All the Lies We Tell

2. Avery J.

The plane lands with two jolts and then begins to slow. I finally let go of my death grip on the seat handles. Cage sits across from me, his brows furrowed.

"I'm fine," I say to him as I breathe a bit easier.

He sighs. "At some point, we have to talk."

"I need to call my mom."

Ignoring him, I turn my phone from Airplane mode to cellular. My hands shake as I click on my Favorites. Though I'm dreading this moment, it has been two and a half months since I've talked to her. It's time.

I dial my mom's phone number as Cage asks for a last drink from the stewardess. She walks off, shaking her hips a little extra for him, but he pays no attention. He's staring at me.

The phone rings, and rings, and rings.

"Avery?"

"Mom?" There's a long silence before I realize she's crying. "Mom, are you there?"

"Avery?"

"Yeah, Mom, can you hear me?"

"Avery, it's Parker -"

As she weeps out the last couple of months on the phone, I look at Cage, my eyes burning with their own wetness. He slams down the drink from the stewardess as he rushes over, dropping to his knees in front of me. He waits until I finish the phone call with her.

"Cage," I sob as he wraps me in his arms. 

I bury my face into his strong neck, unable to hold myself together.

"Tell me where we need to go."

"Home," I say to him between sobs. "I need to go home."

I rush into my mom's arms as Cage watches us from the doorway of the apartment, my schoolbag and luggage in his hands.

"I'm so sorry," I cry into her chest as she pulls me down on the couch to sit with her. She weeps in my arms as we hold each other for the first time in a long time. I didn't think about it all summer, but I've missed her. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here."

"I needed you," she says as Cage glances away, guilt written on his face.

He's taking the blame for what happened. 

Later, I'll tell him that none of this is his fault, that I would have followed him to the depths of Hell to find Henry regardless, but now is not the time. Now is the time to focus on my mom, and heal from what happened.

"I had to go, Mom," I tell her as she pulls away from me, wiping the tears from her eyes.

She nods, looking older than I have ever seen her.

"I think I understand." She glances at Cage for a moment, then focuses on me. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

. . .

Italy. 2 months, 1 week ago.

We flew into Catania Fontanarossa Airport in Italy after about fourteen hours, many of the hours spent with me being a wreck about leaving behind my life in Malibu. As Cage sipped on the endless alcoholic drinks served by his beautiful stewardesses, he tried to distract me with random conversations the entire flight. He paid no attention to the girls unless he needed another drink, and I could tell after a few hours that they were envious of me. I couldn't blame them when they were trying so hard to get him to notice them; his attention had not left me the entire time.