The Devil is Marvelous

Chapter 48

-Ava's POV-

I was laying in bed watching YouTube when my phone buzzed.

Text from: Jaxon Marvel

All his text said was "help" with his location attached.

"What?" I asked aloud.

I opened up the location, and it pinpointed him in downtown L.A.

Downtown L.A? Why would he be there at this time of night? Unless...

Unless he is racing.

I threw my blankets to the side, swinging my legs off my bed. At first I contemplated calling him, but I decided against it. He wouldn't send a help text for no reason.

I hurriedly pulled a sweater over my sports bra, then slipped on my Vans. Horrible thoughts invaded my mind as I dashed into the living room, searching for Melissa's car keys.

What if something awful happened to him? What if he crashed his motorcycle and got hurt? What if he's dying in a ditch somewhere?

"Stop it" I scolded myself. There was no time to assume the worst. I just needed get to him as soon as possible.

Thankfully the car keys were laying out on the coffee table, so I grabbed them and slipped outside as quietly as possible as to not wake Melissa up.

The drive downtown normally takes around half an hour, but I sped, making it there in twenty five minutes. As I got closer to Jaxon's location, the farther into the outskirts of downtown I got. I started to recognize the area, for I was driving through the rundown neighborhood by the abandoned street that led to the huge dirt hill. Beyond that hill... the races.

Fortunately, Jaxon's location showed that he was in a bar that I was slowly passing. I zipped into the parking lot, turning the ignition off. Shit, he's in there? I can't just walk in! Why is Jaxon in a bar in the first place??

Taking a deep breath, I slowly stepped out of the car, glancing around the area. There was a group of angry men being escorted out of the bar. They were clearly in a drunken rage, trying to pounce at each other, but thankfully the bouncer was keeping them from ripping each others heads off.

Yeesh, I hope they don't notice me. Maybe I should wait outside until Jaxon leaves. Then I can get him in the car and bring him home.

Suddenly, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. Down an alleyway between the bar and a graffiti covered building, someone tumbled out a side door. I strained my eyes to see, but I was too far to tell if it could possibly be Jaxon or not. I have to get closer.

With one last glance around, I quickly darted towards the alley. I crouched behind a dumpster, then sucking in a deep breath I slowly peered around it at the staggering figure. The alley was dimly lit, so I had to strain my eyes in order to tell that whoever it was had a large stature, medium length hair, and was in dark clothes. I saw something sticking out of the persons back pocket, and under the eerie glow of the single building light could I tell it was a crimson bandana.

I have to try. "Marvel! Is that you?" I called out, praying that it was him.

The person froze. Finally, they made some noise. It was all muttering and I couldn't make out any words, but I knew that it was his voice.

"Oh my god!" I cried, jumping up from where I had been crouching. He stood completely still, but his voice shook as he said "no no no-" over and over again. I rushed over to him, flinging my arms around his neck.

"I'm so glad I found you! I was terrified you were hurt. What's going on?"

His hands gripped my shoulders as he pulled me off of him. His eyes were glazed over, and his breaths were shallow and staggered. He started to shake his head, slurring, "I messaged Gray. Where's Gray... why are you here?"