For The Ones We Love

Innocent

    We all gasped. Sabotage? That's crazy! Someone hurt Ray on purpose?! The investigator started talking once more, "Do you guys know of anyone who would want to see this young man get killed? Or at least severely injured." We all looked around. I noticed that Breaunna was the only OMG girl sitting with us. I guess Bahja and Zonnique had left. I honestly couldn't think of anyone who would want to hurt Ray... Except... "I think I have a feeling," I blurted out. All eyes fell upon me. "Follow me." I lead everyone to OMG's dressing room, and I opened the door. Bahja had her arms around Zonnique. She was apparently crying. They looked up at me when I walked in. "May I help you?" Bahja said seemingly annoyed. "Um... I just came to get my bag," I lied. Bahja pointed behind her. "Its right on the dresser." I waltzed into the room, with the crowd watching closely behind me. I grabbed my bag, but when I lifted it, something fell out. It looked like a huge pair of pliers. "What's that?!" The investigator yelled at me. "I have no idea! Its not even mine!" The investigator walked inside the room. He picked up the huge pliers and examined it. After a few seconds, his eyes widened. "These are the same exact pliers that were used to cut the cable!" The whole roomed gasped, and glared at me. "What are you saying?! I didn't cut the cord! Why would I want to hurt Ray Ray? And I was in my seat the whole time!!" Bahja jumped in the conversation. "Well, the lights did go of before the stage fell, and they did come back on a few seconds afterwards. That was enough time for you to sneak backstage, cut the cable, and return to your seat..." This is unbelievable. Was I really being framed right now? Everyone, except for Breaunna and Jamaya, started mumbling and agreeing with what Bahja said. "You all know I have no motive to hurt Ray!! You guys are kidding right?!" The investigator spoke again. "I'm afraid this is no laughing matter. The evidence all points to you. I have no choice but to take you into custody until proven innocent." You know that burning sensation you get around your nose when you're about to cry? That's how I felt right now. No one believed me. "Why Amber? Why?! What the hell did Ray ever do to you?! This is fucking low!" Prince shouted at me, in the arms of Keisha. I couldn't even choke up a response, the pressure was just too much. Jamaya jumped to my defense. "Princeton, cool the fuck out! I was with Amber the whole time, she did NOT do it!!" Prod decided to share his opinion, "Amber, this is really cold. I don't even know what to believe. If you had a problem with Ray, why didn't you just say something? You didn't have to take things to an extreme. And to think I was actually falling for you, and I was gonna ask you to be mine. Wow." That broke me. Those words snapped me in two. To everyone else, that may have seemed like just words, but to me, the were like daggers. Straight through my heart. Within the span of an hour, everything had fallen apart.  Before anyone got a chance to speak, two police officers came and put my hands behind my back. They didn't cuff them, they just held them there. I was whisked away into a police car, the crowd following close behind. Before the car drove away, Jamaya exclaimed, "Don't worry Amber! We're gonna clear this up soon!" With that the car drove away, and I could still feel the stares of the crowd burn straight through me. This had to be the worst feeling in the world.

*

    It was around 2 in the morning. There was no sense of time in this confession room. My mom was at Conjunction House with the rest of the crew from the concert. About an hour ago, I had gotten the chance to speak to her. She believed me, and that made me feel only a little better. I even talked to Roc on the phone earlier. He told me that Ray was fine. He was gonna be out of the hospital by Tuesday, and he would be back to his regular self within a month. I was just getting caught up in all my thoughts. How did such an amazing day go so wrong, so quickly? I KNOW for a fact it was either Bahja or Nique who framed me. I'm just upset that I actually believed Bahja. I guess people can't change for the better. Just as I was deep in thought, the investigator came through the door. "Ms. Ryan," the officer said, addressing me by my last name, "You have another visitor." I looked up at the door and he left the door. My visitor came and sat across from me. My eyes widened, "You actually came to visit me?" Roc smiled, "Why wouldn't I?" I hung my head. "I thought you'd be mad at me like everyone else. No one believes me Roc. No one! I didn't do it, I swear! I don't know why Bahja and Zonnique framed me! The past few hours have been hell! It's just not fair, Roc." The tears started to stream. "Why won't anyone believe me?" He pulled me into one of his infamous hugs, and I sobbed into his chest. "Shhh," he cooed. "I'm not mad at you, and I believe you. We're gonna clear this thing up, okay?" He lightly kissed my forehead. I sat there crying in his arms for a few more minutes. It seems as if I always find myself crying to him. I lifted my head up. "I guess I should have listened to you about Bahja. She was only up to no good." He slightly smiled. "It's okay. You were only here next victim. Just don't let it happen again, okay?" I sarcastically laughed. "Trust me, I won't. Because the next time I see her. I'm gonna beat the shi–" Roc put his finger to my lips, implying me to stop talking. "Amber, nothing you say in here is confidential. It's all being recorded." Of course. It's all being recorded… wait a minute. Recorded? That's it! "Roc! You're a genius!" He gave me a weird look. "I am?" I stood up, "Yes, you are! I'm pretty sure that arena is filled with cameras! One of them probably recorded behind the stage when the cable was cut!" He was contemplating my idea. "But wait. How would the camera be able to see who cut it when it was completely dark when it happened?" "Cameras have an inferred night vision feature that allows them to see in total darkness." I said. "Oh okay. But wait… how are we gonna get access to this footage?" Roc continued. "There is probably someone in the camera room at the arena who can help us." He nodded, “Oh I see. But wait–” I cut him off. “Stop questioning me! Just go with it.” He laughed, “Alright alright! Sheesh.” We both got up to find the investigator. We were about to squash this, once and for all.

-The Arena-

    As we neared the room that monitored all the cameras, I started getting really nervous. What if the videos didn't prove a thing? What if they kept me in custody and I was proven guilty? I guess Roc sensed my nerves cause he grabbed my hand and squeezed it, reassuring that everything was gonna be okay. We knocked on the door. This young guy, like in his late twenties, came to the door. "May I help you?" He looked at the three of us. The investigator held up his badge. "We need a look at your cameras for the investigation of a crime." The camera guy moved out of our way, and we walked in. The camera guy sat at the desk that controlled all the cameras, and the investigator started talking. "I need for you to go back to footage from last night at approximately 8:19pm." The camera guy did as he was told. Once he got there, we all paid close attention to the footage. For about 20 seconds, there was nothing. I can feel the sweat starting to bead on my forehead. If these next 40 seconds didn't prove me innocent, nothing else would. Just then, we saw 2 figures pass the screen, and take out a pair of huge pliers. The pink and the blue was a dead give away. "LOOK," I said almost yelling, "That's Bahja and Zonnique! I wasn't there! I'm innocent!" The investigator squinted at the screen, then nodded. "You're right. That's not you. This was all a big misunderstanding." I nodded. I wanted to blurt out, "DUH FOOL. That's what I've been saying this whole time dumb ass!" But, that would be rude. The investigator got on his walkie talkie. "Send out an arrest warrant for Bahja Rodriguez and Zonnique Pullins. I'll be there as soon as possible." He shut it off and turned back to me. "Ms. Ryan, I apologize for the bottom from my heart for all of this chaos. If there's anything the LAPD can do for you, just let us know." I grinned. "Thank you, but all I need right now is a ride home." We shared a laugh, and the investigator and the camera guy left, leaving me and Roc alone. He lifted me up. "I told you everything would be okay!" I laughed, "I know, I know, now put me down!" He did as he was told then laughed. I continued talking, "Roc, thanks for believing in me when almost everyone else turned their backs." He smiled, "We'll isn't that what friends are for?" I smiled back, then I kissed him on the cheek. It wasn't a romantic kiss, just a 'thanks for everything' kiss. We grabbed each others hands and walked outside to the cop car so we could be driven home. It was pretty much a silent ride; I was half asleep cause it was like five in the morning. When we pulled up to Conjunction House, there was another cop car waiting outside. Roc and I came out of the car, and saw Bahja and Zonnique being walked to the car. Before they were shoved in the back seat, I made the officer stop so I could exchange a few words with Bahja. I stepped up to her face, "Maybe you should pick out the flaws in your plans before you pursue them. Better luck next time." She looked me in my eyes. "Look, you may have won the battle, but this is only the beginning. The war is yet to come." She said with the coldest voice. I was honestly taken aback by her response; her words scared me. But I didn't let her see that. "Whatever," I spat back, "have fun in that jail cell." I turned on my heels and walked away. Roc followed closes behind me, dying laughing. We walked into the house, and everyone came running up to us. Prince came first. "Amber! I am so so so so so so sooooooooooooooo sorry! I didn't mean to snap on you like that! Please forgive me," he said frowning. I laughed, "I forgive you Mexico!" He smiled again, and hugged me tight. Jamaya started talking. "See! I told you my girl wasn't guilty! Now EVERYONE, apologize to Amber!" This is why I love this girl. Everyone did as Jamaya said. "We're sorry Amber!" everyone said in unison. "It's okay guys!" The crowd dispersed, but Prodigy came trotting over to me. "Amber… I just wanted to personally say I'm sorry for the way I reacted. I was a jerk; no lady deserves to be talked to that way." He got closer to me; we were basically nose to nose. "Do you forgive me?" I blushed hard. "Yes, I forgive you Prodigy." He smiled. "Good, now I can do this." He leaned in, and kissed me. on. my. lips. My mind exploded into a million thoughts. Was this real life? I could feel him smile as he kissed me, which made my heart race even more. My eyes fluttered open as he pulled away. "Will you be my girlfriend, Amber?" I didn't even have to think about it. I linked arms with him. "You didn't even have to ask." He kissed my cheek this time, and we walked back into the main room with everyone else. Despite everything that happened, the day still ended on a high note. Maybe happy ever after does exist after all.

~~~~~

AWWWWWW! Prod and Amber finally hooked up yo :') ♥

This chapter took a lot of time and a lot of thought. Hope you liked it! ☺

And now everything is perfect. BUT. It won't stay that way for long…

Because it could get ugly, before it gets beautiful. ;)