Chapter Forty - "I Have A Right To Say What I Feel."
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Avery's P.O.V

"I guess you guys are wondering why you've been called here." Jade says, her voice low and quiet as she keeps her eyes on the table in front of her, the sunglasses over her eyes. Helena stands behind her, her demeanor also weak.

What the hell is going on?

"Obviously." Logan mutters, rolling his eyes. This makes Jade look up, her hand grabbing the shades off of her eyes, and when I see her face, my eyes widen.

"I'm just going to get straight to the point." Jade says, crossing her arms over her chest, but my eyes are still looking at her face. Numerous cuts and bruises, and a scar under her eye. "You may have thought that I was the one sending those messages-"

"You were." My father cuts in, narrowing his eyes at Jade. I watch as she growls, clenching her fists.

"Let me fucking talk!" Jade snaps, her voice low as she sends my father glares. "The messages were never my idea. I did send them but not purposely. I have no intentions of taking River or Drew, so you should stop worrying about what I'm doing and start to think out of the box."

"What is that suppose to mean?" I ask, licking my lips as Jade looks over at me.

"Katie Holmes is what I mean." Jade says and I feel my fingers twitch. The last time I had saw Katie was at the park, and she looked harmless.

"Wonderful sight..." Katie mutters, her hands shoved in her pockets. What she is wearing makes my eyebrows furrow. Since when does Katie Holmes wear sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt?

To be honest, Katie looks like absolute shit. Her hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail and from the looks of it, it doesn't look like it has been brushed. Her makeup is slightly below perfection and her shoes are - are those slippers?

"Fuck," I mutter, looking up at Katie. "What the hell happened to you?"

I know Katie has treated me like shit my whole life but the fact that Katie is standing in front of me, not dressing as herself and acting her bitchy self makes me a little worried. I'm not saying that I care, I'm just concerned. What happened to the real Katie?

Or maybe... is this the real Katie?

"Okay, this is just ridiculous. If you're trying to hide the fact that you're guilty for everything that has been happening recently-" Logan gets cut off by Jade's fist which slams on the table.

"I'm only going to say this one last time. Let me talk." Jade mutters, clenching her jaw. "Now, Katie was the one who came to me. She was saying something about how you-" Jade points to me. "-had taken Drew from her and she wanted payback. She had the whole thing planned in her head, saying how she needed me to make you think that I was planning to take River while she was getting the rest of the plan into action." Jade says and I bite down on my lip, remembering a conversation that Logan and I had a few nights ago about Katie.

"Remember when I said 'I don't like this feeling I'm getting'?" Logan asks and I nod. "Yeah, well, what I meant by that was when you left and I was stuck with Katie and the baby, I only saw Katie like that when her grandmother died. It was a few weeks after you left and I was fucked up. You had left me and I was stuck with another girl who I carrying my child. I didn't know what to do." Logan explains quietly and I nod, taking it all in.

"So, when Katie's grandmother died, Katie fell downhill. Instead of staying home pregnant, she was out partying. She drank a lot and she did a lot of stupid things. One of those stupid decisions led her into hospital." Logan says and my eyes widen.

"Why?"

"Apparently one guy gave her some drugs and knowing Katie, she would never say yes to drugs. She always said that it would ruin her figure and whatever. But like I said before, she was going downhill and she didn't care at that point. She ended up walking home intoxicated and ended up getting hit by a car. I thought she had lost the baby... we had lost the baby. But we didn't." Logan says and I shake my head slightly.

"Wait, if you had no intentions of taking River, why would you say yes?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows. Jade licks her teeth.

"She said she would reduce my sentence. I'm already in here for forty years. I did what I had to do." Jade says and all of her sudden, her face turns cold. "But I had my court hearing yesterday and they added an extra five years to my sentence because there was more evidence. I was livid. That bitch lied to me. So, now, that's why I'm telling you this." Jade explains and I hear my father let out a faint laugh.

"And what are we supposed to do with this information, Jade? You know how this is going to play out. We need proof, and your word against hers is nothing." My father says and I nod, knowing that he is right.

I watch as Jade looks up at Helena, a faint grin on her lips. "Every phone call that comes through this place is recorded, and Helena can get you that proof. All you have to do is keep your guard up."

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As we walk out of the prison, I pull out my phone, checking to see the time. But another thing catches my eye.

Ryan: Hey, River and I are at the park just a few minutes away from the prison.

Logan looks over at me, furrowing his eyebrows. "Is that the asshole?" Logan asks and I roll my eyes, placing my phone back into my pocket. Ignoring him, I walk over to my father, bringing him into a hug.

"I'll see you at home later." I say, saying my goodbyes as I know he has to get back to tell my mom about the news. My father nods, kissing my forehead.

"Watch River carefully, okay? I love you." My father says, pulling away from me and I nod.

"I will. I love you too." I say and when he begins to walk away, I look over at Logan. "What?"

"You know what. Where is River and-"

"The park." I say, grabbing Logan's hand. "Just calm down."

"Well, it's a little hard when I've just heard that the person who we thought that was planning to take River isn't the person that we should be watching. But it's actually the girl who I share a kid with." Logan says, clenching his jaw.

"And what are you thinking?"

Logan looks down at me, his eyebrow raising. "What am I thinking? A lot of things. One: why is Katie acting weird? Two: why did you let that dick take our daughter? And three: why haven't I hit something yet?" Logan says, his last sentence making me laugh.

"Well, the answer to your first question is because something inside me tells me that Ryan is actually a nice guy-"

"Yeah, that might be your hormones seeing as you two spent quite some time together." Logan says, his words making my jaw drop.

"You didn't just say that." I say, watching as Logan shrugs.

"I have a right to say what I feel."

"You're an asshole, you know?" I snap, pulling my hand out of his. Logan looks down at me, his jaw clenching.

"Are you actually going to pick a fight right now? At a time like this?" Logan asks and I narrow my eyes at him, stopping in my tracks.

"I don't know! You're the one who thinks I slept with Ryan!" I snap, clenching my fists as my heart continues to race. Logan takes in a sharp breath, closing his eyes. After a few seconds of silence, Logan opens his eyes to look at me before bringing me into a hug.

"I'm sorry. I'm just stressed out." Logan says, his chin resting on the top of my head. I bite my lip, trying to hold back the tears.

"That's why I told you to calm down." I say, looking up at Logan. "I love you."

Logan smiles, pecking my lips. "I love you too. Now, let's go and get River."

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A/N - Sorry about the wait for an update, guys. I've just been really busy with things. The publishing and how I have to edit as much chapters as I can before sending it in, some family drama, and the fact that school is starting back in a few days. The book is ending though so it won't be long until this is finished, but until then, you'll just have to bare with these updates. What did you think of this chapter though? Shocked?

Lofd - "But you'll never be alone. I'll be with you from dusk till dawn. I'll be with you from dusk till dawn. Baby, I'm right here."

-XmysterysmileX