Bless The Broken Road

Chapter Eight- Confrontation

Joel climbed off the bus, seeing Colton, but not Daniel. He hurried over to him, and saw Luke getting off with Sydney, whose eyes were red and puffy. Colton looked up.

"Hey, Joel. What's up? You look like you want to punch someone." Joel forced himself to not snort.
"That's accurate. And there has been a....situation with your new drummer, mate." Colton looked confused.
"Daniel? Does it have to do with the date he went on with Jael last night?" Joel nodded, clenching his fist.
"Yeah. Daniel raped my sister." Colton stepped back slightly.
"Whoa. He did what? No, man, he'd never do something like that." Joel nodded towards his sister, and Colton froze. 
"She has been like that since she returned last night, mate. She told us herself. You wanna ask her?" Colton nodded slightly, and Luke saw them. Joel motioned for them to come over, and he said something to Sydney, who nodded. They came over, and Colton couldn't speak for a minute.

"Jael, is what Joel said Daniel did to you true?" She nodded, and then Daniel himself walked up.
"Is what true?" Before anyone could stop her, Sydney punched him straight in the nose. He stumbled back, a hand flying up to it. Joel gently wrapped his arms around her, and she fought sobs again.

"Hey, it's okay. He's not going to get away with it." He said quietly, trying to help calm her. Colton, Joel, Luke, and the rest of their bands watched as he stood back up, blood trickling from his nose.

"What was that for?" This time, it was Joel who spoke, a quiet but deadly fury in his voice.
"I think you know very well what it was for, mate. Sydney told us what you did to her last night." Then Colton spoke up.
"Daniel, I'm ashamed I even allowed you a chance at this job now. You're done, and we will get the police involved. Do you understand?" He nodded, trying to make eye contact with Sydney. Then Timmy spoke up.
"Oh, the police are already on their way. As soon as we stopped, the five of us called the police, explained what happened. They agreed to keep it quiet for Jael's sake, though." Luke nodded, and she mouthed thank you to Timmy. Daniel glared at her, and Joel was fighting the urge to punch him right then and there.

"I told you, *****, you better not say anything, or else." He growled, slapping her and leaving her cheek bright red. She cried out in pain, and the fury in everyone's eyes was clear now. Luke's hand clenched into a fist, and he punched Daniel.

"You don't hit my sister, and you definitely don't call her that." His voice was lower than they'd ever heard, and had a terrifying, almost deadly fury in it. Joel held her even closer as the police cars screamed up. As he was taken away, she sobbed again.

"It's okay, Sydney." Joel said quietly and soothingly.
"He's not going to get to you ever again. I promise." She couldn't move, and couldn't breathe. He sighed, gently scooping her up and carrying her back onto the bus. He put Sydney in her bunk, where she just lay, crying. Joel went back in, finding Colton talking with Timmy and Luke.

"Joel, Timmy's going to stand in as Colton's drummer for now. How's Sydney?" He sighed, looking at his younger brother.
"Still in tears. I just.....I can't believe she was the one that this happened to. She didn't deserve it. And it's partly my fault. I convinced her to go out with a guy who turned out to be a huge jerk." Luke shook his head.
"It's not our fault. It's his for doing it, and for lying to us all." Then, his phone rang.
"I'll be right back." Luke walked a little ways away, answering the call. It was their brother, Ben, and his wife, Paige.

"Hey, guys." He said, forcing a smile. But Ben wasn't fooled.
"Luke, what happened? And where are the twins?" He sighed.
"On the bus. She went on a date with Colton Dixon's new drummer, Daniel. He....well...." He couldn't bring himself to say the word out loud.
"Let's just say he would've done a fine job playing Garo. He has that one part nailed down." He said bitterly, and Ben's jaw clenched.
"He didn't." Luke nodded, and Paige gasped.
"What?! You've got to be.....what city are you all in?" He looked up, seeing Joel coming over.
"Baton Rouge." Ben saw Joel, and waved. Joel stopped beside his brother.
"Hey, guys." Paige waved as well, and Luke looked at his older brother.
"How is she?" Joel sighed.
"Not good. Not good at all. This whole thing is crushing her. She even took her necklaces off." Even Ben gasped at that. Sydney always wore the Australian penny necklace, and the stamped Priceless coin. Joel shook his head.

"I just.....we did Priceless, and now it seems like our own sister is turning into Antonia. I don't know what to do." Paige sighed, and then heard Asher in the background, pretending to play the drums again.....and he wasn't doing too well.

"You know what you do? You just need to be there for her. Sometimes, when grief sets in, just having someone there to vent to or having a shoulder to cry on makes the most impact." Both brothers nodded, and they heard a crash. Ben sighed, looking back.
"Hey, I'll call you guys back later, okay? Tell Sydney I said hey." They nodded, exchanging goodbyes. Now, the brothers had what would probably be the hardest job they'd ever had in their lives. Helping their now broken and crushed sister once again believe that no matter what happened, she was priceless. And for someone who had just experienced something like that....it would definitely be difficult.

What?! Two updates in one day?! Yup! Cause I love you guys!! Thanks for reading! :)