Finding Ford

chapter twenty five

"When we were children we'd play out on the streets, just tempting fate." -One Republic, Fear

 

SOMETHING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG THE NEXT morning.

Early in the morning. Three in the morning, to be precise. I'm awoken by the sound of my cell phone going off, and even when I try to ignore it in my sleepy daze, the person calls back in a matter of seconds. I groan, rolling over and accepting the call. "Hello?" I slur out.

"Ava?"

I sigh heavily, rubbing my eyes. "It's three in the morning, Ford. This better be good."

"I'm in Cailbridge."

That wakes me up quick.

I find Ford at one of the entrances of Barton's Forest. He's slumped down against a tree, knees pulled to his chest, clutching a piece of paper tightly in his hands. His backpack is tossed to the side with some of the contents spilling out. Ford doesn't seem to notice I'm approaching, seemingly too caught up in his own thoughts, until I tap him on the shoulder. His head snaps up, but he relaxes when he sees it's just me.

"What are you doing here?" I hiss, sitting down across from him. Ford unfolds himself, crossing his legs instead.

"Woke up because of an alarm someone set on my phone," Ford says, his voice even, but his face is pale. "There was a death threat on my desk." He shakily hands me the note. "He sneaked into my room while I was sleeping, Ava."

"Oh my God." My heart is beating against my chest so hard, I feel like it's going to fly out. I snap out of my shock quick enough to snap. "Then why are you here, Ford? It's dangerous!"

"I'm leaving."

I stop at that. No- everything stops at that. My lungs, my heart, my head. I stare at him, unblinking.

He continues, "I'm being selfish by dragging you and Jas into this. It's not fair to my family that I keep in contact with you guys when I know it's putting my family in danger. It's not fair, Ava. I don't have much money left, but I can go and find a job, far, far away from here. I'll start over. This town will forget about me, eventually. They forgot about my mom, after all."

At the mention of Ford's mother, a pang shoots through my chest. I want to tell him what I found out about his mom- I was going to tell him in the afternoon, since it's not exactly something to say over the phone, but now, I'm desperate.

"Ford, we almost have this figured out," I tell him, my heart beat beginning to pick up at his words. I'm terrified. "We... We know who's working with James."

Ford's eyes widen. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to tell you tonight!"

"Jesus, who is it, Ava?"

I gulp, rubbing the back of my neck. I send Jas a quick text, telling her to come to the forest entrance, much to Ford's annoyance. I have to figure out how I'm going to drop the bomb on him, though. I put my phone away, looking at the ground and taking a deep breath.

"James' dad."

Ford blinks. Once. Then twice. "Excuse me?"

I swallow roughly. "The emails were from his dad. Remember... Remember those rumours about your mom sleeping around?"

Ford's face goes slack. In the moonlight, I can see the way his face goes even more pale, his grey eyes duller than I've ever seen them before. The dullness is a scary one, though. One that sends shivers down my spine. Ford is barely breathing. "Do you really think...?"