Morgan paced the floor in front of the phone waiting impatiently for Justin to call. She glanced at her watch every few seconds, then finally sat down heavily on the couch. She was annoyed both with herself and Justin. Finally, she screamed aloud when her frustration became too much for her.
�Ahhhhhhh!�
�Morgan, what on earth?� Phyllis asked from directly behind her, making her jump a mile.
�Geez, Phyllis, scare me half to death, why don�t you?� Morgan answered, clutching her chest.
Phyllis tried to hide a smile. �I�m sorry, sweetie. You were concentrating so hard that you didn�t know I�d come in, and then you screamed. I was just trying to make sure you were all right.�
�I�m fine,� she muttered, settling back into the sofa cushions and scowling. For some reason, Morgan didn�t want Phyllis to know how important Justin�s call was to her. Still, her second mother�s instincts had been aroused.
�Waiting for a phone call?� she asked slyly. �Anyone I know?�
Morgan could feel her face heating up and knew she�d been found out. �Justin mentioned that he might call today.�
�Justin, huh?� Phyllis grinned at her. �Well, he�s a good one, that�s for sure.� she said before leaving the room.
Staring after her in half-shock, Morgan realized the older woman thought that she had a crush on Justin. She shrugged, deciding to let Phyllis believe this for the time being. What she really wanted from Justin was help with Joey.
Morgan didn�t realize how comfortable she had become on the couch until the ringing of the phone woke her from her light nap. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was after eight. A note by the phone told her quickly that Phyllis and Joe Sr. had gone to a friend�s party and wouldn�t be back until ten. Then the impatient ringing of the phone reminded her of what had awakened her.
�Hello?� she answered wearily.
�Hi, who�s this?� a male voice replied.
In her sleepy state, Morgan knew only that it wasn�t Justin or David. �This is Morgan. Who�s this?�
�Morgan? Are you all right? You sound terrible.� the voice continued, sounding concerned.
Morgan was getting irritated. First, Justin hadn�t called, then she�d fallen asleep, and then been woken up by a strange man who refused to give her his name. �Listen, buddy, I don�t know who you are or what you want, but I am not in the mood to mess with you!� she said angrily.
�Whoa! Morgan, calm down. It�s me, Joey.�
She took a deep breath. �God, Joey, I�m sorry. I just... I�m sorry. What did you need?�
Worry and concern laced Joey�s voice. �I was going to talk to my mom, but...�
�She went over to a friend�s with your dad. They should be back around ten.� Morgan answered him swiftly, trying not to let him know that her emotions were out of control.
�Okay.� Joey said slowly. �Um...�
�Do you want me to tell them you called?� she interrupted again.
�Yeah. Listen, Morgan...�
�Was there something else you needed?�
She heard him sigh. �Yeah. I needed to know how you were doing.�
�Why?� she answered.
�I�m worried about you, Morgan.� he said quietly. �We all are.�
Panic shot through her and the only thing she could think of was that Justin had told everyone what she had said. �Joey,� she began, then stopped to clear her throat. �Is Justin around? May I speak with him, please?�
Joey could hear the tension in her voice. �Yeah, sure.� he replied, thoroughly confused and a little hurt by Morgan�s request. He turned to walk into the living area of the hotel suite they were staying in, where the others were watching TV. �Justin?�
His friend glanced up from where he sat. �Yeah, Joey?� he answered, grinning at a joke Chris had just told.
Joey�s voice was tight as he held his cell out. �Morgan wants to talk to you.�
Different emotions flashed through Justin�s eyes as he guiltily glanced around the room. Slowly, he stood and took the phone from Joey. �Hello?� he said, beginning to walk across the room. The others looked on, confused at the unusual turn of events and listened with interest to Justin�s side of the conversation.
�Morgan... I didn�t, I swear! No, Morgan, listen...� Justin sighed, and when he spoke next his voice was much more gently, as though he were talking to a small child. �Morgan, sweetheart, please listen. I didn�t tell them anything. They don�t even know we talked. I�m sorry I didn�t call earlier-I was talking with my mom.� Joey visibly flinched hearing Justin�s small term of endearment, and his heart sunk as he listened further. He wondered if the two were becoming an item. �Do you believe me?� Justin was asking. He sighed with relief. �Thank you. Yeah, I will, I promise. Okay, you too. Take care of yourself, sweetie. Bye.� When Justin hung up the phone and turned around he was greeted with four confused stares.
�What was that all about?� Chris asked, amazed.
�Nothing. She called me yesterday to talk. We were interrupted and I told her I�d call her back today. That�s all.� Justin explained.
�Wait a sec.� JC said. �Was Morgan the friend you were talking to before sound check?�
�Yes.� Justin admitted reluctantly.
�Yesterday, you said that your friend was having a problem and needed you.� JC said thoughtfully. �What was going on? Is Morgan all right?�
Justin averted his gaze to the window, unable to look his friends in the eye. �I can�t tell you that.� he answered quietly.
�Why not?� Joey asked. �If something�s wrong with Morgan, I need to know.�
�I promised I wouldn�t tell, Joey. I�m not going to go back on my word because you feel the need to know.� he said. �If it was something I felt she couldn�t handle, I�d tell you guys. Until then, it�s up to her, I�m sorry.�
Angrily, Joey turned and walked to his room, slamming the door behind him. Justin walked over and sat down on the couch wearily, trying to figure out how to explain things to Joey. Lance sat down next to him.
�Justin? What�s going on?�
�Nothing, I swear!� he answered, frustrated again. �You guys think I know a lot more than I really do. All I know-that I can tell you- is that Morgan was kind of depressed after we left. She found our letters and something else and needed to talk to someone about it. The only reason I can give you for why she called me is because I told her I�d be there for her if she ever needed to talk.�
�What did she need to talk about?� Chris asked quietly.
Justin shook his head. �I can�t tell you that.�
Lance sighed. �Can you tell us if she�ll be all right?�
Looking at his friend, Justin saw genuine concern. �I think she�ll be okay. She�s...dealing with a lot right now. She�ll probably be needing to talk a lot for a while.� he sighed. �I�m hoping that eventually she�ll be able to talk to all of us, and that she�ll be able to tell us what happened to her.� he said softly.
�What do you mean, �what happened to her�?� Joey asked quietly, coming back into the room.
Justin jumped at the sound of Joey�s voice and sighed. �I don�t know Joe. That�s the problem. She either can�t or won�t tell me. All I know is that she had some trouble after she left your house.�
�Trouble?� Joey echoed, sounding worried. �What kind of trouble?�
�I don�t know, Joey. I just don�t know.�