Finding Ford

chapter thirteen

"Oh, Autumn shades, calm my shaking hands." -Whispering, Alex Clare 

I'M IN THE CAR IN LESS THAN five minutes. I don't even care that I might get in trouble for sneaking out again- not when some creepy ass person had snuck into my room to leave a note on my window sill. Oh, not to mention that creepy ass person may or may not be the same one who killed Ford's mother and drove Ford out of town with death threats.

The drive to the motel Ford is staying at is half an hour- just outside Barton's Forest- but it feels like hours until I reach it. By then, my palms are completely drenched with sweat, my heart is beating so quickly against my chest I'm afraid it'll burst out of my ribcage, and I'm checking for the hundredth time to see if someone's following me. When I finally do manage to find a parking spot, I'm practically flying out the car to get into the building.

There's someone on night duty, but I only give them a small wave before skipping the elevator and going straight to the stairs, climbing two at a time. When I reach Ford's door, I don't stop knocking- even when I hear Ford groan and fall off the bed- until he opens it. When he finally reveals his dishevelled, tired self, I pull him into a hug.

"Thank God," I mutter. "Thank God you're okay."

Ford pushes us into the room, though it proves to be a little hard with me clinging to him. When he manages to, he hugs me back. "Ava, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

I pull away and notice that he's blushing slightly, and maybe I would be too if I weren't aware of the situation at hand. But I am, so I skip the oh my God we just hugged and go straight to, "No, I'm not. Because I'm pretty sure whoever killed your mom knows I helped you out, and I think they might know where you are, and I thought they had already gotten to you-"

"Hey," Ford says. "Breathe, okay?"

We sit down on the floor by the bed as I explain to Ford what I found on the window sill. By the time I'm done, he looks pale. I only now notice how Ford looks just waking up; his hair is sticking up in all places, some as if gravitating to the roof. His grey eyes, that were weary and kind of blurred at first, are now sharp and swirling with emotions. His shirt is rumpled and his red sweatpants are pushed up at the bottom. This time I do blush, but I don't think Ford notices, seeing as he seems to be having a mental freak out.

"Okay," he says, "Okay, that's really bad. That's really bad. I'm so sorry, Ava, I shouldn't have gotten you into this." Ford groans, pulling his knees up to his chest and running a hand through his hair. "God. What if... do you think they know I'm back? Do you think they'll hurt my family?"

"I'll check on your dad after school," I promise him. "But, who knows? Maybe they don't know you're back!"

Ford snorts, "Oh, yeah, okay."

"I was trying to be positive," I grumble.

"What about Molly?"

I sigh, fingering with the hem of my sleep shirt. "I can call her? Ask her how she's holding up? I'll do my best to make it seem like I know nothing."

"Ava," Ford whispers. I turn to him, and noticed his grey eyes are cast down, a dark look settled upon his face. His voice is low and raspy. "You know how much this all means to me. But, your 'best' may not be good enough. I know this is adding a lot of pressure, but we need perfect. No one can have even the slightest suspicions I may be back, or else it may get to them, and they'll all die because of me..."

"Hypocrite," I shoulder-bump him. "You breathe, Ford. Quit freaking out, okay? We're going to figure this all out, I know it. I understand you're worried about your family, I totally get that; you pretty much have every right to be. But..." I take his hand, and it would have been  little weird if not for the fact that I know he really needs the comfort right now. "I'm going to get your life back, okay? You won't have to live in this fear for much longer. You'll be able to come home."