Her Soul

23. danger above her head

Riaan stood with his back against the wall. Dash was still on the bed but was alive and taking stupid things. There was a bandage around his neck. Jayden who never laughed at Dash's jokes was now laughing. For a second back there, Riaan had thought they might lose Dash.

Kenya and Jayden suspected it was an attempted robbery. Dash used to wear a gold chain around his neck. They used to make fun of it. Kenya's guess was, the robber must have aimed the knife for the chain. The chain was still safe though. Kenya had forced him to remove it and was convincing him to never wear it again. There was no way Dash would stay away from that chain. It would be back around his neck in a matter of days.

Riaan did not care who did this. He wanted to get hold of that person and beat the shit out of him. Dash was family and no one got to hurt him.

"Man, I am telling you. It was all like a movie. The only thing missing was background music." Only Dash could make a near-death experience sound funny. "Get me hot chocolate."

"Are you even allowed to drink it now Dash?" Jayden looked tired in his crumpled shirt. The incident had scared all of them. Kenya was still keeping their parents, who were on a trip in dark regarding the incident.

"I am fine. Go!"

Jayden and Kenya took off to get the hot chocolate. Riaan was about to follow them and help himself with a hot chocolate when Dash called him.
"Want anything Dash?" Riaan was by his side momentarily.

"Don't treat me like a sick person. Listen I need to tell you something." He was trying the sit up. The covers ruffled, and he took them off completely.

"It can wait." Riaan pushed him back on the bed.

But Dash sat up in spite if Riaan's objections. "When we were walking in the back street, there was oil on the floor. I was about to warn Aviana but she slipped before that."

"I am sure she is fine. She is not going to die from a little scratch." Riaan stopped him. Dash had just survived an attack and now be was worried about her. Did he even understand he could have died today?

"You don't understand. If she had not slipped...the knife would have cut her...not me. I think it was aimed at her Riaan. Someone is trying to hurt her."

Riaan looked at Dash attentively, taking in the new details, his body tensing. Now that Dash put it forward, it made sense. Dash's cut was by his side. It couldn't have been aimed for him. It was meant for her. What exactly was going around Aviana? "I will keep an eye on her. You take rest and forget about this."

Riaan went to find Aviana. If Dash was right, there had been an attempt on her life. Riaan decided to keep this to himself. She had been scared out of her wits in the forest, this new information would only make it worse. He had a sick feeling all this was related to Sage's death and Mikilene. In the beginning, Riaan had thought this was just a high school scheming. After this, he was not so sure. Something big was going on. They needed the catch Mikilene and get the diary from her.

Time was running out; Amos wanted the report. Riaan was not going to give the report. His job was to protect the innocent, wronged one. In this case, it was turning out to be Aviana. There was no solid evidence. But as he spent more time with her, he was convinced she was more good than bad.

Aviana stood outside on the lawn, away from the busy hospital crowd. A white dot against the green field. She had changed her blood-stained blue top for a white one, which fit her perfectly.

"Aviana."

She turned towards him, hearing him call. Her legs got twisted and she fell forward on the lawn. In spite of the serious situation, Riaan found himself laughing. There was something extremely hilarious about Aviana and her unstable equilibrium.

"Don't laugh!" Her white top was no longer white. He lifted her up still laughing. They stood close just like their shadows. His hand was across her shoulders. She was examining her dirty-muddy hands.

Back in, Riaan had felt compelling anger towards the one who had hurt Dash. And after knowing the knife had been for Aviana, the outrage stayed the same. That surprised him because he only cared for the family and Dash was family.

He looked down at her. She was blowing air over the small cuts on her hand, due to the fall on the lawn. Her hair fell over her shoulders as soft curls. His hands throbbed to weave into those curls and feel them.

Looking back at the lawn a light switched on inside him. He wanted to remember something. He was not able to tell what it was but it was in the back of his mind, stinging him. He again looked at the place she fell. The elements clicked. How did he not see it before, it was obvious. "That's it! We have to go back to the cottage."

"What? Why do you want to go there?" Aviana gazed up at him with her round brown eye as she forgot about the cuts in her hand.

"Do you remember how you fell that day and I asked if you are made up of chemicals."

"This is not the time to make fun of me Riaan." She looked annoyed.

She was not catching the point. "That's not it. The place you fell was devoid of grass. Of course, you are not made of chemicals, I was joking. But why was there no grass on that part alone?"

Aviana narrowed her eyes thinking deeply. "Why?" It came out as a whisper.

"Someone had dug the spot recently. On the day of Sage's death, after they got hold of the diary, they did not take it anywhere. It had been right there the whole time...buried."

"OH!" She caught up finally, her face glowing. She looked up at him admiringly. "You are brilliant."

He grinned down at her. "Come on let's go."

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