Sunday, January Sixth, 9:25 A.M….

After Ricky had come back to help me sleep, I had stayed in a land of darkness, only to awaken and find the guitarist had left me alone. The sheets had neatly been rearranged around me, probably done while I was still sleeping. My neck ached from a crook that had formed.

Wonderful smells wafted from the kitchen area. It smelled of warm batter and melted chocolate. The odors tempted me to move by my body longed to stay under the warm sheets. I turned to face the pillow. Ricky’s scent was embedded into the fabric. I sighed, inhaling him into my system. It was a comforting feeling. The sense made me fear go away. I was simply at ease.

After another long moment of debate, the sun had slit through the window blinds to land on my face. I grumbled about the brightness as I stood up. Walking over to Ricky’s closet, I searched through his stuff for some fresh clothes. I don’t think he would mind if I took a new outfit.

Yanking a pair of light blue boxer shorts and a large sweatshirt from his closet, I walked over to the bathroom, yawning lazily. I blinked against the light that illuminated the area. My toes curled into themselves as I danced on the cold tiles.

Ten minutes later, I had the warm water trickling over my body. I had to force myself from looking down and hating the marks and scars on my pale skin. I traced a thin line that ran from my wrist to my elbow and frowned. Reaching for soap and shampoo, I let the sweet smelling cleanser scrub away at the layers of dirt.

Fifteen minutes after I turned off the water, I was staring at myself in Ricky’s mirror. The reflection seemed to be almost unrecognizable. My hair was fading from black and silver to a grungy grey tips and blonde everything else. I had a few white scars on my cheek and neck, but the baggy sweatshirt covered up most everything else that marred my skin. I ran my fingers through my stringy hair, gently touching my face. It looked cleaner than before. The dirt had been almost completely erased.

Stepping out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, I slunk to a seat at the bar, watching Ricky as he intently focused on pouring pancake batter. My thick, wet hair dripped onto my back, making the fabric of my top moist.

“Hello, darling.” Ricky smiled as he turned around, setting down the batter. I smiled back.

“Hello, Ricky.” I folded my arms on the marble top and set my head down on them. He abandoned the pancakes for the moment to cover over and kiss my forehead. I blushed.

“Sleep better after I came in?”

“Much.” I watched the pancakes, feeling a little sleepy. I yawned again, covering my mouth with the sweatshirt sleeve. Ricky chuckled and pecked my cheek in response.

“You’re going to take a nap today.” He smiled. I shook my head and leaned against his shoulder, watching the tan batter golden. He already had a stack of four on a plate. Little brown chocolate chips scattered through the batter.

“So I had to talk to you about something, well, two things.” Ricky said softly. I reached over, taking his hand in mine, running my fingers gently over his worn knuckles.

“Yes?” I murmured tiredly.

“It’s about Chris, and Austin.” That caught my attention. I looked up to him, completely aware now that he mentioned the two names. A bird landed on the windowsill, chirping quietly. It pecked at the green birdfeeder before flying away. I paid it no heed.

“Yes…?” I asked more hesitantly this time.

“It’s about what Chris said before I left.”

“Oh.” I murmured. He covered my hand with both of his. I felt the heat radiating from him and come to my cold skin. His eyes locked on mine.

“He said he wanted to change. Now, I know that he has done some bad stuff in the past, but he really wanted to change. He claims that he wants to start over…” Ricky trailed off, explaining the situation thoroughly.

So Chris wanted to change. He wants to go back to his original purpose, to be the ‘good guy’ once again. He wants to start over with me, to take me back so that he can do things the ‘right way’.

Do I trust him, even after what Ricky relayed to me?

No. Trusting him is like trusting the devil. It never works out.

“Ricky, please don’t take me back to him.” I pleaded. Ricky shook his head, eyes melting into pools of sadness. His lips contorted into a sad frown. I was frightened he was going to take me back. I was frightened that Chris was going to find me.

I just wanted to get back to Austin.

I just want to go home.

“I would never let him take you back.” Ricky stroked my cheek with his thumb. I shivered at the thought of going back on the bus again. Okay, what if Chris changes? Would Ryan do the same? There was too many variables. Nothing would work out like Ricky had described it.

“I just want to go home. I don’t want to go back on that bus.” I whimpered. He stood up, pulling me into his arms. Ricky rubbed circles on my back. He kissed the tip of my ear before rushing back to the now burning pancakes.

“I know, darling. I know you want to go home.” Ricky sadly responded as he looked up from flipping pancakes. The crispy edges looked sharp and ragged. I sat back up at the bar, squeezing my eyes shut from the horrible memory. “And that’s what I had to talk to you about next.” He continued after a brief pause.

“What?” I asked quietly, opening my eyes a crack.

“Austin. I can’t return you to him.” He said. My eyes widened. No, I love Ricky but no, I can’t be held here against my will! Ricky is awesome and all, but I need to get home! I need to check on my parents. Was their possible divorce true? What was happening to Virgo? I need to get home!

“Ricky! Please, I need to get home!” I begged. Ricky held up his hands in surrender. I bit my lip, trying to hold back tears. All the bad memories were swarming around me like wasps. The lingering scent of burning batter didn’t help my thoughts. The light seemed harsher in the kitchen, the colors burning my eyes. Everything seemed terrible.

“Darling, calm down. I’m not going to hold you against your will, don’t worry. It’s just that Motionless in White know that Of Mice and Men were trying to help you escape back to your home. They also know that since You Me at Six and All Time Low were there protecting you, they were also trying to help you. All three bands will be on Chris’ watch list. He’s going to keep a close eye on them because he realizes at some point you will return to at least one of the bands. If you go back to any of those three, Chris will just find another opportunity to snatch you back. We can’t give him that chance.” Ricky hushed me. I nodded, thinking it through. It was all correct. Of Mice and Men and All Time Low were both there when Chris, Ryan, Vinny, and Ghost were chasing me. They were all there, trying to stop them. They’ll all be on the watch list. It was too dangerous.

But, I had three phone numbers with me. I had Ricky’s, Austin’s, and Zack’s. Could I call Austin or Zack to separately pick me up? No, it was too dangerous. All I had left of them were memories so bittersweet it hurt like a dagger to the ribs.

My eyes drifted from Ricky to a manila folder that lay on the kitchen desk by a desktop computer screen. It lay closed, pristine and neat. Five bold letters were on the front, five letters that spelled my name.

I knew that folder all too well, but all I could wonder was how he got it…

“When you want to leave, I’m going to call Jason and he’s going to send a bus out to a safe spot to retrieve you. After that, they should be the ones to take you home.” Ricky explained.

“Thanks.” My eyes were still on the folder.

“Of course, you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.” Ricky smiled. My gaze flickered back to him for a moment, weakly grinning.

“Okay.” I laughed uneasily. He went back to attempting to save the rest of the chocolate chip pancakes. My gaze went back to the folder.

“Just don’t worry about Chris. I’m not going to let him get to you.” Ricky murmured.

“I know.”

A long moment of pause passed.

“I’m not going to hurt you either.”

“I know.”


Wednesday, January Ninth, 4:38 P.M…

Austin’s POV

We were all on edge, so nervous and overly aware. I couldn’t help it. Zack and I had kept close contact, seeking out Rory on our tour destinations. We had to keep up with the tour like nothing was wrong to the public, but underneath it all, we were fighting to find Rory.

That night we lost her, we chased after Chris and his band, trying to follow them. Alex, Jack, and Josh had all gone back to the buses, trying to search around there. But she was gone. We got to the road before we were forced to turn around.

Alan and I had stood there for a solid five minutes, just looking around. We couldn’t see her figure anywhere. Rory was a fast runner, but she couldn’t have gotten too far. That’s when Ghost had walked up behind us and explained that Chris and the others had gone back to their bus. They hadn’t found her either.

At first, I couldn’t really believe Ghost. He was with Chris and Kellin and they were just trying to get her back. Then Gabe had turned up that night as well, backing up Ghost’s story. We had all lost Rory. She had vanished.

Ghost told me about how Chris wanted to change, but I couldn’t really believe him. I’d have to see it to believe it, and I wasn’t going to let him use Rory just for Chris to test out his ‘nice’ methods. Alan had been fuming mad when they appeared that night and nearly knocked out both of them. We each went off to our buses, silently wondering where the girl had gone to.

Now, ATL and we were keeping in close contact while searching for her. Zack and Rian had gone and taken phone numbers of gas stations and other small areas, hoping for her to turn up. In the end, we put our faith in the knowledge that she was a smart girl. Rory would just look up the venue of a concert, find a way to get there, and meet us at one of our tour spots.

She had to turn up eventually. She hadn’t just been swallowed up by the night.

“Don’t worry, Aus. She’ll turn out to be alright.” Tino soothed me. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at the phone clutched in my hand. I had been waiting for her to call us. Why hadn’t she already? She will eventually.

“I know, but why hasn’t she called?” I grumbled quietly. Alan came and sat down next to me. He hung up his phone.

“Maybe she just lost it.” He suggested. I nodded, gulping sadly. Tino slapped my shoulder. I looked out the bus window. Phil was driving to Nevada for our next tour stop. All Time Low was following us closely behind. The rolling landscape just seemed to blur together under a scorching sun.

An annoyingly basic ring blasted through dead air. Aaron pulled out his phone, opening it up. I went to looking down at my folded hands. A few minutes later, Aaron came to me, holding out his phone.

“It’s Ghost.” He whispered. I scowled and took the phone. I wasn’t exactly anxious to talk to any member of that destructive band.

“What’s up?” I tried to put on my nicest face. There was some soft chatter in the background. I could only assume it was his other band members. Alan looked at me. I nodded sharply and went to my bunk, throwing some papers in the corner and searching for my headphones.

“Hey Austin. I have some news on Rory.” Ghost started out. I froze. The others were waiting for the news.

“Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker.” I spoke slowly, not really believing it. It sounded like Ghost was whispering on the other end.

“Quit it, Vin! I’m on the line with our manager!” Ghost easily lied. Tino raised his eyebrow in surprise. Phil even slowed the bus, pulling over to hear the call. We all crowded around my hand as I held the phone up, pressing the speaker button.

“Okay, what’s the news?” I asked softly. Ghost paused a moment before responding. There was a crackle.

“Bad news is that we don’t know exactly where Rory is. We don’t have her with us,” Ghost started. We all let out a silent exhale of relief. Even though we don’t know exactly where she is, Rory wasn’t with abusive Ryan and Chris. “What the good news?” I asked him.

“Well, I think I know where she is.” Ghost whispered before yelling at Vinny to leave him alone again.

“Where?” We all chorused at once.

“You know when I told you that Ricky is on vacation because he didn’t want to help Chris take back Orion?” Ghost asked. We patiently waited for more news. I remember Ghost telling us. As we walked back to the buses after losing Rory, Ghost had given us a quick explanation of what was going on. I could never understand why he was helping us, but I didn’t reject the information. “Well, I think she’s with Ricky.”

“Wait, why do you say that?” I asked him.

“After chasing down Ricky, a truck pulled out onto the road with its lights off. It was slow and silent, and it seemed like only I noticed it. Ricky has a truck that’s pretty quiet and why else would a truck have all its lights off and be going ten miles an hour on a sixty mile per hour road?” Ghost asked.

“So Ricky took her? Why?” Alan chirped up.

“I know Ricky and he’s in love with that girl. He would do anything to keep her safe. I’m assuming that he somehow took her and ran off, to his house or somewhere else to keep her away from Chris. He’s doing all he can to keep her away from him, just like you guys are.” Ghost murmured softly. I ran my hands through my hair, not really believing all of what was happening. Phil mouthed a ‘no way’ as his eyes went wide.

“Well we have to go get her!” Tino exclaimed. The bassist on the other end shushed him and made another excuse of why the fake manager was being so loud.

“No! Chris is keeping an eye on you and the other bands! He knows that Rory will come back to one of you three so if you have Rory with you, she’ll just be in more danger!” Ghost hurriedly explained. The speaker crackled again and went silent. I was afraid it had gone dead. The man came back on.

“Look, I don’t have much time…please, just trust me on this…” He begged. We all waited. It was like we had hung up already.

“Ghost?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“One more question.”

“Quickly, please.”

“I gave her my number in case she got into trouble. Why hasn’t she called?” I begged him. Maybe Ghost would have the answer. There was an even longer pause and I thought one of the phones had been shut off. There was loud music over the other end, alerting me to the presence that was still there.

“I don’t know for sure. If she called, she might give away her location. That wouldn’t be bad just for her…but bad for Ricky as well. I have to go. Later.” And the buzz stopped. My phone flashed, signaling the end of the conversation.

“She’s so close, but so far. We can’t get to her.” Alan grumbled in anger. I was frustrated. She was there…somewhere. Ghost thought she was with Ricky, and that was only a guess. He didn’t sound too sure, but had strong evidence to back it up. How could we get her back?

But that’s the thing…we can’t get Rory back. She’d be in too much danger. Our only job is to hold off Sleeping with Sirens and Motionless in White. If we can give her more time, then we can make sure she gets back home safely.

“You doing alright?” Tino asked as everyone dispersed, quietly discussing. The bus started to hum once again.

“I’ll be fine.” I responded. But honestly, I don’t I’ll be fine as long as she’s still in danger.

Notes

Hello everyone! So I hope that I answered any questions about what Austin and the other boys were doing. Rory is so close to them, just so far away! There's going to be big stuff coming up, so keep on reading.

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