You Light Up the Sky Like Lightning

Chapter Thirty Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

After the park, we all went back to the hotel to pack. We had to leave in an hour within arriving back there, so we had to pack quickly, or else we would miss the flight to China. 

When we had arrived at the airport, fans were all lined up just like they were that one time before. They were behind a barricade with signs, T-shirts, and ear-piercing screams. 

Justin kept me close as we walked through the blocked off sections because I think he was scared that I'd get hit in my side again or something.  

Anyway, now we were on the plane. I was sitting in a window seat towards the front of the plane. It was a private plane, and so the crew was spread out all over. 

"Lan?" Justin asked as he settled down in the seat next to me. 

"Yes?" 

"How you doing? Are you feeling okay?" he asked as he took my hand gently. 

I nodded. "I'm okay Justin, and I will be. You don't have to worry about me."

Justin looked at me like I was insane. "Of course I have to worry! I want to make sure that you're okay. It means a lot to me, and it hurts me when you're hurt."

I smiled. "You're so cute."

Justin smiled in a cocky way. "I know I am!"

I laughed and rolled my eyes. 

Yeah, I wasn't kidding about him not worrying about me because I knew he had better things to do than take care of me, but I wasn't letting on about how much just sitting in this seat hurt. It hurt like hell because my back had to sit up straight because of the takeoff rituals. Stupid FAA. Also, my left side was being affected from it because I had to slouch in a weird way. 

But I didn't tell Justin any of that. He'd try to do something about it. It's not that I don't want him taking care of me, because I do, but I just want him concentrating on things that he needs to- like his concert tomorrow, or his fans, or the fact that Scooter had a slap mark on his face that just wouldn't fade. 

Yes, Justin and I laughed when we saw that. I knew Carin had blown up on him, and he probably wasn't the happiest person right now. 

I laid my head on Justin's arm, and he held me tight. He actually did it without it hurting in any way. 

"I love you," Justin whispered as he set his head on top of mine. 

"I love you, too," I said back. 

***

The next day, I felt surprisingly better. I had no idea why. The cuts and bruises were still there, and very visible, but they were going away. The cut down my back was slowly healing. However, the bruise on my face just wouldn't go away. My ribs hurt still, but not like they used to. I could mostly move around pretty well. And, I was able to take off the sling because my shoulder felt more or less fine now.  

Justin was so worried about me right now. I had no idea why. Maybe it because we were at his reversals right now, and last time I was there . . . yeah. He was on stage running through his show, and he kept his eyes on me the whole time. It was like he was scared for me to leave. Don't get me wrong, I was scared too, but I just think that he was more freaked out than I was. 

My phone vibrate in my lap, and I looked down to see a new text message. 

To: Landry
From: Scooter

    *Please come to the backstage area. I need to talk to you. 


I rolled my eyes. 


To: Scooter
From: Landry 

  *No. I have nothing to say to you. 


Not thirty seconds later, he text me back. 


To: Landry 
From: Scooter

    *Well I have something to say to you. So I will come get you instead wether you like it or not.  


Ugh. Why did he want to talk to me? I didn't want to see him! He had been avoiding me and Justin since he told us that he hired Cameron!

"Ah-hem," someone cleared their throat behind me. 

I turned around. It was Scooter. 

"Come on," he said gruffly before turning around and walking towards the doors. He turned around to look at me when he got there, and he became aggravated when he saw that I was still seated. 

He made a motion telling me to come on. I rolled my eyes again, but slowly dragged myself up. 

I made my way up the isle, but as soon as I started moving, Justin yelled from where he was on stage, stopping in the middle of a song, "Landry, where are you going?"

I turned to look at him. 

"I'll be right back. I promise," I replied, just loud enough for him to hear me. 

He got a weird look on his face and scrunched his eyebrows. 

He was scared of letting me go out there by myself, wasn't he? 

"I'm not going to be by myself, Justin," I said. 

His face relaxed. "Okay."

I turned to walk up the isle again. A few rows later, Justin said really loudly into the microphone, "I love you, Landry!"

I laughed and turned around. "I love you, too!"

I blew him a kiss with my hand, and he pretend caught it.  

I smiled and finished walking to Scooter. My smile faded instantly then. 

"Come on," he said, walking out of the arena and down the hallways. We were by the main entrances and exits.

Scooter stopped walking. He turned to me and shoved a piece of paper into my hands. 

"Here," he said unenthusiastically. 

I looked at him, confused. Then I looked down at the paper and almost started to cry. 

"Why . . . why are you handing me an airline ticket?" I asked quietly, my voice shaking already. 

"Because you are going home," he said with a hardness in his voice. "You cause Justin too much distraction, and we can't deal with that while he’s on tour!"

"I don't cause him distraction!" I yelled, tears coming to my eyes now. "He cares about me and wants to make sure I'm okay, thanks to you and you're little stunt with Cameron! He is concerned about me! He-"

"Him being concerned is also him being distracted!" Scooter snapped. "Ever since you got raped- which was not my fault- his main focus has been you! You! He isn't concentrating on the things he needs to! Instead, he's concentrating on you!"

I fell silent and I started to cry. I buried my head in my hands and sat down on a bench. It was Scooter's fault that I got raped, and it was not Justin's fault for wanting to take care of me. 

I heard Scooter sigh. "You're going back to Atlanta with Carin. There's a car outside. Your stuff is in there, too."

He opened the door that led outside and held it open for me. I didn't move. 

"Landry, come on! You'll miss your flight."

"Good," I whispered through sobs. "Because it's not my flight." 

"Landry, you don't have a choice. Let's go," Scooter said before roughly standing me up, and pulling me outside. I flinched as he touched me and cried out in pain as he dragged me outside. 

He opened the car door for me and motioned for me to get in. 

I shook my head no. 

I was not leaving. There was no way. I just couldn't. And I was not leaving Justin. 

When I didn't move, Scooter picked roughly me up and set me in the back seat of the car. He buckled me in as I continued to cry. 

"Can I at least say goodbye to Justin?" I whispered as Scooter stood up straight. I knew that there was no way for me to get out of this now. 

He looked at me. "No."

And then he slammed the door, and the car started moving.