Star World

twenty two

Scarlet POV

"Princess." I felt two hands grip my arms, lightly shaking me.

"Princess, wake up," Anderson's soft voice said. I felt the edge of the bed dip down, soft lips pressing against my temple. I grumbled, "5 more minutes pleaseee."

"C'mon, Scar," he lifted the blanket from my face. "No, please, the light," I yelled, covering my face with my hands. "I made pancakes." I cracked an eye open and saw Anderson smiling. "Pancakes?" I asked again; he knew food was the one thing that could get me out of bed. "Yes, now get up," he grabbed my hand again, pulling me up but this time I actually got up with him.

The kitchen smelled of pancakes and coffee, my favorite. Anderson had set up a bunch of food on the island, making a buffet. Could he be any more perfect? I leaned over the counter and kissed him, "You're so sweet, thank you for this."

"Anything for my favorite girl," he had a huge grin on his face, the kind that met your eyes. Anderson picked up the pot of coffee and poured some into a mug, passing it over to me. I took a sip, mmm he made this perfect. "Damn straight, I'm your favorite girl. Hey, I'm gonna go wake up Vi and make sure she's okay and see if she wants any food," I said, pushing my stool out. "Okay, Scar."

I knocked on Violet's door, slowly opening it up, "Hey Vi, it's me. Anderson made some breakfast, and I wanted to make sure you were okay." I waited a few more seconds for her to reply, but she didn't. Weird. I opened the door fully to see if she was still sleeping, but she wasn't in bed. Maybe she just woke up to go get Starbucks or go to the gym. I convinced myself she was fine, but deep down, I felt like something was wrong.

"Violet isn't here," I said, walking out of her room. Anderson turned his head toward me and cocked an eyebrow, "maybe she left to go get something. I'm sure she's fine, come eat."

"D-do you think Preston did something to her?" My voice came out shaky, and my stomach dropped. No. No way. He loved her; he wouldn't do that. "No, Scar, she's probably just out running errands or something," Anderson said, walking over to me and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Yea, you're right. I shouldn't worry."

Anderson went home after breakfast; he said he had things to do. I lazed around all day watching movies, waiting for Vi to come back, but she never did. I rechecked my phone, still nothing—no calls, texts, snapchats, anything. My heart began to race. I was really worried now. Violet always checked in if she was gone. I picked up my phone and dialed Anderson.

"Hey babe, what's up-"

"Anderson, Violet's still gone. I haven't heard a peep from her all day, literally nothing. She always calls me, I know something's wrong. She could be hurt or in trouble or something we need to find her," by this point I was sobbing, "w-what if she's at Prestons,"

"Hey hey calm down Scar, it's gonna be okay. How about this; i'll stop by Preston's and check it out. If she's not there then maybe he'll at least have some sort of an idea where she'd be," Anderson said smoothly, I could hear him grabbing his keys.

"Okay. Thank you so much Anderson I love you." Wait, did I really just say that. Fuck. I facepalmed and sucked in a breath. I waited a few seconds but Anderson didn't say anything. "Ugh-okay cool. See you soon," I said quickly. "Wait Scarl-" I hung up before he could say anything.

Wow, how stupid could I be? But right now I can't dwell on the fact that I just accidentally confessed my love for Anderson. I needed to find my best friend.

Anderson POV

Fuck. I hope nothing happened to Violet. And the fact that Scarlet said I love you to me, damn. I want to say it back, I've loved her for awhile, but now isn't the time for that. Finding Violet is the most important thing right now.

 Scarlet seems very distraught and it makes my heart hurt for her, plus Violet's a nice girl. I made my way over to Preston's apartment. I swear to god if that scum bag did anything to Violet, I'll fucking kill him.

I banged on Preston's door once I was there and as he opened the door I shoved it open and made my way inside. "Where the hell is she?" I yelled, taking in his appearance. He looked like shit. Messy hair, sweatpants, food and trash all over his apartment and his face was full of despair.

"What? Who? What are you doing here?" Preston asked rubbing his eyes, clearly confused. He seemed like he was genuinely confused. "Violet's missing." I told him and his jaw dropped. "No- no don't say that! Are you sure?" Preston asked me, as he started pacing around with a look of concern. "Yes, Scarlet hasn't seen or talked to her since yesterday." I told him.

"Fuck!" Preston yelled, then ran into his room to put on clothes and shoes. "Let's go to Scarlet's and talk to her." I told him once he was changed. He just nodded and we went to my car. Preston and I have had a rivalry for as long as I could remember, but I know we're both willing to let it go for the time being. The girls we care about are important to us.

We got to Scarlet's and she immediately ran into my arms. She was uncontrollably sobbing and her face was red. "What did you do?" Scarlet screamed at Preston, shoving him. "Nothing! I would never hurt her, I want to find her!" Preston responded to Scar, his eyes starting to tear up.

Scarlet filled Preston and I in on all of the events from yesterday. So, Violet was in bed the last time Scarlet saw her. So, she either left in the middle of the night or early this morning. It doesn't make sense though, where would she go if it wasn't to see Preston.

Preston gave me a look and said, "I think I know where she might be," hinting to me that I would know as well. I nodded and asked, "Do you want me to come with you?" Preston shook his head no and responded, "It will be too dangerous for you. I'll be back, call me if anything comes up." Then walked out the door leaving me with a very confused Scarlet.

Preston POV

I was driving Anderson's car to the warehouse. I'm shocked he let me borrow it, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I hope to god that Violet isn't there and that she's actually with her other friends or having a Spa day or something.

I tried to calm myself down and look as normal as possible as I entered the code to get into the warehouse. As I walked down the hall I was met with many nods from my acquaintances acknowledging me. "Hey, Preston!" Red, my closest work friend, called out to me, jogging over.

"Hey." I responded, looking around to see any commotion. "Good job getting that girl." He told me. My head snapped to look at him. "What girl?" I asked him sternly. "The one working for Damon Stone." Red told me. "What? I didn't get her. Where is she?" I asked him, trying not to panic.

"Then who did?" Red asked me, confused. "I have no idea. Can you tell me where she is please?" I asked him. "Floor 3, room 5." He responded, and I hurriedly made my way up the stairs, I didn't have time for the elevator. As I approached there were guards all around her room. I didn't understand why it was so heavily guarded, it's not like she's dangerous.

Fuck. I walked over to the guards attempting to be as casual as possible. "What's up with the extra security today?" I asked a guard that I've actually talked to multiple times before. "Not sure, the boss says this one's important. Gonna get some important information apparently." He responded, and I nodded and made my way to the bathroom.

My feet moved as fast as they could. Once I opened the door to a bathroom stall, I emptied my stomach of all of its contents. I feel fucking sick. By getting information out of Violet, he meant that they are going to torture her to get information. She doesn't even know anything, so she will get even more torture for not talking.

I left the building, trying to be as low-key as possible. I got into Anderson's car and let out a loud sigh. I decided to call him and once he answered, I said "I need your help."