AVA'S P.O.V
I groaned heavily, grumbling as Leslie tugged me up the stairs. Glancing sideways to ensure no one was coming, we slipped into her room.
It was then that I noticed her untouched lingerie. It held her together pretty well.
"Did you have a two?"
"Yeah," she shrugged, "but they can wait. Come," she jumped on her bed and crossed her legs, "let's talk."
Fortunately, there were no cameras in the tower. Andia once told me they were only on the outer walls surrounding the building.
I didn't ask her how she knew that, but it made sense.
Whatever happened inside stayed inside. It was how the clients wanted it. Of course, no one had to know the dirty things international philanthropists and role models did in secret.
I sighed. "Harry's not going to like this."
I was itching to leave. My thoughts had a habit of exiting my lips whenever Les was around. I didn't want to be here.
The girl in question kissed her teeth. "He can suck it. Literally."
I chuckled and closed the door, mentally weighing my options.
Letting her in could help with so much: the girls wouldn't get so mad that we didn't let them in on it, and Leslie herself could come with. Also, the guilt of keeping her out of the loop would finally disappear.
So before she could ask why I was being so shifty, I told her everything. From the first link Andia found a couple of years ago down to the present.
At one point in my speech, she stopped blinking.
"What do you think?" The thought might have been uncomfortable earlier, but revealing everything to her thrilled me to no end.
"Well, I don't know, Ava," she cast her eyes down and smoothed the thin duvet over, "something feels off about the prints, and...this has never happened before-"
"That's the best part!"
"-But it is a high risk you're taking. And God forbid, what if it fails? Have you thought of what they could do to you?"
I sighed, trying not to let her fear fuel mine. "I know Les, but this is the only chance we've had this entire time, and I'm willing to take it, high risks or not. Don't be such a Debby Downer."
She pursed her lips and nodded understandingly. "So when are you leaving?"
"Tonight."
Her eyebrows pushed up. "What?"
"The earlier, the better, Les."
She frowned and pinned me with a look.
I pursed my lips, my eyes straying to the floor as I struggled to keep my hands still in my lap. We didn't make it a habit to keep things from each other.
"You have everything you need?"
"Yup," I popped the 'p.' "Been packing up since we finalised it all."
She bowed her head. I caught the sad glint in her eye and intertwined our fingers.
"Harry is a lot lenient than the other heads. You know that, right?"
I shrugged. "Yeah, it's pretty obvious. He even grumbles about how they give him crap for treating us like we're worth something."
"Exactly, Ava." She sighed, "Harry. Just Harry. It makes others hate us even more for that. If you're caught by anyone other than Harry...nothing he does can save you."
Not this.
"Leslie, come on."
She swallowed hard. "I'm scared, Ava. I can't lose you. You're the closest person I have to family, and I can't bear to lose you when I'm already losing myself."
My heart stuttered. "Leslie."
"Listen to me," she mustered a watery smile and gripped my fingers, "give it a few days and think it over. This whole plan might seem like the best thing right now, but-"
"But what do we have to lose, Leslie?"
She sniffed, tears in her eyes. "You have me. You have our girls. Ava, please."
Something twisted in my chest, and I held my breath. "We're dying here, Leslie. No matter what happens," I shook my head, "they're not going to let us out. We need to do something ourselves because no one is coming to save us."
She bit her lip as we stared at each other, our eyes saying everything we were scared to. After a moment, she nodded with resignation.
"I understand."
Over the years, Leslie and I had gotten much closer to each other than with Andy or Skitty. Although Andy and I had been inseparable when we were kids, Les and I had grown tighter and stronger.
She always joked that we were sisters at heart, and I believed it because I couldn't do without her. If I ever lost her, a part of me would die too.
"Don't worry," I pulled her up by her pliant fingers, "it's fine. We should be celebrating, not moping around. We'll be fine. You should even come with!"
She vigorously shook her blonde head. "Nope, not happening," then she nudged me with a soft smile, her light eyes twinkling, "I'll wait here while you guys get help."
"It's gonna work out, trust me."
I hope.
I walked her downstairs to her appointed room, stole a tight hug, and planted a peck on her cheek, making her laugh.
Hearing the boisterous sound over my overenthusiastic kiss made me feel better. Hopefully, it wouldn't be our last embrace.
She paused for a second, then reaching into her French braid, she pulled out her last connection to her family. She secretly wore it, saying that it made her feel like they fought through each day with her.
I shook my head as she held out her infinity diamond necklace. "I can't take that, Les."
She rolled her eyes, "Come on; you know how crazy suspicious my family can be, especially Lance. If you, no, when you get out, show this to them. That way, they'll know I was with you."
I hesitantly conceded and turned around for her to clasp it around my neck. She let my hair fall and spun me around, hands sliding down my arms.
"If you're going to do this, then I support you, Ava," she encouraged. "Just be careful. I don't know what to do if something happened to you."
I hummed in reply.
There were too many cynical thoughts in my head, and if I opened my mouth, I wouldn't leave. I could only hope that it would all go smoothly.
Leslie pursed her lips, easily interpreting the thoughts behind my expression but not wanting to deter me. She offered one last attempt at a smile, squeezed my fingers, and slipped into her room.