"I wish I was joking," Stephanie said softly before sighing into the phone. "I couldn't stop her because she's determined, Whit."
"Do you know how to get in touch with her? Or where the hell she even went for that matter?"
"The only thing I know is she went to stay with her aunt in Florida..she said she'd call once she got there and was settled in..she didn't take any of her stuff, only the things I lent her..and she didn't tell Riley."
"I can only imagine what the hell he's thinking right now..Stephanie..maybe you should leave town because he's going to point the blame towards you," Whitney said her voice taking on a defensive tone as she looked at JC, who was staring at her intently. She rolled her eyes before pushing by him and plopping down on the couch.
"I'm not worried about him..I can take care of myself."
"Stephanie," Whitney began but was cut off when Chris came running through the bus with a pair of boxers on his head. "I'm going to call you back in a few minutes..the children have decided to play right now and there's no way I'll be able to say anything without them questioning me."
"I have to go to work in about an hour so if you call after that, try the diner and I'll most likely be there."
"I'll catch ya later, Steph," she said before ending the conversation and throwing the phone on the couch. JC sat down beside her and turned to look at her. "What?"
"What did Emily do?"
"Yeah, what did Emily do?" Chris said as he bounced his way over to the two.
She sighed before rubbing her temples. "She left town and headed towards Florida with no money and didn't tell anyone how they can get in touch with her."
"You're kidding me," JC said before leaning his head back into the couch with a groan.
"But you don't like her so it shouldn't really bother you," Whitney snapped before getting up and leaving Chris and JC alone.
"Women," Chris muttered before pulling the boxers off his head and throwing them at JC, who in return tossed them on the floor with a look of disgust.
"Dude man, what's your problem?" Chris asked as he stood up and stretched.
"Just leave me alone about it," JC snapped back as a reply before standing up and heading to the back of the bus. Chris looked around the front of the bus before shrugging and picking the boxers back up. "I guess everyone must be pmsing," he mumbled before plopping down on the couch with a sigh.
She walked into the small store and smiled politely at the young woman who was working the cash register. After pouring herself a small cup of coffee and grabbing a thing of doughnuts, she paid for her things and got back into her car, feeling somewhat better from stretching her legs.
After another four hours on the road, she pulled into Orlando Florida with a smile on her face. This was going to be her new home, and from the looks of it, there wouldn't be a dull moment that she would have to experience. She had only visited her aunt once, but she was pretty sure she knew how to get to the small condo that she owned. After a bunch of wrong turns, she finally made it to the condo and parked her car in an empty space before pushing her hair behind her ears and making her way up the steps, knocking softly on the door.
The white door swung open to reveal a man that was probably in his late forties, not her aunt. 'Maybe its her boyfriend,' she thought to herself before clearing her throat. "I'm looking for Linda."
"You mean the previous owner of the condo? Honey, she moved out about four months ago," the man told her as he went to shut the door.
"Wait," Emily cried causing him to stop just as the door was about to close. "Do you know where she moved to?"
"I'm not sure on this but I think she went to Boston," the man said before slamming the door. Emily felt tears burning in her eyes. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Now she was totally screwed.
Now this meant that she would have to start from the beginning, and that beginning place was getting a job. But the only option that she had would be to waitress, and that was a definite reminder of her past, something she was trying hard to forget. "Where the hell am I going to stay?" she mumbled to herself as she walked down the steps and to her car, leaning against the door as she thought of what she should do.
She had enough money to afford a hotel room for a week, that would be it. After that, she would have no place to stay, no money for food, and no money for gas to get her anywhere. Her eyes landed on a small restaurant across the street and she groaned when she realized that being a waitress was her only option at the moment. But before she went to get a job, she needed some sleep and a shower to help her start functioning correctly.
She found a hotel that looked to be in her price range before booking a room for three days. If she decided to stay longer, she could always come back down and rent the room again. She looked at the small key in her hand before smiling at the foreign man behind the desk and leaving the lobby. She drove her car around to the side of the motel, parking in front of the room that she would be calling home for the next few days. Once she was inside, she had to admit for the money she had just paid, that room was worth it. It wasn't exactly extravagant but it wasn't the roach motel. It was just enough to give her hope to fight to come out on top in this situation.
She stretched across one of the queen sized beds in the room before shutting her eyes and resting her tired body. This was one situation that was going to require her to be strong and brave, and she knew that she wouldn't go down without fighting her best to stay afloat.
"Whitney, are you OK?" Justin asked as he came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her body gently into his.
"I've just got some things on my mind," she told him softly as her argument with JC floated into her mind. "Aren't you supposed to be in with the stylist right now?"
He laughed before shaking his head in a "no". "All the guys are having their hair done, and since I don't have any hair anymore, I'm free from that torture," he said referring to his newly shaven head. Whitney had to admit, it made him look more mature, but part of her missed those soft curls that he once had possessed
"Oh," was all she said as thoughts of Emily took back over in her mind.
"Whitney," he began, turning her around so that his blue eyes could look at her face. "I want to know what's wrong with you..please tell me so I can try and help."
"There are just some things on my mind that you don't need to worry about. Now go get ready and have fun on the show," she said kissing his cheek quickly and walking past him towards the exit so she could get some fresh air. She had just sat down at one of the tables located behind the studio when her cell phone interrupted the silence that had been surrounding her. She brought it up to her ear, but didn't get a chance to ask who was calling.
"Where the hell is she, Whitney!" Riley screamed into the phone causing Whitney to pull it back from her ear.
"I don't know, Riley..I wish I did. I only found out that she had left this morning so don't think I had anything to do with all of this."
"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I do blame you and Stephanie for all of this. You were the two always wanting her to leave this town..she better come back, Whitney..or I can promise you that your life will be hell from here on out."
"Don't you dare start threatening me!" she yelled into the phone, catching the attention of a man that was walking by. She lowered her voice and took a deep breath to calm her temper that was beginning to flare. "I had nothing to do with her leaving your sorry ass. You're the one that pushed her away because your a stupid son of a.."
"Listen here, Whitney," Riley cut in, his breathing heavy as anger controlled him. "If you value what's close to you, you'll watch that mouth of yours. I'll go ahead and warn you..when I do find Emily..not only will she pay, but you and Stephanie are also going to pay," he threatened before the line went dead.
Whitney slammed her cell phone down on the table, groaning in frustration. Nothing seemed to be going in the right direction for anyone that she knew. Her phone began to ring again, and she figured it was Riley calling back to threaten her some more. "I told you Riley, I'm not going to put up with your shit." There was a groan on the other line, and immediately, Whitney knew who that voice belonged to. "Emily, where the hell are you?"
"I'm in Florida..Orlando to be exact..don't tell Riley."
"Are you with your aunt?"
Emily sighed as she contemplated if she should inform Whitney of the situation. "Not exactly."
"What do you mean, 'not exactly'," Whitney asked as she stood up and began to pace. "Is something wrong, Emily?"
"My aunt moved to Boston, so I'm stuck in a motel while I'm working to get some money to get me out of this slump."
"Do you want me to send you some money just in case you need it? I'm sure I can find someplace to wire it to," Whitney said as her natural instinct took control.
"I'm going to do this on my own," Emily said stubbornly. "I've gotten a job and I have enough money to get me through this week until I get a paycheck, plus tips will help me with buying food."
"Emily, I really wish you would have thought about this some more..you should have at least contacted your aunt to make sure she was still in Orlando."
"You're right..I should have done that, but I didn't and its too late to say what I should have done. I'm going to get through this, Whit. I just couldn't stay in that house anymore..he wasn't going to change for me...he'll never change for anyone."
Whitney looked up to see Justin motioning for her to come towards him. "Emily..give me a number where I can reach you..I have to go."
"I'll just call you on your cell phone until I get a permanent number that you can call. Will you call and let Stephanie know that I'm OK?"
"You know I will. Emily..take care of yourself."
"Bye, Whitney and tell JC I said hello," Emily said before hanging up the phone.
Whitney placed the phone in her pocket before walking towards Justin and resting her head on his shoulder once she reached him. "Are we leaving?"
"We're gonna be here for a few more hours..I just thought you might wanna walk around with me or something," he said shyly as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
She leaned into him as they began to walk around the studio, a body guard closely following behind them. There was a silence between the two of them before Justin hesitantly cleared his throat to speak. "What were you and JC arguing about last night?"
"You heard us arguing?" she said suddenly becoming nervous thinking he might be testing her. If he had heard everything the two of them had said, he could be testing her to see if she would be honest with him.
"I think the whole bus did..and then this morning was round two," Justin said his voice not hinting at what point he was trying to reach with the conversation.
"It was nothing," she lied hoping he wouldn't press her.
"It was definitely something..JC just doesn't bitch to anyone."
"We just had a..discussion..now lets not talk about it," she said stopping and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Tonight..we're checking into a hotel, right?"
Justin nodded his head as a smile took over his lips. "That's right."
"Don't wear yourself out today, Justin while you're answering all those questions and posing for photos..I expect you to be fully energized tonight."
"I just missed you, so I thought I'd call and make sure your plane landed fine."
"Obviously I made it OK," she joked with him before laying back on the bed that was in the hotel room where she was staying at. "The hotel they put me up in isn't bad either."
"What exactly are you doing?"
"I have to attend a few meeting for Johnny since he's busy with some of the new acts that he's going to start managing."
"That sounds exciting," Joey joked as he shuffled around in the background, sparking interest in Cait.
"What are you doing, Joe? You sound like you're fighting with a bag or something."
"I'm just doing some..things."
"That helps me out..oh yeah, pass along to Whitney that Johnny has a position available for someone who doesn't have to have experience..its like a secretary type thing. If she, or Emily are interested, I'll hook them up with the number they can call and find out more about it."
"I'll pass it along."
"Listen, Joe..I have to go cause I'm tired and need some sleep. Take care of yourself and the rest of the guys while I'm away and I'll talk to you as soon as I have a chance to call."
"Stay safe, Cait," he said as his voice softened. The two of them stayed on the line a few extra seconds, just listening to the other breathe before hanging up their phones and continuing with their busy lives that they led.