Morgan awoke the next day in a very rare good mood. She told herself that it had nothing to do with the phone call the day before, but she couldn�t convince herself of it. Knowing that Joey and his friends were actually worried about her made her feel good inside. She knew that to be worried, they first had to care. Smiling, she got dressed and went downstairs. She met Phyllis as she was leaving for work.
�Morgan, dear.� she said cheerfully. �You look wonderful.�
Morgan smiled brightly. �Thanks, Phyllis.�
�What�s with the grin?� Phyllis asked. �You�re in an awfully good mood this morning. What�s the occasion?�
�Don�t know.� she shrugged.
�It wouldn�t have anything to do with a certain boy-band member�s phone call here yesterday, would it?�
Trying to hide a grin, Morgan knew Phyllis was still under the impression that she had a crush on Justin. �No, of course not.�
The older woman smiled. �Sure, sweetie. Whatever you say.�
Phyllis had been gone for almost two hours when the doorbell rang. Morgan�s good mood was still firmly in place, so she didn�t think twice before running downstairs to answer it. Opening the door, the smile on her face fell instantly as she saw who was there, and she swallowed hard.
�David!� she gasped. �What are you doing here?�
He smiled at her maliciously. �I told you this wasn�t over, Morg. You knew when you ordered Randy and I out of this house that you�d be punished for it. Now, it�s time.� He reached out for her arm. �Come on.� he said, grabbing her roughly and half-dragging her to his car.
Morgan had time only to look up at the window to her room, where she knew her CD player was still set for continuous play and her pen had been thrown recklessly on the desk. At least Phyllis will know that something�s not right. She thought. She wished she�d had a chance to grab her list of numbers before leaving, so she could call one of the guys for help.
David stopped the car outside of the house he shared with Randy. Hesitantly, she opened the door and got out, waiting for David to join her. Coming up behind Morgan, he took her elbow and led her up the walk. Randy was waiting and opened the door for them when they reached it. Morgan slowly entered the room and looked around; things hadn�t changed much since the last time she�d been there.
�Have a seat, Morg.� Randy greeted her, sounding almost normal.
�Thank you.� she answered stiffly, sitting down on the couch and wondering what they were planning. She didn�t have to wait long. A few minutes later, the silence was broken by the front door opening again. Dread and fear filled Morgan as the door opened fully and Cory stepped in, and she gasped aloud.
David laughed. �Morgan, I believe you�ve already met Cory.�
Morgan looked from David to Cory and back again, tears filling her eyes. She had known her punishment would be considerable, but if Cory was joining them... She shuddered. �But, you said....� she began.
David shrugged. �So I lied.� he said simply. �God, Morgan, did you honestly think that I had no idea what Cory had planned for that night?�
She could only stare at him in shock. �You... You knew?� she cried. �You knew he was going to force me to sleep with him, and you didn�t do anything? How could you? You were my boyfriend!�
David shrugged at her again as Cory and Randy began laughing. �Hey, anything can be bought for a price, and Cory�s price was right.�
Morgan jumped from her chair and ran across the room to the bathroom. She was quietly sick for a few minutes, then sat on the tile floor struggling to understand. As it sunk in, she found anger building up quickly. He had treated her like a common hooker. Her stomach threatened to revolt again, and Morgan leaned her already throbbing head against the cool tile on the wall. How am I going to get out of this one?
�Morgan!� Cory�s voice called through the door. �Get out here. We have some business to attend to.�
She winced, remembering the last time they�d had �business� to attend. �Oh, God.� she murmured.
Loud pounding on the door made her jump. �Morgan! I meant now!� Cory yelled, his voice hard as steel.
Reluctantly, she stood and unlocked the door. Immediately, Randy grabbed her. Picking her up and throwing her over his shoulders, he carried her into the bedroom.
Some time later, Morgan awoke in a strange room as David kissed her goodbye like a normal boyfriend. He then followed Randy and Cory out the door, locking her into the bedroom as he went. Morgan made no attempts to leave after hearing the click of the lock behind them. She continued to lie in bed, resting after a long and painful night. Finally, she had the energy to sit up and look around the room for a phone.
She wrapped a thin green blanket around herself and got unsteadily to her feet. Clutching the bedpost to maintain her balance, her eyes scanned the room. Morgan saw only an empty phone jack. David hadn�t overlooked the one thing that could have allowed her freedom. Disappointed, she tried to think of another way out. Morgan walked swiftly to the window, but saw that it had been nailed shut. Sighing, she decided to look in the closet for something to pry the window open with. For the most part, the closet was empty, but there were some small boxes stacked up in the back. Digging around, she dragged a few into the open.
The first contained only faded photographs, the second, matchboxes from various hotels around the world. The small shred of hope Morgan clung to grew as she lifted the top off the third box. An old phone lay inside, hidden among tattered tissue paper. She plugged it into the wall slowly. Please, let this work, she prayed silently. Holding her breath, she picked up the receiver. Relief filled her at the sound of the dial tone. �Thank you, Lord,� she whispered. Quickly, she dialed the number of the Fatone residence.
�Hello?� a tired-sounding voice answered.
Morgan stiffened, wondering who was at the house. �Hello?� she whispered. �Is...Is Phyllis there, please?�
�Morgan? Is that you?�
�Yes.� she said. �Who�s this? Please, I need help.�
�It�s JC, sweetie. Where are you? Are you all right?�
Tears flowed down her cheeks. �I don�t know JC. He brought me to his house, but I don�t know if I�m still there or not.�
JC heard the panic in her voice. �Calm down, hon, it�s gonna be all right. Now, who�s �he,� where is his house, and are you all right?�
Morgan heard a commotion in the background and knew everyone was at the house. �David Kendall. Phyllis knows where he lives.� She paused a moment. �Why are you all there? I thought you had to work.�
�Don�t worry about that right now.� JC tried to soothe her. �Hang on just a second.� Morgan could hear him talking to everyone else. �She sounds really scared. She says David took her to his house, but she doesn�t know if she�s still there. I don�t know.� He came back to the phone. �Morgan? Are you alone, or has he just left the room?�
�No, I�m alone.� she answered.
�Okay.� he replied. �I need you to get out of the house, Morgan. Go to a public place and call us back, or go to a neighbor�s. You can�t be there when he gets back.�
Fresh tears clogged her throat. �I can�t JC. He�s locked me in the bedroom. I can�t even see anything out the window but leaves.� she cried.
JC sighed, frustrated. �All right,� he said slowly, �stay on the phone with me and Joey is going to call the police with his cell. Phyllis is here and can give them directions to David�s. Hopefully, they�ll get there before he does.�
�Okay.� she answered. They were quiet for a while as they waited. Morgan could hear Joey and Phyllis in the background giving the police David�s address and explaining as best they could what had happened to their friend.
�It won�t be long now, Morgan.� JC said quietly. �They�re on their way.�
�But what if I�m not still at David�s? What if they took me someplace else?�
He tried to reassure her. �Don�t think that way, Morgan. You�ll be home with us soon.�
�I�m scared.� she whispered.
�I know, sweetie, but don�t worry.�
Morgan was just about to ask JC to put Justin on the phone when she heard a call pull up outside. �JC?� she whispered. �A car just pulled up outside.� Panic filled both of them; instantly, they knew it could not be the police so soon. �JC? What do I do?� Fear mounted within her as she heard the door opened gently and she made a split second decision. �JC, I have to go. He can�t find me on the phone.� she said hurriedly.
�No! Morgan, don�t...�
Morgan put the phone down, then quickly unplugged it. She shoved it back into its box, then grabbed all three boxes and swiftly put them back into their place in the closet. She dived to the bed just as the door opened.
�What were you doing?� Randy asked suspiciously.
�Nothing.� she lied.
He narrowed his eyes at her knowing she was lying. �I don�t believe you.�
She shrugged. �So?� she challenged him. Morgan had always felt that Randy was all talk and wouldn�t ever do anything too serious to her without David�s permission.
The look in his eye turned deadly and Morgan suddenly wasn�t as sure about her safety as she thought. She darted away from him as he lunged at her. Morgan misjudged the distance between them, however, and he quickly doubled back and tripped her. She gasped as she fell. When she looked up next, he was standing over her with an evil smile on his face.
�Still think you�re so smart, Miss Thang?� he smirked. �Bet you always thought I was too much of a coward to ever do anything about the way I felt about you.�
Morgan shivered. She knew she�d regret it if she egged him on, but she also knew that she couldn�t stop herself form saying her next words. �You are a coward,� she said quietly, managing to keep the fire in her voice as she stood up.
�I�ll prove to you I�m not a coward,� he said, advancing towards her.
�Is that a threat?� she asked sarcastically. �Because I�m not scared of you.�
Without warning, he flung his arm back and let go, striking her cheek hard. Whimpering, she fell again, striking her head against the tall dresser. At that moment, they both heard the front door open again and froze. Please be the police, Morgan prayed, knowing it wasn�t. A few minutes later David entered the room, directly followed by Cory. David was silent as he looked over Morgan and his eyes took in her fresh wounds. His eyes then drifted over to Randy, eyebrows up in an unspoken question. Randy said nothing.
�What did you do to my girlfriend?� he asked calmly, giving his friend a chance to explain Morgan�s injuries. Still, Randy remained silent. He merely sent Morgan a deadly stare, warning her against telling. Now, David turned to her. �Morg?� he asked tenderly. �What happened sweetie?�
Morgan made no attempt to hide the facts from him. �He threatened me and he hit me.� she said simply, walking back over to the bed and sitting down.
Clearly angry, David looked from Randy to Morgan once more. �What do you mean, he threatened you?�
Morgan kept her eyes on the open bedroom door, attempting to judge how quickly she could cover the distance. �He said he wasn�t afraid of acting on his feelings toward me and that he�d prove it. Then I told him I wasn�t afraid of him and he hit me and my head hit the dresser.�
David looked at Cory and nodded, then turned to Randy. Both men advanced slowly towards him and Morgan tensed, ready to run. Just as David swung the first punch, Morgan bolted for the door.
�Oh, no you don�t!� Cory yelled, abandoning David and Randy and grabbing Morgan just outside the room. �Did you think you were going to get away that easily?� he sneered at her. Morgan looked up at him fearfully and knew she was in trouble. She began praying fervently for help to arrive as Cory dragged her back into the bedroom.
Morgan sat down in a corner, trying not to attract attention to herself. She made the mistake once of looking at Randy and shut her eyes tightly to block out what she�d seen. Cory had joined David in the beating and was gradually taking over. As he was edged out of the fight, David walked to where Morgan sat and watched his two friends fighting. Morgan looked up when she heard David gasp. She stifled a scream when she saw the two boys. Randy lay still on the floor at the end of the bed. Cory stood over him and continued his savage attack. It was obvious to both Morgan and David that Cory was out for blood and not about to stop.
David stood slowly. �Cory, man, he�s good. I think we made our point.�
The look Cory gave David was the worst Morgan had ever witnessed. Cory gave Randy�s still body one last vicious kick, then began walking towards them. Unknowingly, David began to back up until he was standing directly in front of Morgan, who was pressed up against the wall. Morgan watched as he approached and tried to decide who it was Cory was after-David or her. She had her answer a second later.
�Move aside, David.� Cory said quietly. �There�s some unfinished business that Morgan and I need to discuss.�
David glanced at her, confused by Cory�s statement. �Business? What kind of business?�
�That�s between Morgan and I. Now move!� he ordered.
For once in his life, David stood his ground to protect Morgan. �No.� he said firmly. �I�m not going to let you hurt her anymore, Cory. Our deal is off.�
Deal? Morgan thought, confused.
Cory was shaking his head. �You�re not the one to make that call, David,� he said. �Get out of the way.�