Chapter 14

"Where the Hell is Angela?" Brian asked Nick worriedly as he peeked out the window of their apartment. The street was dark, and many of the streetlamps were out, so it was also very dark out.

Nick turned from his N64 long enough to glance at Brian and notice the worried look in his eyes. "I'm sure wherever she is she's fine Bri."

Brian looked outside and again and shuddered slightly at the thought of being out there. It couldn't be safe.

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I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. Christina was turning out to be a pretty neat person. As it turned out, she was a singer too. She was also a member of a band that was trying to crack into the entertainment industry.

I downed the last of my third mug of hot chocolate.

"What are your plans for later this evening?" she asked.

I looked up at her, slightly taken aback. "Well, I dunno. I was kind of planning on going back home and making up with Nick and Brian.

(NAME) frowned at me. "No...you can't do that. Don't you understand? If you go crawling back now, they'll NEVER appreciate you. You need to crack down on them two... I say you stay away until at least tomorrow."

I looked at this stranger, perplexed. She certainly was a little strange. Where did she expect me to go?

"Come to my place!" she said as if reading my mind.

I looked uncomfortably at my cocoa mug. "Well, I dunno...I don't want to worry them..."

Christina patted my forearm. "Don't worry...you can go back tomorrow. Just stay away for the night. You know--you want to scare them."

The way she said those words sent chills down my spine. I met her eyes, and knew that I needed to follow her advice.

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Brian jumped up and grabbed his rain coat, "Nick, I'm going to go and look for her!"

Nick noted the grave tone in Brian's voice and knew that he meant business. He abandoned his video game and threw on an overcoat.

"Let's go!"

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I looked nervously at this stranger sitting accross from me. She didn't remove her eyes from mine. Running my hand through my hair nervously, I stood up.

"I need to use the restroom," I said, my voice trembling. I performed an about face and found myself not three inches from walking right into a tall six foot frame. I looked at the man's chisled features.

"Oh...Angela...this is my friend Carl. He's going to make sure we get home safely.

Before I could say anything, the man had grabbed my arm and was leading me toward the exit of the diner.

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Nick squinted, and leaned forward as he tried to see what was lurking among the shadowy sidewalk. The rain was pelting so hard though, he was having a hard time even seeing the road, lit by his headlights.

Nick noticed a seedy looking diner, and then did a double take. The lights of the parking illuminated the scene perfectly. It was Angela! She standing near a car with two people he didn't recognize.

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"Angela! Where are you going?" I heard Nick's familiar voice and I almost immediatly felt safe.

I turned around to see him, but I was shoved into the backseat of the car.

I looked at him from the backseat window, and began to pound the cool surface.

"What the HELL is going on?" Nick sputtered.

Carl looked at Nick, and then at me. He seemed to be weighing his options. "She had a little too much to drink in here--we were going to take her home."

"NICK--he's lying!" I screamed.

Nick was just about to attempt to open the backseat door when Christina came up behind him and whapped him behind the head with her purse.

My heart skipped a beat and I saw Nick's eyes begin to roll heavenward. Carl grabbed his frame around the waist and dragged him to the other side car. The next thing I knew, an unconscious Nick was sitting next to me.

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Chapter 15