Misfortune ( Lin Manuel Miranda )

Chapter 10

By the time Vanessa gets home, it's 9 o'clock at night. She was with Lin's parents for a while, then took some money out of the bank- she's decided to get out the 1.5 gradually over the next two days, she keeps it in a black duffle bag.

When Vanessa crashes down on the couch, she pulls out her phone and dials Chris.

He picks up on the third ring, his voice laced with exhaustion, "Vanessa?"

"Yes, it's me. Can you come over? I can't really talk about this on the phone." Vanessa replies, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Yeah of course, I'm on my way, what's wrong? Do you need anything? Are you ok?" He asks, worried.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just need to talk to you about something. Please hurry."

-~-

It takes Chris about 20 minutes to get to the house, and Vanessa quickly answers the door when he knocks.

He looks exhausted, the anxiety he's experienced over the past few days evidently showing on his face. He must see it in Vanessa's worn features too, because he pulls her into a tight hug.

It's first time he's seen her since Lin's been gone.

"I'm so sorry." He whispers into her hair, his voice cracking.

Vanessa pulls back and gives him a slight reassuring smile, grabbing his hand. "I'm sorry too. Come here, I need to show you something."

Vanessa sits Chris down at the kitchen table in front of her laptop. She warns him about what the video contains, and presses play.

By the time the video ends Chris has tears in his eyes, his body slightly shaking, "Oh my god... Vanessa, have you told the police yet?"

"No, you heard what he said-" "I'm calling them." Chris interrupts, standing.

"No!" Vanessa yells, ripping the phone from his hand. "You can't, Chris. I can't take that risk. I called you because I know I can trust you. Lin trusts you. We need to do this together." Vanessa explains, pleading.

Chris stares at her for a few moments, silent.

"Fine. What's the plan?"

"We leave Wednesday morning and get there, and then wait. The email said Allagash Maine, and said town center. So that's where we'll go. In separate cars, you can stay nearby incase anything happens. Then if anything does happen, you call the police, ok?" Vanessa explains, her voice shaking a little.

Chris nods.

Vanessa pulls him into another hug, relieved, "We'll get him back." She says.

When they pull apart Vanessa offers him dinner, and then asks "Can you stay the night?"

"Yeah, of course." Chris replies, and smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

-~-

Lin's sleep is plagued by nightmares.

Every time he closes his eyes James is there. Ross is there. Robert is there. Vanessa is there, and Lin watches her die in front of his eyes over and over again- Lin wakes up screaming repeatedly.

His body is wracked with chills and pain and Lin forces himself to stay awake, his eyes bloodshot and stinging- he can't take another nightmare along with the one he's living -until there is light beginning to shine in through the window.

Tuesday.

Tomorrow is set to be the worst day of Lin's life.

-~-

Vanessa didn't realize she had fallen asleep so quickly after dinner.

She wakes to voices coming from the kitchen, and she panics, forgetting for a moment that Chris stayed the night.

But who is the second person?

Vanessa quietly walks down the steps to see Jon sitting at the table with Chris, his eyes tired.

"Hey, Vanessa." He says, standing up to give her a long hug.

"What are you doing here?" Vanessa asks, sending Chris a confused look. Jon pulls back to hold her hands, looking into her eyes.

"Chris told me everything-" Vanessa breaks eye contact to glare at Chris. "-don't worry, I won't call the police if you think it's not the best idea. I flew into town yesterday and last night Chris called me to come here. So I did and he thinks it's best if there's one more person who goes with you two, just for the extra backup." Jon explains, and Vanessa isn't angry anymore.

"Is that ok?" Jon asks, gently squeezing Vanessa's hands.

"Yeah that's fine. Thank you so much, Jon, I appreciate it." Vanessa responds, and gives Jon a smile.

She has a lot to think about over the next day, and she is happy that Chris told Jon instead of anyone else. Outside of Lin's family, these two guys are probably the closest people to Lin, and Vanessa knows that they won't let anything happen to her or Lin when tomorrow comes.

Quick update. It's late and I'm tired lol. Hope you all are still enjoying!!

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