Going Nowhere At Full Speed

Ava got back from the hospital, unbeknownst to her that Chloe had gone back with her father. Brent had been so preoccupied with trying to figure out what to do about Chloe that he hadn’t informed Ava that she had left.

Ava knocked on Brent’s door, and waited for him to open it. “Hey,” she smiled when she saw Kris answer the door. “Where’s Chloe? I want to show her that nothing happened to me,” Ava joked, but when she saw Brent’s and Kris’s somber expressions, her happiness quickly faded. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Both men simply stared at her, not knowing how to break the news to her. “Guys, tell me what’s wrong,” Ava repeated more forcefully. When they didn’t reply, Ava walked over to Brent, grabbing his arm and swinging him around so he was looking at her. “Brent, tell me what’s going on,” she demanded.

Brent looked her in the eyes sadly. “Chloe’s gone,” he said quietly.

“What?” Ava asked confusedly. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

“Dirk came and took her back,” Brent explained. When Ava continued to stare at him in disbelief, he handed her the letter Chloe had written him. He watched as her eyes scanned the paper and then looked back up at him and Kris.

“This is a joke, right?” Ava asked, unable to believe that Chloe had just gone with her father. “Come on, where’s she hiding?”

Brent looked at her somberly. “It’s not a joke,” he said, shaking his head. “She’s gone.”

“This is ridiculous!” Ava cried. “What are we going to do?”

“Nothing,” Brent said quietly.

Ava stared at him. “Nothing?” she questioned. “What do you mean ‘nothing’? We have to do something! God, Brent she’s your sister! And, your father fucking abuses her! You’re just going to let her go off with him, and do nothing about it?” she asked, getting louder with every word.

Brent looked at her in shock. He had never heard Ava speak like this before. Sure, she was angry, but to hear her sound like this surprised him. “What can we do?” Brent asked her. “Didn’t you read the letter? Dirk’s going to try to kill her if we go after her!”

“So, we’re just going to sit here and do nothing?” Ava questioned, angry at her boyfriend. She turned to look at Kris. “And, what about you? You’re her boyfriend! Don’t you want her here, where we know she’s safe?”

“Of course I want her here!” Kris yelled, upset that Ava would even ask that. “But, Brent’s right. If we try to go after her, Dirk’s just going to try to kill her.”

“You guys do realize that he’s more than likely going to try to kill her anyways, right?” Ava asked. “I mean, come on, Brent! You saw her when she came here after he hit her last time! She was literally covered in bruises. It looked like he had tried to kill her then! Now, she’s going to be left alone with him for at least a month, and you don’t think he’s going to lay his hands on her? You two have got to be out of your fucking minds!” she yelled.

“Listen, I love my sister, and I want her to be alright, but there’s nothing we can do about it. She said she wants us to just let it be, and she’ll be back next month,” Brent argued.

“Yeah, if she’s still alive,” Ava muttered, and Brent glared at her. “And, you’re okay with this?” Ava asked, glancing at Kris who kept messing with the piece of paper that was in his pocket.

“This is what she wants,” Kris told her.

Ava shook her head. “No, this isn’t what she wants. But, apparently it’s what she’s going to get from you two!” she exclaimed, turning on her heel and walking towards her apartment, not slowing down when Brent kept calling her name.

Kris looked over at Brent. “Do you think she’s right?” he asked him.

Brent shook his head slowly. “I have no idea,” he admitted.

***

Over the next week and a half, everyone was waiting to hear something from Chloe. Brent and Ava had talked, and while Ava was still angry at his decision to not go after Chloe, they had finally reconciled.

“Brent, I’m seriously scared about her,” Ava told him. “I mean, she hasn’t been in contact with any of us since she left. I’m wondering if Dirk’s done something to her.”

“What do you want me to do?” Brent asked. “I mean, I’m scared for her, too, but I can’t do anything right now. I mean, do you want me to call Dirk up and ask to speak to Chloe?” When Ava continued to just stare at him, Brent looked at her in disbelief. “I can’t just call Dirk up and ask to speak to Chloe!” he exclaimed.

“Come on, I know you’re just as worried as I am. Please?” she begged.

Brent sighed, grabbing his phone out of his pocket. After dialing, he put it up to his ear, waiting on Dirk to answer. “What?” Dirk suddenly barked.

“I need to speak to Chloe,” Brent said, not even bothering with a ‘hello’.

“Brent?” Dirk questioned. He couldn’t remember the last time his son had called. Surely it was before he had moved to Chicago all those years ago.

“I need to speak to Chloe,” Brent repeated. When Dirk didn’t say anything, Brent continued. “Listen, Chloe said not to try to rescue her in the note she wrote. And, I’ve stayed here in Chicago, and I haven’t called the cops on you. But, if I don’t here from Chloe right now, I’m not going to hesitate to call the cops!”

“Okay,” Dirk interrupted.

Brent waited a moment before he heard Chloe’s voice, barely above a whisper. “Hello?”

“Chloe, thank God you’re alive!” Brent exclaimed, and Ava intently listened to him from the seat beside him.

“Brent, I told you not to do anything,” Chloe began.

“I haven’t,” he admitted. “But, I needed to make sure that you’re okay. Listen, why don’t I come get you, and you can come back here?” he suggested.

“No!” Chloe quickly exclaimed. “Listen, I have three weeks left, and then I’ll try to come back,” she said. Both were quiet for a few moments until Chloe spoke again. “How’s Kris?” she asked quietly.

“Steeger’s a mess right now,” Brent answered honestly. “Chloe, he needs you here.”

“Did you read the note I left him?”

“Yeah, he let me read it.”

“I wasn’t lying in the note. I do want him to forget about me, and I want him to find someone else. Please, Brent, help him find someone else,” she begged.

“Come on, Chloe, that’s not what you want. We both know that you two are good for each other,” Brent told her.

“No, I need him to find someone else. If you want to help me at all, you’ll find him some nice girl to date. Please,” she insisted.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Brent sighed.

“Thank you. Listen, I’ve got to go,” Chloe told him, and he could hear Dirk yelling in the background. “Like I said, I’m free in three weeks. I’ll try to talk to you again then. I love you,” she said quickly before the line went dead.

Brent slowly shut his phone, and looked over at Ava, who was staring at him expectantly. “So?” she asked.

“Well, I don’t think he’s done anything too bad to her. I’m not saying he hasn’t touched her because I’m sure he has. But, she’s talking,” Brent told her. “And, she’s still saying to let her wait this all out. And, she asked me to find someone for Steeger,” he added.
Ava shook her head. “You know it’s not a good thing when she wants Kris to find someone new,” she told him.
“I know. But, it’s only three more weeks,” Brent said, wrapping an arm around Ava’s shoulder, and leaning back against the couch.