𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑| 𝐋.𝐂.

29: Made it happen

"May I?" A thick accent says and I look up to see Aspen holding a drink in her hand.

"I guess." I mutter and she sits down.

"I know what you must think of me and I probably deserve it. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you, uh...that time at the beach, I don't know why I didn't just go on and grab you the moment I saw you. I just hated how he looked at you. And I know it's awful, but I wanted you out of his life. And then that earthquake happened. It was like...it was like the perfect crime. It was like I made it happen." She says and I look up at her.

"What did you just say?" I ask.

"I didn't mean to..." She stammers, looking up at me.

"That's it. How could we have missed this?" I say, my face dropping.

"What?" Aspen says.

"They made it happen! Thank you, Aspen. Without you, I wouldn't have figured it out. Thank you, thank you!" I say and quickly get up, running back to the storage room.

||

"I know what they're planning. The earthquake we had, they weren't waiting for it, they created it." I say, bursting through the door.

"What?" Everyone says.

"They somehow created it from inside the cave. I'm sure of it. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the only thing that makes sense." I say, leaning against the table.

"Marcus told Leo that they were close to finishing their mission." Max says.

"Right! So they weren't waiting for an earthquake to happen." I state.

"Why would someone do that?" Brooke asks.

"Okay, let's assume you're right. We wouldn't wanna do anything that puts mom at risk, right?" Carter says to me.

"I don't know, Carter. Maybe we should reconsider." I tell him.

"What's there to reconsider? Valerie, we agreed on this." Leo says but I avoid eye contact with him.

"Just because I followed everyone, doesn't mean I agreed with you. And you don't know my mom. She wouldn't want us to just stand here and let something awful happen without trying to stop it." I say, looking at the window.

"She's right." Carter nods.

"And Daniel's right, too. We didn't do all this work to just give up now." I say and Daniel nods at me.

"So what do you think we should do, Valerie?" Jackie asks.

"That satellite that Emma took offline. Is there a way to bring it back on?" I ask and Jackie looks at Max.

||

"Valerie, we have a problem. We can't reach Emma, but Max is running a search." Jackie says into the Louie and Leo and I take our seats on the bleachers.

"How long will it take?" I ask.

"Anywhere between ten minutes and two weeks." I hear Max say.

"I got it." I state and hang up, taking the Louie out from behind my ear.

"Val, I'm sorry. I just-"

"Look, Leo, I really don't wanna talk about it. Let's just watch the game and keep the plan moving." I say as I look to see Alex dunking the ball into the net and everyone cheers.

I let out a quick cheer as I clap for Alex, sending him a smile and he sends me one back as he runs back to the foul on the court.

Leo looks at me and I slowly look over at him, biting the inside of my cheek.

||

"Both Max and Jackie aren't answering their Louies. Something is going on." I tell Leo, taking it out from behind my ear.

"They're probably just busy. I'm sure everything is fine." He says and I raise my eyebrows, nodding at him and he turns his head.

"We have a problem. They're starting the program at the final whistle." Brooke says.

"The game's almost over." Leo says, looking at the time.

"No, it's not." I state, getting up from my seat, walking past Leo and Brooke.

"Hey, where are you going?" Leo asks, grabbing my wrist.

"I can't sit here anymore." I state, pulling away from him and I walk off.

||

"What are you doing?" Leo asks me, stopping me from walking down the steps to the exit.

"I'm going crazy just siting around doing nothing. I'm going there." I say, turning on my heels

"Where? To the cave? Are you crazy?" Leo says, grabbing my arm.

"I should have done this sooner. My mom is in there and in danger, and I'm gonna keep her safe." I say, turning away once again.

"That is not a good idea. Let's stick to the plan." Leo says, grabbing my arm again.

"What plan, Leo? Max and Jackie aren't answering their Louies, I have no idea what happened to my dad and my mom is lying in that fucking cave completely dependent on people that don't even want her alive." I state, walking down a few steps.

"Valerie, listen to me." Leo says, mimicking my action.

"I know what you're gonna say, but my mom needs me. And that's all that matters to me now." I say, skipping down the last few steps, then walking through the exit doors.

I'm going to find my mother.