"If I told you my secrets, you would never look at me the same way." -Robbie Williams, Into The Silence

"SO," FORD BEGINS, "WHAT WERE YOU SAYING about that bloody jewellery box?"

I blink a couple of times at Ford's question. My eyes are focused on the road ahead, hands tightly clenched around the steering wheel to the point that my knuckles have turned white. This, however, divides my attention, having my eyebrows furrow. "What do you mean?"

"When we were texting," Ford continues, "You said something about a bloody jewellery box." My eyes glance over to his direction quickly, just to notice he's not looking at me either, choosing to lean his head against the window instead.

"Yeah," I say, turning my eyes back to the road. "We found your jacket in the forest, and the jewellery box you and I made in the forest. The jewellery box was covered in blood."

"That's... scary."

"Says you," I snort. "How did you get the jewellery box from Mr. Stevens?"

"I didn't..."

When I turn to look at him this time, he's looking right back at me. "Excuse me?"

"I never took the jewellery box," Ford says. "When did you find it?"

I bite my lip, trying my best not to lose focus of the road. "Like... a week after you went missing."

"I was long gone by then, Ava." Ford follows my example and worries his bottom lip. "It was the person- the one who has been sending me threats. Did you check the security tapes?"

I nod, "Yeah, we tried. But anything from the day that you went missing to the day we found the box was gone."

Ford visibly shudders. "Oh my god." The sound of him taking deep breaths echoes through the car. "What...?"

"I don't know," I admit. "But after what you told me... it makes sense, I guess. James, Jas and I went to look at the tapes, and they had just been erased. I mean, it's obviously someone in Cailbridge..."

Ford rolls his eyes, "That only narrows it down to, like, six hundred people."

"Not including me and you," I point out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Five hundred ninety-eight." Ford gives me an exasperated look. "Look, Ava, I tried for a good month to try and figure out who this is. And I've just kept drawing blank after blank after blank. Whoever it is, they're really good at hiding."

"Well, let's think about it," I suggest. I let one hand drop from the steering wheel, trying to relax myself from the stiffness the seriousness of the topic has brought on. "It was someone who messed with the computers. That means they're technology smart, right?"

"Right," he says. "And maybe someone who has easy access into the school?"

"Everyone has easy access into the school. It's almost always open."

"But how would they get into the security room?"

I shrug, "When we snuck in, it was already open."

Ford stops for a moment, hesitating before asking, "Snuck in? So, like, you watched it without the police?"

I furrow my eyebrows, glancing at Ford. His eyes are oddly... soft? "Well, yeah. Not too long ago. We figured since the police weren't bothering, we would."

"So... like, you kept looking? Even after a month?"

"Remember my text, Wilson? I never stopped looking. You scared me out of my mind. I know we're not that good of friends, or whatever, but I'm the type that can never have an unsolved mystery. I just knew... I knew that I had to keep looking. That something wasn't right. Besides," I send him a small smile, "What would I do without the smartest kid in my class letting my cheat off him in tests?"

"Fail."

"Shut up. That was rhetorical."

Ford laughs, and his smile is there again, and it's breathtaking as usual.

"Anyway," I say, trying to cover up a small blush that creeps up on my cheeks. "I'm guessing you don't know about the message either."

"Good guess."

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. "There was... this thing the school set up one month after you went missing. It was pretty much messages for you to come home." I can't help but notice that Ford's face kind of pales at that. "The next day, someone had written home is where Ford's dead heart lies."

"It's someone at the school," Ford decides. "It has to be. Maybe a teacher?"

I wet my lips, knowing I'm about to go into dangerous territory. "Maybe. Uh, you said it was the same person, or people, that killed your mom, right? Did any teacher, or anyone, really, have a bad relationship with your mom?"

Ford stiffens, and swallows roughly. I'm about to backtrack and tell him he really doesn't have to answer that, but he opens his mouth before I do. "There... There was one." I wait for him to continue, and in a hoarse voice, he does. "The tech teacher. My mom wasn't the best person alive. She and my dad were never too happy, since he was always convinced she was sleeping around. She- I mean- she did. With Mr. Cutler."

"Ew," I say, before quickly backtracking. "I mean, not your mom, or like-"

Ford stops me with a chuckle, "No, I know. Mr. Cutler is... yeah, ew. I was the only one who knew, though. And I know for a fact that Mr. Cutler hated me, I'm guessing he wasn't too fond of my mom either after the whole ordeal had played itself out... Maybe him? And he's good with technology, too."

"Do you really think Mr. Cutler would kill your mom?"

"I don't know," Ford admits. "I... don't know anymore, Ava. Everything's a mess."

That I can agree with.

x

When we get to the motel, it's sunset.

"You're signed up under my name," I say as we push open the door. "This place is only half an hour away from Cailbridge. I'll be back here tomorrow morning. Don't you dare go anywhere without letting me know."

Ford nods, but he looks unsteady. "Do you really think they won't come after me here?"

"They wanted you out of Cailbridge," I say. "You're not in Cailbridge."

Ford frowns. "I guess." He hesitates before adding, "I'm pretty sure your mom is going to kill you for running away. You seriously think she's going to let you have the car again?"

"Trust me," I say. "I know how to guilt my mom into letting me do anything." Once seeing the look Ford gives me, I add, "Desperate times call for desperate measures, Ford!"

Ford just snorts and falls silent. I watch s he begins to unpack, getting ready to leave, but not before asking one final question. I clear my throat, "Hey, Ford?"

"Yeah?"

I look down at the hardwood floors, rubbing the back of my neck. "Just... um... why did you text me? Like, I know you're really good friends with Lucas and stuff, so I was just wondering..."

I'm expecting Ford to look down, shrug, and give a mumbled reply. Instead, he looks me straight on, giving me a small smile, albeit it has a sad undertone. "People tried calling me or texting me at first, but gave up after a week. You... you kept trying to reach me even after a month, like you still cared. It just meant a lot to me, you know? Lucas never bothered again, even if it might have seemed useless. So when you texted me..." Ford takes a deep breath. "It's been a hard and long month, Ava. I needed someone to talk to. So I replied."

I give Ford a small smile. "I'm glad you did."

Ford's smile grows. "Yeah, me too. Thank you, for everything. You don't know how much this all means to me."

"Yeah, well," I exhale deeply. "This isn't child's place anymore. I'm not going to let you go through this alone."

Ford nods. I'm about to turn and go when he says, "Oh, and Ava? I really don't believe that you barely know me, or that we're not friends. What you just did for me was more than any of my 'friends' have ever done. So, just, remember that, okay?"

"Okay," I grin.

I walk out the door.

x

My mother's crying as she clings to me for dear life. My dad stands by, leaning against the kitchen counter, watching me with a calculating gaze. I wrap my arms tightly around my mother's shoulders, repeating the story I came up with on the ride home over and over in my head.

When my mom finally does pull away, she sloppily wipes at her eyes and nose, holding me at arms length. "Ava," she breathes. "What happened? Where were you? Oh, I was so worried."

"Where were you?" my dad simply asks.

"I'm so sorry," I say, looking between the two of them. "I wasn't feeling well, so I decided to go out for a drive, and I got lost. My phone was dead, and when I couldn't find my way back, I stayed at a motel."

It's a weak lie, but my parents have always been gullible. My mom gasps and wraps me up in another hug, whispering something about her 'poor girl' while my dad just clicks his tongue, squeezes my shoulders and says, "I'm glad you're okay."

That night I go to sleep with heavy thoughts in mind. I'm glad to be back in my room, but not so happy to be back with the knowledge of whatever I thought Ford's disappearance was before isn't even the tip of the iceberg. Possibilities keep running through my head at a thousand miles per hour, making me almost dizzy.

I sigh, rolling over. At least there's one thing that makes things a little easier; if all goes well, I'll be seeing Ford again tomorrow morning.

I manage to fall asleep for a couple of hours, but wake back up at around three. I blink wearily, frustrated; I usually never have disturbed sleep. I shiver when a cold breeze blows through my room, eyes furrowing at the discovery that my window's open.

That's weird. I never sleep with my window open.

I suppress a groan as I force myself out from under the covers to go close my window. I pull it down shut, still confused as to how it opened in the first place. I'm about to go back to sleep when I see the piece of paper on my window sill- a yellow sticky note, folded twice. I take it in my fingers, feeling a little weary now. Glancing around the window I note that I am, definitely, alone.

Grabbing my phone from the nightstand to use as a light, I shine it at the piece of paper as I unfold it. It takes my eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to the light, but eventually, I'm able to read the scrawled writing on the sticky note through squinted eyes. My heart stops.

Curiosity killed the cat, Ava. Don't you ever learn?

OH MY GOD GUYS!!!! FF HAS REACHED #9 IN MYSTERY/THRILLER THAT IS CRAZY! I love you all so  much, thank you for supporting this story c:

I hope you enjoyed this story! I still have so much planned omfg i'm so excited. If you liked this chapter, please COMMENT AND VOTE! Especially comment, since there weren't much comments last chapter Dx

Love you all so so much! (: xoxo