Kidnap My Heart - Chapter Twenty Three

They drove through town and Ivy felt her heart pound miserably. She knew she would have said goodbye at some point but it was hopeless. She was holding more pain than she had the first time. She turned to Avery slowly and took note of his changed appearance. He matured and she hadn't had a close up look at him. To her, he was still the same Avery she had loved many years ago. She watched as his brown eyes flickered around and shot to her briefly. The good feeling about that time was she knew her that love for him was strong. She wanted to leave but at the same time she didn't want to leave him without telling about her whereabouts. She wanted him to chase her and show that he still cared about her so they'd be able to sort out their problems. It was too late for that. Her stubborn mind had already protested against her heart and she knew it was settled. It was easy to say her heart and mind were disjointed. She looked out the window of his car and turned her body completely away from him. Her mind was screwed up and her heart was being unreasonable. She didn't know what she personally wanted. It always came down to her gut feeling. She knew that even though it wasn't always the best choice, she had no other one. It was too late for her. She was already heartbroken and secluded.

As they neared the bar Ivy felt a dull ache in her head. She didn't want to run away from this place again but she had to. It was part of her job and also part of her emotions. The car came to a stop and Ivy closed her eyes. This was it. Another goodbye she didn't want to happen. She turned and looked over at Avery who was smiling at her. The glint in his eyes died out as he saw her blanched expression. "What's wrong?" Avery said confused. Ivy forced a smile and threw her unhappy mood away. "Nothing. I was just thinking if anything happened last night I need to remember." Ivy said with a shrug. Avery smiled and parked his car next to hers. They stepped out of the car and felt the cool winter breeze sway around them. Ivy shivered a bit and refrained from crying. She was going to miss the unruly weather. She grabbed her purse out of Avery's car and dug into it to find her keys. She found them and opened her car slowly. She tried to stall her time to be able to stay with Avery longer. She wanted him to hug her and hold her tight but it was practically impossible.

She placed everything in her car and closed her eyes again. She faced him and his eyes glittered dangerously. "Why so tense?" Avery said with a smile. "I'm not." Ivy said sharply. Avery grinned and shook his head. "Alright. If you say so." Avery said softly. Ivy felt her heart clench and she bit her lip. "Yeah well I gotta go. Thanks for everything." Ivy said with a smile. She entered her car and rolled the window down. Avery watched her and smiled kindly. "See you around Ives." Avery said happily. "Goodbye Avery." She whispered. She eyed his happy expression once more and drove away with a heart full of guilt.

When she had got to her house she had no more tears left. Her eyes had been too swollen and it felt drier than ever. She dragged herself out of her car and headed inside the house. She walked around the house in search of Crystal and was shocked to find her in Ivy's room reading a book. Crystal had brightened when she saw Ivy but had become worried as she saw her green eyes cloudier than ever. Ivy had exploded onto the bed and she couldn't tell if there was a new batch of tears ready to fall. Crystal had patted her back lightly and watched her sympathetically. When Ivy had finally stopped crying she was helped by Crystal's smile. "Sweetie, I think you should tell me what's wrong." Crystal said kindly. Ivy looked up at her and felt a small smile escape her. "I'm leaving in about 3 hours. I said bye to Avery but he doesn't know I'm leaving. Only his younger brother and you know. I'm going to tell my mom too. Crystal, I need you to not tell a soul about it okay? You can leave when you want but don't tell anyone or hint anything out to them. The next time I'm going to be here is for the wedding and I'm going to leave right after the wedding anyway." Ivy said with a shaky voice.

Crystal nodded and held Ivy close to her. "I promise Ivy. Now we got to get you ready. You're going to be late if you don't get ready." Crystal said as she stood up. Crystal pulled her suitcases out from under her bed and tossed all her belongings into it. Ivy lied on her bed once more and stared at the ceiling. "Crystal, when are you planning to go back to LA?" Ivy said wearily. Crystal craned her neck towards Ivy and shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow or the next day. I promise I'll go back to LA. I need the money for another Prada bag and maybe more of the seasons to Days of Our Lives. I haven't watched any new episodes since I've been here worrying about you too much." Crystal said with a quirky smile. Ivy rolled her eyes and grabbed the tattered teddy bear she loved. Its soft fur had thinned over the years and the thread holding its arm was ripping. "Ives, you should go say something to your mom." Crystal said as she closed the suitcases. Ivy smiled and nodded. "I will right now. Get me a new set of clothes will you? I've been wearing this since yesterday." Ivy said sweetly.

Crystal rolled her eyes and nodded. "You are so lucky you have me." Crystal whispered as Ivy walked away. Ivy walked down the halls and searched for her mom who happened to be in her room. She entered her mom's room and she saw her sitting on her bed typing on a computer. She looked up at Ivy when she heard the door open and smiled at her. "Hey Ives. What happened to you last night?" April said with a mischievous smile. Ivy blushed and neared her mother. She had told her the whole story and her mother had a soft expression on her face. When she had finished she wasn't able to tell if her mom was shocked or not. "So, you and Avery? Truthfully I always like that boy. Now you're leaving again huh? Just make sure you come visit me once in a while. I get lonely around here." April said with a sincere smile. Ivy kissed her mom's cheek and walked away slowly. "Hey Ivy?" April said hesitantly. Ivy stopped in her tracks and looked back. "Yeah?" she asked. Her mom smiled and replied with a shrug, "Don't lose someone you can't stop thinking about. Maybe he's supposed to be around." Ivy nodded and walked away with more on her mind than before.