Run Girl, Run

°°Chapter Twenty-one°°

I gasped and Ben immediately got off me and I threw the sheets over my body. Ben did the same.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Ben stammered, his face turning beet red. I could feel my cheeks go hot with embarrassment, too.

"I told you, I was gonna talk to you about Uncle Owen!" he repeated. "Anova, is that really you?..." he whispered. I nodded slowly, unable to form words in my mouth. I was beyond petrified- Everett, my long lost lover, had come back and caught me making love with another guy. How humiliating!

"Umm, could you give us a minute?" Ben asked sheepishly, nodding his head towards me.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be waiting outside." he muttered, closing the door behind him.

"What is he doing here!?" I hissed furiously, reaching for my clothes. I motioned for him to turn around, so I could get dressed. Once his back was to me, I wriggled into my clothes.

"I forgot he was coming! I got, you know, distracted." I huffed and jumped out of the bed. Ben was already dressed.

"No, no. You stay here. I'm gonna go talk to him." I folded my arms over my chest and sat back down. He shuffled out the door and, to my annoyance, closed it.

I twiddled my thumbs and waited for them to be done. I could NOT believe what just happened!! Are you serious? This is the worst scenario I could possibly imagine! And Ben didn't even mention it to me first!

I got up and walked into the kitchen. I didn't care if they were done taking or not. I wanted an explanation.

They looked up at me and Everett cleared his throat. "Anova." Everett deadpanned. "Everett." I said, matching his blank expression. Ben gave himself a facepalm.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot! You two know each other!" He laughed nervously.

"Yeah. We go waaay back." I spat, giving him an icy glare. "Would you care to tell me what this is about?"

"Oh. Right, um, so we were looking for a man. My uncle, actually, and I just came here to tell Ben some clues that I found. You see, his fingerprints was found all over a dead body in an abandoned opera house in back in Washington. The dead man was tired to a chair." Everett turned his attention back to Ben. "I was watching the news, and someone spotted him in a club not to far from here. He's in the city of San Diego..." After this I want listening to a word he was saying. I was focused on the part about the man tied to a chair in an abandoned opera house. My stomach twisted into knots and I sat down to clear my foggy mind. Ben looked at me and concern filled his eyes.

"Anova? Babe, what's wrong?" I ignored him. "I-I gotta get outta here." I said under my breath. Ben took my hand when I got up, but I yanked my arm away. I darted into the bedroom and threw my stuff into a sling bag that was on the floor, Ben and Everett calling after me. But I didn't care. Tears stung my eyes as I raided the fridge as fast as I could for portable food.

"Anova, wait! Where are you going? Don't leave? Anova!" Ben scrambled after me frantically, snatching me up. I was whipped around and was face to face with Ben. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and he gripped my shoulders firmly.

"Anova. Listen to me. Tell me where you are going. I am NOT going to lose you." His voice cracked at the end, and I broke down.

"It was me, alright! It was me!" I sobbed, my shoulders shaking violently. "What was you?" Ben asked, confused. He led me back into the RV by my elbow, and I was still shaken from crying.

"O-Owen. He was the one. The one who made m-me do it." "Do what?!" "Kill him." I said wincing at the memory.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Tell me the whole story. From the beginning." Ben said. I saw Everett sit down beside him. I was gonna tell him to move it or lose it, but I decided against it.

"One day, a man came into my apartment. He told me to come with him, and I refused, so he jumped me. When I woke up, I was in an abandoned opera house with an unconscious man strapped to a chair. The man told me to kill him, or I would die. When I asked him why, he said he was part of some gambling organization and he had to kill the cheater. I didn't exactly get that part, but I did it anyway! I-I didn't wanna die, I-I didn't know what else to do!" I broke down again, shaking all over and crying uncontrollably. Ben ran a hand up under my shirt and rubbed circles on my back. I smiled weakly, remembering the first time he did that.

     “Y-you won't tell, will you?" I asked, looking at Ben with pleading eyes. He chewed his inner cheek, contemplating what to say.

     “Well, we have to tell the police, but we'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Don't worry, everything will work itself out. Just trust me." Ben gave me a hug and moved a wisp of hair out of my face. Everett just shifted in his chair uncomfortably. I looked at him, and pulled away from Ben. I cleared my throat. Everett wrung his hands nervously.

      “Look, Anova, I'm sorry for what I did to you, back when we were together. I couldn't stay anymore. I loved you so much, and I didn't want to leave you. If I could, I would've stayed with you. You have no idea how much it broke my heart to leave you. But I just couldn't stay...and I'm sorry. You don't have to forgive me. You have every right to stay mad at me. But I at least want you to know how I feel." His voice trembled when he spoke, like he was on the verge of tears. I felt a twang of guilt for being so angry at him for all these years.

     “I just want to know one thing." I said. “Why?"

     “Well, you didn't know this, but...people were bullying me really bad. I was so miserable, so depressed, that I began cutting and doing self harm. I drank bleach and swallowed entire bottles of pills. But God still spared my life. I hid the scars from you-I didn't want my problems to become yours. You were the only one who could make me happy, the only one who could wash my worries away." Again his voice cracked with emotion. My twang of guilt became stronger. How could I not see it before?! I could have helped him, I could have stopped the bullying.

But I didn't.

I knew I shouldn't blame myself, but in a way, I did. But I didn't cry. I had no more tears left to shed.

_________________________________________õthørš Ñøtë

Hola everyone! So, now you know why Everett left her. Do you forgive him? Will Anova forgive him?...

I hope you liked this chapter! If you didn't, feel free to leave comments of constructive criticism below!! If love to hear what you have to say!

Xxxxx

   ~Magykal143