Chapter 10
The group slowly trudged into the Orlando National Airport. Monica’s head was resting on Lance’s shoulder as they walked through the gate. Keeley’s eyes were shifted to the ground as she walked into the waiting area. The dark circles under her eyes could be seen from far away. The rest of them looked about the same. They were all exhausted and still in shock over the whole ordeal they’d just been through.
“Justin,” a familiar voice called through the crowd. He glanced up in search of the voice’s owner. He spotted the small red-haired woman frantically waving her arms as she rushed up to him.
“Mom!” he cried as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. He stood there for a moment in his mother’s embrace. Ever since he was little his mother’s hug was the most comforting thing to him. It made him forget what they’d gone through for just a moment. It felt good to forget.
JC looked over at Justin and his mom with a sad smile. ‘I wish my mom could’ve been here.’ His thoughts were interrupted when his mom and dad emerged from behind Justin. He quickly made his way over to them and allowed them both to envelop him with their arms.
The rest of the group was met to the same surprise. Keeley’s mom had flown in from Washington when she’d heard about their ordeal, as did Monica and Cari’s parents. His father and mother as well as his sister Stacy and her husband Ford greeted Lance.
The happy reunion continued until security tapped on their shoulders to get them to move to a more private area. Media and fans had started to show up and none of them felt up to making a statement about anything yet.
The group happily made their way out of the airport to the cars that would take them home. They all hugged each other and said their good-byes. Finally the last car door was shut securely and the car pulled away from the curb towards the sanctuary of their homes.
A couple days later Johnny called the guys to arrange a meeting to discuss what had happened and what they would say in their statement to the media. The guys called the girls because they felt they should be there as well.
“You should have seen it Johnny, it was so beautiful.” JC added after telling his manager about the ship.
“Yeah I just wish we could have stayed long enough to enjoy it,” Cari added sadly. The group nodded in agreement.
“Well I am curious about something. What exactly did happen out there?” Johnny asked concerned. They each took turns revealing and reliving the horrors of the past week. Monica didn’t have much to say. She would throw something in every once in awhile. She was still overwhelmed and slightly in shock. She had a firm grip on one of Lance’s hands. He was using his other hand to make gestures while talking. He was always bad about talking with his hands. Monica was just glad they were home, so she wasn’t about to complain.
The group finished telling the story and Johnny leaned back in his seat, slowly shaking his head in amazement. He was in absolute disbelief by their story. He couldn’t believe half the things that they had endured in the recent days. It was just so much information to process. He was amazed that all eight had escaped with only cuts and bruises. The thought of their close escapes made him shutter…Justin running from the men on the ship, Keeley almost drowning only to be held hostage later, Monica getting captured, and JC almost falling off a cliff.
“Well guys, with that behind you, you’re faced with a new challenge now,” Johnny told them as he leaned forward and looked at each one of them seriously. Groans could be heard from all of them. The last thing they wanted to do was have to set up a million interviews, but they knew that if they didn’t do it the rumors would be running rampant. “We need to figure out what to tell the media, the phones have been ringing off the hook with reporters wanting exclusive interviews.”
“What do you suggest we tell them?” JC asked.
“I think you should start with the truth,” Johnny replied. He chuckled as he saw eight pairs of eyes widen.
“You mean you think we should tell them about everything?” Justin asked.
“Well maybe not everything, but they already know most of it, you know how uh… resourceful your fans are.” They all nodded in agreement. They knew their fans seemed to know things before even they did. They had no idea how they did it, and frankly it kind of scared them. “Just make a basic statement, and be sure to let them know that the guys were caught and the whole situation has been resolved.”
“What’s going to happen to those guys anyway?” Lance asked. He’d forgotten that the men that had been after them still had to be dealt with.
“They will stand trial and our lawyers will make sure they are punished to the fullest extent of the law. Also, we will get restraining orders against them for all of you. They won’t be able to legally come within 500 yards of you.” Relief could be seen on all of their faces.
“Are we going to need to testify?” Keeley interjected. “I am more than willing to do anything I can to put those bastards behind bars.”
“Don’t worry about that, they’ll be put away for a long time. We’re not sure right now if any of you will need to testify, but we’ll let you know if we do when the time comes.”
“Well guys, that’s all I have for you right now. Why don’t you all take a little more time off? I know you just had a vacation of sorts, but I want you to take some time to rest and recuperate.” Johnny said goodbye to them and left the conference room.
“Do you guys want to go get some lunch?” Chris asked the group. He had gotten out of his seat and was trying unsuccessfully to do a handstand.
“What in the world are you doing?” Cari asked as she gazed at the man trying to walk on his hands in front of her.
“I was watching TV earlier and I saw some gymnasts doing this and I wanted to try it. So, what about that lunch?” The group stared at their crazy friend’s antics.
“Well?!?” Chris said a moment later when he still hadn’t received an answer. “Chris stop being a dumb ass and stand up right!” Justin said as he pushed his older friend over. Chris lay on the floor and stared up at Justin with hopeful and expectant eyes. “Fine, we’ll go eat with you,” Justin said rolling his eyes.
“Good! I’m starving!” Joey exclaimed.
“Go figure,” Keeley laughed.
“Guys let’s get out of here, before Joey starves to death and Chris breaks something,” Monica encouraged. The group quickly left the conference room. Once outside they began to discuss where they would eat lunch.
“So where does everyone want to go? I would have to vote for Chinese,” JC began. The rest of the group groaned.
“You know, I have a feeling this may take awhile,” Cari said when the others started voicing their opinions.
“Personally, I think we should go to some low-profile place,” Keeley suggested.
“I would have to agree with Keeley. I don’t think I’m up to dealing with crowds yet,” Justin added.
“Oh, oh, I know! Let’s go to that little Italian place outside of town we all love,” Monica thought out loud. The group quickly agreed.
The eight all went to the parking lot and got into their respective cars. On the way to the restaurant Keeley reached up and ran her fingers over the slender scab that still lingered on her throat and thought about her friends’ recent past. Justin noticed how quiet she had gotten.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Justin said breaking the silence. Keeley startled, jumped slightly.
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking how good it is to be home,” she responded and smiled.
“Don’t think about it K. We are going to have so much fun in the time left that we have off you’ll forget all about it.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you are right.” She still had her fingers on her throat. She knew that she would never forget what happened. It was all still too fresh in her mind. She still had an uneasy feeling and felt as if something still wasn’t right. ‘Girl, get a grip on yourself. You’re still just shaken up,’ she thought to herself and made her pull her hand away from the scab as they pulled into the parking lot. Moments later the rest of the group arrived at the restaurant. Justin and Keeley climbed out of the car after the other cars parked and their friends began to pile out.
“May I just say you drive like a maniac,” were the first sounds that greeted Justin and Keeley’s ears. Lance was yelling about Chris’s driving. This came as a surprise to Justin. Usually he was the one getting yelled at about his driving.
“Dude, that was not my fault!” Chris retorted. “You try driving while Joey bounces around the car."
“What happened?” Keeley asked totally confused.
“Chris almost sideswiped us!” Cari exclaimed.
“Joey would you like to tell them why we almost sideswiped them?” Chris asked.
“Well ok,” he paused. “Which time?” he asked with a guilty look on his face. “You are probably talking about the time when I was leaning over you trying to get the girls attention on your side of the street.”
“Oh great, we almost lost our lives so Joey could have a date?” JC replied sarcastically.
“Figures,” Lance mumbled. Justin’s stomach growled loudly, interrupting them. Everyone stopped arguing and turned to look at Justin.
“What? I’m hungry!” he exclaimed.
“Forget about the cars, let’s eat!” Joey exclaimed happily and began to pull Keeley inside.
The restaurant was almost deserted. There was an older couple and there was a guy in his mid-twenties sitting by himself. It was a very small place just outside of town that not many people knew about. Joey had discovered it by accident right after he moved to Orlando. He had taken a wrong turn and ended up at the restaurant. The group helped the waitress pull two long tables together so they could all sit in one place. They gave the waitress their drink orders and began to look over the menu. Everything looked so good everyone was having trouble deciding what to order. After spending several days without real food just about anything was looking good to them lately. They all finally made their choices and placed their orders.
“So what are your plans for the rest of our time off?” Lance asked the rest of his bandmates.
“Sleep,” JC answered quickly. Cari turned and gave him a stern look. “Um ok…nevermind.”
“I think we ought to make a group trip to Disney World,” Joey suggested. “We haven’t been out there together in forever. Besides it’s summer, there will be hot chicks everywhere!” Lance reached over and smacked Joey in the back of the head. The group laughed and then agreed that Joey had a good idea.
“Oh, by the way, Keeley and I decided to throw a pool party at our house later this week,” Justin spoke as he buttered a piece of bread and popped it in his mouth.
“Woo hoo! Fun in the sun!” Cari cheered.
“How corny was that?” JC asked her.
“Look you,” Cari said as she wagged her finger at him. “I was planning on having fun and getting sun during the break…I am going to have fun and get some sun!” JC just shook his head. He knew better than to argue with her.
Soon the food came but that didn’t stop the discussions about their plans. They wanted to make the most of their extra vacation time, and try to make up for all the crap they’d been through.
“Here is the deal,” the officer on duty began as he lead Anthony into a small abandoned room that held only a table, a phone, and a chair. “You get one phone call. My advice to you would be make it count.” Anthony answered the guard by rolling his eyes at him. The officer caught this and got mad. “Boy you don’t want to be on my bad side,” he retorted as he shoved Anthony into the chair. “You got five minutes,” the officer said and walked over to the door and stood just on the outside of the frame leaving the door open. Just as soon as the officer was out of ear shot Anthony picked up the phone and began to dial an all too familiar number.
A very groggy man answered on the other end. “If someone isn’t dead or I didn’t win a bunch of money, I don’t give a damn, leave me alone, I am going back to sleep.”
“Yo boss wait. Don’t hang up. It’s Anthony.”
“Well well, look what the cat finally drug in. After all this time you had better have some good news for me,” the man on the other end of the phone line growled.
“Um…well.”
“Anthony, I don’t like the way this conversion is starting. Hurry up and spit it out, I am getting impatient.”
“They got away sir,” Anthony almost whispered. The other man began to laugh.
“I am sorry. We must have a bad connection, because I could have sworn I just heard you say they got away. And if you three know what is good for you, you would have never let that happen. So tell me again. What is going on.”
“They got away sir,” he repeated a little louder this time.
“WHAT?!? How in the hell did you let eight kids outsmart you?”
“Boss you don’t understand what we have been through. We did the best we could. They found out what was going on and jumped ship. We followed them to a island and we caught a couple of them at different times but somehow they always got away.”
“Please tell me this…you were supposed to be the brain and the brawn of the group. Please tell me that you just totally let me down, and the other two guys are still out there after them.”
“Not exactly. I was the second one captured. I guess all eight of them are back in the States now.” Anthony then heard a loud sigh come through the phone line.
“Never send a boy to do a man’s job,” was his reply. There was a click on the line and Anthony was left in silence.
“Justin is the grill about ready? The rest of them are going to be here soon!” Keeley called out the back door to her boyfriend.
“Kee, just calm down, it will be done soon enough,” Justin called back. Keeley had to laugh in spite of herself. Justin was getting very frustrated because he couldn’t get the grill to light. Justin heard the giggles and turned towards her and gave her an evil eye.
“I take that as a no,” she laughed.
“You just go back inside and take care of whatever it is that you are supposed to be doing.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t come out there and do whatever it is that you are supposed to be doing, because you aren’t having much luck.” She looked at him, batted her eyes and smiled innocently.
Justin growled and looked around for something to throw. The closest thing around was a basketball and he picked it up and hurled it towards the door that Keeley was poking her head out of. Keeley saw it in time and ducked back in and closed the door just before the ball banged against it. Keeley opened the door and peered back outside. She was greeted with the sight of Justin glaring at the door with his left head on his hip and the fingers of his right hand drumming on the wooden shelf on the side of the grill.
“You missed!” Keeley laughed and then gave Justin a raspberry.
“That’s it! You are going to get it!” Justin yelled and took off running towards Keeley. She didn't even take the time to close the door. She quickly turned and ran into the house. Justin’s long legs allowed him to take long strides and he quickly caught up with Keeley. He jumped and tackled her in the middle of the hall in front of the main door to the house. He sat on her and tickled her while she screamed, laughed, and begged for mercy. A faint knocking could be heard coming from the door but Justin wasn’t about to let Keeley off that easy and Keeley couldn’t move out from under him if her life depended on it. The knocking came again, a little louder this time, and was still ignored. Suddenly the door opened and Chris stood in the doorway. He looked down at the pair on the floor. The two stopped their antics and looked up at Chris and laughed at his dumbfound expression.
“You know, I don’t think I even want to know,” Chris said as he stepped over the two of them and took the dish of food he had brought to the kitchen. Keeley and Justin just looked at each other and burst out laughing. Keeley playfully smacked her boyfriend on the chest and told him to get up and go get the grill started. Justin leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and then reluctantly got up to go back outside to fight with the grill. Keeley got up off the floor to go make sure Chris was behaving himself. Things were quiet, too quiet. She walked into the kitchen to find Chris sitting on one of the bar stools patiently. He was staring out the window. This was highly unusual for Chris and Keeley worried if something was wrong.
“What's on your mind?” Keeley asked as she walked up beside him and took a seat at the bar.
“Huh? Me thinking? Are you kidding?” Chris laughed.
“You sure are being quiet.”
“Gotta save up energy for the party!” He began to dance in his seat.
“I should have figured. Oh Chris, will you go get the door? I have a couple of things to finish up in here,” Keeley asked when she heard knocking on the front door.
“Sure thing Kee,” Chris replied as he got up and bounced to the door. Joey was standing on the other side, his arms full of food and drinks. Chris lead him into the kitchen were he proceeded to unload the food onto the counter.
“Joe! You brought enough food to feed an army!” Keeley exclaimed as she laid her eyes on the mound that Joey had just brought in.
“What? I was supposed to bring food for everyone?” Joey asked in a serious tone. Keeley’s jaw dropped open at his comment. Joey and Chris both burst into fits of laughter. “I am kidding! Hey something smells good! What are you cooking?” Joey asked as he walked over the stove and grabbed a spoon and began to sample the baked beans that were in the pot. Keeley quickly ran over and shooed Joey away from the food. She looked desperately over at Chris.
“Why don’t you go outside and take Superman here with you,” she suggested. Chris just smiled. He threw Joey a beer and grabbed two more, one for himself and one for Justin, who was still outside messing with the grill.
“Come on Joe. Let’s go show Curly how to work a grill!” Chris said as he dragged Joey towards the door that led to the backyard. Keeley continued her work in the kitchen and thankfully was only interrupted twice more…once when Lance and Monica arrived, and again when JC and Cari arrived. All the guys went outside and the other two girls stayed to help Keeley finish up everything before helping her take everything outside and setting it up on the deck. Soon the group was eating and sitting around chatting.
“Well the meat is actually done, I am impressed! So who actually got the grill started, because I seriously doubt it was you,” Keeley asked as she poked Justin in the side. Justin just rolled his eyes and pointed at Joey who was too busy shoving food in his mouth to have even noticed the question.
“You have got to be kidding me! You let Joey play with fire?” Monica asked in disbelief.
“Well it was either that or let the pyro over there do it,” Justin said pointing at Chris.
“I think I would have waited on Lance or JC,” Cari joined in.
“Oh you do, do you?” Chris said as he stood up and made his way over to Cari giving her a mischievous look.
“Chris…what are you…Chris I don’t like that look,” Cari said as she stood up and started slowing backing away from him. Suddenly Chris lunged at her and picked her up off her feet. He made a mad dash down the stairs of the patio…making a beeline for the pool. Cari was screaming the entire way. Everyone still on the deck was cheering Chris on. He got to the edge of the pool and just stopped and stood there. Groans could be heard from the group on the deck; several people thought he had lost his nerve. Justin knew better and told the others not to lose hope.
“Chris, please put me down.” Cari thought about what she had said and then added, “on the ground…put me down on the ground.”
“Now what fun would that be?” Chris said as he spun her around and tossed into the water. Cari resurfaced sputtering. She glared up at Chris and ran her hands through her hair to remove it from her eyes.
“Chris you are a dead man!” Cari screamed when she finally caught her breath. The rest of the group laughed and soon decided to join Cari in the pool. Of course they all decided to take off their clothes and just swim in their swimsuits. They all played around for awhile. The guys decided to play water-basketball with Justin’s floating goal and the girls decided to lie out in the sun.
Keeley and Cari were talking quietly while Monica watched the guys play. She couldn’t help but think back about the group playing in the lagoon on the island. Just the thought of all the hell that they had all endured made her shudder. ‘Monica stop thinking about it, you’re here to have fun,’ she scolded herself. For her the memory and the pain were still too vivid in her mind for comfort. She and Lance had talked about the whole ordeal soon after they had gotten home and he was just as shaken up as she was. Hell they all were, but everyone seemed to want to just repress the memories and act like it had never happened. ‘Maybe that is for the best,’ she continued to try and convince herself although she, like Keeley, knew that the memory would be haunting her for awhile. Monica was brought back to reality by the sounds of yelling and booing.
“You know you would think that after playing with all of us for years you would be getting better at this game,” Justin made fun of Lance.
“I can’t help it I suck at basketball. I told you the first time I played with you that I couldn’t play, and you know what, I still can’t play!” Lance laughed.
“You know what, I think that one of the girls could play better with their eyes closed and one hand tied behind their back.”
“Curly you don’t want me to come out there,” Cari said from her spot on the side of the pool without even opening her eyes. “I wouldn’t want Keeley to have to console you after I beat your sorry ass playing b-ball.”
“Wow such harsh words,” Justin laughed.
“J, you know what I think?” Keeley asked as she turned over on her stomach to face the pool.
“No, but I am sure you are going to tell me anyway aren’t you,” Justin said as he gave Keeley an evil grin.
“That’s it! J, we are going to show you how to really play basketball. Girls against guys,” Keeley replied as she stood up and walked over to the edge of the pool.
“You have got to be kidding me,” JC spoke up. “There are three of you and five of us!”
“Point being?” Monica grinning as she joined Keeley.
“You’re on!” Chris said bouncing up and down in the water. The three girls joined the band in the pool and soon a downright nasty game of basketball began to unfold. The guys tried to hold the girls underwater to make them miss a pass. Lance had tried to distract Monica by embracing her and kissing her. Finally Cari got tired of it and decided to retaliate and just as Chris was beginning to make a shot Cari pulled her bikini top up and flashed him, Chris totally missed the goal. Cari put her bikini top back on and then went over and high-fived the other two girls. The game continued on like this for awhile.
“I demand a rematch! It’s not fair…we had Lance on our team” Justin pouted after the girls reached the set number of baskets to win. The rest of the guys all groaned and climbed out of the pool and laid down on the ground. Lance smacked Justin on the back of the head on his way past him.
“Hell no, Fro Boy. We won far and square,” Keeley replied. Justin swam over to her and gave her his best sad puppy dog look. “It’s not going to work Justin.” To this Justin began to whine and whimper as a puppy would. “Give it up Justin, just admit it. The girls are the better players.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” Justin replied in shock.
“Suit yourself. I am going to join the rest of the group on dry land. Beating your butt took a lot of energy!” Keeley laughed and gave Justin a quick kiss and swam over to the edge of the pool, climbed out, and claimed a spot among the rest of the group. Justin stood out in the pool for a couple more seconds, he was still in shock that the three girls had beaten all five of them. Finally he decided not to worry so much about his pride and went to join the rest of the group. They all laid in the sun for a bit longer until the sun began to dip below the horizon.
“Well it’s been fun you guys, but I am beat. I think Cari and I are gonna get going,” JC said after they had watched the sunset. Soon the others agreed and everyone began to clean up the mess they had made and then gathered their belongs and made their way to the front yard. The eight stood out in the yard and talked for a few minutes, speculating on what to do the rest of their time off.
‘It’s about time they decided to start leaving. If only the backyard wasn’t fenced in, I wouldn’t have had to wait so long to hear what they are saying,’ the figure in the bushes thought to himself. He had to make sure to remain perfectly still. ‘Can’t be bring attention to myself. Not yet anyway. They will know who I am soon enough, and they won’t soon forget me when they do find out,’ he continued thinking.
As he squatted in the bushes and listened he soon heard Joey say exactly what he was waiting for.
“I still want to do the Disney World thing,” Joey suggested to the group again.
“Oh yeah. I think that is a good idea,” Cari replied.
“Ok then, is everyone free day after tomorrow?” JC asked. The group thought for a second and they soon discovered that everyone was indeed free that day. “Good why don’t we meet up at my house since it is closest and head over to Disney World,” JC recommended.
“Sounds good. What time?” Lance asked.
“Let’s see the park opens at 9:00, so say 8:15 or so,” JC thought out loud. A groan could be heard from both Justin and Monica. The rest of the group just laughed. “Monica don’t make me have a repeat of the last time Lance and I couldn’t get you out of the bed,” JC commented. He was greeted with the sounds of Monica mumbling obscenities under her breath.
“Well that settles that. I guess I’ll see all of you later then,” Joey smiled, satisfied that he was getting his way. The group all said their good-byes and slowly made their ways to their cars.