Chapter 7
"Ann! I�m home!" I announced as I entered the house.
"Where have you been!?!" she demanded.
"Would you believe me if I told you I was with Nsync?" I wondered.
"No!" she exclaimed with a little laugh. "Now where have you been?"
"I told you, but you don�t believe the truth." I walked to my bedroom and closed the door. A few minutes later, I could hear a slight tapping on the door. "Come in," I said.
My aunt�s head poked through the door. "What are you doing?" she asked me.
"Homework," I informed her.
She fully entered my room and stood next to the desk I was working at. "So, why were you with Nsync?" she wondered.
"There was a contest at school that Matt signed me up for and I won," I explained.
"Oh?" I don�t think she believed me. "And what did you win?"
"I won the �opportunity � to perform and hang out with them," I said sarcastically.
"Perform with them?" she said worriedly. "Is this going to be publicized?"
Shrugging my shoulders, I replied, "I don�t know, probably."
"You�re not going to perform with them!" Ann insisted.
"Try telling that to the guys!" I lchuckled.
"You�ll tell them. And if they don�t believe you, tell them I�d like to talk with them!" Ann said.
"All right." I closed my Trigonometry book. "I�ll tell them tomorrow."
"There�s a good girl."
I rolled my eyes. "It sounds like you�re talking to a baby, Ann!" I laughed.
* * * * *
"So, how was your first day with N Stink?" Matt chuckled. I closed my locker and walked down the hall. Matt caught up with me. "Are you going to see your boyfriends now?"
"They�re not my boyfriends!" I exclaimed.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot that they�re your mom�s boyfriends!" He laughed.
"Do you want your face made even uglier, Matt?" I wondered.
His face drained of color. "Um�Sorry, I take it back. See you later!" He ran off in the opposite direction.
Chuckling to myself, I turned around and almost ran into someone. "Hi, Alyssa, you ready to go?" Justin greeted me.
"I can�t go," I replied with a grin.
"Oh?" Lance asked, raising an eyebrow. "Says who?"
"The same person that pays for the house I currently live in." I walked out the door and headed for the VW. Suddenly, someone grabbed my arms and flung me around. "What the heck?" I questioned, then seeing JC, I relaxed. "You don�t go grabbing people like that!"
"Sorry," he apologized, freeing my arms.. "Did your parents say why they wouldn�t let you go with us?"
"All I know is she said that if you don�t believe me, you should talk to her." With that said, I got into my car and drove towards home.
As I drove, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a black limo. I smiled. Pulling up into my driveway, I got out and walked through the door without looking behind me. "Ann, they�re here!" I shouted.
"They are?" she wondered.
"Well, they�re just pulling up at our curb, so I�d say we have like thirty seconds before they knock."
"I�m going to go fix my hair. If they come before I�m back, have them sit down in the living room." She disappeared into the hall.
I chuckled, then the doorbell rang. Slowly, I walked to the door, twisted the doorknob, and opened the door. "Is there something I can do you, gentlemen?" I asked.
"Um�" uttered JC. "We�d like to talk with whoever pays for this house."
Smiling, I opened the door wider and let them come in. Then, I directed them into the living room. "I�ll go get her," I said, leaving the men and walking to my aunt�s room. "Ann, there are five men sitting on our living room couch," I said.
"Just a second!" she called. Ten seconds later, Ann came out. She had make-up on, her hair in tight curls, and was wearing a tight, black dress. "How do I look?" she asked.
"Ann, it�s not like you�re going on a date!" I exclaimed.
She shrugged her shoulders and walked into the living room. Upon our entering, they stood up. "My name is Marianne Wilson," she greeted.
The guys introduced themselves, then they all sat down. "You look way too young to be Alyssa�s mom," Justin complemented.
"That�s because she�s not," I replied.
They looked at me then at Ann. "Are you her sister, then?" Justin asked.
"No, I�m her aunt," she informed them.
"Aunt?" Joey repeated. "Where are her parents?"
Ann looked at me, and I looked back. "They�re...um�" Ann began.
"Gone," I replied.
"When do you think they�ll be back?" Chris wondered.
Once again, my aunt looked at me. "Maybe in a couple of years," she replied.
" A couple of years!?!" they repeated.
"Yes. She�s going to finish up at Bingham, then she�s going to go to BYU, and she needed a place to stay."
"Why come a year early?" JC asked.
"So I can get to know some people," I informed them.
"Anyway, what did you come to see me about?" Ann asked.
"Oh yeah," JC said. "Has she told you that she won-"
"The contest? Yes she has."
"May we ask why you won�t let her go?" Lance asked.
"This is going to be publicized, isn�t it?" she asked and they nodded. "That�s why."
"You don�t want her to be famous!?!" Chris asked. "Jeez, there�s one I haven�t heard before!"
"Miss Wilson-"
"Marianne."
"Marianne," JC corrected himself. "My I ask why you don�t want your niece to be famous?" Ann and I exchanged glances for the third time.
"There is someone we know about who we don�t want to find out where we are," Ann replied.
"Dude! Are you guys in the Witness Protection Program!?!" Chris asked, excitedly.
"Chris!" Justin said. "Even if they are in the WPP, they wouldn�t be able to tell you, or they�d have to send them somewhere else."
"How would you know that!?!" Joey asked.
"Haven�t you ever seen the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie, Our Lips Are Sealed?" They shook their heads. "It�s about-"
"We are not in the Witness Protection Program," I announced, stopping Justin from sharing a long story.
"Who don�t you want to find you?" JC asked.
"That�s none of your business!" I exclaimed.
"Alyssa, would you go outside for a minute?" Ann asked me.
I stared at her. "You�re not going to tell them, are you?" I whispered.
"Now, please," she said.
After a second, I stood up and began to exit the room. Then I turned around. "Please don�t, Ann!" I pleaded.
"Now!" she repeated.
Slowly, I closed the front door behind me. As quietly as I could, I crawled underneath the living room window that was open.
"So, has she told you anything you found really weird?" I heard my aunt say.
"Yeah," Chris said. "She said she doesn�t like men! How weird is that?"
"Why doesn�t she like men?" JC asked.
"Well�" Don�t say it! I mentally begged her. "You�ll have to ask her."
"We have!" Chris shouted.
"I�m sure that whenever Alyssa feels like telling someone, she will," my aunt said.
It was silent, then Joey asked, "So, will you let your niece perform with us?"
"No."
"Why?!?" they wondered.
"Number one, I don�t want that person finding her because I�m afraid of what will happen if that person does. Number two, I don�t want my niece alone with five men!"
"Miss Wilson," Lance was protesting. "Alyssa is perfect for the job, though!"
"She may be," my aunt was saying. "No offense, but I don�t trust five guys with her!"
I then heard something that sounded as if someone was moving from their spot and sitting down in another. "Miss Wilson," I heard Justin begin.
"Call me Ann," she breathed.
"Ann," he corrected himself. "We love your niece, and we�re not going to hurt her! What do we have to do for you to let her be able to come with us?"
"Well�" she started. "You could�kiss me!" Ann! I thought, shocked. Here you are talking about how you don�t trust them, and then you go and kiss one of them!
"Excuse me." Jumping around, I saw Cindy Edgar, our next door neighbor. "Would you like to buy some girl-scout cookies?"
"Let me ask Ann. I�ll be right back!" With an excuse to interrupt whatever was going on inside, I got off my knees and practically flew inside.
When I entered the living room, I couldn�t believe my eyes! Ann was sitting on Justin�s lap making out with him. I cleared my throat, and Ann jumped off of Justin�s lap. "Didn�t I tell you to wait outside?" she asked, blushing.
"I did, but then Cindy came over," I defended myself.
"Cindy?" my aunt repeated. "What does she want?"
"She�s selling girl-scout cookies."
"I�ll be right back," Ann excused herself.
I gave Justin a disgusted look. "I can explain that, Alyssa," Justin tried to defend himself.
Shaking my head, I said. "No need to. I was listening the whole time." With that said, I walked to my room and slammed the door shut.
* * * * *
Hearing a knock on the door, I said, "Stay out."
The door opened and a head poked in. "I didn�t know it was opposite day!" Chris exclaimed.
"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny, now leave!"
"Don�t you want to hear what we�ve got to say?" Joey asked as all five of them entered my room.
"Yeah, it�s really great news!" Justin exclaimed.
"Let me guess. I get to go with you guys," I said monotonously.
"Were you eavesdropping again?" Justin asked.
"No, I just knew that after a kiss like that, who could say no?"
Justin sat down on the bed next to me and put his arm around me. "I don�t know anyone who can!" With that, I felt his lips against mine. When he didn�t feel me return his kiss, he pulled me closer towards him. Closing my hand into a fist, I punched his cheek and his lips got off of mine. I then stood up and moved away from him.
"Obviously she can!" Chris laughed.
"What�s going on in here?" my aunt said, entering my room. "Did you tell her?"
"Sort of," Justin said, holding his cheek.
Ann looked from Justin to me, then back to Justin "What did she do to you!?!" she exclaimed.
"It was really my fault," Justin tried to defend me.
"Let me see," she ordered removing his hand. She revealed a large purple mark on her cheekbone. The other guys began laughing, but Ann looked at me with narrowed eyes. "What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" she asked me.
"Me!?!" I exclaimed.
"Marianne, it wasn�t her fault!" JC insisted.
"Alyssa, you will be grounded for a month!"
"But what about the concert?" Lance asked.
"Alright, you�ll be grounded for a month after the concert!"
"You�re not my mother!!" I screamed.
"No, but you�re living under my house, and as long as you live under it, I can order you around."
"You know, I didn�t ask to leave with you! If it weren�t for my stupid dad, I wouldn�t HAVE to live with you!"
"I know that, but you will still be punished," my aunt was saying.
"No I won�t!" she looked at me quizzically. "I�m leaving!" I ran out of the room, opened the front door, and ran out into the darkness.
I ran and I ran, not looking back. Suddenly, a pair of rough hands seized me. The next thing I knew, I was pinned down on the ground. "Get off of me!" I screamed, pushing him off. I started to run, but he grabbed my ankle and I fell.
"Where you goin� sweetie?" the voice asked. I swung at him, but he grabbed my wrists and tied them together, so I began kicking. The next thing I can remember is darkness.
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