"Well why can't I?"

"Because I don't want you to have anything new to obsess over."

I went over to see Sammi and ask her if I could have Vi's laptop. I want to find the pictures and see what she's talking about. She never told me about this, she only showed me the good ones, but I'm sure there's something there that could lead me to finding her. Sammi walked in on me reading Vi's diary earlier. It's all I've been doing since I found it yesterday. I'm looking for things she wrote that could be clues as to who took her or how. It seems she noticed she was being stalked. I've been making a list of things that I need to check up on and people I need to visit. Sammi thinks I'm obsessed with her and that it's unhealthy but really I'm just trying to rescue her.

Someone has to. Everyone else has lost hope. I can't do that. I just can't.

"As it is you sleep with her blanket and can't stop reading her diary."

"I told you I have a good reason for that." The diary anyway. The blanket is just because it still vaguely smells like her and sometimes (when I'm able to fall asleep) I can pretend like she's still there.

"But you won't tell me!" Sammi pointed out. She was standing over the stove, stirring some ground beef for tacos.

"No I can't." I don't want to tell her for a few reasons.

I don't want her to get her hopes up if I get to a dead end, and I don't want her to convince me there's no hope, just by looking through her diary and some pictures. It's not exactly a lot of evidence to go off. She's already told me it was almost hopeless but I can't afford to believe that. Vi is somewhere out there and I'm going to find her. Sammi told me to talk to her when I needed it, but the second I tried and mentioned  the diary, she shut me down. I don't need any more negativity.

"Fine. But unless you tell me, you won't be getting that laptop." I grumbled and stalked out of the apartment.

I'll just have to sneak in tomorrow.

And that's what I did. Once Sammi and Sarah left for class, I went into her apartment to find the laptop. I remember from my last look around that she kept it in the bottom drawer of her desk. I walked into the room and went straight for the drawer, but I didn't see it.

What I did see was a note in really bad writing that I know is Sammi's.

"Nice try Ashton. Did you think I didn't remember you have a key?"

That buttface. She moved it on me so I couldn't have it.

I groaned, frustrated. First I get my girlfriend taken away from me, then her own best friend is plotting against me? What has the world come to?

Stop feeling bad for yourself and do something about it, you stupid baby. You can't find her if you're sitting here.

My inner voice is right. I take a deep breath and look for the laptop. I'm thinking Sammi put it on her side of the room, so I begin looking through her drawers, but it isn't there. I check on the bed, under the papers, but I still can't find it.

I stop to think.

"If I were a Sammi, where would my best hiding place be?" I muse out loud.

Sammi likes fashion, maybe it's in the closet? I open it and check but it's not there. It isn't in her makeup bag, either. I'm about to give up and leave when I remember.

Her favorite thing is shoes. I look under her half lofted bed in between all her shoes, and there I find it; Vi's purple laptop case peeks out from underneath Sammi's black boots and silver heels.

I grab it and go in the drawer of Vi's dresser for the power cord before heading back to my apartment.

I go in my room and shut the door.

I power her laptop on and grin when it turns on. A picture of me and Vi cuddling on the couch flashes up in a tiny box and underneath it is another box requesting a password.

A password? Damn it, Vi. Why would you do this?

Think, Ashton. Think.

I tried her name, but it wasn't that. Then I tried my name, but that wasn't it either. I tried out names together, viashton and ashtonvi but neither were accepted, nor was my birthday. I remember it's a super long password. I've seen her type it before but I never even thought to ask her.

Maybe she wrote it down somewhere?

I was about to get up to search around her room for a note with passwords when I caught sight of her diary. That would be the best place for passwords, right? I'll try that before I check anywhere else, since the diary is right here.

I look at the front page, but nothing. Before I flip to the back, I offer up a quick prayer to whatever's out there, please please please let her have written it down. I peek one eye open and sigh in relief. At least one thing has gone my way since she was taken.

My eyes widen as I read the password and I can't help but grin.

Trust Vi.

FutureMrsAshtonIrwin

That's seriously what's written down here.

I type it in carefully while grinning and press enter, letting out my breath when it starts loading.

I let the computer boot up and press on the little file icon that held all her pictures.

There are close to 15,000 pictures on here. Vi takes about 100-300 photos per photo shoot, depending on what the situation is, then she edits the best ones and uses about 30-60 of them. But she can't delete the bad ones, of course not. She puts the good ones into a folder labeled "posting" and keeps the other bad ones just in case.

It will take me forever to find the pictures from that day.

I click on one folder that says 2018. Then I look at the other folders inside that are labeled documents, PowerPoints, music, and photos. I click photos and a bunch of different years pop up. I click 2018 again and when the options pop up, I groan. I have no idea which album it could possibly be under. She has one that says school, one that says photography, one that says arboretum, one that says Ashton and Vi pictures, one for flowers, plants, trees, people, photo shoots, and that's all that I can see on this menu. There's 12 more options in this year. I grab a sheet of paper and mark down which files I've gone through, that way I don't forget.

When I find Vi, she's going to teach me how she labels these things that way I can find things.

After 45 minutes, I find the pictures under arboretum, early spring (not to be confused with spring and late spring, which are other options) photo shoot, plants, March, then finally the 30th. I hate her computer right now.

I look through all these photos. Vi is an amazing photographer. She would love to be in the arboretum right now, I think. I wonder if, wherever she is, if she's allowed to be outside. She hates being stuck inside too long, she's always been a very bouncy person.

When I find these guys...

Happy thoughts, Ashton. Happy thoughts. Focus on your job.

***

Lol, that's how I label my pictures. It makes sense to me, but my sister hates it. She can never find things (which is maybe how I want it....) mine isn't as dramatic as that though, but there's definitely more categories than there needs to be.

Anwayyyy, hope you're enjoying the book! Found this on Instagram today, and I can't get over how accurate this is for me.

Anyway, hope you're having a good day ❤️ this chapter is dedicated to Dustyangel99 for being an amazing person and a great friend and I hope this chapter makes your day  😁😁❤️

~ashtonfortherwin