𝟳𝟮 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 - 𝘼𝙡𝙚𝙟𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤

Chapter Four - 48 Hours Left

They say money can't buy you happiness, but here I lay in bed, morning breeze tickling my face as I lay with the balcony door open. And all because of money. I have friends, a fun place, and a cute boy to top it off. I smile to myself in satisfaction.

I turn over to the bedside table and focus my attention on my cell phone, which displayed the time 8:56. Now before you ask, yes, we were allowed phones in the foster care. We were even allowed social media, as long as we didn't speak a word of what goes on behind closed doors.

What was I gonna do today? Hang out with Angela and Francine? Go see Alejandro? I dart out of bed as I remember that today was docking day, and we should be at an island. I wasn't sure which one, however. I look out of the balcony and see a island with golden sands and clear blue waters.

I start my day off by showering, and as I get out, I see a notification from my messages.

I read a message from Alejandro. 'Good morning beautiful! Wanna meet at the breakfast buffet then go to the beach?' My heart skips a beat in pure excitement. I quickly slam my fingers on the screen and send back a bittersweet response. 'Good morning, and I would love to. Give me a few minutes.'

I prepare myself and change into a purple long sleeved crop top and shorts. Underneath those would be my bathing suit.

I make my way upstairs and go to the buffet that Alejandro mentions. I see him sitting down at a table with his friends accompanying them. He seemed to be looking through his phone.

"Hey, Vee!" Alvaro calls out to me. Alejandro quickly looks up from his phone, and smiles. I make my way towards the boys. They were already eating, which was fine.

"Hey bighead!" I yell out to him. Alejandro stands up, and reaches his arms out for a hug, and so I walk into his arms. "Hi Ale," I say, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Did you sleep well?" he asks, pulling out from the hug. I nod my head. I look behind him to see the boys making a Tik Tok, and so I decide to join. They were doing the renegade dance, which was a pretty easy dance.

"Wait, you have Tik Tok?" Kairi asks. I nod. "You should follow us," Alejandro says. I took out my phone and they individually gave me their account names, and I follow them. I was genuinely surprised, as they seemed to be pretty relevant on the app.

-

After a long day of excursions, swimming, and other activities, we decide to go back to Alejandro's room to chill. It starts to get dark, so the rest of the boys decide to go back to their own rooms.

"Bye!" I wave to them as they leave. I sit back onto the bed, where Alejandro is laying down on his phone.

"Well, I should go too." I say, before grabbing my belongings. And standing up, before stretching my arms.

"Or you could stay," he insists, standing up.

"Alejandro..." I start up. "I'm dying. I don't want to get attached. I don't want YOU to get attached." Alejandro stayed silent. I walked past him to the door. I grabbed the doorknob and was about to leave... But I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"I'll stay." And with that being said, I stayed. I hoped I had made the right decision.

-

"Goodnight Ale," I snuggle myself into his chest.

"Goodnight." And with that, I drifted of to the faint sound of his soft snores.

- 

Water droplets from the basement pipes echoed throughout the atmosphere, only rising the tension. Aveena had looked around, like a duckling lost without purpose. Something about the area seemed familiar. Almost as if she were reliving a memory. The truth was, she in fact was reliving a memory.

The sound of running footsteps broke the tension, but only worsened Aveena's anxiety developed years earlier. She tried to focus her eyes on where the sound was coming from, but to no success. You see, there were no lights in the basements. The only guide you could use was your human senses. The running footsteps got closer and closer. Aveena tried to move, but she was stuck. The figure got close enough to the point where she could recognize it. Or rather her. Abigail. It was Abigail. 

"Vee, we have to move, come on!" Abigail yelled, tugging at Aveena's arm. "For fuck's sake, they know where we are!" she continued. Aveena was shocked. She didn't know why she was there. Then, the doors burst open. It then hit her, she was back to the day she escaped the foster care. Miss Albert and other foster care workers stood in the doorway, before two workers charged at the two girls with syringes. Aveena finally regained her ability to move, and ran in the direction of the door. The girls ran into a room with a window, big enough for them to crawl out of.

"Vee, that window leads to freedom. GO!" Abigail says, her back shoving against the door, keeping the workers from coming in. Aveena finally made it out of the window, but Abigail stayed.

"Abby, aren't you coming?" Vee asked.

"I can't. Run for the woods and don't stop until you reach civilization. I'll hold them back. Get help and save me when you can." The door budged open, as Abby couldn't hold it shut anymore. She lacked the strength. With that, Vee ran, like her life depended on it. Because it did. Aveena's dream started to fade back to reality.

-

I sat up abruptly, scared for my life. My breath shortened to sufferable lengths. Small sobs escaped my mouth as heavy rain parades from hell streamed down my eyes. Alejandro sat up.

"Hey hey, what's wrong?" he asked. I covered my face with my hands. I didn't want him to see me like this. He switched on the lamp and asked yet again.

I was able to stop crying and mutter out a few, chilling words. "We have to save her."

"Save who?" he asked, confusion and concern infused into his voice. Abigail's words echoed throughout Vee's mind. Get help and save me when you can.

"Abigail." I say. "The girl who saved me."