Chapter 22
Sunday morning, Vicky was already awake waiting for Justin to get out of
the bathroom. They had planned to spend the day in
“Hey, is Justin here?” she asked.
Vicky gave her a long stare. Thinking she was harmless, she answered, “Yeah, why?”
“I need to talk to him. It’s kinda important.”
“Give me a sec.” Vicky closed the door behind her and walked into Justin’s room. He sat on his bed putting on a pair of socks. “Some girl is at the door asking for you,” she told him.
“Who?” Justin asked as he stood up.
“I don’t know. I was hoping you’d tell me,” Vicky coldly replied as she headed for the kitchen.
Justin stood up and walked to the door. He opened it and saw the same girl was still there. “Hey! Em! What’s up? I haven’t seen you in so long!” he exclaimed once he recognized her. He bent over and gave her a hug. “Hey, Vicky!” Justin called out. “Come here, I want you to meet Chris’s sister, Emily.”
Vicky ran to the door. She was surprised to find out that the girl at the door was Chris’s sister. “Hi, I’m sorry about closing the door on you,” Vicky apologized at first. “I’m pleased to meet you.”
“Yeah, so am I. Justin’s told everyone so much about you,” Emily replied. She held out her hand to shake Vicky’s.
“So, what are you doing here?” Justin asked as they stepped into the house.
“Chris shooed me out. He wanted to spend the day alone so he could think. Logically, I came to you because everyone else is out of town,” she answered. “And I wanted to meet the person who you couldn’t stop talking about while you were on tour.”
“Shut up, Em. You’re embarrassing me,” he retorted.
“So, can I crash with you guys for the day? I promise I won’t cause you any trouble,” Emily pleaded. She wrapped her arms around Justin, not intending to let go until he said yes.
“Fine, you can come with us, just don’t be a pest like you usually are,” Justin finally replied. “Oh, and Vicky’s gotta say yes.”
With all eyes on her, Vicky couldn’t turn them down. “Okay,” she reluctantly answered after a couple of seconds.
Since they were already ready, Justin escorted them to the car, and they were off to a fun day in Orlando. Even though Vicky sat up front next to him, she felt out of place. Justin and Emily were caught up in their own conversation as she sat there and listened. She began to feel neglected, thinking that bringing Emily along was a bad idea. She was planning to spend the day with Justin hoping to get to know him a little better, but her dream was shattered.
The more Justin and Emily talked, the less Vicky seemed to be there. While they were walking the streets, Justin seemed to never notice that she was holding his hand. He was too wrapped up in Emily. In the restaurant it was even worse. Justin kept his gaze on Emily all the time, barely giving Vicky a glance. She sat alone, thinking about what the evening would bring.
Vicky excused herself to go to the bathroom. As she pushed open the door, a flood of tears ran down her cheeks. She couldn’t take the neglect any longer. She wanted Justin to notice that she was there. Taking some time to calm down, Vicky dried her eyes and went back to the table.
“Hey, you were gone for a long time. I thought I’d have to send in a search party,” Justin joked as she gently nudged Vicky.
‘At least he noticed I was gone,’ Vicky thought to herself. ‘I wonder if he’ll even talk to me?’ Justin turned back to Emily and Vicky answered her own question. ‘Guess not.’
That evening after Justin dropped Emily off at home, Vicky was ready to speak her mind. She wanted Justin to know how she was feeling. As he opened the door, she walked past him without a word. He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she dodged him.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Justin asked.
“You wanna know what’s wrong? You’ve been neglecting me for the entire day!” Vicky yelled as she turned towards him.
“No, I haven’t,” he denied.
“Yes you have! You’ve been talking to Emily all day,” she retorted.
Justin looked down knowing Vicky was right. He had been talking to Emily all day.
“No response. I guess your friends matter more to you than I do,” Vicky cried as she ran out the door.
“Vicky!” Justin called out as he opened the door, but she was nowhere to be seen.
~~~~~
Two figures sat in their old beat up van at a dark corner of the street where they couldn’t be seen without daylight. They stared out at the house Justin and Vicky had entered. After a few moments, they saw Vicky run out. The guy in the drivers’ seat turned on the car, and they began to follow her.
Vicky could hear the van approaching. She thought nothing of it until someone hopped out the open door and wrestled her to the ground. She struggled, terrified about what was happening to her. The guy threw a few punches until he knocked Vicky unconscious. After she was out cold, he picked her up and carried her to the waiting van.
****
Justin sat on the couch next to the phone, waiting for it to ring. He hoped that it would be Vicky calling him even if it meant yelling. He sat there for hours praying that she was okay. Unexpectedly the phone rang around 11:30.
Justin picked up the phone quickly and answered, “Hello?”
“Hello, Justin,” a male voice on the other end said. “I think I’ve got something that you want.”
“Who are you? What the hell are you talking about?” Justin asked.
“I’ve got Vicky.”
Chapter 23