Finding Ford

chapter ten

"Love ain't no fairytale, love is a buried nail." -Skylar Grey, Twisted

WHEN FORD FINALLY GETS BACK TO ME, IT'S through a phone call.

He hasn't replied to me all day, and although I've tried to not freak out at him- really, I have- when it's seven and there's no texts from him, I send him several angry texts telling him that if he doesn't answer me right now I was going to die from super high stress levels and he would only have himself to blame.

What I wasn't expecting was for his Caller ID to appear on my screen at ten at night. I hesitate to answer, but only a moment, before I'm shoving the phone against my ear with a crazy urgency. "Hello?"

At first, the noise on the other side mostly just resembles static and movement, but then a soft, upset-sounding voice says, "Hello?"

And oh God, that's Ford's voice. In every single way.

"F-Ford?"

"Ava? Are you there?"

My voice shakes. I can literally feel my heart beating against my chest, pushing so hard and rapidly it's a wonder that it hasn't broken through already. "Yeah, yeah I'm here. Are you okay?"

Ford sounds close to crying. "I-I'm... I don't have anywhere- I need- Shit, why did I do this? Crap, shit, I'm going to get us both ki-"

"Ford!" I interrupt. "Calm down, okay?"

Over the phone, I can hear Ford take shaky breaths. "Okay, okay. I, um, I got kicked out of the place I'm staying. I don't- I have no where to stay- I see now that you can't really- I was stupid to call, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," I say, praying he doesn't hang up the phone. "Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

"You can't," he says. "I'm too far away, and I can't... I can't come back to Cailbridge."

A sudden noise on Ford's side of the call sends a sick feeling through my stomach. "Was that a car? Are you outside?"

Ford sounds panicky again. "I-I have nowhere to go."

I don't think twice about it. I get up from my bed, grabbing a jacket off the floor. "Tell me where you are. I'm coming to pick you up. I don't care how far you are. We don't have to go back to Cailbridge. Just tell me where you are." 

A few sniffles and shaky breaths later, Ford gives me an address. I don't recognize it the slightest, so I type it into my GPS. "Jesus, Ford, this is like four hours away!"

"I know," he says. "Don't worry, I'll figure it out for tonight, I'm sorry-"

"Shut up, Wilson. Get somewhere warm. I'm getting in my car. I'll be there by two, I'll call you when I'm twenty minutes away."

"Okay. Ava, I... You have to promise not to take me back to Cailbridge." 

"I promise."

x

I don't really just how bad of an idea this is until an hour into driving.

Problem A: No one has any idea where I'm going. I didn't exactly bother telling my mom- she was out getting groceries, so she doesn't even know that I'm gone. So if something happens to me, there's not exactly anyone who can find me.

Problem B: I only have a jacket, my car keys, cell phone, and enough money for gas and some food. I don't have even the slightest idea of how long I'm going to be gone, whether or not I should have packed clothes or got a little more money. Which leads me to: