Page 72 of Fallen to Thievery
I pursed my lips. Grayson lifted my chin.
“It’ll be okay, Ava. They will be fine.”
I wanted to believe him.
Graysonhadhandedmea notepad and a pen he got from the trunk. I was staring at the blank page, pressing my fingers against the air vents, trying to warm them. The car was still sitting at the side of the road.
How could I make them understand, if I myself don’t even understand it? It was easier to start with Rachel’s letter. She understood me like no one else ever had.
I wrote her letter in our secret code we developed in high school, so we could send along letters in class without fear of someone reading it out loud. To others, it was an incoherent mess of letters and numbers. But to our practised eyes, it was daily gossip, swooning over boys and trash talking our nemeses.
We haven’t used it in a while, but it took me no time to start writing fluently.
Rachel
I’m okay. I really am. And I’m writing this so you would be too. I wish I could sit on that ugly couch of ours and tell you all the shit I’ve been through sincethe last time I saw you. Some of it has been real bad, I won’t lie.
But not all of it. In fact, I’ve met a guy. You’ve met him too, actually. He had a gun pointed at us. But don’t you dare judge me, Rach. Out of all people, you should have known something like this was bound to happen. You know my weakness for bad boys in black. Even though he might be a bad man, he’s so good to me, Rach. Real, real good. But I won’t get into that here. Just know I’m cared for.
And I made a new friend. You will love her. I hope she gets to meet you someday. I hope they all do.
Rach, I want you to stop worrying about me. I’m safe and happy. But I’m not coming home. Not soon, anyway. I’m running off with my captor and his band of thieves. I’m going on those adventures I was too scared to take. He has awakened my soul, Rach. I cursed him for taking me from my life, but he has shown me that I never reallylived. And with him looking out for me, I finally have the courage to run wild.
I hope you understand. And I hope you don’t resent me for it. My heart is battered and blue from missing you, Rach. Not a day goes by that you are not on my mind. I will come see you as soon as the dust settles, I promise. We made a pact after all. I love you, Rachel. Please take care of Mom and Dad for me.
Your basket case bestie,
Ava.
I looked up at Grayson and he wiped the tears from my eyes.
“One down, one to go.” I tried to soothe myself, taking a few deep breaths.
Grayson picked up the letter I had placed on the dashboard and smiled. “You have a secret code?”
I nodded. “With Rachel. No one has been able to crack it.” I grinned proudly. Teachers and our parents have tried and failed miserably.
He arched a brow at me, the excitement of a challenge twinkling in his eyes.
“May I?”
“You can try,” I said, doubtfully.
He scanned the letter, a crease between his brows. It took him mere seconds before he started cracking it wide open.
“This number stands alone, so it must represent anI.The last word must be your name, soaandv, but then this word doesn’t make sense.” He pointed to one in the second paragraph. “Hmmm… some, not all of the letters’ symbols shift, don’t they? That’s why you’re writing in clear paragraphs. I thought that was odd.” He was quiet for a moment. “You have three code sets, alternating it with each paragraph. But you keep just enough letters the same, so no one would suspect it. That’s clever.” He smiled up at me and then laughed at my gaping mouth. I was in utter shock. How did he do that so easily?
In our senior year, we had a teacher obsess over a note for months trying to decipher it. He was convinced we were talking shit about him. He wasn’t wrong. But he never could prove it.
“I’m sorry. I’ll stop.” Grayson placed the letter back on the dashboard.
“How smart are you anyway?” I grumbled. “This can’t be normal.”
Grayson declined to comment, so I continued on with my letter to my parents. This one was much more difficult to write. I wanted them to understand that I was thinking clearly and that I was of sound mind, whenIwasn’t even sure if I was. I knew that no matter what I wrote, they would still worry, but I had to try.
When I was done, Grayson continued the drive into town. We drove through the familiar streets and my heart panged. I directed Graysontowards my parents’ house. The place where I grew up. The place that held ninety percent of my childhood memories.
We stopped around the corner by the park where I had my first kiss. Grayson pulled a black hoodie over my head so I would blend in the shadows, in case we needed to hide.
