Chapter 59 - 59

Ava and Kelly were dancing with the other students around the bonfire.

It made Hardin smile to see Ava dancing joyously.

"Hardin! Come and join us," Kelly hollered at him. Hardin's smile got wider, and he joined them in their dance.

Lily was not in the mood to dance because, for the nth time, Hardin rejected her again. So she stood alone under a tree while she watched the people dancing, her blood ran cold when she saw Hardin was now dancing with Ava.

The way he treated them was like night and day. When he was with Ava, he looked relaxed and happy. It also looked like he was willing to do anything for her.

Lily was opportunistic, and Hardin was her ticket for the future because he wore branded clothes and drove a brand new limited edition sports car. 

When she learned that Hardin's father was a very important businessman who had a lot of properties and was very rich, she planned to snag him and make sure not to let him go.

All she needed to do was get him in bed, just like she did with the other men. She was sure that he would fall under her spell and then he would do anything for her just like any man, they were ruled by their libidos.

But she was wrong because some people value love over lust, which she will never understand.

There was fury in Lily's eyes, she wanted to destroy Ava. "Why do people like her anyway, she just pretends to be nice and pure, it's all just a facade," she thought.

Lily hated that she had to be with ugly guys to get what she wanted. She dug her nails into the trunk of the tree out of anger.

One of her nails broke, and her finger started bleeding, but she did not feel any pain because the pain she felt in her heart was more excruciating.

It was midnight by the time Ava and Kelly went back to their room, and when Ava checked her phone, there were missed calls from Tristan.

The music was so loud when they were dancing that she did not hear her phone ringing. She thought of calling him tomorrow since it was very late.

The next day all the students were required to go hiking with the professor. The plan was to go very early in the morning to watch the sunrise at the top of the mountain. It was one of the most splendid views that X city had to offer. 

Most of the tourists made this part of their itinerary when they came to the city. The mountain was very dense, and one could get lost if they did not know the way, but the people in charge of the trail marked all the paths and made sure that they were easy to follow.

The trail was very steep, so everyone was required to bring a flashlight and was warned to be very vigilant in paying attention to their surroundings. They were all paired up to make sure that nobody gets lost.

Lily tried walking with Hardin, but he avoided her and walked faster, leaving her to walk by herself. She volunteered to have Hardin as her buddy so they could spend some time together.

Most of the fit and athletic students went ahead and trudged up the mountain, leaving some of the girls behind. Lily, Ava, and Kelly were in that group.

Lily stopped as she tried to catch her breath, running after Hardin was harder than she thought. So she decided to wait for the girls left behind so she wouldn't be alone.

When she saw Ava walking up the trail alone, she knew that this was the opportunity she was waiting for. Kelly was taking pictures of the flora and fauna, so Ava said she would walk ahead.

This time she would be able to carry on with her plan because there will be no witnesses, Hardin will not find her this time like he did at the laboratory. She was lucky that one time. But this time nobody will find her in the forest.

There was a sharp rock nearby, and she used it to scrape her knee so she would get a wound. She tore her skirt a little, rubbed some dirt on her hands and knees to pretend she fell. 

Ava was shocked when she saw Lily sitting on the ground weeping.

"Lily, are you okay? What happened?" Ava asked as she knelt on the ground 

"I fell down, and it hurts so bad, I can't get up," Lily wept some more to add more drama.

"Oh no, okay, we'll wait for the other girls to come, so they can help carry you down," Ava consoled her.

Lily couldn't agree with her suggestion because if everyone was present, then she could not harm Ava.

"Ava, there's so much blood. I'm scared. I don't think I can wait for them. This might get worse, and they don't have the medical kit," Lily said pitifully.

Ava felt very bad and agreed with Kelly. She needed to take action. 

"Tell me, what should I do?" Ava asked, and this was the question Kelly was waiting for.

"The professor has the medical kit, why don't you go and get it from him," Lily begged.

"But I can't leave you alone, you're hurt," Ava said.

"If you don't go, the bleeding won't stop," Lily said.

"But…," Ava was in a dilemma.

"Please Ava, all you need is to follow the trail to the top, the professor will be there. Follow the arrows," Lily indicated the directional signs.

"Okay, don't worry, I will come back right away," Ava said as she hurried, not seeing Lily's evil smirk.

"Ava, you will not come back right away, because you will never come back. Nobody will find you in this big dark forest. Nobody will come to save you," Lily laughed to herself.

She counted to ten after Ava left to make sure she won't come back, and she turned the arrow back to its original place.

She had turned the arrow to point to the left to mislead Ava. Her plan was to send Ava to fetch the professor, and by the time she realizes that the other arrows and the trail have disappeared, she would be so deep in the forest where nobody would find her.

Lily took a handkerchief and tied it on her knee to stop the bleeding. She wiped the dust off her hands and knees, cleared her face, and straightened her hair to erase any evidence. She did not want anyone to know about her injury and acted normal in front of the other students.

When Kelly and the other girls came up the trail, she smiled at everyone, telling them that she was going to join them. 

"Did you see Ava come up the trail?" Kelly asked. She knew that Ava was a few steps ahead of her.

"Yeah, she walked off with Hardin," Lily lied.

Ava hasn't gone that far, if they knew what she did, they could still find her if they tried, but she did not want them to find her. 

Kelly decided to believe her as they all walked to the top. She was so preoccupied with taking pictures that she did not care to check if Ava was with Hardin. She thought of giving them some time alone since she gave Hardin a hard time on the bus.

When the group came down for breakfast, Kelly could not find Ava, so she searched for Hardin.

"Hardin, did you see Ava?" Kelly asked.

"I haven't seen her since last night, why do you ask?" Hardin said casually.

"But, wasn't she with you on the hike?" she said.

"No, I never saw her this morning," he asked in confusion.

"I was busy taking pictures and thought Ava would be okay because she was with you, but now I can't find her," she felt tense.

"Why do you think Ava was with me?" he asked.

"Because Lily told me she was," she said.

"Lily? Why did she tell Kelly Ava was with me? I ignored her on the trail," he thought.

"Okay, tell me everything," he said calmly.

By the time Kelly told him everything, Hardin's face became stiff and angry. He finally pieced together what Lily had done.

"Ava is still probably up there, lost in the forest," Hardin said, keeping quiet about Lily.

Hardin wanted to find Ava first, he would deal with Lily later.

"What? Did I lose Ava? My best friend is lost?" Kelly started to cry.

"Kelly, calm down, let's go and tell the professor so they can find her," Hardin said.

The professor got stressed, he knew that Ava's family was one of the prominent families in the city. It was his responsibility to keep all his students safe on this trip, and if anything happens to Ava, it will be a big problem for him. Who knew if he would still have a job tomorrow.

He contacted the forest rangers to report Ava missing, these were the people who maintained the trails and knew the ins and outs of the forest. So they sent out a team to find her where Kelly last saw her.

The professor hoped that they would find her before night fell, otherwise, they would have to inform the police and Mr. Wesley.

Tristan got to the office very early, hoping that he could talk to Ava while she was having breakfast, but she hasn't picked up any of his calls since last night. 

So he decided to call her, but the message said her phone was out of coverage. He shrugged off the worry he was feeling, thinking that they were in a mountainous area, and it was understandable that there was no signal in some spots.

He didn't want to be a nag, so he thought he should let her enjoy her vacation and stop worrying, so he went back to work and thought of calling her later in the afternoon if she doesn't call him by lunch. Not knowing the peril his little one was in.