I want to thank Latisha, Phenoix,and Randy fan for their continued support. It means a lot to me to hear what you think. Happy reading.
"Randy" Paul said shaking the young man gently.
"Go away." Randy mumbled, burrowing into the covers.
"Randy wake up." Paul said louder.
"Unless you want to die go away." Called a strained voice.
"Randy, move now." Paul yelled suddenly, leaning down close to the sleeping man's ear. The loud noise caused Randy to sit straight up, fighting to untangle him self from the blankets covering him.
Turning his heard he glared at the older man. "What?" He snarled.
"Time to go. The plane leaves soon." Paul explained softly.
"What plane?" Randy mumbled.
Paul waited patiently. After a minute Randy's eyes opened wide and he began frantically pulling the blankets off. "The house show. Shit, what time is it?"
Paul waited until Randy was upright and fully dressed before he spoke up. "Relax I talked to Vince. You have tonight off. Dave's already left for the show tonight."
"If I have the night off why do I have to get up?" Randy asked narrowing his eyes.
"Because you are going home. I am not leaving you in Boston so you can get into more trouble." Paul explained crossing his arms.
"Give me a break." Randy muttered flopping into a chair and leaning his head back.
"Randy you are still grounded from your last escapade. We let you out but you messed up and now it's time to pay the price. Let's go home."
"So Dave already left?" Randy asked quietly, not looking up. "He didn't want to talk to me or anything?"
"Yes he did. However he was concerned enough about you to let you sleep." Paul informed him.
"As opposed to me who isn't concerned about anyone." Randy whispered.
"You were concerned about Arianna, you just didn't think about anyone else. That doesn't make you a bad person just an irresponsible one." Paul said having heard him.
Randy sat there silently, not looking up.
"Listen his plane lands five minutes before we land. You can call him as soon as we disembark."
Nodding Randy grabbed his bag and followed. Walking into the living room they stopped to say good bye.
"Sorry about trashing your apartment. Six people in a two bedroom, really not a good idea." Randy offered.
Journey waved the comment aside. "I enjoyed the company. I'm lonely down here by myself."
"Are you sure you can't come back with us?" He asked.
"I already had this discussion with Dave. How does that song go, Stand By Your Man? I'm not leaving him."
"I figured." Randy smiled. "Just be careful." He said, giving her a hug.
"Hey Randy" She called down the sidewalk. "Nikki called while you were sleeping. You might want to give her a call." She told him mischievously.
"Hey babe" John greeted his girlfriend.
Don't call me babe." She teased back. "Are you okay?"
"Fantastic. The police have the real killer in custody. Apparently he had a freezer full of body parts. Very cool." He said grinning widely.
"That's great." She said, squeezing his hands across the table. "But why are you still in here?" She asked confused.
"The judge hates me." John said simply, shrugging.
"Excuse me?" Journey asked, opening her eyes wide.
"He was a Juvie judge eight years ago when I got busted. He tried his best to get me for saturatory. Said he didn't like my kind."
"Your kind?" Journey asked, not understanding what he was saying.
"Rich kid playing at being bad." John answered sneering.
"But how can they keep you here? Isn't that against the law?"
"They're spouting some technicality about not being able to get the proper signature until the morning. Jameson is pissed off as hell. He's planning to go to the media." John said rubbing his hands together.
"That is so wrong." Journey said sitting there in disbelief.
"He's got the power. But hey it's only one more night." He said smiling bravely.
"Would you be able to stop by my parent's house and let my dad and Arianna know?" John asked after they had sat in easy silence for a couple minutes.
"Of course. I need to take Ari the clothes we bought." Journey smiled, thinking about the cute outfits.
"She must be scared to death, being alone with a bunch of strangers who are supposed to be her family." John said frowning.
"She's tuff and Nikki's there." Journey informed him.
"I figured she would be babying Randy." John asked.
"I think the depth of her feelings for him scared her. She took off." Journey explained.
"How deep are her feelings?" John asked suspiciously.
Journey smiled sweetly. "I think they make a cute couple."
"Yea" John said darkly, thinking about his youngest sister. "So is he still in one piece?"
"It was touch and go there for a minute. Dave slammed him into a wall." She told him, closing her eyes at the memory.
"How much trouble did he get into?" John asked.
"As far as I know, not really any. They calmed down pretty quick." Journey said shrugging.
"Times up." John said, noticing the guard motioning.
"Okay. I will see you in the morning. I love you." She said giving his hands a last squeeze.
"I love you too." John said softly as the door closed behind her.
"Thanks Paul." Randy said climbing out of the SUV. "Tell Steph I'm sorry and I hope she's feeling better."
Paul snorted. "She won't feel okay until the baby is born."
Smiling Randy walked into the house and headed for the phone.
"Randy?" Dave asked after picking up the phone to silence.
"Yea" Randy replied softly.
"How are you feeling?" Dave asked when the young man did not respond further.
"Confused, scared."
"What are you scared about?" Dave asked concerned.
"You were so angry. And then you left. You are my family whether you like it or not. You can't just walk out of my life like that." Randy gritted out angrily.
"Randy I was not walking away from you. I was walking away from myself. I would have hurt you very badly if I had not taken a walk. But that's all it was. I came back. I checked on you, put ice on your wound." Dave tried to explain.
Dave could almost see Randy shrugging his shoulders on the other end of the phone line.
"So what are you confused about?" Dave asked when Randy did not speak up.
"I feel guilty about what I did but it's something I had to do. There is no way I could win." Randy admitted.
"I can fully understand why you did what you did. What made me so mad was how you did it." Dave told him.
"What could I have done different? There were no phones around and I couldn't stop for a second or I would lose her." Randy asked, pacing his living room in frustration.
"Randy what time did you actually get a hold of her this morning?" Dave asked calmly.
"I guess between seven thirty and eight. We sat down and talked for awhile and then we got to the jail at eight thirty." Randy explained. "Why?"
"You didn't call us until almost ten. Surely you had access to a phone during that time."
"I wasn't thinking." Randy admitted.
"That's your problem Randy. You never think about things before you do them. Don't you think it would have been easier or maybe gone faster if you had waited and all of us went out searching? Or maybe if we had asked John would have been able to give us some clues, some friends she might go to. Instead you reacted impulsively and took after her, leaving everyone else to worry, not only about her but about you too." Dave lectured.
"So how much trouble am I in?" Randy asked when Dave stopped to take a breath.
"What do you mean?" Dave asked quietly.
"Are you going to beat me?"
"I would like to. Randy you and Journey are like my kids. I do what I do because I care for you." Dave tried to explain.
"So I get off scot free?" Randy asked suspiciously.
"Do you feel guilty about what you did?" Dave asked instead.
"Yea."
"Then you didn't get off. But you are grounded for an additional week." Dave said sternly.
"Of course." Randy answered smiling.
The two men where silent for a few minutes. "Randy you did a good thing. I'm proud of you."