After what felt like an eternity to Starr, she and Schuyler finally arrived at La Boule, and she had to resist the urge to bolt to the front door, ordering herself to keep calm as she and Schuyler walked up the path. Once they were finally at the front door, Starr inserted her key, but suddenly froze, her frown deepening as she removed it.
"What?"
"It's already unlocked. We've all been super careful about keeping the place locked up after what happened to poor Talia, I really doubt anyone in my family would have left it unlocked."
Now Schuyler's eyes abruptly darkened as well, his body tensing as he suddenly seemed to take her bad feeling much more seriously. Starr reached for the handle, but Schuyler quickly grabbed her wrist.
"Let me go in first, okay?" he requested. Ordinarily, Starr might have rolled his eyes at the overprotective gesture (while secretly finding it sweet), but she had worked herself up into a near frenzy on the ride over, imagining the possibilities, so she simply nodded, shuffling back.
Schuyler opened the front door slowly, Starr anxiously peering over his shoulder, and the two exchanged a cautious look when they saw nobody in the front room, slowly walking inside.
"Hello?" Schuyler called out.
A figure suddenly rose from one of the couches in the living room, the doors to which had been left open, and Starr gasped as she recognized them.
"Kyle?" she asked in shock as the man, looking like a deer in the headlights, nervously walked out of the living room to join them in the entry room.
"Uh, hey, Starr- Schuyler," he added slowly, glancing at the other man in confusion.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Schuyler instantly demanded, his tone angry and hard, staring Kyle down with an expression that suggested he answer quickly. Kyle swallowed roughly.
"I'm babysitting; nobody, um, mentioned that to you?" he asked Starr.
Starr inhaled sharply, not answering him as she realized what that meant; either Jack had been lying when she called or Kyle was lying now- neither possibility seemed good to her.
"Really, Kyle?" Schuyler asked calmly, in a tone that clearly screamed bullshit on his story. "You're a lab tech by day, babysitter by night?"
"Med school's expensive," Kyle stuttered, shrugging. "Can't be picky about the jobs I take to pay it off."
"Uh-huh. Can I ask who you're babysitting, exactly?" Schuyler questioned, giving Kyle the rope to hang himself with. Kyle smiled tightly, hesitating- he obviously seemed to be struggling to figure out if that was a trick question or not.
"Starr's little brothers."
"Huh. That's weird, considering that my brothers are supposed to be at the movies with my parents," Starr jumped in, her voice steadier now, and quickly growing hot with anger. Was this why Jack had sounded so strange on the phone earlier? Was Kyle there, instructing him what to say to keep Starr from thinking anything was wrong? The thought of him doing a thing to her brothers made Starr want to strangle him.
"There…there must have been some kind of misunderstanding or miscommunication," Kyle replied, fumbling over his words as he struggled to draw breath, obviously panicking as things went to hell. "I showed up to take over for the first babysitter, she told me the kids were asleep upstairs, that's all I know."
"What other babysitter?" Schuyler demanded.
"I, uh, don't know her name, sorry."
"Yeah, keep digging yourself in deeper," Starr snapped from behind Schuyler, looking up the stairs with worry written all over her face. "Sam! Jack!" she shouted as loudly as possibly, repeating their names a second later. Her heart grew cold with dread when there was no response. "If they were just sleeping, they should have been able to hear that, and they should have answered me," she hissed, clenching her fists. "Why didn't they answer me, Kyle?" Then without actually giving him a chance to response, Starr turned towards the rest of the downstairs level of the house. "Mom?! Moe, Noelle?" When her only response was once again silence, she looked back to Kyle with narrowed eyes. "Why isn't anybody answering me? What the hell is going on?"
"I, um…I don't exactly know, okay?" he admitted in frustration. "I think I got caught up in something I didn't mean to- I'm just here to babysit."
"What do you-"
"Starr," Schuyler interrupted her, keeping his gaze on Kyle. "Why don't you go upstairs and see if your brothers are really there, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed quietly, looking at Schuyler curiously. She turned towards the stairs, pausing to shoot the other man a hardened look. "They better be okay, Kyle!" she snapped protectively as she hauled it upstairs.
Ordinarily, it would have seemed funny for a small teenage girl to be threatening a full grown man, but her voice made it clear she wasn't kidding, and her threat was no laughing matter; in Starr's opinion, if there was one thing people should know about the Mannings it was that you couldn't mess with any single member of the family and think any of the rest would let you get away with it.
Once Starr was gone, Kyle sighed, turning his attention back to Schuyler.
"Look, Schuyler, this is all a big-"
Kyle was suddenly cut off as Schuyler grabbed him by the throat and violently slammed him against the nearest wall, his fingers tightly digging into his neck. Kyle wheezed in a short breath, gazing at Schuyler in wide eyed fear and shock.
"Listen, Kyle," he hissed darkly. "I've always had a bad feeling about you, and right now, I'm starting to think I've been justified all along, so I'm already not too fond of you. But if I find out you're doing something to hurt this family?" Schuyler began, giving a dark, sarcastic laugh. "Oh, it's gonna get a hell of a lot worse for you. So I suggest you quit with the stuttering and stammering and trying to save your own ass, and give me some real answers, now. What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, loosening his grip just enough to let him speak.
"I told you, baby-sitting."
"Why did Starr's little brother tell her he and Sam were going to the movies with their parents if they were here being babysat by you?"
"I don't know, I don't know what else to tell you. I'm with a babysitting service, I get a call from someone else who works with them saying she's watching the Manning kids, but just got called away on an emergency and needs someone to fill in. I come over, she tells me the kids are sleeping so there's no need to check on them, so I just take a seat in the living room, and five minutes later you two come barging in. What are you doing here, by the way?"
"You actually think you're in a position to be asking me questions?" Schuyler asked, clutching his throat tighter once more to remind Kyle who was in charge of this situation. "Now, it's really weird that she didn't tell you her name when she called you."
"No, she did, I just forgot it," Kyle choked out.
"You gonna keep changing your story? What's this babysitting service called? Give me their number so I can call just to make sure you're a member." Kyle remained silent, averting his eyes, and Schuyler shook his head. "That's what I thought. I don't like being lied to, Kyle," he hissed.
"Sch- Mr. Joplin!"
Schuyler quickly looked to the stairs as Starr shouted his name, though he did not let go of Kyle, and saw her walking down the steps hand in hand with Jack, who seemed withdrawn and frightened, keeping his eyes firmly on his shoes.
"Sam was sleeping," she informed him as they reached the bottom and she walked closer to Schuyler, keeping her brother behind her. "But I found Jack wrapped up in a blanket, in his closet," she spat, fixing Kyle with a murderous look. "Why is that, Kyle?"
"Oh, uh, the last sitter told me she'd been playing hide and seek with them before they went to bed- I guess he thought the game was still on." Schuyler rolled his eyes- he wasn't even a good liar.
"Jack, is that why you were in the closet?" Schuyler asked him gently and patiently.
Jack swallowed roughly, looking away, and just clutched his sister's leg nervously. Starr sighed and knelt beside Jack, giving him a comforting hug.
"He wouldn't tell me anything, or say a word at all," she softly told Schuyler over Jack's head. "He's terrified."
Schuyler looked back to Kyle with dangerously narrowed eyes, and abruptly slammed him to the wall again, even rougher this time.
"What the hell did you to do to him, and where the hell is everyone else?" Schuyler thundered.
"You can keep threatening me all you want, Schuyler, but the answer's not gonna change because I don't know!"
"Okay, fine, Kyle. If you don't want to give us answers, then you can just wait here until we get them some other way," Schuyler snapped, shooting Starr a softer look as he gestured slightly to Jack. She nodded.
"I'll work on it," she told him quietly.
Schuyler tightly gripped Kyle by the shoulders and pushed him into the living room, firmly shoving him onto one of the couches. He took a seat next to him, shooting Kyle a look that strongly suggested he not try to run. Starr followed them in a moment later with Jack, and settled her brother down on the seat furthest from Kyle, kneeling in front of him so she was the only person he saw.
"Jack, it's okay, you can talk to me," she told him soothingly, smiling. "Look, there's nothing to be afraid of now. Mr. J and I are here, and we're gonna take care of everything, nobody's going to hurt you, but we need your help. I'm not going to be upset no matter what you say, I just need the truth. Earlier, you said you guys were all going to the movies- what was that about?" Jack remained frozen, staring at her fearfully. "Jack, please, it's really important for you to talk to me right now," she pleaded. "Do you know where mom and dad are? Do you…oh my God, you're shaking," she murmured softly, startled. "Jack, what are you so afraid of?"
"I'm sorry!" Jack choked out, wringing his hands anxiously.
"Oh, Jack, no, it's okay," Starr reassured him quickly, sitting next to her brother and hugging him again. He clung to her waist tightly. "I know this is hard, it's okay."
Kyle's cell phone suddenly rang, and he automatically started to reach for it before quickly stopping, shooting a nervous look to Schuyler.
"Am I allowed to answer that?"
"Oh, please do," Schuyler replied, watching him carefully.
"Rebecca?" Kyle answered anxiously after glancing at the screen.
"Guess again! So, you're Rebecca's brother, Kyle."
"What are you talking about?"
"Where's Powell Lord?" the unfamiliar voice demanded.
"I…I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Listen to me, you son of a bitch, I know that you and your sister are up to your eyeballs in this. Tell me where they are!"
"What the hell-"
To Kyle's surprise, Schuyler suddenly reached out and yanked the phone away from him.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"…Joplin?" the voice asked in surprise after a moment. Schuyler furrowed his brow.
"John?" he asked slowly. "That you?"
"John?" Starr cried in surprise from across the room.
"John, what's going on?"
"I'm trying to figure that out myself. What are you doing with Kyle Lewis?"
"He was at the house when Starr and I showed up- can't seem to offer a good explanation as to why. Todd and Blair are missing, and Starr found Jack wrapped in a blanket in his closet, and he's terrified, he can't even talk."
"Shit, this is what I was afraid of. Look, keep Kyle there, okay? I should be there within ten minutes, and I called Fish, he should be there any second. Tell Starr that Kyle is Rebecca Lewis's brother and that she and Powell Lord have been behind all of this, and that I think they have her parents, she'll explain everything to you. Got it?"
"Got it."
"What did John say?" Starr asked the moment Schuyler hung up.
He was just about to answer when the doorbell suddenly rang; Jack jumped, looking startled, and Schuyler threw a reassuring look his way.
"John said he called Fish and that he was going to be here any second, that has to be him. Can you get that, Starr?" he asked, not wanting to leave Kyle alone with them. She nodded, jumping to her feet and rushing to the front room. Jack stared after his sister anxiously, clearly not liking her being out of sight right now, and Schuyler smiled at him. "It's going to be okay, Jack, I promise. We'll get everything figured out."
Starr returned a second later, Fish following behind her, appearing apprehensive, and Kyle sighed in relief, rising to his feet. Schuyler followed quickly behind, gripping his shirt tightly.
"Fish! Ugh, thank God. How's it going, man? Look, there's been some huge misunderstanding, I'm sure you can deal with it. I was just here finishing up a babysitting gig, but I've really got to get going, so can you-"
"No, Kyle," Fish said quickly, sighing. "I can't let you go anywhere."
"What are you talking about?" Kyle asked slowly.
"Look, John McBain called and told me there was some kind of situation here, told me to wait at the house and not let anyone leave until he got here."
"What situation?" Kyle snorted. "Does it look like there's a situation here? Other than this psycho practically holding me hostage?"
"If there's no situation, why is my brother so scared that he can't even talk?!" Starr shouted angrily.
"Look, I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I know I'm not involved in it, so I'm going to get go-"
"Like hell you are," Schuyler snapped, shoving Kyle back down on the couch.
"He's right, Kyle, you can't leave," Fish informed him quietly. "Now, if there's some misunderstanding, let's straighten it out. Just tell us-"
"Don't even waste your time, he's been lying left and right since we got here," Schuyler remarked in disgust, shaking his head. "Just watch him for a minute, okay?" he asked, walking over to Starr and pulling her aside, fixing her with a serious look.
"What else did John say?" she immediately asked, keeping a watchful eye on Jack as they spoke.
"He told to me to tell you that Kyle is Rebecca Lewis's brother, that she and Powell Lord have been behind everything, and that he suspects Powell and Rebecca have your parents, he said you could explain that," Schuyler told her quietly. Starr frowned for a moment.
"Powell Lord…oh my God!" she gasped as she recognized the name, hands flying to her mouth as her eyes were instantly filled with horror. "Oh, God, Powell and Rebecca," she repeated in dread, appearing terrified.
"Starr, who are they? What's going on?" Schuyler asked in worry.
"Starr?" Jack called over to her nervously, timidly, seeing his sister's reaction.
Starr quickly turned and plastered a tight smile on her face, walking back over to Jack and comfortingly squeezing his shoulder.
"It's okay, buddy, Mr. J and I are just talking about something. Hey, you wanna do me a really big favor? Go upstairs and check on Sam again, okay? Can you do that?"
Jack nodded, eager to get away from the pressure downstairs and focus on someone else, and quickly hurried from the room and up the stairs. Starr rushed back to Schuyler.
"Let's go to the kitchen, okay?" she requested, not wanting to discuss this near Kyle.
Schuyler nodded, instructed Fish to keep his eye on Kyle once more, and followed her to the kitchen. Once they were alone, the calm she'd been trying to project in front of Jack vanished and she looked to Schuyler with true fear and panic in her eyes.
"Schuyler, Powell Lord is another one of my dad's old frat brothers," she immediately told him, wasting no time. Schuyler slowly shut his eyes, bracing himself.
"One of the ones who…?"
"Yeah," she choked out. "He was supposed to be in a mental institution, and if he's really out, this is so, so bad. Zach is just evil and cruel, but Powell is completely insane- initially, after the…incident, he felt really guilty and actually confessed to what they all did, but he eventually had a complete nervous breakdown, became a serial rapist, and tried to kill my dad a couple different times. I don't know that much about Rebecca- I think she and Powell were engaged once. Oh my God, if he has my dad…" Starr trailed off, biting her lip and blinking rapidly, trying not to lose it.
"Oh my God," Schuyler sighed heavily, barely able to comprehend this was happening. "Starr, I am so sorry I thought you were overreacting," he told her quietly. Starr sighed, waving off the apology.
"No, please, don't be. People supposedly going to the movies together and not answering their phones right away is not a cause for worry with normal families- I just don't happen to have one of those, a fact you're still getting used to. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so used to it either," she confessed softly. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have the kind of family where hearing that my parents were getting along well enough just to take my little brothers to a movie wasn't some big sign that something is wrong. I wish that for once, I could come home and discover something like my family sitting around, getting along and having one of their poker nights instead of coming home to discover that apparently, another one of my dad's old rapist buddies showed up and kidnapped my parents. And I really wish that I didn't have to make such screwed up wishes," she spat, hiding her face and shutting her eyes as tears burned them, furiously fighting to maintain composure- she didn't want to lose it right now, she didn't want Jack to see her like this when he was already so freaked out.
A second later, Starr felt a pair of strong arms envelop her, and she instantly lost all semblance of control, collapsing into Schuyler's embrace and weakly crying against his chest as he held her tightly; she may not have wanted this, but she'd needed it- this reminder that she wasn't alone anymore, that she had a real, true partner now, that she didn't have to be the caretaker of everyone else twenty-four seven, that she could take a minute to fall apart because she now had someone to put her back together.
"I'm so scared, Schuyler," Starr choked out, taking a trembling breath. "If Powell really does have them, they could already be dead."
"They're not," he reassured her, soothingly stroking her hair.
"You don't know that," she sobbed.
"If all Powell wanted was to kill them, he could have done it right here. If he took them somewhere else, he must have a plan, and that means there's still time. Your parents are tough, Starr, they'll hang in there until we can do something." Starr sniffled, picked up on the 'we'.
"This is so messed up, you should not have to be dealing with things like this- this is hardly what you signed up for."
"Hey, Starr," Schuyler said intensely, drawing back and cupping her chin in his hand as he looked her in the eyes. "I signed up to be with you, whatever that may entail, and I don't regret that for a second. Trust me, if you can handle all the messed up parts of my life, I can definitely handle yours. Besides, it keeps life exciting. What else was I going to be doing tonight if I wasn't with you- grading papers, eating take-out, and going to bed at 9 like a seventy year old man? Yeah, I'm real sorry I'm missing out on that."
Starr gave a watery laugh, and Schuyler brushed away her remaining tears with his thumbs; she managed a small smile as she pulled away.
"I'm okay now. I should get back in there, Jack will be coming back downstairs any second."
Schuyler simply nodded, lightly kissing her forehead before turning to walk back to the living room. Starr caught his hand, stopping him and pulling him back to her, and quickly rose up on her toes, brushing a soft kiss to his lips.
"I love you so much," she sighed. Schuyler cradled her head and kissed her sweetly and slowly, his feelings for her perfectly clear in that kiss.
"I love you, Starr, and nothing's going to change that, nothing is going to make me second guess this and want out, okay?"
Starr nodded tearfully; that was exactly what she'd needed to hear.
The duo returned to the living room at the same time as Jack, and Starr protectively returned to her little brother's side, trying to block out the bickering still going on between Kyle and Fish- God, they were like an old married couple. Starr was just about to reassure Jack that she was sure John would arrive at any moment, when there was a sudden loud pounding at the front door.
"Starr, it's John!" he shouted before anyone could even ask who it was.
Schuyler rushed to the door, opening it, and John stormed in, instantly zeroing in on Kyle and making a beeline to him without a word of greeting to anyone else.
"You! Where's your sister, where's Powell Lord?"
"I'm not saying anything else without a lawyer!" Kyle shouted defensively.
"Hey, I'm not a cop!" John snapped, seizing the front of Kyle's jacket and yanking him up off the couch.
"John!" Fish shouted, quickly tearing him away from Kyle. "You are in so much hot water already, do not make it worse!"
"John, where's Marty?" Starr cried when she realized the woman hadn't followed him in as she'd expected.
"That's what I'm trying to find out. Take him down to the station for questioning," John ordered. Fish sighed heavily, flashing Kyle a quick apologetic look.
"You heard him."
"What?! He just said he's not a cop!"
"But I am," he reminded him. Kyle cradled his head in disbelief, looking sick.
"I'll talk, okay?! I will tell you everything I know." Everyone seemed to pause, gazing at Kyle expectantly. "Okay, I was just out at Rodi's, having a drink, when my sister, Rebecca, called me. She told me she was in Llanview, that she decided to move back and had been keeping it a surprise. She said she hadn't had time to set up a job, so just as a temporary solution, she signed up with this babysitting service- the service arranges everything, so the clients and sitters never actually meet, and, funny story, she winds up babysitting the Manning boys. She asked me about what Todd was up to these days, what I knew about him, whatever, so we talked for a while, and then all of the sudden, she sounded all worked up, and told me she completely forgot about this other appointment she had tonight, and begged me to take over for her. So, I drove over here, she told me the kids were sleeping and not to bother them by checking up on them, and rushed out. I just took a seat, and had been here for five minutes when these two came rushing in, and I was assaulted and pretty much held against my will," he snapped darkly.
"Why didn't you tell us that? Why'd you keep lying?" Schuyler demanded. Kyle slowly let out a breath.
"Because…it seemed to me like my sister might have gotten involved with something she shouldn't have, gotten in over her head, and I don't know, I was just trying to protect her by making sure I didn't say something I shouldn't. We all read the article about you committing perjury for your father, it's not like you can't relate," Kyle said to Starr.
"You should have told the truth after we found my brother in the closet and saw that he was traumatized," Starr hissed, glaring at him. "That's the difference; children weren't hurt when I protected my father."
"I think your baby would disagree," Kyle snorted; Starr abruptly crumpled, looking like Kyle had just knocked the wind out of her, as memories of clutching 'Hope's' gravestone, sobbing and telling her how sorry she was, filled her head.
Much to everyone's shock, including his own, Schuyler took one look at his girlfriend, on the brink of tears, and his fist suddenly shot out and he punched Kyle hard in the face, sending the room into a flurry of activity. Starr gasped, Kyle immediately started bitching and moaning as he cradled his bloody nose, Fish shouted something, jumping between them, John started yelling, he and Fish cancelling each other out, and then, to everyone's surprise, Jack suddenly emitted a small laugh. They all froze, Starr, Schuyler and John gazing at him hopefully, and Jack once again nervously dug his fingers into his sister's jeans.
"Alright, I can deal with this guy last," John said quickly as he nodded to Kyle (still quietly swearing and whining) turning his focus to Starr and Schuyler. "Real quick, tell me again what happened here."
"Okay, well, my mom has been going all college prep crazy lately, and she knows I want to major in biology and obviously knows Mr. Joplin has already done that," Starr began, mindful of Fish and Kyle's presence. "So she asked him over for dinner so she could talk to him about various college biology programs. He's never been here before, so we thought it would be easier if I just picked him up and gave him a ride over, so I left to get him, and we were just about to come over here, so I called home. Jack picked up, and he sounded really weird, and he claimed that my dad came over and he and my mom called a truce out of nowhere, and that they were taking him and Sam to the movies together. I had a bad feeling, so I called my parents, and neither of them answered. I called home again, then called Dorian and Langston, and still nobody was answering, so I started to freak and we rushed over here."
Starr explained the whole ordeal with Kyle and finding Jack, and Fish's frown grew deeper and deeper as he stared at Kyle.
"And that's all we know," she finished with a heavy sigh.
John ordered Fish to take Kyle to the front room, and once the four were left alone, cautiously gestured to Jack, a questioning look on his face. Starr shrugged helplessly but gestured for him to go ahead.
"Hi, Jack," John said gently, kneeling in front of the young boy. "Hey, listen, buddy; I know you don't like me too much, and that we don't always get along, but I'm trying to find your mom and dad, and I need your help. You think you can help me? Jack?" he prompted when he received no response.
"It's okay if it's too hard to talk about," Starr told her brother soothingly, though she was anxiously gnawing on her bottom lip, knowing Jack was their only hope for answers right now. "John, I'm sorry, I think he's just too freaked out."
"No, he's not," John replied calmly, smiling at Jack encouragingly. "I know Jack's a tough guy- aren't you, Jack? And I know something happened here tonight. Something scared you, but you don't have to be scared anymore. You're safe, no one's going to hurt you. We want to make sure no one hurts your mom and dad either. That's why I need you to talk to me. Okay? I want you to take a look at something, all right?" he asked, fishing two pictures out of his coat and showing them to Jack. "Have you seen these two people before? Jack, were they here?"
"He…he said they'd hurt Sam if I didn't lie and tell Starr we were going to the movies," Jack told him slowly, throwing his sister a distraught glance. "I'm sorry, Starr."
"No, Jack, it's okay, you did the right thing," Starr assured him, smiling warmly.
"That was really brave of you," Schuyler agreed.
"They're right. Now, what happened after you talked to Starr?"
"He…he took them."
"He took who?
"He took my mom, dad, and Tea."
"Tea?" Starr asked in surprise. "What was she doing here?"
"Some of the stuff I told you was true," Jack told his sister. "Dad really did come over to fight with mom about the trial, and then Tea showed up too, and she and mom both yelled at dad for a while, but then…I heard everything get really quiet. And then when they were sleeping, the guy in the picture took them away. Find them. Find my mom and dad," he begged, his voice growing emotional. "Bring them home before something bad happens."
"I'm gonna try buddy, I just need more help from you. You're doing good, Jack. I just need you to think. Can you remember anything that Powell or Rebecca said?
"I don't know," he mumbled.
"All right, what about, maybe, something that they did? You know? Even if it doesn't seem important, it might help us find your mom and dad."
"I don't know."
"Jack, you're safe now," Starr reminded him, rubbing his back.
"That's right- no one is going to hurt you or your sister or Sam."
"And you did a really great job with him, Jack," Schuyler encouraged him. "You took great care of your brother."
"I thought they were here to help us," Jack choked out.
"Powell?"
"He was dressed as an ambulance guy, and she was dressed as a doctor."
"Okay. So you thought they were here to help your mom and dad?"
"But they weren't here to help us- they were here to hurt everyone! I just wish mom and dad were still here," he said weakly.
"I know, me too," Starr murmured. "Hey, Jack, what happened to the staff? Were they knocked out too, or…?"
"What? No, my mom sent them all away after you left this morning. She said they couldn't be here tonight because nobody can know that Schuyler's your boyfriend."
"Oh, God, duh," Starr sighed, frustrated with herself for not realizing that.
"All right, we're almost done here. Just try to remember, Jack. Did Powell or Rebecca make any phone calls? Did they say where they might be going?" Jack simply shook his head. "All right. Thanks for all your help, buddy," John sighed, rising to his feet and walking a few feet away. Starr and Schuyler followed.
"I don't think he knows how they knocked the three of them out," Schuyler noted.
"It was probably the same thing they did to me."
"You got knocked out?" Starr asked in concern.
"Yeah, there was an empty envelope. It was treated with some kind of drug."
"But you're okay, right?"
"I can still feel it in my system, but I think I'm fine.
"There was an envelope here, too," Jack spoke up. They all exchanged a look of surprise.
"There was?" John asked.
" The lady -- Rebecca -- she called it an invitation."
"What else did she say, Jack?"
"She told the man to get rid of it, because it might hurt her- I, um, think she was supposed to stay here."
"They gave you all the same envelopes?" Schuyler asked John, frowning curiously. John shook his head.
"Mine was just an envelope, I didn't get an invitation."
"An invitation to what?" Schuyler wondered in frustration.
"Wait a second," John suddenly groaned, freezing as the pieces fell into place. "Today's date, K.A.D. -- all kind of makes sense."
"What makes sense?"
"That spring fling," John told them grimly.
"Oh my God," Starr cried in horror as she understood too, reflexively reaching out and clutching Schuyler's arm tightly. "You think he's trying to recreate the spring fling?!"
"It's possible."
"But why would he take Tea and my mom? He'd just need Cole's mom and my dad," Starr remarked, sounding disgusted.
"Look, I know it doesn't entirely make sense, but we have to consider the possibility that he's recreating the night that Marty was raped- we have no other real theories."
"I can't believe this," Starr said, shaking her head as tears pierced her eyes.
"Hey, don't freak out, okay? Be cool I'm going to find them. Jack," he called out to the boy, who nervously looked back at him. "Thanks for all your help, buddy."
"Wait. You're leaving?" Starr asked in alarm as John turned and started for the door.
"It's okay, Fish has got a squad car coming over here. Someone's going to take Kyle to the station, and Fish and another officer will stay here all night, you'll be perfectly safe."
"No, it's not that," Starr said, taking a deep breath and looking him in the eyes. "I'm going with you."
John and Schuyler both threw her startled frowns, and John quickly shook his head.
"No, you're not- no way in hell."
"Yes, I am," she snapped hotly. "These are my parents, John."
"I don't have time to waste arguing with you!"
"Then don't!" she shouted. "You're right, every minute spent here is a minute wasted, so you don't have time to talk me out of this- let's go."
"You gonna leave your brothers here alone with a couple of officers they don't even know? When Jack's already so scared?"
Starr glared at John, and deliberately yanked her phone out of her pocket, quickly calling Langston- to her immense relief, her friend finally answered this time.
"Hey, Starr! What's up?"
"Where have you been?!" Starr exploded.
"Um, hi to you too. Dorian and I went out to the movies when your dad showed up and the yelling started- my phone's been off, sorry. Hey, what happened with that? Is he still there? Did they work it out? Did the dinner with Schuyler still happen? I was just thinking, what if-"
"Langston, shut up!"
"Excuse me? God, Starr, it's been one day, are you seriously sex deprived already? Because I don't know what else could be causing this attitude!"
"Crap, I'm really sorry, Langston," Starr sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, I didn't mean that at all, I'm just freaking out right now, and I have no time to explain. Something really bad is going on, and I need you to get home and be with Jack, ASAP. There will be a couple cops here, they'll explain as much as they can, and I'll give you the full story later. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, of course, we'll be right there" Langston said softly, her tone heavy with confusion and concern. "I don't know what's going on, but you said it's bad, so…be careful, okay?"
"I will," Starr promised, hanging up and shooting John a look. "Anything else?"
John glared at her for a moment, then gave up, throwing his arms in the air.
"I clearly can't stop you. You stay behind me the whole time, and if at any point I tell you to run, to hide, to do anything, you do it, no arguments- clear?"
"Crystal," she replied, her voice unnervingly calm as she prepared herself for this. John's eyes shifted to Schuyler, who was still staring at Starr in worry.
"I'm guessing that means you're coming too?"
Schuyler simply nodded, and Starr seemed thrown, turning to her boyfriend.
"What? Schuyler, no, they're my parents, you don't have-"
"Partners, remember?" he interrupted pointedly. Starr nearly smiled at that.
"Okay. Well, where are we all going, then?"
"Llanview University. They boarded up the old KAD house a long time ago, and that's my first guess as to where he'd take them. That or the new house."
"But the new one's all the way across campus," Starr said softly, her eyes heavy. They all knew what this meant- fifty/fifty chance, but there was only one shot and if John guessed wrong, Starr's parents and Marty and Tea were all most likely dead.
"I'm sure they're at the old one, all right? Hey, Jack- take care of yourself, okay? Dorian and Langston are gonna be home real soon, just hang in there."
"Wait, what?!" Jack cried, his eyes wide as he looked to his sister. "You're leaving too?!"
"Oh, Jack, I have to," Starr told him softly, hurrying to his side. "I'm just going to help John find mom and dad- we'll all be back here before you know it, okay?"
"Starr, I'm sorry I lied to you on the phone!" he said in a rush.
"No, it's okay, you were looking out for mom and dad!"
"But if I told you, maybe you could've helped them sooner."
"Or Rebecca and Powell might have hurt them. It would've been real easy for you to tell me that you needed help, but you did the brave thing."
"Really?" he sniffed.
"Really. You were the hero. Because of you, our parents are going to be okay, and Schuyler, John and I are just gonna go make sure of that. We'll be back soon, I promise."
"Okay," he sighed, looking at her hesitantly. "Hey, Starr? Um, on the phone… when I said 'I love you,' I really meant that part."
"I know, Jack," Starr said softly, throwing her arms around her brother in a brief hug. "I love you, too. Go to the kitchen and get some cookies, okay? You can eat the whole box if you want, I'll tell mom I said it was okay."
"Cool," Jack said with a smile, heading off to the kitchen.
Starr sighed and rushed back over to Schuyler and John, and John quickly led them both out to the car. Schuyler took her hand in his for support, and Starr squeezed tightly, really hoping they'd be able to keep that promise she'd made to her brother.
Author's Note: Okay, quick explanation of how the kidnapping worked out in my world, since I know certain things are different in YFM Land: Powell sends Todd some fake notice about the custody trial, and Todd plays into Powell's hand by reacting as he wanted, going over to Blair's to confront her. On the way, he calls Tea, leaves some obnoxiously cocky message about how he's sure she'll represent him, ends by asking her if she wants to hook up that night, and Tea, who's already had it with Todd, loses it and leaves to confront him. She sees his car parked at La Boule while driving to his place, storms in, she and Blair bitch Todd out. At some point, they all make the discovery with the envelopes, finally open them, pass out, Powell and Rebecca show up, and then it plays out like Jack and Kyle explained. I realize this is highly convenient and more a result of luck than good planning on Powell's part, but I write romance, okay? The complicated revenge plots are not my thing, lol :P