Come for Me

Chapter 18

A/N: IMPORTANT! I have a really big announcement at the end of this chapter and if you intend to read my future stories, you NEED to read it.

The MIW guys stood in the green room of the venue, getting ready. The room smelled of hairspray as the guys put on their makeup and their stage clothes. Suddenly, they hear a loud door slam from nearby.

"Oh, God, which one of them is pissed now?" Ryan asks.

Everyone looks to Chris.

Chris throws his head back in frustration and huffs, "Why am I always the one going to check in on them?"

"We all know you want to." balz says.

"Fuckin'."

Chris walks out of the green room. He sees Hunter pacing backstage, pulling her hair. She then lets out a loud shriek before kicking one of TYI's makeup boxes to the side. Hunter then falls to her knees and begins to sob, uncontrollably.

"What do I do?! What do I fucking do?! God help me, please fucking help me..." Hunter cries.

Chris rushes over and gets down next to Hunter, "Woah woah woah, what happened?"

"My brother is a fucking idiot!"

"What did he do?"

Hunter then sighs, "He's not an idiot, I guess; he's just...desperate."

"What happened?"

"He went to see his dad."

"What?! After what happened last time?"

"I guess he just wanted to hold on to that last little shred of hope that he might be able to have somewhat of a normal relationship with his biological father. He ran away and took a bus to Chicago. He told his dad he'd give him one last chance...and what did the bastard do? Decided to take Elijah to Navy Pier, while drunk. They crashed before they could make five blocks. I just got a voicemail from my mom, and..."

"Is Elijah okay?"

"I don't know. The voicemail my mom left me was on the way to the hospital. We have no idea what kind of condition he's in."

The rest of TYI run out. Mara tosses Hunter her phone.

"We just listened to the voicemail."

"How'd you figure out my password?" Hunter asks as Chris helps her stand up.

"She's Mara." Alice says.

"Are you okay?" Reed asks.

"Am I okay?! Who cares about me?! What about my brother?!"

"Are you gonna be able to go on tonight?" Blake asks.

Hunter pauses a moment, thinking. She then walks over and peeks out of the curtain at the audience a second before coming back.

"How long until we're on?"

"About fifteen minutes." Mara says.

"I can do it."

"Hunter, are you sure?" Chris asks.

"I'm not gonna let that audience down. The show must go on, right? And even if Elijah's condition is serious...the tour is almost over."

"If Elijah is in serious condition, no one would blame you if you left." Blake says.

Hunter sighs, "Let's just get through tonight, okay? I'll think over everything once I hear about how Elijah's doing. Let's get ready to go on."