letters talking about the house and the cat. "It's gotta be some code." Dustin says. 

Suddenly, Alexis gasps and I look up. She's holding a picture of something. I stand up and look over her shoulder. Then, everything makes sense...

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"Today is the day..." Chase sadly says, looking around our room. 

Jordan, Chase, and I are sitting on our beds, trying to think of something to say. I remember that I need to tell Kiera. 

"Jordan, can I use your phone?" I ask, looking at him. 

"Yea sure, you gonna end things with that chic?" He asks. I look at him to see if he's joking, but his face is completely serious. 

"Yea, something like that..." I answer quietly. 

Chase punches Jordan's arm and rolls his eyes. 

Jordan tosses me the phone and I climb out the window, onto the roof. I slowly dial Kiera's number and wait as it rings. She picks up after a couple rings, "Hey, Asher?" She says excitedly. I suddenly feel like I've been kicked in the stomach, but continue on. 

"Yea, it's me."

"Are you ok?" She asks, concern in her voice. 

"No, I'm not. Look, I need to tell you something." I say, closing my eyes. 

"Ok..." She says softly. 

"I'm breaking up with you, I'm so sorry." I say quickly, feeling my stomach drop. 

"Oh..." She says, and the line goes quiet. 

"They're moving me to a different foster home and I won't be able to call you from there. We just... can't go on like this." I say, tears falling down my face. 

"I understand, I can't talk right now...there's...stuff... going on here. But um, I respect your decision and I'll try to move on. Goodbye, Asher." The line clicks dead, and I drop the phone to my side, letting the tears fall freely. 

I picture her in my mind, trying to forget that I just shattered her heart. Again. 

It was for the best. I tell myself. But something inside me is screaming "No! Why did you do that?! Now you'll never get her back, you idiot!" 

I stand up and climb back into the window. Chase and Jordan look at me with sad smiles. Jordan stands up and gives me a hug, "Good job bro, you did the right thing." I nod my head and slowly start to pack my things. 

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Hello lovelies! I left you at a cliffhanger AND a sad part, didn't I? Well, we wouldn't know happiness if we didn't have at least a little bit of sadness, right? 

Anyways, hope you enjoyed that chapter, I'm sorry it took so long for me to write it. I've been going through tough things recently. 

I love you guys, thanks for reading it! :)

-KD