Come Closer

Chapter 8

Eventually, three months passed. Lyena made friends with Ryan, Adrian and even grumpy Noah. James also became her friend, but she always felt an attraction towards him. She knew it was not right to feel such things for her friend, but what could she have done? Heart tends to get what it desires. Lyena was someone who could get tired of people easily. Long distance relationships were not for her. She knew that when she returns home, she wouldn’t be able to maintain close connections with any of her new friends. So she didn’t want James to suffer when she moves on with her life, and decided to ignore her growing feelings for him.

But, what Lyena failed to notice was, in that process, she had ignored James to some extent and had distanced herself from him, even though James didn’t miss a thing.

Meanwhile, in Nathan’s house, Avelyn was pacing back and forth in the living room. Her unsettled state of mind was clearly shown. Mumbling to herself, she was continuously looking at the main door. “Why isn’t he here yet?” She asked herself, frustrated. She ran a hand through her hair and messed it up a little. “I should have gone with him.” She said to herself and began her nonstop pacing again.

“Avelyn!” As soon as she heard his voice, she turned around and quickly went to him.

“What happened, Nathan? Did you get any news?” Avelyn asked.

“I got news, alright, but I don’t think that it is good news.” said Nathan in a worried tone.

“Why? What happened?”

“We were right when we guessed some mafias were involved in Lyena’s case. We managed to get the footage of a secret CCTV camera. And it showed us the exact thing we thought. Lyena has been kidn*pped by someone!”

Hearing the news, Avelyn was shaken. Though she suspected it all along, the fact that Lyena had been kidn*pped made her legs give up under her. She slowly sat on the floor grabbing her hair with her hands. She let out a shaky breath. “I should have protected you. I’m sorry Lyena, I’m sorry.” She started to cry. She kept mumbling “I’m sorry” repeatedly.

Nathan knew that Avelyn was not a one to cry so easily. In fact, he had never seen her cry. Even at her parents’ funeral, she didn’t cry.

Many thought that she didn’t love her parents, but as someone close to her, Nathan knew that she was barely keeping it together. Any weakness shown in the eyes of the society, Avelyn knew that it would be the beginning of trouble. Starting from showing pity on her, people would slowly start to invade their lives and take advantage of making them feel that they are at the mercy of others. Avelyn didn’t want neither her life nor Lyena’s life to be controlled by others. So she didn’t accept the offers that her relatives suggested and went for a job, to get financial stability. She hated being in debt to others.

And Nathan knew how much Avelyn loved her sister, more than her parents actually, though she didn’t show it. Actually, Avelyn had changed after their parents’ untimely death. She considered showing affection as a weakness. It became hard for her to show her emotions in front of others. She would rather hide under her bed than showing others some affection. And, when she started crying, Nathan knew that losing her sister had caused a huge blow on her mind.

He also sat down on the floor, next to Avelyn, and hugged her. She didn’t oppose it. After all, we all need someone to comfort us sometimes. Nathan patted her back. “Let it all out. Don’t keep them inside. I’m with you. We will find her. I promise!” He softly said. Avelyn’s tears kept streaming down her cheeks and she was feeling tired from all of it. She was tired from crying. She was tired from stressing her mind. She was tired from worrying about her sister. She was tired from all these unfortunate things happening around her. Her eyelids felt so heavy. Closing them would be the greatest comfort to her at that moment. Slowly, very slowly, she drifted into sleep in the warmth of someone she trusted.