You Light Up the Sky Like Lightning

Chapter Thirty Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

*Justin's POV*

Landry didn't come back at all throughout my rehearsals, and it really made me nervous. 

As soon as I was finished, I walked back to my dressing room to see if she was there. She sometimes likes to wait for me in there, so that's why I went there first. I walked in only to find it just how I left it. 

Landry wasn't in there. 

I sighed and continued to look around some more. I searched almost everywhere, all throughout the entire building. When I couldn’t find her, I became scared.

What had happened to her?! What if she's in trouble again?! What if I need to help her?! What if something bad was happening again?!

I started freaking out. Where was she?! 

I started to run all over the building looking for her frantically. She was nowhere to be seen! 

I reached into my pocket for my phone to try to call her, but I didn't have it. Scooter had my phone from rehearsals still. 

Scooter. He'd know where Landry was. 

I ran around again- in the process of freaking out- trying to find him, and found him minutes later talking with someone on the phone, pacing on the blue carpet in the main entrance of the arena. 

As soon as he saw me, he hung up. 

"Where is she?" I asked as calmly as I could. It wasn't very calm, because I was on the verge of spazzing out. 

Scooter smiled, but it looked taunting to me. "Don't worry about her. Now you can focus on the things you need to."

"What did you do with her?!" I yelled. 

Scooter smirked. "She's gone."

My heart stopped. 

She's gone? How can she be gone?

"What do you mean she's gone?!" I asked, still yelling. 

She can't be gone! She just can't! I wouldn't be able to function if she wasn't here!

"Landry and Carin flew back to Atlanta. They're not here any more," Scooter said. I could hear the slight smile in his voice, as well as a mocking sound. 

I shook my head and sat down on the floor in shock. 

She was back in Atlanta? Why? Did Scooter make her leave? Why did Carin go? 

I sucked in a breath. My breathing soon became rapid and intense. I put my head in my hands, and let out a hiccup instead of a sob. I squeezed my eyes shut tight. 

She was gone. 

And I didn't even get to say goodbye. 

I heard Scooter sigh. "Justin, get up. You've got a concert to do in a little bit. Forget about Landry. She did you no good. She sucked up all your attention, and you were never focused on the tour like you should have been in the-"

"Scooter!" I yelled, cutting him off. I stood up so I could get in his face. "Landry did not 'suck up all my attention!' I gave her my attention! That's a big difference! And she was good to me! She understands me like no one else does! When she got raped- all thanks to you!- who was always there for her?! Me! I was! You completely avoided her! You don't care what's best for her! You didn't mind seeing her in pain! You just want to make sure you still have a job because if I were to quit singing just to be with Landry, you wouldn't have one! And by the way, I would quit just to get her back."

I turned around and ran. I had to get away from him. I ran all the way across the building and into my dressing room, and I made sure to slam the door when I was there. 

When I got there, I did a face-plant onto the couch. 

She was gone. How can she be gone? Maybe Scooter was kidding and it was just a joke. Maybe she would come out of somewhere at a random time and surprise me. 

But I knew that wouldn't happen. Scooter wanted to get rid of her, and it worked. Somehow he had brought Carin into this, too. 

A soft knock came from the door right as a single tear leaked out of my left eye. It soaked into the fabric of the couch. 

I didn't move off the couch to answer the door. The door opened, and someone walked in. 

It wasn't Landry. I knew that much. That's why I didn't look. I didn't care who else it could have been. 

"Justin, honey," my moms voice. "What's wrong?"

She sat down on the edge of the couch next to me. She rubbed my back, but I didn't move. 

"Justin," she repeated when I didn't answer. 

I sniffed, rolled over to my back, and looked at her. 

"Landry's gone," I said, my voice cracking. 

My moms expression went from shocked to confused. 

"Why?" she asked.

I rubbed my eyes as more pools of water threatened to spill over the edge of my eyelids. 

"Aw, honey," my mom said. "It's okay to cry."

I ignored her and sat up. "Carin took her back to Atlanta because Scooter thought Landry was too much of a 'distraction' to me."

My mom looked at me weirdly. "Well, I can promise you that Carin didn't want to do it."  

I nodded. "Scooter probably made her."

My mom let out a sigh. "Well, what do you want to do? You can't exactly chase after her- one because you have a concert, two, because Scooter won't let you, and three because she's probably already on the plane. What’s the plan?"

"Well, how much longer is this tour?- considering that Scooter probably sent her home for the rest of it."

My mom didn't reply. She looked away from me, and stared at something across the room. 

"Mom? How much longer?" I asked, starting to freak out again. What it it's way too long? What if it isn't something that I want to hear? It made me regret asking. 

"About another month," my mom said quietly. “It’s only a month, though. It’ll be okay. You’ll see her again before you know it.”