The Beating of Our Hearts
The Beating of Our Hearts - 23
Sitting on a plane, I tried not to think about the guys. I hadn’t talked to them since Jared stayed over. I couldn’t face talking to them at the moment; my thoughts were focussed solely on the task ahead of me.
The plane began to taxi down the runway and I switched on my iPod to settle in for the seven hour flight.
*Jared’s P.O.V.*
“Where the fuck is she?” I questioned my phone fruitlessly, after the tenth unsuccessful call to Riley.
“Calm down dude, I’m sure she’s fine.” Shannon answered me from behind his book.
“But it’s been days. We haven’t gone this long without talking to her since we met her. I talk to her at least once a day.”
“Worried?”
“Fuck yeah. I’m gunna go over to hers. See what’s up.” I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door.
As I drove down the now familiar route to Riley’s house, I couldn’t stop my mind from conjuring up endless scenarios of what might have happened to Riley. She could be lying dead in the bath from slipping over, bleeding on the floor, choking on spaghetti, someone breaking in and holding her at gunpoint.
I pressed my foot onto the accelerator.
At her building, I pulled out the key card she gave me and opened the main doors, sprinting up the stairs to the level with her apartment.
“Riley.” I yelled through the door while pounding on it with my fist. I got no answer.
“Riley open up!” Still no answer. My panic levels were rising rapidly.
“Please Ri, what’s going on?” I shouted.
I scanned the corridor frantically, looking around for anywhere where a spare key could be hidden; under the lamp on the wall there was a slight recess. I pressed two fingers against it and it gently slid out of the way, revealing a key.
Impressive. I thought to myself.
I pulled out the key and pushed it into the lock of Riley’s door, hoping against hope that it was the right one. Luck was on my side; the key slid right through the lock and opened the door for me. I could tell from the moment I stepped through the door that Riley wasn’t there. It was too quiet and too cold. I had to check regardless.
Going methodically through every room, I made absolutely sure that she wasn’t sleeping or hiding or dead. When I found nothing, it didn’t do anything to calm my nerves. It actually did the opposite. During my search I noticed that several of her drawers were open and half empty. She wouldn’t have left without an explanation; without saying where she was going or for how long. Would she?
I left the apartment, locking it and putting the key back in its original place and rushed down to my car to get home.
“She there?” Shannon asked as soon as I walked through the door. He hadn’t moved from his previous position. Even though he was trying not to show it, I could tell by his voice he was getting worried about Riley as well.
“No. I think she’s gone somewhere, a bunch of her clothes were gone.” I told him.
“She can’t have done, she would have told us if she was going somewhere, right?” He finally looked up from his book.
“I thought so, but now I don’t know.” I ran my hand through my hair stressfully.
Where the fuck was she?
*Regular P.O.V.*
-Wednesday Morning-
I stood in front of the cemetery gates; I needed a few moments to collect my thoughts. I finally stepped through the gates, passing down the familiar path to my parent’s grave. The sky was overcast as their graves came into view, setting an appropriate backdrop to my mood.
“Hey mom, hey dad.” I whispered, letting myself fall down into a cross-legged position in front of their gravestones.
I spent the next few hours just sitting there, telling them about the past year. About my new job in LA, about the guys; I told them a lot about Jared. I think they would have liked him. I placed fresh flowers in front of them; calla lilies for my mother, plain white roses for my dad.
By the end of the day I was emotionally exhausted, but I felt better. I hadn’t realised how much I was missing my parents while I was in LA. Coming back to see them made me feel a lot easier, I knew that they were gone forever, but coming to talk to them made me feel closer to them, as though they were there with me.
I was sat in my hotel room that evening before I even remembered that I hadn’t switched my phone back on after the flight yesterday. I found that I had about twenty missed calls. Most from Jared, a few from Shannon and Tomo. I felt bad for not talking to them in the past few days, for not saying goodbye or telling them where I was going; but this was my thing, I didn’t want to burden them with it. Besides, I would be home tomorrow evening; I would talk to them then.
*Jared’s P.O.V.*
-Thursday Afternoon-
It had been almost a week since we had seen or talked to Riley. I was going crazy with worry; I was on the verge of calling the police. I had no idea what to do, she wasn’t answering her mobile or her home phone; there was nothing in her apartment, I didn’t know who else knew her that I could call. In fact I didn’t know if she actually did know anyone else. Thinking about it, we hardly knew anything about her, nothing about her family or her life in North Carolina.
And now we’ll never know; I thought. She’s gone, and we have no idea where she is or if she’ll ever come back. Fuck.
*Regular P.O.V.*
I pushed open my apartment door, glad to be back. I had realised while I was in North Carolina that it wasn’t my home anymore. I grew up there, sure; but LA was my home now. It’s was where I felt comfortable and relaxed.
I should probably call the guys. I probably owed them an explanation of where I disappeared to. I dropped my bags, grabbed a quick shower and a bite to eat before heading back out the door to head over to Jared’s house.
The plane began to taxi down the runway and I switched on my iPod to settle in for the seven hour flight.
*Jared’s P.O.V.*
“Where the fuck is she?” I questioned my phone fruitlessly, after the tenth unsuccessful call to Riley.
“Calm down dude, I’m sure she’s fine.” Shannon answered me from behind his book.
“But it’s been days. We haven’t gone this long without talking to her since we met her. I talk to her at least once a day.”
“Worried?”
“Fuck yeah. I’m gunna go over to hers. See what’s up.” I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door.
As I drove down the now familiar route to Riley’s house, I couldn’t stop my mind from conjuring up endless scenarios of what might have happened to Riley. She could be lying dead in the bath from slipping over, bleeding on the floor, choking on spaghetti, someone breaking in and holding her at gunpoint.
I pressed my foot onto the accelerator.
At her building, I pulled out the key card she gave me and opened the main doors, sprinting up the stairs to the level with her apartment.
“Riley.” I yelled through the door while pounding on it with my fist. I got no answer.
“Riley open up!” Still no answer. My panic levels were rising rapidly.
“Please Ri, what’s going on?” I shouted.
I scanned the corridor frantically, looking around for anywhere where a spare key could be hidden; under the lamp on the wall there was a slight recess. I pressed two fingers against it and it gently slid out of the way, revealing a key.
Impressive. I thought to myself.
I pulled out the key and pushed it into the lock of Riley’s door, hoping against hope that it was the right one. Luck was on my side; the key slid right through the lock and opened the door for me. I could tell from the moment I stepped through the door that Riley wasn’t there. It was too quiet and too cold. I had to check regardless.
Going methodically through every room, I made absolutely sure that she wasn’t sleeping or hiding or dead. When I found nothing, it didn’t do anything to calm my nerves. It actually did the opposite. During my search I noticed that several of her drawers were open and half empty. She wouldn’t have left without an explanation; without saying where she was going or for how long. Would she?
I left the apartment, locking it and putting the key back in its original place and rushed down to my car to get home.
“She there?” Shannon asked as soon as I walked through the door. He hadn’t moved from his previous position. Even though he was trying not to show it, I could tell by his voice he was getting worried about Riley as well.
“No. I think she’s gone somewhere, a bunch of her clothes were gone.” I told him.
“She can’t have done, she would have told us if she was going somewhere, right?” He finally looked up from his book.
“I thought so, but now I don’t know.” I ran my hand through my hair stressfully.
Where the fuck was she?
*Regular P.O.V.*
-Wednesday Morning-
I stood in front of the cemetery gates; I needed a few moments to collect my thoughts. I finally stepped through the gates, passing down the familiar path to my parent’s grave. The sky was overcast as their graves came into view, setting an appropriate backdrop to my mood.
“Hey mom, hey dad.” I whispered, letting myself fall down into a cross-legged position in front of their gravestones.
I spent the next few hours just sitting there, telling them about the past year. About my new job in LA, about the guys; I told them a lot about Jared. I think they would have liked him. I placed fresh flowers in front of them; calla lilies for my mother, plain white roses for my dad.
By the end of the day I was emotionally exhausted, but I felt better. I hadn’t realised how much I was missing my parents while I was in LA. Coming back to see them made me feel a lot easier, I knew that they were gone forever, but coming to talk to them made me feel closer to them, as though they were there with me.
I was sat in my hotel room that evening before I even remembered that I hadn’t switched my phone back on after the flight yesterday. I found that I had about twenty missed calls. Most from Jared, a few from Shannon and Tomo. I felt bad for not talking to them in the past few days, for not saying goodbye or telling them where I was going; but this was my thing, I didn’t want to burden them with it. Besides, I would be home tomorrow evening; I would talk to them then.
*Jared’s P.O.V.*
-Thursday Afternoon-
It had been almost a week since we had seen or talked to Riley. I was going crazy with worry; I was on the verge of calling the police. I had no idea what to do, she wasn’t answering her mobile or her home phone; there was nothing in her apartment, I didn’t know who else knew her that I could call. In fact I didn’t know if she actually did know anyone else. Thinking about it, we hardly knew anything about her, nothing about her family or her life in North Carolina.
And now we’ll never know; I thought. She’s gone, and we have no idea where she is or if she’ll ever come back. Fuck.
*Regular P.O.V.*
I pushed open my apartment door, glad to be back. I had realised while I was in North Carolina that it wasn’t my home anymore. I grew up there, sure; but LA was my home now. It’s was where I felt comfortable and relaxed.
I should probably call the guys. I probably owed them an explanation of where I disappeared to. I dropped my bags, grabbed a quick shower and a bite to eat before heading back out the door to head over to Jared’s house.