All By Myself, All On My Own, chapter 14
"Where is he!?!" I shouted getting so frustrated. Me and Mike had been driving around town for hours and we still hadn't found him. It was nearly 11:00 and like earlier Mike promised me that if Tre didn't come home by tonight we would go looking for him and well here we are. Five days since Billie Joe and Tre had gotten into a fight and Tre was still lost. The whole time we were searching that car the same car we were getting so used to seeing was following us. That stalker the man who we threw potato chips at off the balcony days ago that jerk who never gives us time away. I was starting to fear that something had happened to Tre. Kilana, Jake and Billie Joe were waiting back at the hotel for us. This couldn't be happening. We turned down the last street, which led back to our hotel. This side street was pretty much abandoned. If I didn't know any better Tre could possibly be staying in one of those run down houses but when I brought up the idea Mike said he would be too afraid to even go near one of those places. We drove into the parking lot of the hotel and walked back up to our rooms disappointed in not finding the missing drummer. At least they were on vacation now. If Green Day were on tour at the moment then they would be in even bigger trouble. I entered my room. Kilana and Jake were still three rooms away with Billie Joe and soon Mike and I would be left alone in my room for the night. She probably fell asleep in their room. If they hadn't she would be here right now.
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I put on my pajamas, which I hardly ever wore, but I was just so upset I needed them for some reason. I scooped myself a small bowl of ice cream and sat down on the couch eating in the silence of the empty room. The eyes of my posters on my ceiling above my bed the eyes of Tre just seemed sad like I could tell how he was feeling looking at a picture of him. I don't know I think I was starting to lose my mind but I didn't care as long as know one knew how I felt at the moment and know one knew what I was thinking then know one would know I was going insane. Am I making any sense to you? I sat on the couch just thinking to myself until around 1:00. I was getting ready for bed when there was a knock on my door. Who could that be this late at night. I walked over to the door and slowly opened it to my surprise to see him. "Tre!" I shouted wrapping my arms around him. He felt cold and I noticed I now had blood covering my arm. I pulled away and looked at him. His expression seemed glad to see me but his face looked drained and his arm and actually his whole right side was covered in blood dripping off the tips of his fingers, I felt numb unable to process in my mind what I saw. "Tre what happened?" I asked feeling my eyes fill with tears again at the site of how torn up he looked. I didn't wait for and answer. I grabbed his left arm and pulled him into the bathroom. I helped him get his shirt off and showing a large cut on his upper arm and another by his stomach. All down that side were bruises. I didn't know what to do I just grabbed a wet towel and wrapped it around his bleeding arm then another around his waist. "Who did this to you?" "I don't know I was attacked by him." He whispered. I didn't want to make him say any more he was in enough pain as it was. I removed the towel and flung open the medical kit hanging on the wall. He seemed to collapse and I struggled to help him over where he took a seat on the toilet resting his head on the wall. I pulled out some bandages and wrapped them all around his huge gashes. Why would someone do this to him? He clutched his leg in pain. "Oh don't tell me that wasn't all of your cuts." I said watching him wince in pain. "Okay this will probably be uncomfortable for you but you are going to need to take off your pants in order for me to help you now." I said trying not to sound perverted because it was true the wound was too high on his leg and his pant leg won't roll up that far. I grabbed both his arms and helped him to his feet. I held him keeping his balance as he took off his pants the blood making his body sticky. This was so gross I couldn't believe I was doing this but he needed me. He sat back down I threw the pants and shirt into the bathtub to let the blood run down the drain. On his leg just above the knee was another huge cut. Blood was pouring down his leg. Eww! I cleaned up the cut but he still seemed to be in a lot of pain. I ran my finger across the broken skin and felt a sharp poke in one place. "Great um... Tre prepare yourself this will hurt very much and you may not wanna look." I said grabbing a pair of tweezers out of the medicine cabinet. This was so wrong. I pulled apart the cut and put the tweezers inside him pulling out a sharp piece of glass about two inches long that had been cut into him. As I did so Tre grabbed my arm and squeezed with such force my arm seemed to go numb. I dropped the glass in the sink and then cleaned up the wound with a towel. He let go of me breathing heavily a large red mark was now visible where he had held on so tightly. I put my hand on his forehead pushing back his hair. "It's okay now Tre it's out and you're safe." I whispered to him. His face was no longer pale but sweaty and warm. I grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. I limped out to the couch where he sat down. He still wore nothing but his boxers. "You want me to go get some of your clothes?" I asked thinking he probably would like something to wear. "No I don't want them to know I'm here this late I'll tell them in the morning." I said quietly like he was trying not to break the silence. "James's clothes are still in his room next door you wanna wear those?" I asked trying to get him to put on something. I felt uncomfortable sitting next to my friend who was nearly naked. "Okay I guess." He said laying back into the couch rubbing his sore side. The bruises were dark like he had been beaten with a baseball bat luckily no bones seemed to be broken just bent. I got up and grabbed the key off the table. I crept into the room next door. This was the first time I had been in here since he had left and I found the note on the bed. I flicked on the lights showing how torn apart the room looked. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt off of the floor that looked pretty clean and headed out the door. I didn't want to stay in here very long at night it just felt creepy and gave me depressing feelings and memories of the past, which I really didn't want to go back to. I came back into my room shutting the door behind me. I sat down next to Tre and helped him pull on the shirt I had grabbed off of the floor in the other room. It was actually a little big for him but it would due. I helped him into the jeans I had brought. When was the last time anyone saw Tre wearing jeans? "So now that everything is calming down what exactly happened to you?" I said worried. I had my arms around him resting my head on his shoulder. "I... I was attacked I think it was him I'm not sure. He threw an empty broken bottle at me and it hit me. He beat me up and pulled out a gun. I ran away back here and he followed me in his car and I came here. That's all I can really say." He said acting like retelling the story was just as scary to him as when it actually happened. He was a nervous wreck and I couldn't do anything about it. I hugged him tighter trying not to hurt his injured body. I didn't know what to do I was never met with a challenge like this. I was about to cry under all this stress that was suddenly forced on me again and again. "you wanna stay here tonight?" I asked nervously not sure if this was the right thing to ask at a time like this. "Yeah okay." He said looking at me his eyes full of misery and I couldn't help but have pity on him. Just his gaze felt like a child not and adult and it was just so helpless, I was so helpless. "You want the bed or the couch or well you can actually have the bed come to think of it since Kilana and Jake are back at your room." I said letting my mind trail off. I helped him up and led him over to the bed. I helped him get in. I know I was treating him like a little kid but you should have seen him at the time. He could hardly move in his pain. I made sure he was comfortable and after changing into my night shirt now that well he was here safe and the fact that blood covered my whole upper half. I fell asleep happy to be back here with him safe and that things would be better but I realized things may get worse after all he said it was the stalker who attacked him exactly like Billie Joe had said. It was his fault I had to get more information about this person someway or another.
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I woke up in the morning Tre was still asleep and I'm guessing everyone else was too because Kilana and Jake still were not here. I climbed out of bed straightening my shirt out. I walked over to the other bed and crouched on the floor so I was eye level with the edge of the bed. I looked into Tre's calm sleeping face. He just looked so peaceful compared to last night when we were awake. I stood up and pulled the covers that were half way on the floor up over him. He moved slightly as if trying to wake up but then becoming still again. I walked over to the window and lifted the blinds making me turn to see Tre open his eyes and then roll over to get out of the sun I had just let in. I couldn't help but laugh. He knew I had been watching him moments before he was awake unless suddenly he woke up and decided to go back to sleep. "Tre wake up I know you're not sleeping." I laughed coming back over to the bed and sitting down next to him. I pushed his shoulder lightly. "aw!" He grumbled rolling over and opening his eyes. I laughed a little trying not to make him feel uncomfortable. "Come on, up." I said standing and walking into the kitchen. I came back out with a glass of water in my hand. He was sitting up now but still didn't want to get out of bed. I handed him the glass and he gladly accepted drinking a few sips then handing it back. I set it on the table and sat back down next to him. "So how'd you sleep?" I asked no idea what to say. "Fine painful but fine." He said rubbing his arm. "Oh you poor thing" I joked. Kilana came into the room. "Oh um... uh hi Tre when did you um... get... back?" She asked noticing me and Tre sitting on her bed. "Um... last night I got back and um... well as you can see by the bandages I um was attacked by the... man outside... " He said unsure of how to respond. This probably didn't look right to Kilana. Man I felt stupid though nothing happened. "Oh um... I just came back to see how Kiki was doing and um okay then... " She sat down next to us and observed his wounds. "Kiki are those... James's clothes?" "Yeah I went over there last night and got them his original clothes are in the tub and there is a piece of glass in the sink you may not wanna touch." I said wondering what she was thinking right now. She got up and headed into the bathroom. She came back out a few seconds later. "Holy crap! What did they do to you?" She asked in shock. "He tried to kill him." I said looking at Tre who didn't seem to want to talk about this. "You mean it was just him?" She asked confused of how one man could bring down someone like Tre. "Yeah he... had a gun and... tried to... shoot me." He said through small gasps of air. He was so gonna cry I could tell. I put my arms around him and looked into his eyes, which were starting to fill slowly with tears. "Tre please don't cry." I whispered holding him close to me like a child I couldn't stand to see someone as strong as he was cry. It just didn't seem right. Kilana also hugged him from his other side a few tears rolled down his cheek and I wiped them away. Poor Tre he was falling apart right in front of us losing control. "Shh, calm down Tre it's alright." I said over and over rocking back and forth slightly which seemed to calm him down the tears dried and I was able to let go. Kilana got off the bed and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Tre asked through a stuffy nose. "To get the others." She said leaving. This reminded me too much of me when James left and Tre had to relax me. This wasn't right it shouldn't be happening. I reached over and grabbed the cup off the table and handed it to him. He slowly drank some water choking a little as last minute tears came down. He handed it to me and I set it back on the table returning to my spot around him trying to keep him calm but he was just so miserable. I know she didn't mean to make him upset but she shouldn't have asked what had happened at least not now. Billie Joe, Mike, Key and Jake came in seeing Tre and the horrible condition he was in. Jake climbed up on the bed with me and Tre. "What wrong uncle Tre?" He just called Tre uncle the last person he called uncle was James. "Tre doesn't feel good Jake." I said looking at Tre. His head hung from his shoulders his face buried into my arm. I could feel warm tears on my bare skin. Jake leaned forward putting his arms around Tre the best he could with his small size. Billie Joe and Mike were speechless. I gave a worried look to Billie Joe if he hadn't yelled at Tre and made him run off none of this would be happening. He didn't know what to say to his friend. Tre just seemed impossible to calm and this isn't something you normally prepare for. Mike sat down next to me and put his hand on Tre's back. Kilana came on and sat there saying calming words to him. Billie Joe sat down but had no idea what to do then out of nowhere he spoke. "Tre I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I shouldn't have made you leave like that what you did just got me so angry though and I should have learned to control it. Please forgive me." He said not looking at Tre. Why was he saying this now it was too late and wasn't really the reason he was crying though his apology was touching all the same. Tre lifted his head giving a weak smile to his friend. It takes a strong man to admit he was wrong and an even stronger one to apologize for being wrong. I wiped Tre's tears away again. Jake still clung to Tre's chest wanting him to be happy again like he had always been before.
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Tre was calm again everyone left him alone. Jake and Kilana were in the lobby eating breakfast and Billie Joe and Mike were back in their room. Tre now sat in his own clothes on the couch next to me. His tears were dried about a half hour ago. "So Tre can you tell me what this person looked like?" I asked shyly afraid he would have another break down. "I think so." He said turning in his seat to face me. I grabbed my art pad from my bed and returned next to him. "He had blondish hair um... he wore all black and uh he had a tattoo it kinda looked like a snake that was around his right index finger. His eyes seemed green but in the dark I really couldn't tell." I sketched it the best I could. "That look close?" I asked holding up the drawing. "Um... yeah except his bottom lip was blackish and his eyes were darker you know?" I fixed the picture and held it up again. "That's him." He said though he still wasn't positive but to me it also looked like the guy out front. I took a close look at what I had just drawn. "Oh my." I said under my breath and throwing the book on the couch and running out the door. This couldn't be happening it couldn't possibly be. I opened James's door and came into the room still trashed. That's it. I grabbed the note he had left me and ran back over to where Tre sat. "Tre look!" I screamed shoving the paper into his hands. "What is it?" "The note James left." Tre scanned over the letter. "So? What about it?" He asked confused at what I was going on about. "That letter look at the hand writing compared to this one." I said digging through the pages of the book and pulling out a love letter James had sent to me two years ago. "Whoa he sent this to you it's really corny." Tre said laughing at what was written. "Too bad just look at the handwriting!" I shouted shoving the letter closer to him. "It's not the same?" he asked not so much as a question but more of a statement. "Exactly! And that letter how neatly it was written and the room was trashed when I came in. It was placed after it was torn apart and just looking around that room you can't see a single piece of paper that isn't ripped it was written by someone else and placed after the room was destroyed. James didn't leave me he was taken away with a struggle." I said not so much as happy but extremely hyper. "So... you found this out just by reading a letter and who is it?" Tre asked still a little confused. "I opened up my book to the page I wrote of when Mark left Kilana. "Look familiar?" I asked showing him the page. "Him?" He understood but didn't really know why he was doing this or how. "And look." I said digging through the book some more and pulling out the note that Mark left Kilana when he left. "And you keep all these notes because?... " "What it's history of our lives so I keep them." I handed Tre the note. "The handwriting on the note James left is exactly the same as on Mark's." I said jumping up and down in my seat. "Why are you happy you just found out that James was well... not kidnapped but taken away." "Yeah I know but he still loves me and now I know who our stalker is and we can do something about it!" I said hugging Tre in my joy though really there was absolutely nothing to be happy about. "Oh my god! I have to find Kilana!" I said running out again Tre slowly coming limping from the huge cuts and bruises on his body. I ran down the steps into the lobby there was no one. They were there though they said they would be. I looked out the door the Mark was gone. Hey I get to call him by his real name now. I ran back upstairs passing Tre on the steps. "Oh come on!" Tre said turning around and walking up. I went and knocked on Green Day's door. "Hey is Key here?" I asked quickly as Mike opened the door. "No I thought she and Jake were getting breakfast." He said but I was already out of there back in my room looking out the window searching the streets I could see for them. Nothing. I ran out of the room again feeling like I was about to cry they were gone. The only thing I could think of now is that they were captured as well though there always was the simple explanation that they went out on the town for a while but I could feel the change of atmosphere they were gone. Tre was up the stairs and coming back down the hall when I passed him again. "Kiki!" He seemed frustrated. I turned around and came back to him wrapping my arms around him tears starting to fall. I knocked him off balance and luckily he caught himself before he hit the ground. "Tre they're gone he's gone! We have to find them!" I shouted burying my face into his chest. I was beginning to get used to this. "We have to get them back!" I sobbed into him. I felt his weight shift trying to stay balanced in my weight wrapping his arms around me. "First we should tell Billie Joe and Mike what's going on." He said as I stepped away from him. "Right we do." I said looking at my feet trying to get my thinking straight. I grabbed his arm and started pulling him down the hall forgetting about his injuries. He tripped over himself and fell to the floor. "Tre!" I shouted helping him up. "What's with you and Kilana and all the yelling?" He said standing up wincing in pain. I helped him walk to his room and knocked on the door. "Tre what happened?" Billie Joe said opening the door. "No duh I was attacked and kinda fell in the hallway but we have a bigger problem now." He said as I helped him over to the couch. "What?" Mike asked confused. "Mark." I said wiping away some tears in my eyes. I felt sick. "Mark? Who's he?" Billie Joe asked taking a seat next to me curious to find out more. "Mark... He's Kilana's ex boy friend or Jakes father. He is our stalker and well James didn't leave me he was taken by him and I'm pretty sure Kilana and Jake were too. He has been known to be violent and actually is already on the run from the cops. We have to find him." I said nervous of how they would react to this information I mean I haven't even told Tre that Mark was a criminal. Tears came back pouring down my face. Billie Joe put his arm around me. Why was today so sad I mean I've never had such a sad day in my life unless you count the non breakup of me and James. The worst thing on my mind though is that James didn't leave me and I thought he did. He had been with Mark all this time and I didn't know. He still loved me. "How can we save them you don't even know where they are?" Mike said. "I know where he lives and if we go there we might be able to find them." I said through breaths. Mike gave a worried look like he wanted to help but was afraid of doing something so dangerous. I wiped my eyes on my arm, which just made me feel wet and sticky because I didn't have any sleeves. "We can go later." Tre said putting his arm around me from my other side though trying not to hurt himself. I smiled slightly though I still couldn't get the thoughts out of my head of what might happen to them. "Okay." Billie Joe said though he didn't seem like he wanted to. "Where is his um... house anyway?" Mike asked. "Back in my town about two hours away on Maple Street." I whispered in order to make my voice clear instead of cracking. Mike stood up and picked up his car keys from the table shoving them into his pocket. "We'll leave in three hours." He said walking out of the room into the hallway. I was confused he suddenly wanted to go on this mission type thing. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I knew Mark and I knew he had a good reason for taking my friends away I mean why was he doing this to us? Trying to kill Tre, taking James, Jake and Kilana? It didn't make sense.
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I put on my pajamas, which I hardly ever wore, but I was just so upset I needed them for some reason. I scooped myself a small bowl of ice cream and sat down on the couch eating in the silence of the empty room. The eyes of my posters on my ceiling above my bed the eyes of Tre just seemed sad like I could tell how he was feeling looking at a picture of him. I don't know I think I was starting to lose my mind but I didn't care as long as know one knew how I felt at the moment and know one knew what I was thinking then know one would know I was going insane. Am I making any sense to you? I sat on the couch just thinking to myself until around 1:00. I was getting ready for bed when there was a knock on my door. Who could that be this late at night. I walked over to the door and slowly opened it to my surprise to see him. "Tre!" I shouted wrapping my arms around him. He felt cold and I noticed I now had blood covering my arm. I pulled away and looked at him. His expression seemed glad to see me but his face looked drained and his arm and actually his whole right side was covered in blood dripping off the tips of his fingers, I felt numb unable to process in my mind what I saw. "Tre what happened?" I asked feeling my eyes fill with tears again at the site of how torn up he looked. I didn't wait for and answer. I grabbed his left arm and pulled him into the bathroom. I helped him get his shirt off and showing a large cut on his upper arm and another by his stomach. All down that side were bruises. I didn't know what to do I just grabbed a wet towel and wrapped it around his bleeding arm then another around his waist. "Who did this to you?" "I don't know I was attacked by him." He whispered. I didn't want to make him say any more he was in enough pain as it was. I removed the towel and flung open the medical kit hanging on the wall. He seemed to collapse and I struggled to help him over where he took a seat on the toilet resting his head on the wall. I pulled out some bandages and wrapped them all around his huge gashes. Why would someone do this to him? He clutched his leg in pain. "Oh don't tell me that wasn't all of your cuts." I said watching him wince in pain. "Okay this will probably be uncomfortable for you but you are going to need to take off your pants in order for me to help you now." I said trying not to sound perverted because it was true the wound was too high on his leg and his pant leg won't roll up that far. I grabbed both his arms and helped him to his feet. I held him keeping his balance as he took off his pants the blood making his body sticky. This was so gross I couldn't believe I was doing this but he needed me. He sat back down I threw the pants and shirt into the bathtub to let the blood run down the drain. On his leg just above the knee was another huge cut. Blood was pouring down his leg. Eww! I cleaned up the cut but he still seemed to be in a lot of pain. I ran my finger across the broken skin and felt a sharp poke in one place. "Great um... Tre prepare yourself this will hurt very much and you may not wanna look." I said grabbing a pair of tweezers out of the medicine cabinet. This was so wrong. I pulled apart the cut and put the tweezers inside him pulling out a sharp piece of glass about two inches long that had been cut into him. As I did so Tre grabbed my arm and squeezed with such force my arm seemed to go numb. I dropped the glass in the sink and then cleaned up the wound with a towel. He let go of me breathing heavily a large red mark was now visible where he had held on so tightly. I put my hand on his forehead pushing back his hair. "It's okay now Tre it's out and you're safe." I whispered to him. His face was no longer pale but sweaty and warm. I grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. I limped out to the couch where he sat down. He still wore nothing but his boxers. "You want me to go get some of your clothes?" I asked thinking he probably would like something to wear. "No I don't want them to know I'm here this late I'll tell them in the morning." I said quietly like he was trying not to break the silence. "James's clothes are still in his room next door you wanna wear those?" I asked trying to get him to put on something. I felt uncomfortable sitting next to my friend who was nearly naked. "Okay I guess." He said laying back into the couch rubbing his sore side. The bruises were dark like he had been beaten with a baseball bat luckily no bones seemed to be broken just bent. I got up and grabbed the key off the table. I crept into the room next door. This was the first time I had been in here since he had left and I found the note on the bed. I flicked on the lights showing how torn apart the room looked. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt off of the floor that looked pretty clean and headed out the door. I didn't want to stay in here very long at night it just felt creepy and gave me depressing feelings and memories of the past, which I really didn't want to go back to. I came back into my room shutting the door behind me. I sat down next to Tre and helped him pull on the shirt I had grabbed off of the floor in the other room. It was actually a little big for him but it would due. I helped him into the jeans I had brought. When was the last time anyone saw Tre wearing jeans? "So now that everything is calming down what exactly happened to you?" I said worried. I had my arms around him resting my head on his shoulder. "I... I was attacked I think it was him I'm not sure. He threw an empty broken bottle at me and it hit me. He beat me up and pulled out a gun. I ran away back here and he followed me in his car and I came here. That's all I can really say." He said acting like retelling the story was just as scary to him as when it actually happened. He was a nervous wreck and I couldn't do anything about it. I hugged him tighter trying not to hurt his injured body. I didn't know what to do I was never met with a challenge like this. I was about to cry under all this stress that was suddenly forced on me again and again. "you wanna stay here tonight?" I asked nervously not sure if this was the right thing to ask at a time like this. "Yeah okay." He said looking at me his eyes full of misery and I couldn't help but have pity on him. Just his gaze felt like a child not and adult and it was just so helpless, I was so helpless. "You want the bed or the couch or well you can actually have the bed come to think of it since Kilana and Jake are back at your room." I said letting my mind trail off. I helped him up and led him over to the bed. I helped him get in. I know I was treating him like a little kid but you should have seen him at the time. He could hardly move in his pain. I made sure he was comfortable and after changing into my night shirt now that well he was here safe and the fact that blood covered my whole upper half. I fell asleep happy to be back here with him safe and that things would be better but I realized things may get worse after all he said it was the stalker who attacked him exactly like Billie Joe had said. It was his fault I had to get more information about this person someway or another.
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I woke up in the morning Tre was still asleep and I'm guessing everyone else was too because Kilana and Jake still were not here. I climbed out of bed straightening my shirt out. I walked over to the other bed and crouched on the floor so I was eye level with the edge of the bed. I looked into Tre's calm sleeping face. He just looked so peaceful compared to last night when we were awake. I stood up and pulled the covers that were half way on the floor up over him. He moved slightly as if trying to wake up but then becoming still again. I walked over to the window and lifted the blinds making me turn to see Tre open his eyes and then roll over to get out of the sun I had just let in. I couldn't help but laugh. He knew I had been watching him moments before he was awake unless suddenly he woke up and decided to go back to sleep. "Tre wake up I know you're not sleeping." I laughed coming back over to the bed and sitting down next to him. I pushed his shoulder lightly. "aw!" He grumbled rolling over and opening his eyes. I laughed a little trying not to make him feel uncomfortable. "Come on, up." I said standing and walking into the kitchen. I came back out with a glass of water in my hand. He was sitting up now but still didn't want to get out of bed. I handed him the glass and he gladly accepted drinking a few sips then handing it back. I set it on the table and sat back down next to him. "So how'd you sleep?" I asked no idea what to say. "Fine painful but fine." He said rubbing his arm. "Oh you poor thing" I joked. Kilana came into the room. "Oh um... uh hi Tre when did you um... get... back?" She asked noticing me and Tre sitting on her bed. "Um... last night I got back and um... well as you can see by the bandages I um was attacked by the... man outside... " He said unsure of how to respond. This probably didn't look right to Kilana. Man I felt stupid though nothing happened. "Oh um... I just came back to see how Kiki was doing and um okay then... " She sat down next to us and observed his wounds. "Kiki are those... James's clothes?" "Yeah I went over there last night and got them his original clothes are in the tub and there is a piece of glass in the sink you may not wanna touch." I said wondering what she was thinking right now. She got up and headed into the bathroom. She came back out a few seconds later. "Holy crap! What did they do to you?" She asked in shock. "He tried to kill him." I said looking at Tre who didn't seem to want to talk about this. "You mean it was just him?" She asked confused of how one man could bring down someone like Tre. "Yeah he... had a gun and... tried to... shoot me." He said through small gasps of air. He was so gonna cry I could tell. I put my arms around him and looked into his eyes, which were starting to fill slowly with tears. "Tre please don't cry." I whispered holding him close to me like a child I couldn't stand to see someone as strong as he was cry. It just didn't seem right. Kilana also hugged him from his other side a few tears rolled down his cheek and I wiped them away. Poor Tre he was falling apart right in front of us losing control. "Shh, calm down Tre it's alright." I said over and over rocking back and forth slightly which seemed to calm him down the tears dried and I was able to let go. Kilana got off the bed and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Tre asked through a stuffy nose. "To get the others." She said leaving. This reminded me too much of me when James left and Tre had to relax me. This wasn't right it shouldn't be happening. I reached over and grabbed the cup off the table and handed it to him. He slowly drank some water choking a little as last minute tears came down. He handed it to me and I set it back on the table returning to my spot around him trying to keep him calm but he was just so miserable. I know she didn't mean to make him upset but she shouldn't have asked what had happened at least not now. Billie Joe, Mike, Key and Jake came in seeing Tre and the horrible condition he was in. Jake climbed up on the bed with me and Tre. "What wrong uncle Tre?" He just called Tre uncle the last person he called uncle was James. "Tre doesn't feel good Jake." I said looking at Tre. His head hung from his shoulders his face buried into my arm. I could feel warm tears on my bare skin. Jake leaned forward putting his arms around Tre the best he could with his small size. Billie Joe and Mike were speechless. I gave a worried look to Billie Joe if he hadn't yelled at Tre and made him run off none of this would be happening. He didn't know what to say to his friend. Tre just seemed impossible to calm and this isn't something you normally prepare for. Mike sat down next to me and put his hand on Tre's back. Kilana came on and sat there saying calming words to him. Billie Joe sat down but had no idea what to do then out of nowhere he spoke. "Tre I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I shouldn't have made you leave like that what you did just got me so angry though and I should have learned to control it. Please forgive me." He said not looking at Tre. Why was he saying this now it was too late and wasn't really the reason he was crying though his apology was touching all the same. Tre lifted his head giving a weak smile to his friend. It takes a strong man to admit he was wrong and an even stronger one to apologize for being wrong. I wiped Tre's tears away again. Jake still clung to Tre's chest wanting him to be happy again like he had always been before.
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Tre was calm again everyone left him alone. Jake and Kilana were in the lobby eating breakfast and Billie Joe and Mike were back in their room. Tre now sat in his own clothes on the couch next to me. His tears were dried about a half hour ago. "So Tre can you tell me what this person looked like?" I asked shyly afraid he would have another break down. "I think so." He said turning in his seat to face me. I grabbed my art pad from my bed and returned next to him. "He had blondish hair um... he wore all black and uh he had a tattoo it kinda looked like a snake that was around his right index finger. His eyes seemed green but in the dark I really couldn't tell." I sketched it the best I could. "That look close?" I asked holding up the drawing. "Um... yeah except his bottom lip was blackish and his eyes were darker you know?" I fixed the picture and held it up again. "That's him." He said though he still wasn't positive but to me it also looked like the guy out front. I took a close look at what I had just drawn. "Oh my." I said under my breath and throwing the book on the couch and running out the door. This couldn't be happening it couldn't possibly be. I opened James's door and came into the room still trashed. That's it. I grabbed the note he had left me and ran back over to where Tre sat. "Tre look!" I screamed shoving the paper into his hands. "What is it?" "The note James left." Tre scanned over the letter. "So? What about it?" He asked confused at what I was going on about. "That letter look at the hand writing compared to this one." I said digging through the pages of the book and pulling out a love letter James had sent to me two years ago. "Whoa he sent this to you it's really corny." Tre said laughing at what was written. "Too bad just look at the handwriting!" I shouted shoving the letter closer to him. "It's not the same?" he asked not so much as a question but more of a statement. "Exactly! And that letter how neatly it was written and the room was trashed when I came in. It was placed after it was torn apart and just looking around that room you can't see a single piece of paper that isn't ripped it was written by someone else and placed after the room was destroyed. James didn't leave me he was taken away with a struggle." I said not so much as happy but extremely hyper. "So... you found this out just by reading a letter and who is it?" Tre asked still a little confused. "I opened up my book to the page I wrote of when Mark left Kilana. "Look familiar?" I asked showing him the page. "Him?" He understood but didn't really know why he was doing this or how. "And look." I said digging through the book some more and pulling out the note that Mark left Kilana when he left. "And you keep all these notes because?... " "What it's history of our lives so I keep them." I handed Tre the note. "The handwriting on the note James left is exactly the same as on Mark's." I said jumping up and down in my seat. "Why are you happy you just found out that James was well... not kidnapped but taken away." "Yeah I know but he still loves me and now I know who our stalker is and we can do something about it!" I said hugging Tre in my joy though really there was absolutely nothing to be happy about. "Oh my god! I have to find Kilana!" I said running out again Tre slowly coming limping from the huge cuts and bruises on his body. I ran down the steps into the lobby there was no one. They were there though they said they would be. I looked out the door the Mark was gone. Hey I get to call him by his real name now. I ran back upstairs passing Tre on the steps. "Oh come on!" Tre said turning around and walking up. I went and knocked on Green Day's door. "Hey is Key here?" I asked quickly as Mike opened the door. "No I thought she and Jake were getting breakfast." He said but I was already out of there back in my room looking out the window searching the streets I could see for them. Nothing. I ran out of the room again feeling like I was about to cry they were gone. The only thing I could think of now is that they were captured as well though there always was the simple explanation that they went out on the town for a while but I could feel the change of atmosphere they were gone. Tre was up the stairs and coming back down the hall when I passed him again. "Kiki!" He seemed frustrated. I turned around and came back to him wrapping my arms around him tears starting to fall. I knocked him off balance and luckily he caught himself before he hit the ground. "Tre they're gone he's gone! We have to find them!" I shouted burying my face into his chest. I was beginning to get used to this. "We have to get them back!" I sobbed into him. I felt his weight shift trying to stay balanced in my weight wrapping his arms around me. "First we should tell Billie Joe and Mike what's going on." He said as I stepped away from him. "Right we do." I said looking at my feet trying to get my thinking straight. I grabbed his arm and started pulling him down the hall forgetting about his injuries. He tripped over himself and fell to the floor. "Tre!" I shouted helping him up. "What's with you and Kilana and all the yelling?" He said standing up wincing in pain. I helped him walk to his room and knocked on the door. "Tre what happened?" Billie Joe said opening the door. "No duh I was attacked and kinda fell in the hallway but we have a bigger problem now." He said as I helped him over to the couch. "What?" Mike asked confused. "Mark." I said wiping away some tears in my eyes. I felt sick. "Mark? Who's he?" Billie Joe asked taking a seat next to me curious to find out more. "Mark... He's Kilana's ex boy friend or Jakes father. He is our stalker and well James didn't leave me he was taken by him and I'm pretty sure Kilana and Jake were too. He has been known to be violent and actually is already on the run from the cops. We have to find him." I said nervous of how they would react to this information I mean I haven't even told Tre that Mark was a criminal. Tears came back pouring down my face. Billie Joe put his arm around me. Why was today so sad I mean I've never had such a sad day in my life unless you count the non breakup of me and James. The worst thing on my mind though is that James didn't leave me and I thought he did. He had been with Mark all this time and I didn't know. He still loved me. "How can we save them you don't even know where they are?" Mike said. "I know where he lives and if we go there we might be able to find them." I said through breaths. Mike gave a worried look like he wanted to help but was afraid of doing something so dangerous. I wiped my eyes on my arm, which just made me feel wet and sticky because I didn't have any sleeves. "We can go later." Tre said putting his arm around me from my other side though trying not to hurt himself. I smiled slightly though I still couldn't get the thoughts out of my head of what might happen to them. "Okay." Billie Joe said though he didn't seem like he wanted to. "Where is his um... house anyway?" Mike asked. "Back in my town about two hours away on Maple Street." I whispered in order to make my voice clear instead of cracking. Mike stood up and picked up his car keys from the table shoving them into his pocket. "We'll leave in three hours." He said walking out of the room into the hallway. I was confused he suddenly wanted to go on this mission type thing. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I knew Mark and I knew he had a good reason for taking my friends away I mean why was he doing this to us? Trying to kill Tre, taking James, Jake and Kilana? It didn't make sense.
