August and I were sitting in the living room, reading very late into the night on Ari’s birthday, when my phone started to go off nonstop. He gave me a sly smile as I got up and yanked it off the charger. I had gotten a dozen texts from Ari’s whole family. Lauren had sent me a one that said, “Oh, my gosh that bear is super creepy! I love you! Come home!” as soon as I saw her words, my heart sank. I didn’t think I was prepared to read all of the notes, but I put myself through torture anyway and kept reading. Rory sent me a message that said, “This cake is freaking awesome,” and that put me a little more at ease. I got messages from Julia, Nick, Gianna, Thais, Aggie and Andy -- all saying how much fun it was watching Ari open my gifts and how nice it was to see him smile again. They said that they all played the “Where’s Ava” game together and it made them miss me and they wished me a safe return home.
I wiped a tear from my eye and took in a deep breath. I didn’t have the heart to text them back. I had nothing to say and no hope of coming home. I said good night to August and walked to my room. I had just gotten under the blankets when I got one last text. It was from Ari and he had sent a simple “O,” so I quickly replied with an “X” and then cried myself to sleep.
I woke up the next day in time to say goodbye to August, who was taking a few days off to meet his parents at a resort on the seaside in Wales. I watched him pack from my perch in my window seat as I sipped on my coffee.
“Are you sure you don’t want to join us, Ava? You know you’re welcome.”
“For the hundredth time no, but thank you for the offer anyway. I’ll be fine; I am planning on hanging out with Nora.”
August let out a sigh and an eye roll.
“Ava, running with someone is not the same thing as ‘hanging out.’ You need a life.”
I got up and walked to my room, slamming the door behind me. I put on Lil Jon at full blast. Knowing August’s taste in music, he probably would leave sooner than he had planned.