Ryan Rivera answered my message at 3:30 AM. A fellow insomniac like me. I told him I was April's sister, and that I just wanted to talk. We agreed to meet the next day after he had work at the Sweet Roastery.
I debated in my head whether I should tell anyone- and by anyone, I meant Ava. After being arrested, I didn't want her to think I was going to do something stupid again. I just wanted to talk and get some answers. And get to know the guy that my sister was falling for before she went missing. I wasn't sure if I was going to be meeting someone who seemed suspicious- or if I was going to see what my sister saw.
I parked my car at Sweet Roastery and sat there for a moment looking at my phone. I was going back and forth in my head about if I should tell Ava about where I was and who I was meeting with. I couldn't bring myself to. I felt okay about this meeting with Ryan, and I didn't want to have it be questioned.
I grabbed my bag and went inside the Sweet Roastery. Ryan said he would message me when he was there. I grabbed a coffee, and one for him as well. I sat down at a table, waiting for him. I was feeling nervous, and had a put in my stomach. I was pulling out my phone to text Ava when I saw him. He was tall, dark, and handsome and wearing what looked to be a Paramedic uniform. I put my phone down. He spotted me and paused for a second. I could imagine why- I looked just like April. But he collected himself and walked over to the table.
"Hi." he gave me a small smile, sitting down across from me. "It's nice to meet you."
"You as well." I said to Ryan.
"You look just like your sister." he said, "It's crazy."
"I get that a lot." I said, "So, I'll just get straight to the point. Do you know anything about why April is missing?"
"I wish I did." Ryan said, "Believe me, I wish more than anything that I did. It's beyond bizarre to me, I think about it every day. I was the last person to see her at work."
"I saw that picture of you two at the bar." I said.
"Yes, we took that together. And even after that I saw her. I literally walked out with her to the parking lot, as I did most nights. I saw her get into her car."
"You did?" I asked him.
"Yes. I pulled away before she did though. But nothing seemed off. I just don't know how I went from saying bye to her in the parking lot to never seeing her again." Run shook his head.
"How am I supposed to believe that you didn't have anything to do with it?" I asked him. I did believe he didn't. But I wanted to hear why.
"I was in love with April. Still am. Completely just...head over heels. I had only known her for three months, and I'm sure you know we were hooking up. She was planning on leaving her boyfriend...we were going to get together, officially." Ryan said, and then he looked at me, "She is the most charismatic and beautiful woman I've ever known. It literally kills me every single day that I don't know where she is. And I didn't have anyone to talk about it to as well, because we were a secret. To most people."
The look in Ryan's eyes told me everything. The sadness. He loved April for who she was. Which is something I hadn't seen in Kenny.
"I believe you." I said, "I can see that you love her."
"I'd do anything to have her back. I honestly think that something happened to her before she left. That's what my gut is telling me. I know her. You know her. She wouldn't have just ran away. It kills me too that I drove away before I could've saw anything."
"I don't want you to feel any guilt over it. How were you supposed to know that anything happened?" I said, "I just want answers. And now I know you do too."
"More than anything." Ryan nodded.
"I'm trying to find as many answers as I can. I got in trouble, and that has to be my focus too- getting out of that- but I am so determined to figure out where she is." I said.
"Yeah...I heard you punched Kelsey in the face a few times." Ryan shook his head, but I saw him hiding a smile.
"She deserved it. And I know you played a little part in all of it." I said.
"Kelsey and I were hooking up before I met April, it's true. It was pretty casual, I mean I liked her, but she doesn't have a patch on April." Ryan said.
"You do love her, don't you?"
"I know it may sound crazy because we knew each other for a short amount of time. But I pictured my future with her. Still do."
"You think she's still out there?"
"Yes. One hundred percent." Ryan nodded.
I was glad I wasn't the only person who felt that deep in my core. And I left that meeting with him feeling hopeful. I drove home having more insight about Ryan and April's relationship- and I wanted them to get their happy ending.
When I got into my house, my parents and Kylie were in the kitchen. They were standing around the counter eating pasta.
"Want a plate of food?" my mom asked me.
"Sure." I nodded, and she put a plate together for me.
"April, I spoke to Adam today." my dad said to me, "He met with Kelsey's lawyer today."
"How did he say it went?" I asked.
"They aren't interested in taking this to trial. They want to work out some kind of plea deal." my dad said.
"Okay. What kind of deal do they want to make?" I asked.
"That's something that you, Adam, Kelsey, and her lawyer will talk about. But Kelsey seems to really think you deserve jail time." my dad rolled his eyes.
"Like fucking hell I do." I said.
"Language, Josephine." my mom said.
"Oh, who cares what she says." my dad said, "I agree with her." he turned to me, "We will do whatever we possibly can to not get you any jail time. I'll pay whatever amount I have to if that's what Kelsey wants."
I nodded, "Thank you."
"I think this Kelsey girl deserved to get punched in the face." Kylie commented.
I couldn't agree me.
I laid in my bed that night and I couldn't sleep, per usual. I was feeling even more restless. My mind felt like it was spinning. I needed to relax.
I looked at my phone. 1:17 AM. I had already texted Ava saying goodnight, but in that moment, all I wanted was her. I dialed her number on my phone.
Her line rang twice before she picked up.
"Are you alright?" she asked me.
"I just couldn't sleep. You don't sound like you were sleeping too." I said.
"I was having trouble falling asleep honestly." Ava said, "I know it's after 1 am, but do you want me to come pick you up?"
"Yes." I said, and got out of bed.
Ava got to my house 20 minutes later. Everyone was asleep in my house, but I sent Kylie a text saying I had went out with Ava.
"You look cute." I said to Ava as I got in her car. She had on black jogger sweatpants and a light pink hoodie. I gave her a kiss.
"Thanks." she gave me a small smile, "Let's go get some snacks."
We drove over to Wawa and grabbed some candy and snacks. We decided that Ava would stay over my house. By the time we got back up to my room it was after 2:30 AM.
"I hope that everything turns out fine with the trial." Ava said as we sat on my bed in the dark snacking.
"That fucking bitch Kelsey thinks that I deserve jail time." I said, taking a bite of a Kit Kat.
"You don't." Ava said, "And the thought of that terrifies me."
"It's not going to happen." I said, and I looked over at Ava. And when I did I saw that she had tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please don't cry." I said, and shifted over to give her a hug.
"I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be strong for you right now. But I just don't want you to go to fucking jail." she said.
I smoothed her hair and hugged her, "I know. Don't worry. Let me be the strong one for you right now."
That's how I wanted to be, always. The strong one for her- even though on the inside, I was breaking myself.