Sunday, December Thirty First, 11:50 P.M...

Ricky’s POV

It had been what, a little less than two weeks, no, nine days since she had left, but it still hurt. Well, the cattle prod burn was sensitive still, but that’s not what I meant. The hole in my heart where she used to be was the worst pain I had ever felt.

I missed waking up every morning to find her in my arms. Even when she was on the Sleeping with Sirens bus, I could still imagine her next to me, feel her breath tickle my arm. Her hair was a mess but she looked like she was at peace. It was as if she looked like she felt safe next to me. I loved it.

I missed the way that she would always sigh whenever she looked out a window because she wanted to be outside so badly. I missed that she would just stare outside for hours on end.

I missed that she would fall asleep on my lap when I played with her. She’d yawn and her eyes would flutter closed as I played with her hair. It was like she was a tiny little kitten. She was sturdier than she looked.

I missed being the only one she trusted. She would put her whole faith in me to keep her safe from Chris and the others. Her little body would tuck up against me, falling into my side, hiding behind me when they neared her. Her hands would grab onto my shirt and bury her face into my shoulder until they passed her by.

I looked at the phone in my hands, hoping to see a message, a call, something from her. Gabe had called plenty of times to see if I had heard anything from her, but I sadly responded every time that I had not even heard a whisper of her.

“Ricky.” Ghost’s voice asked as he crawled over to my little bunk area. Ever since we had been switched to the van, it was tough. We didn’t have as much space or privacy as usual. I sat up, rubbing my eyes sleepily. It was almost midnight. Ryan was drunk, passed out in the front of the van in the passenger’s seat. Ghost sat down on the edge of my little bunk area. The record label had gotten bunk beds installed. They weren’t the full sized, but allowed us to sleep some place. Chris was up in the front passenger seat. Vinny lay across the middle row of seats, and the rest of us had our own little area in the back.

“Hey.” I mumbled, slipping my phone away quietly. He looked at me with a quiet smile.

“How are you holding up?” He asked softly. I shrugged. I wanted to be honest with him and say that I wasn’t doing well at all. I wanted to find Rory and make sure she was okay. The rest of the band had noticed I had become a little more detached, but only Ghost had connected the dots to what I was really feeling. Sure, Chris and Vinny were constantly talking about where Rory may have gone, but they kept that conversation mostly closed to them. Ryan joined in often, but I stayed out of it.

“Okay, I guess.” I muttered, sighing heavily.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. Chris is working on finding her.” Ghost patted my shoulder. I shook my head, rubbing away sleepiness. I frowned.

“I don’t want Chris to find her, that’s the thing.” I grumbled.

“Why? Once she gets back, you’ll be together again. She’ll be happy to see you.” Ghost added enthusiastically. I looked at him, my eyes wide and pleading.

“It’s not that, it’s just that I don’t want Chris to find her because I know he’s going to hurt her for running off. I want to be with her, but I don’t want to bring her further into danger.” I asked. Ghost squeezed my arm gently. I lay down against, exhaling in sadness. Ghost lay down next to me, checking his phone. A quiet moment passed between us.

“You know, he might have different motives than that.”

“He hasn’t changed. Look at him.” I muttered as I glanced at my phone. Ghost pushed the device down and I glared at him. He was still smiling lightly.

“I don’t think you have really looked at him in a while.” He murmured. My brow furrowed curiously. I slid my phone into my pocket and thought for a moment.

“What do you mean?”

“I know Chris has done some terrible things in the past, but to be honest, we all played a part in this. Who were the ones that bought those girls? Us, all of us. We were all responsible. I know it started out innocently and turned cruel soon enough, but maybe, just maybe…Chris is trying to put an effort to stop it.” Ghost murmured. I froze.

“What do you mean?”

“Remember the first girl that came to our bus, Rick? She was so innocent and I remember helping her find another home. Her parents had abused her so she ran away. We helped her get to a different, better place in life. It was so wonderful to make a difference in her life. Then, it went downhill. We all became cruel Masters, terrible people. Chris was blinded and Orion opened his eyes. After Rory tied him up and beat him, he realized what he had done. It was a good taste of our own medicine to be lowered like that. Now that Chris realized what he’s been doing all along, I think he wants to make a difference to return to our first purpose: Helping girls escape a rough life, not making them slaves. He wants to help again, not hurt.” Ghost pleaded. I sighed and sat up, swinging myself over the far edge of my bed.

“Some people don’t change.” I sighed.

“But it can take one spark to start an inferno of difference.” Ghost countered. I smiled at him weakly. Maybe he was right. Was Chris really trying to change? Or was his temper going to get the best of him? If he found Rory, would he help her get away from her parents who were slowly crumbling her family? Or would he just get angry and hurt her again?

I bent over in the cramped space, starting to slowly move over to where Chris, Ryan, and Vinny were convening in the front of our tiny van.

“Where are you going?” Ghost asked.

“I have to talk to Chris.”

“About Rory?”

“No. I’ve got to take a vacation.” I rubbed my head, feeling a throbbing headache coming on. I crawled over the middle seat, plopping next to Vinny. He grinned at me.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Ricky.” He chuckled. I plastered a fake smile on my face, trying to act casual.

“Can I talk to Chris?” I asked. Chris Motionless turned around in the front seat, about to say something before his phone rang.

“Hold up.” He held up a hand and started to answer his phone. The bus was quiet. It was about midnight, New Year’s Eve. There was some muffled chatter on the other end of the screamer’s phone.

“Wait, no….no way.” Chris breathed. The bus fell silent at his words.

“Are you sure? Casper, he’s your drum tech? Is he sure it’s the right girl? Okay, okay…yeah, faded grey tips, kind of blonde, blue eyes, quiet. Yeah, that’s her.” Chris shook his head. I perked up.

No.

Please tell me they didn’t find her.

It can’t be true.

“Sure, thanks, Kellin. We’ll meet you at the Tempest Wave concert venue. Sure. We’ll be there on Friday. If Casper is right, then she’ll be there. We’ll talk to the boys. Okay, thanks. See you Friday night, eight o’clock.” Chris was grinning by the end of it. He snapped his phone off and shoved it back into his bag, turning around to us.

“They found her. One of Sleeping’s drum techs was at a party on the Of Mice and Men bus when they met her.” Chris explained. Ghost’s head popped up over the seat back.

“No way.” He breathed. Chris laughed happily.

“They said that if she’s with the boys for the next week, they have a show in Cali at the Tempest Wave, a concert venue just outside of San Jose. They’ll have to be there!” Chris cheered. Vinny laughed.

“We’re so close!”

“We can do it!” Ryan added in. Chris waited for them to settle down before explaining the plan. I listened, biting my lip nervously. I really should be telling him that I just need to get away from the bus, get away from all of them. I need space, I need time to think about what has happened, what will happen.

“So we’re meeting Kellin and the guys in the bus parking lot outside the venue. There will be All Time Low and You Me at Six there as well. We’ll park in an open area and go confront the Of Mice and Men, hopefully getting into their bus. By the time we get there, we’ll snatch Orion and go. Kellin, Gabe, Jesse, Jack, and Justin will all about waiting outside the bus in case she gets away. If we can’t get to her by the time they go on, we’ll check the side stages, making sure she’s not in one of those rooms, got it?” He asked. Everyone nodded silently. I looked to Ghost for a questioning look. He shrugged, glancing back at Chris.

So they had a plan.

Now, I just had to get out of it.

While everyone was chattering quietly, I popped up in the driver’s seat next to Chris. He was texting someone, I think it was Jesse. He looked up at me, grinning.

“So are you excited to get Orion back?” He chirps happily. I nodded weakly, but could not bring myself to smile. The darkness outside was comforting. The lights were on in the van. We were parked on the side of a road at a rest stop. No one would bother us here.

“Actually, I have to talk to you about something.” I muttered. Chris looked confused for a moment before nodding, allowing me to continue.

“What is it, Rick?”

“I really need to tell you that I can’t do this. I really need a vacation, a chance to get away and clear my head.” I let the words spill over each other. It was like I was just breaking a dam of my thoughts. Chris’ face fell for a moment before nodding. The corners of his lips twitched into a smile. There was a long break before he looked back up to me. Sadness touched his face.

“It’s Rory, isn’t it? You miss her and that’s why you have been a little out of it lately, isn’t it?” Am I really this clear? Chris waited for me to answer. I just nodded.

“Yeah, I do miss her.” I whispered. Chris put an arm around my shoulder. Patting my arm, he nodded.

“It’s okay, Ricky, but don’t you want to be here on Friday when we get her back?” Chris questioned. I didn’t make to make it seem like I hate him, although I didn’t always agree with what he did. Friday would be one of these instances. I shook my head in decline. Chris looked confused.

“Honestly, I know Rory doesn’t want to be taken again. She finally was free! She was so hurt at what we did! Ghost told me about what you want to do, and that’s good and all, but I don’t know how she’s going to act when she gets taken again! She might try to hurt herself to get out of it. She’ll think you’re going to abuse her again. What’s the likelihood that she’d actually listen to any of us!? None! She won’t believe us. We’ve shattered her, broken her to little bits. How could she ever trust any of us again?” I begged him. He turned back to the windshield. Chris moved his feet to prop up on the dash. I closed my eyes and leaned back into the seat.

“You’re right. You’re right.” He started out, staring into the distance. His eyes had a faraway look into them. I opened my eyes to see if I could spot what he was staring at. “When she whipped me, when she lower me to what I treated her like, it was like my eyes were opened. I knew what I had been doing. It was like the fog had cleared and I saw the horrors I had created. I had started by wanting to help girls like her find a better place to be. But I had just become a monster that made their situation worse. Look, I know you might not believe me or believe that I can do it, but I really do want to make it better. I want to start going on the path of helping the girls again. I want to help and be good. I want us all to do that, us as a band. I want to start with Rory and I want to show her that we’re sorry and that we can actually be good people.” Chris whispered to me. He wiped away a stray tear with the back of an inked hand. The three piercings on his lip caught a stray ray of light. I patted his arm quietly, smiling slight.

“Chris, I’ve known you for a long time. I’ve followed you through this whole journey. I was there when we first helped Abby run from her abusive parents. You have a good heart, Motionless. The thing is, you and I both know your temper. It’s what got you into the cruel stages in the first place.” I whispered to him. He nodded.

“I want to fix it.”

“I know you do.” I murmured back. Chris took a shaky breath, smiling gently.

“Ricky, we need you for this. The record label is going to exchange the van for the bus on Thursday when we get to Cali just a day before the concert. When we get Rory back, we all need you to help us out. We’re all energetic, hot-tempered people. You’ve got a special touch with her. You’re gentle when we’re just rough around the edge. We need you to help keep us in check, to help teach us to be gentler. Please, won’t you help us?” Chris pleaded. I bit my lip harder, my tongue flicking against the inside of my three lip rings.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry Chris, but I just need time to clear my head. I need a break. I’ll be at the studios when you want to run ideas around, but otherwise, I just need time away from everything.” I explained. Chris slowly nodded.

“I understand. Take a week off. When we get to California on Thursday, you can go back to your house and rest. We’ll keep in touch.” Chris agreed. I thanked him quietly before going back to my bunk, trying to crawl over a drunk Ryan and Vinny.

How was their plan ever going to work?

I lay in my bunk, eyes feeling heavy. I thought about the stadium that the tour was playing in. It was ATL, YM@6, and OM&M, the headlining act. They called it the New Beginnings Tour…what a catch name. As I closed my eyes, a plan started to form in my head.

Chris and the guys wanted to take her back and try to help her. Thing is, I know Rory. I know for a certain fact that she won’t trust them. I know she will flinch and hide behind me every time they come near her. Their plan won’t work. Chris will get frustrated. He might lash out back at Rory, causing her to hide further back in her shell. No matter what, it won’t work.

However…if I could get to Rory before the others, I can help her escape. Even with Of Mice watching her, she’s bound to run. There’s too many people stacked against the band and the girl. They’d just win.

However, there’s a stretch of field just behind the stadium. The boys are fast, but Rory is small and quicker. She would be able to out run them. If they can get to the weeds and bushes behind the stadium, I could cut her off, take her from there.

I could see it now. Of Mice and Men would be playing on stage and Rory would be sitting side stage. They wouldn’t be able to get to her before Of Mice and Men go on because Austin would never allow Chris on his bus. Chris, Ryan, Vinny, and Ghost would all be trying to get on the bus, but eventually give up. They would find her backstage and scare her out of her spot. She would run, fast. Rory would run through hallways or wherever to get out of the building. As soon as she escaped the building, Rory would surely run into Kellin or someone from his band. They would try to corner her, but Rory is a fighter. As soon as she rips away from them, or maybe avoids them all together, she would run for the only place she knows…the field.

If I could cut her off at the field and take her with me, she would be safe. I couldn’t return her to Austin and his boys, Chris would just find her there. No, I had to escape with her. They wouldn’t know where she was, and she would be safe. I know, I know, it sounds like she’s being kidnapped all over again, but there’s a part after that.

Motionless in White, Sleeping with Sirens, and Of Mice and Men all wouldn’t know where she went. Rory would just be off the radar. I’ll let Rory stay at my place for as long as she needs, and then I’ll call Jason, the boy that was her Guide. As soon as I tell him that she needs a new bus to escape Chris and Kellin, he’ll send one and she’ll be safely on her way.

I started to drift off, grinning like a maniac. Yes, this had to work. It would be Rory’s only shot at safety and freedom.

Notes