The sky was getting darker by the minute. The evening rush was finally over and she could regain speed again. She at least wanted to make it to Indiana before she pulled over for the night. She knew she wouldn’t be able to pull and all-nighter. She was damn well going to try though. The farther away from that place she was the more she felt better. She turned on the radio and country flooded the car. She made a disgusted face and changed it to the next station. It was kind of a fast song, which helped her stay awake. It even seemed a little familiar. It was probably something that had been played a lot.
“Until you’re back here baby, miss you want you need you so, until you’re back here baby, there’s this feeling inside I want you to know, you are the one and I can’t let you go.” They sang.
Song after song, mile after mile, she was getting farther and farther away. She knew she wouldn’t see them again. She had gotten so far, and she was determined to stay far. There was nothing anyone could do to make her go back there. All she had to do was get to Florida and everything would be ok. Just get to AJ and she would feel safe. She was beginning to remember him. Her boyfriend, and the one who would keep her safe. There was only one thing keeping her from getting to him. She didn’t know exactly where he lived in Florida. Melissa winced in pain as she rubbed her swollen knee. The pain was almost unbearable now. She had medication for it but she had never gotten any of it since those two guys had taken her. She kept asking herself why they did it, and why the second guy came along all of a sudden. What did she do to deserve it anyway?
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“What the hell is taking them so long?” Alex said pacing around the room. “I don’t think I can take any of this anymore.”
“You? You didn’t get a phone call saying your girlfriend died. I can’t take anymore.” Said AJ.
“Hey you didn’t…”
“Guys, guys calm down will ya?” Kevin said interrupting Alex. “Don’t start fighting. Listen to yourselves. You’re fighting over nothing. Just chill.”
Alex sat back down and rested her head on the table.
“What time is it anyway?” she asked.
Kevin looked at his watch. “11:00.” He answered. “You’d think they’d be back by now.”
“Why are we here anyway?” AJ asked.
“I don’t know.” Kevin answered. “Maybe they have to keep us here to make sure we don’t do anything stupid.”
“Like going out and finding the guy and killing him?”
“Yes. To keep furious boyfriends off the streets late at night.”
“Ok makes sense.”
Officer Sander walked in the room and closed the door behind him. AJ automatically stood up.
“Did you find anything?” he asked.
“There’s some good news and some bad news.” He said. “Which do you want to hear first?”
~Chapter 14~
Melissa was almost falling asleep at the wheel so she stopped at a rest area to get a few hours of sleep. She had just made it into Indiana, which was good for her. She figured if she woke up again around 6:00 she just might make it there that night. She cut the engine and laid down and soon fell asleep.
----------
“The good news.” Said AJ.
“Well the good news is that you guys have helped us capture the two kidnappers.” Said Officer Sander.
“And the bad news?” asked Kevin.
“Well when we got there we found one of the two guys on the first floor tied up, gagged and unconscious. The other one was in the basement, also tied up, gagged, and unconscious.”
“So what’s the bad news?” asked Alex.
“The bad news is Melissa wasn’t there. She must have hit them over the head, tied them up to make sure they didn’t follow her, took their wallets and a set of keys and took off with one of the cars.”
“That’s my girl.” Said AJ. “But where would she have gone if she has no memory?”
“As far away as possible.” Answered Officer Sander. “There might be a possibility that she is going down to Florida. But that’s a slim chance. If she remembers that’s probably where she’s going to go. On the other hand she might go to the police. But that chance is even less than her going to Florida. We have a watch out for her so if anyone sees her they’re going to let us know. Otherwise we’re just going to have to wait.”
“Well if there’s a chance that she goes back to Florida then I want to go back home.” Said AJ. “I would much rather wait there.”
“I’m with that. What are we going to do here anyway? I say we all go back home. I have a gut feeling she’s going there.” Said Alex. And with that the three of them booked the fastest flight back to Orlando.
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~*~*~*~*~
“I’m going to miss you so much.” Melissa said. “What am I going to do without you for so long?”
“It won’t be too bad.” Answered AJ. “I’ll be back before you know it.” He gave her a kiss and a big hug. After about five minutes they finally pulled apart and AJ picked up his bags. “There’s the bus.” He said. “I’ll see you real soon. I promise.” He walked toward the door and stopped before he walked outside. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She replied. She kissed him again and then he went to join the rest on the tour bus.
“Bye Mel!” Brian yelled from a window.
“See ya later Bri!” she yelled back. She watched the bus leave and after it was out of site, she locked up AJ’s house and she went home.
~*~*~*~*~
Melissa woke up slowly and looked through the windshield to see that the day was breaking through. She shivered as she sat up. She had no heat all night and she was now freezing. She got out of the truck to stretch and to go to the bathroom before she got back on the road. She walked very slowly on her soar knee to the building and found a clock. It was 5:45. Just in time for her to wake up too. All she could think about was that dream. At least she was able to remember some things. That dream had sparked a lot of things. She knew AJ was part of the Backstreet Boys and she knew who else was in it and everything. And she knew the last time she had seen him was before he left to go on tour. She figured she was kidnapped after it. She hoped AJ would be home. For some reason she had this feeling he wasn’t. As she walked to the truck a name popped in her head.
“Kissemee.” She said out loud. “That’s where he lives. And that’s where I’m going.”
She got back in the truck and got back on the road. She wasn’t going to stop for anything but gas. She listened to the radio and drove, hardly paying attention to a thing, just her destination. That’s all that mattered. She was also beginning to remember more and more. She started to remember where she lived and certain things around the area that she lived in. She knew she lived on the outskirts of Orlando, and that she had a friend named Alex, but she couldn’t quite match a face to her name. By noon she got to Kentucky. The scenery was much nicer there than flat boring Indiana. She drove through the mountains again almost not paying attention to anything but the road and the signs. She found it amazing that she made it this far without a map. To think, she was driving all night without turning off onto a wrong road. She figured she must have made the drive many times. She knew where she was going. She pulled off the highway to get gas again. She could hardly walk to the pump. Her knee was really hurting now. She kept going. She couldn’t let that stop her. Nothing could stop her now. In just a few hours she was going to make it to Orlando, and she would be safe. That’s all that mattered to her. After thinking for awhile she began to remember exactly where AJ lived and where she lived, and even where Brian lived. He was a backup plan now. If AJ weren’t home Brian would be the next place she would go.
~Chapter 15~
“What do you mean the flight it delayed?” Alex asked almost screaming.
“I’m sorry Ma’am there’s a storm in St. Louise. There’s nothing we can do.”
“Why does this always have to happen?” she asked Kevin as they went to sit down. There was a four-hour delay and that was the minimum. There was a possibility that they would have to wait another 3 hours. They would get to Orlando by early morning.
“Ok so if Melissa really is going down to Orlando that means by the time we get home she would already be down there. That is if she hardly sleeps at all and she doesn’t get lost or anything.” Said AJ. “But where is she going to go?”
“I don’t know.” Said Kevin. “I really don’t know.”
After about twenty minutes the three of them had fallen asleep. Neither of them had gotten any sleep for the past two days and they were beat.
“Flight 180 to Orlando is now boarding. Sorry about the wait.”
“Alex.” Kevin said shaking her. “Come on the plain is boarding.”
“What time is it?” she asked as she sat up.
“7:00. You slept the whole time we had to wait.” Said AJ.
The three of them got up and waited in line at the gate. After about twenty minutes the plane taxied and finally took off.
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Melissa glanced at the clock. “7:15” it read.
“I’m not going to get there tonight.” She said to herself. “I’m still too far to make it.”
She had just past the Georgia State border. She still had a long way to go. If she could stay awake all night she would make it. All she would have to do is blast the radio and it would keep her awake easy. She was determined to get there by morning.
“I can do this.” She said out loud. “I can.”
Mile marker after mile marker she got closer to Florida. She decided not to pull off unless she was practically falling asleep. She had stopped to get a few sodas and some coffee to help her stay awake. It was helping a lot. She wasn’t tired at all. She figured she would be home in no time. There were hardly any cars on the road and she was doing twenty over the speed limit. She was really starting to feel better. She was in the home stretch. At about midnight she made it to the Florida border.
“Just two more hours.” She thought to herself. “Just two.”
She drank more soda and cranked up the volume of her radio even more. She tried her hardest not to fall asleep. It was really hard not having anyone in the car with her to talk to and help her stay awake. She remembered now why she never liked to travel alone. It was boring and tiring. She started to remember how her and Alex would have road trips back home to Michigan. She would go up there to visit Alex’s parents. That was the only reason for her to even go up there. She didn’t really have much of a family. Her mom died when she was a kid and her dad was in a rehab. She didn’t even have any siblings. She spent her childhood with Alex. She thought of Alex as a sister. And Alex’s family was her family. She moved in with them when she was fifteen, when her dad got busted for having drugs and was forced to go to a rehab. He was in and out for years. He could never stay clean. She never really talked to the man after that. Melissa wished she didn’t have to remember that. That was one thing she didn’t want to know about.
~Chapter 16~
“Ok now where did you park the car?” AJ asked Kevin as they walked to the parking garage.
“I’m not sure. I thought I told you to remember.” Answered Kevin.
“Well all I know is that it was on the fourth floor. Section C wasn’t it?”
“Well let’s take a look.”
They walked through section C and finally found the car in the very last row.
“Oh look I’m good.” Said AJ.
“Ok good now let’s go home what do you say?” Alex asked half asleep. “And what time is it?”
“12:00.” AJ answered.
They all put their stuff in the back and got inside to go home. Kevin dropped Alex off first.
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything and you do the same ok?” she said.
“Yeah. I’ll talk to you later.” Said Kevin. He pulled out of the parking lot and drive off to take AJ home.
“Well where are you going? Mel’s or your place?”
“My place. If she’s going anywhere she’s going to go there.” He answered.
“All right.”
After a ten-minute drive Kevin pulled into AJ’s driveway and AJ got out.
“Thanks man. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”
“Ok see you later.”
AJ got his stuff out and went inside hoping to see Melissa inside. But to his dismay it was just an empty house. He put his things down by the front door and turned on a few lights. He sat down in the living room to watch some TV. Like he was going to be able to sleep. After about two hours he got up again and found his car keys. He just had to check and see if she was home. He didn’t even think about calling. After shutting off all the lights again, got in his car and left for Melissa’s apartment.
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Melissa had made it to Kissemee without falling asleep. She was pleased with herself that she was able to remember where AJ lived.
“That’s it.” She thought as she turned a corner. Just as she pulled up to it she saw a car pulling away from it. She was hoping that wasn’t AJ. She pulled up the driveway and slowly made her way to the front door. Tears streamed down her face for two reasons. The pain in her knee and the fact that she had made it all the way down there. She rang the doorbell and pounded on the door. There was no answer. She started to cry even more. She slowly made her way back to the truck and got in. She sat there for a minute to try and stop crying so she would be able to see when she was driving. After she calmed down she pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Brian’s house.
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“Oh damn I forgot her key.” AJ said to himself. “Well I can’t get in without that now can I?” AJ turned around and headed back towards his house. As he came up to the house he saw an old beat up clunker of a truck back out of his driveway. He just figured they were turning around and didn’t think anything else of it. He quickly hopped out of his car and back into his house to get the key and was back in his car again heading toward Melissa’s apartment.
Chapters 17-20
Chapters 9-12
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