Free (Sequel to Trapped)

Ch. 24

Ariana

Monday, 1:26 pm

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing. Looking at the caller ID, I see it's Frankie. He's probably calling about picking Aviella up.

"Are you gonna get that?" Justin groans.

I pick up my phone, pressing the green button.

"Hello?"

"Ariana, come get your daughter." Frankie says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Did you just wake up or something?"

"Yes, I did. Because of you. We'll be over there soon."

"And by soon you mean sometime in the next couple days, right?" Frankie says.

"No. I mean today. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"She's getting 'worried' about you."

"Put her to sleep. It's nap time."

"I'll try."

"K. Love you."

"Love you too, little sis." I hang up and put my phone down.

"Who was that?" Justin asks.

"Tylen."

"Who is Tylen?"

"None of your business."

"It was someone calling about Aviella, wasn't it?"

"Yes." I giggle, turning over so my back was against Justin's chest.

"You still tired?" Justin asks.

"No, of course not. I've been asleep for an hour. Why would I be tired?"

"Okay then. I guess you're still tired." I giggle, tilting my head up to kiss him.

I rest my head back on his shoulder, focusing on the TV before falling asleep.

Justin

1:37 pm

I was staring at Ariana sleep when my phone began vibrating from beside me.

I picked it up and it said Unknown Number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, is this Justin Bieber?" The voice sounded familiar but I couldn't exactly tell who it was.

"Why?"

"This is Jonathan, Lauren's dad. I just got a new number so I thought I'd let you know. And me and Olivia are hosting a little get together at our house on Friday. Just you and Ariana and one other dude. His names Ryan Butler."

"I know Ryan. We were best friends in high school. He came to my wedding."

"Oh, well that's great. So, will you be there?"

"Of course. I would ask Ariana but she's asleep so..." We both laugh.

"Alright, man. I gotta go."

"Alright, bye." I hang up, putting Jonathan's new number in my contacts before dropping my phone on the couch.

"Who was that?" Ariana asks.

I didn't even know she was awake.

"Natalie." I say.

"Who's Natalie."

"None of your business."

"Justin, really. Who was it?"

"Jonathan. He invited us to a little thing on Friday. Ryan's gonna be there."

"Oh." She sighs, obviously annoyed about something.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"My stomach hurts."

"Do you feel like you're gonna throw up?"

"No, it's not like that. More like cramps. They come then go away then come back and go away."

"Do you want the heating pad?" I ask her and she nods.

I gently lift her off of me and stand up. I look for the hearing pad everywhere but the right place, which is the upstairs hallway closet. After warming it up, I give it to Ariana.

"Babe, I'm gonna go get Aviella. You'll be okay here by yourself?"

"Yeah. I just wanna sleep." She says.

"K. I'll be back." I pull my shoes on and grab the keys to my all black Mustang.

It's pretty much my car, so we barely ever drive it when we're all together. But I haven't driven it in some weeks, so I thought today would be a good day to.

I get in the drivers seat and put the key in the ignition before backing out of the driveway. I drive to Joan's house and see that only Frankie's car is here.

That's probably why he called. Aviella is driving him crazy by himself. I get out of the car and walk up to the porch, knocking three times on the front door.

"Thank God you're here." Frankie opens the door, pulling me inside the house.

"Chill, dude. Aviella's not that bad." I laugh.

"Daddy!" Aviella yells.

She runs and hugs my legs. I pick her up and Frankie gives me her backpack.

"Thank you for watching her."

"Thank God you feel better. I haven't been able to talk to Tyler all day."

"Oh no. The world's ending. Bye Frank." I laugh again, walking out of the front door.

"Bye Uncle Frankie!" Aviella yells.

"Goodbye, Avi." Frankie sighs, closing the door.

I buckle Aviella into her car seat that's in my car. Ariana's all white Maserati is the only one of our cars that doesn't have a car seat in it, because Aviella is hardly ever in Ariana's car.

My phone vibrates from my pocket and I take it out. It was my job calling, even though I'm supposed to be on family leave until next Monday.

"This is Justin."

"Justin, hey. I need you to come in for about 30 minutes. Is that okay?" My boss, Oscar Flores, says.

"Why?"

"Just to look over some of your most recent photos and some new ideas. It won't take long."

"Okay. But I have my daughter with me and my wife doesn't feel well."

"Bring your daughter in, then. She won't cause any trouble, will she?"

"No. She's only five years old, and she's asleep anyway."

"Good. I'll see you soon."

"Alright, bye." I hang up, getting off the highway to turn around.

I had just passed the street my job was on about 2 minutes ago, so it didn't take me long to get there. Once I did, I pick Aviella up and she sighs, laying her head on my shoulder.

I walk inside the building, checking in with the receptionist before taking the elevator to the third floor. My bosses office is at the very end of the hall, and when I walk in, he looks up from a stack of papers.

"Justin, nice to see you. Take a seat." I sit down, letting Aviella adjust herself in my lap.

She wasn't awake yet, but she was moving a lot.

"You called me in because?" I ask.

"We need to pick out some photos for a magazine, and review some new ideas so they'll be ready next week."

"Sounds easy enough."