[closed - Caden]

[seas_open]

Over the past month, the list of people April has kept in touch with has been very small. She talks to Caden the most, followed by Coop and then her father, though she's really only texted Robert twice, mostly just to let him know she's still alive. If she decides not to return to Siren Cove, she isn't sure what she's going to do. Keeping in touch with him seems like it's the right thing, but when it comes to family, April has no idea if the right thing is always the best thing. Maybe it would make more sense to just cut her losses and get out of Siren Cove for good.

Caden can travel, clearly. He has money, he has a house in California, he's no more tied to the town than she is. And since he isn't, there's really nothing keeping her there. Nothing except maybe Coop and her father. And maybe Les, even if she hates to admit it even to herself.

That's what she's thinking about when she enters her hotel room that afternoon. She's thinking about family and people she's allowed into her life. She's thinking about packing and about maybe heading to California for a little while before going home. (Is it home? The label scares her a little.) She's thinking about these things and she's distracted, it's the only reason she doesn't immediately notice that there's someone else in her room.

He hits her hard enough to knock her out.

The next two days are a bit of a blur.

They don't hurt her, not at first. They just want their money, same as before, only without Les here, without Lara, she's in a bit of a bind. They're different sirens this time, less prone toward brute force and more likely to find what they're looking for just by being thorough. They go through her belongings, looking for something that indicates where she might be storing the money from her mother's estate, but April doesn't keep anything in her real name. All her assets are held in banks across the world under various identities and the only account under April Ross has sixteen thousand dollars in it. Not bad, but not enough.

They go through her phone, whisper amongst each other, then send someone a text. When she asks who they're trying to communicate with, she's hit again, so hard that her head rocks back against the chair they've tied her to, and she keeps her mouth shut after that. She isn't afraid, not exactly, but she doesn't know how she's going to get out of this. Not this time. The only real solution seems to be to pay them off, but she hates the idea of tipping them off to what she's really worth.

"Maybe her boyfriend will be more interested in paying off her mother's debt if he sees he bruises," one of them says and snaps a picture of April on her phone.

She laughs. "If you're texting Les, you're out of luck."

"Not him. The rich one. The writer."

And something in her chest seizes. She doesn't want Caden involved, not in any of this, but they send the text with the picture of her, bruised and tied to a chair, and she isn't sure there's anything else she can do but wait.

Comments

[writtenby_caden]

Caden is doing well in San Francisco. It's his home, and it's where he flourishes. He's spending time with his family and he's surfing, even though the water is still too cold, and most importantly, he's writing.

His productivity took a nose dive after what happened with Les, and he admittedly did mope a bit when he first got back, but he's doing pretty well now. April stays in contact, just as she promised. They don't talk every day and she doesn't really talk much about what she's doing, but Caden is okay with that. April is incredibly independent and strong and he has no desire to try and change that. It's part of what he likes about her.

Two days goes by without him hearing from April, and he doesn't think much of it. He sends her a text, a silly selfie of him on the beach with his wetsuit on, wind whipping through his hair, but he doesn't get any sort of response hours later. He's writing, albeit a bit distracted, when his phone goes off with her text tone. The most important people in his life have their own personalized tones just so he knows he can ignore and who he can't when he's in the zone. He's been waiting for April to get back to him so he finishes his current paragraph and gets up to grab the phone with a smile on his face.

It's a photo and he's excited as he opens it, but it's not at all the flirty reply he expected. April is tied to a chair, face bloodied and bruised, and all the blood drains from Caden's face.

A clap of angry thunder outside startles him and he takes a moment to note the rain pattering against the windows, idly realizing how strange that is after such a clear day before he turns his attention back to the phone.

Someone has taken April, hurt her, and Caden feels sick with anger and fear. He doesn't know what to do besides hit call and bring the phone to his ear, expression radiating fury as he waits for someone to answer.

He's going to get her back. He doesn't know how, not yet, but he will.

He has to. There's just no other option.