The shrill ringing of the phone in the kitchen, jolted their thoughts away from one another, and Justin got up to answer it. "Hello," he said, putting his ear to the phone.
"Justin, you've been there for how long and you didn't call me back?"
Justin sighed. She sounded upset. "I'm sorry, mom... things have been crazy around here. And please don't blame me for not feeling like being yelled at."
"I wasn't going to yell at you, honey," she told him. "I was worried out of my mind! I wish you'd call me more and tell me what's going on in your life. When I opened up the morning paper and read the article in the Pioneer Press about you, I couldn't have been more shocked!"
"I really don't need a lecture right now, mom. I know that what I did was terribly wrong, and I promise that I'll never do it again. Okay?"
"No! It's not okay, Justin! You've been arrested and it's not okay!"
He leaned against the kitchen counter and gave another sigh. "I know, I know. What can I do to make you respect me again? Just name it, and I'll do it."
For a few moments, she was silent.
"Mom?"
"I can't do anything with you boys! If it's not one thing, it's the other!"
"Mom, what are you talking about?"
"It's your brother."
"Phil?"
"No, Kyle."
"What's wrong with Kyle?"
"Before I opened up that newspaper, I hadn't heard from him in a few weeks. Then when I tried to get a hold of him, his roommate said he'd moved out, and his cell phone had been disconnected. The news about you, just made things worse!"
"I'm really sorry, mom. I had no idea Kyle was missing," Justin informed his mother as he noticed Adelyn peeking out from around the corner. He nodded his head toward the kitchen table and she took a seat.
"I was hoping you knew where he was," his mom continued. "The boy is only twenty, and I've been worried about him for quite a while. He's been drifting, you know... just like you did at his age. If this whole thing is what you got involved in, then what could he possibly be doing?"
"Don't worry, mom. Kyle's a good guy. I'm sure he'll turn up. I bet he's just chasing some girl across the country or something. He'll be back before you know it."
"It's been three weeks, Justin, and he hasn't picked up the phone to call me once. I was wondering if you could ask around about him."
"Mom... if you're insinuating what I think you are, I can't do that. I'm working with the police right now, and going back into those circles won't do me any good. I'll look around for Kyle as much as I can, but I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize my deal with the police."
"I know, honey, I know. Just keep an eye and an ear out for him. And if you do hear anything from him, have him call me right away! I'm worried out of my mind!"
"I promise. And I really am sorry about what I did. I hope I didn't disgrace the family too much."
"It's your father's name, not mine," she said, a hint of humor lacing her voice.
Justin smiled. "Then he'll be getting what he deserves."
After Justin hung up with his mother, he sat across the table from Adelyn and sighed. "Sorry you had to listen to that. ...though it could have been much worse. I think she was too worried about my brother to yell anything too horrendous."
Adelyn looked at him with concern. "What's wrong with your brother? From listening to your side of the conversation, it sounds like he's missing. Has she filed a missing person's report?"
"He's twenty-years-old," Justin explained. "An adult. He can take care of himself."
"Are you sure?"
"No," Justin concluded as he traced the wood lines on the table with his fingertip. "But I can't do anything about it."
She thought for a second, and then said, "Where do you think he is?"
He shrugged. "My mom said he's been drifting for a while. She thinks he's going to end up like me, so she wanted me to do something about it. Maybe Phil knows. She should call him."
Adelyn reached across the table and squeezed Justin's hand. "I have something that can take your mind off of all of this," she said, a smile slowly creeping into her expression.
He looked up at her, smiling back. "Now I'm scared," he teased. "What is it?"
She let go of his hand and reached into her pocket. When she pulled her hand out, she held two tickets between her fingers. Justin raised his eyebrows at them.
"What are those?" he wanted to know.
Adelyn set them in front of him so he could see. "What do you think they are?"
"They look like Twins tickets, but Adelyn, I can't let you spend money like this. What kind of a friend am I?"
"You're not just my friend, you're my boyfriend and I love you. I thought we should do something a little fun before everything gets crazy again. I saw your Kirby poster and took a hint. Come on, Justin, we'll have a good time."
He sighed, but then looked up at her and smiled. "Okay, we'll go."
"All right!" she cried, jumping up from her seat, swiping the tickets up in her hand and then pushing him to the door. "Let's go. It's a half hour before the game starts."
Justin turned around and put his hands on her waist before she could push him any further. "I'll go, but on one condition."
She grinned at him. "And what is that?"
"That when all this is over, and I find another job, you'll let me take you out to lunch whenever I want, and you won't complain about it for one second."
"I promise!" Adelyn said, putting her hand to her heart.
"Well, in that case," Justin said as he pulled the tickets out of her hand and made a break for the door. Before long, the door was locked and they were racing down the hallway to the elevator. Inside, they collapsed into each other's arms. Justin reached over toward the panel and pressed the door hold button so they wouldn't go down to the lobby just yet.
"We're late, and it's your fault," Adelyn told Justin as they rushed through the large hallow hallways of the HHH Metrodome and toward their seats.
They turned the corner and went through the doorway. "You kissed me first," he shot back.
"You held the elevator," she countered.
The couple smiled at the memory and then walked up the stairs to their seats. When they arrived at row G, they stopped and looked down the row.
"What the hell!?" Justin exclaimed with an angry frown on his face as he turned to Adelyn. "What are those morons doing in our seats?"
The man closest to him, who was decked out in a Twins jersey and cap, must have heard Justin because his expression went from content to alarmed. He stood halfway up and reached around for his wallet. After he pulled his ticket out and examined it, he stood up the rest of the way and nudged his buddy on the shoulder. The two scooted past the other fans and up to Justin and Adelyn.
"Sorry," the first one said. "We must have misread the row letters." After juggling his beer and hot dog around in his arms, he stuck his hand out for Justin to shake. "I'm Wade, and this here is Chuck. We came all the way up from Mankato see tonight's game."
Justin looked down at the man's hand and snorted.
Adelyn shook it when she realized he had no intention of touching Wade's hand. "I'm Adelyn and this is Justin. Nice to meet you two. Don't worry about the sitting in our seats. Everyone makes mistakes once in a while."
The two men smiled at Adelyn and then went around to their seats, one row up. Justin and Adelyn made their way through the fans and sat down.
"Hicks," Justin murmured as he stared down at the field.
"Because they're from Mankato?" Adelyn said to him in a hushed voice. "Oh, please, Justin. Mankato isn't a hick town. Would you stop being so crabby? So what if they were in our seats! They were nice and they got out of them right away!"
He sighed. "I know, I know. I guess I'm just not in the best of moods today."
Adelyn put her hand on his chest and leaned over so that she could whisper into his ear. "I thought we took care of that on the elevator."
He smiled warmly, but couldn't stop thinking about his brother, his lack of a job, and most importantly... he couldn't stop thinking about Colby.
Chapter 24
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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