Let them go

Chapter 32

Aiden POV

I parked my car in front of Noah and Theo’s house.

I checked my phone again. There were no missed calls or texts from Ethan or Riley, so Riley was probably still here.

I didn’t even know why I thought that Riley would go home earlier. She and Lucy were probably still talking.

I got out of my car, locked it, and walked to the front door.

I knocked and waited for someone to open it.

A few moments later, Noah opened the front door and furrowed his eyebrows at me.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he moved aside so I could come in.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, confused. “I am here to pick up Riley.”

I walked to the living room and saw Theo and Lucy sitting on the couch, watching TV.

“Riley isn’t here.” Noah said, making me turn and look at him. “She texted Lucy that she wouldn’t be able to come today.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. My heart raced.

Why would she do that? She was getting ready to go to Lucy’s house. She said that she would go. What changed? Why didn’t she text me?

“She said that she would come here.” I mumbled, pulling my phone out of my pocket. “Did she tell you why she couldn’t come?”

I looked up at Lucy as I dialed Riley’s number.

“No.” Lucy said, shaking her head. “She did say that she would call me later.”

The call went straight to voicemail.

My frustration grew, and my heartbeat picked up again.

I called Ethan.

“Hey.” he answered immediately.

“Is Riley home?” I asked. “What’s wrong with her phone? Tell her to call me.”

“She isn’t here.” Ethan said, making my heart stop beating. “She went to Lucy’s after school.”

I tightened my grip on my phone.

“Well, I am at Lucy’s, and she isn’t here.” I said, gritting my teeth. “She texted Lucy and told her that she couldn’t come today.”

Ethan stayed silent.

“Did you try calling her?” he asked.

“Of course I did.” I snapped. “It’s the first thing I did. The call went to voicemail.”

“Try again.” Ethan said, and I could hear the worry in his voice. “I am on my way there.”

He hung up the phone, and I looked at my friends.

They were staring at me with worried looks on their faces.

“She isn’t home.” I said, my voice shaking.

Everything around me was slowing down. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. I could hear my blood flowing through my veins.

She wasn’t home.

Where was she?

Where was my Riley? Where was my twin? Where was my sister?

Where the fuck was she?!

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Breathe, Aiden.” Noah said softly. “I am sure that she is with a friend somewhere.”

What friend? She hasn’t been hanging out with anyone but Lucy lately.

Maybe she had a boyfriend. Maybe she was hiding it from me and Ethan because she knew that we would freak the fuck out.

“Does she have a boyfriend, Lucy?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Maybe she is with a boy.”

Oh, please, God, let her be with a guy. I would be so fucking okay with it right now. As long as she was okay and I could scream at her for doing this to me.

My heart was going to give out.

“No.” Lucy said quietly. “She never talked about a boy.”

I could feel my heartbeat in my throat.

I dialed her number again.

The call went to voicemail.

My legs started shaking.

“Maybe we should go back to school?” Theo suggested. “Maybe she got sick or something?”

Why wouldn’t she call me?

Was she sick?

My tongue felt like sandpaper. I couldn’t say anything to Theo, so I just nodded.

I heard someone’s phone vibrate.

It was Noah’s.

I watched as he pulled it out of his pocket. He unlocked it and read the message he got.

He visibly paled.

He gasped and looked up at me.

What did he see? What the fuck did he see?!

“Noah?” Theo called his brother as he stood up and approached him.

Noah never looked away from me.

What was on his phone?

Theo grabbed Noah’s phone and looked at the screen.

“FUCK!” Theo screamed, making Noah flinch.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t fucking breathe.

Lucy approached her brothers.

“Lucy, no!” Theo said as she grabbed Noah’s phone from Theo’s hand.

It was too late, though. She already saw it.

Everybody saw it but me.

“No!” Lucy screamed, looking up at her brothers. “I have to go! I have to save her!”

Save? Her? Who?

Theo grabbed Lucy, lifting her up and walking back to the couch.

“Let me go, Theo!” Lucy trashed in his arms. “I have to go! I can’t let her get hurt!”

Noah approached me, grabbed my shoulders, and led me to the couch. He made me sit down. I got along with it. My body went along with it because I wasn’t in control of my body anymore.

What was on Noah’s phone? Who did Lucy need to save?

“Lucy, no!” Theo shouted, pinning his sister against his chest.

She was sobbing and trashing.

“What the hell is going on?!” I heard Liam’s voice somewhere behind me.

“Aiden, I am going to show you the text I just got.” Noah said, grabbing my shoulders tightly. “I need you to try and stay calm. I need you to breathe, okay?”

I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t even nod.

Lucy was screaming something. Liam and Ezra were trying to calm her down and help Theo hold her. Theo was telling them something, but I couldn’t hear what.

I watched as Ezra and Liam’s eyes widened. I watched as their eyes snapped to me.

“Aiden?” Noah called me, making me look at him.

His phone was in his hand. I kept my eyes on it.

He turned it toward me.

It was a photo. Of a girl. Tied to a chair. Her head was bent down. Her blonde hair was covering her face. I recognized her hoodie. It was mine.

My eyes fell on the text below the photo.

Hello, doll. You told your brothers about the notes. You gave your phone to the police. You didn’t come to school. You left us no choice but to take this pretty friend of yours. Come to us, and we will give Riley back to her family. We would like to say that she will be unharmed, but she is a feisty one. She put up a lot of a fight. But let’s not hurt Riley any more than we have to. Come to us if you want to save your friend. Wait for further instructions and don’t tell the police. Riley is too pretty to die.

My heart stopped.

No.

That was my Riley on the photo, wasn’t it?
They were talking about my Riley, weren’t they?

My Riley was hurt.

My Riley was taken.

She wasn’t here with me. I couldn’t hold her. I couldn’t hold my Riley.

How the fuck was I supposed to take my next breath if I couldn’t hold my Riley?

My body shut down. My heart broke. I wanted to scream. I wanted to rip the fucking world apart.

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t even fucking move. I couldn't even breathe. Not without her.