Wrapped Up In You

Empty

By February, the tour was in full swing and it was great to be back to work. Brooks was doing an awesome job and fans were more excited than ever to see them. Lucy had finally set a Spring wedding date and Matt was over the moon. Yeah everyone was doing great but Zacky was still in a mood over Vix. Zoey gave small pieces of information but it wasn't enough to make him feel at ease. She was still in Huntington but she'd never really say for how long. The fact that she never visited when the wives came out on their free time wasn't encouraging. A dozen times he picked up his cell phone to call her but he always set it back down. She had his phone number and she was the phone with something to prove, not him. She had to be the one to call first. Right?

And then on a rainy Monday morning in March, he received a text from his older sister Zina and all the blood drained from his face. She had texted him a picture of himself at the Kansas bar that they stopped in the previous night. He had a bottle of beer in one tattooed hand and the other wrapped tightly around a fan who had decided it was okay to invade his personal space and plant a sloppy drunken kiss on his lips. His sister asked "Who the hell is this? It's all over social media this morning. Fans are sharing it all over Instagram."

Zacky could hear roaring in his ears. This was exactly what Vix had been waiting for. "Fuck," he mumbled as he reached for his cell phone, all resolutions to give her space forgotten. But she didn't answer. She didn't answer the second or third time either. He debated leaving a message but he wasn't even sure what to say. He dialed Zoey's number quickly. He knew she'd be able to find out Vix's reaction real time but she didn't answer either. "Damnit," he cursed looking at the digital clock on the hotel's night stand. He was due for lunch with the guys shortly and then sound check. He needed to get a move on but he couldn't...he absolutely couldn't let things happen this way. "Fuck it," he said to himself grabbing his red suitcase and shoving his belongings in as quickly as possible. Once he was done, he rushed through the door toward the elevator and straight to Dan's hotel room door.

Dan pulled the door open while finishing a yawn, "Zacky? You okay?"

"I need a ride to the airport."

"Airport?" Dan asked "You guys have a show in 6 hours."

Zacky shook his head side to side "I need to go home....it's...an emergency....I'll be back in a few days."

"An emergency?" Dan asked worriedly "Meaghan?"

"No..." Zacky replied "It's....I just have to go home. I'll call the guys on the way."

"Zack, you can't just fucking leave the tour, " Dan protested. 

"What's going on?" Johnny asked coming down the hallway.

"Zacky's leaving," Dan said incredulously.

Johnny's dark eyes narrowed "What's up?"

"That girl last night..." Zacky replied.

"God damn...already. It's been less than 24 hours," Johnny frowned.

"If Vix sees that, she's gonna turn tail and run," Zacky said.

Johnny  looked at his friend with something like pity. "You should have brought her on tour with you."

"She left me...she was just gonna walk away...how could I trust her after that?" 

"That's a cop out," Johnny replied "She came back to you and you asked her to prove herself without you having to do the same. You asked her to trust your feelings...How is she supposed to trust you? She's not the only fucked up one in your relationship."

"I know, I know!" Zacky said loudly "I'm trying to go fix it."

"Then get your ass out of here," Johnny motioned him down the hall.

"What about the show?" Dan asked.

Zacky was down at the elevator before Johnny could reply "We'll figure something out."

=====================

By the time the cab pulled into the driveway of his Huntington home it was late afternoon. When he saw the light shining through the living room windows, he drew his first clean breath since he'd gotten that stupid text from Zina that morning.

He grabbed his bags from the back of the cab, paid the driver and made a dash to the front door. He turned the knob but it was locked and he had to juggle his bags to fish his keys out of his backpack. "Vix?" he called in the foyer as he dropped his bags and moved through the house.

No dirty dishes in the sink, counter tops were spotless. A chill came over him and the hair on his arms stood on end. The house was empty.

"Vix!" he called as he headed toward the living room but the light he'd seen through the window came from the lamp that was plugged into a timer. He took the stairs two at a time but even before he reached his bedroom, he knew what he'd see.

She was gone. Her clothes were missing from the drawers she'd put them in.  They were empty. A bar of soap sat on the shelf in its wrapper, unused. The only toiletries on the counter were the ones he'd left. His legs were heavy as he entered the guest bedroom where she'd stored the rest of her possession that he'd picked up on the side of the road with her in Corona.  Nothing remained.

He made his way back downstairs. In her hurry to leave, she'd forgotten the sweatshirt hoodie he'd given her to wear in Big Bear on the living room chair and she'd left a book on the table. Even the refrigerator was empty, not even one container of the cherry yogurt she liked remained. He ended up in the living room, staring at the flickering light of the television he turned on mechanically, but seeing nothing. He'd thrown the dice and lost....again.

His cell phone rang and he pulled it out of the front pocket of his jeans. It was Zoey. She had called multiple times while he was in the air and on his way to the house, but he'd sent her voicemail every time. He knew she was worried.

He could hear the concern in her voice. "Oh my God Zacky...are you okay? Brian said you just...left...Zina told me about the picture....Zacky..."she trailed off.

He dropped his forehead into his hand. "She's not here, Zoey," he said unsteadily "she ran."