Kidnapped by Pierce the Veil

Hearts on Fire Tonight

"See you soon, man." Vic said, giving Chris a friendly hug.

Mike grunted a goodbye. He was still furious about what Chris did to me. Finally, the car pulled out of the driveway. I fiddled with the bandages on my arm from his nails. The scratches were healing pretty well.

Vic nudged me with his elbow and motioned for me to follow him, which I did. He smiled playfully as the led me down to the one part of the house I'd never gone to; the basement.

Instead of being dark, creepy and everything else you'd expect a basement to be, the guys had turned it into a studio of sorts. The floor was tiled and the room was brightly lit. The room was cold, the air chilled my bare arms.

"This is where we first started recording." Vic said. "Our parents and neighbors got tired of the constant noise, so we all spent about a year turning this basement into a recording studio." He closed the basement door, shutting me in the room with him. However, I wasn't alarmed as I may have been before.

"Why'd you bring me here?" I asked, rubbing my arms to warm them up a bit. Vic took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

"Because this room is practically soundproofed. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out. And I want to talk to you." He pulled out a chair and offered it to me, I sat down, and he did the same.

I looked down at the dog tag that never left my neck. I ran my finger over Joey's name, permanently etched onto the cold metal. I ached for him. I longed to see the brightness of his face, the depths of his smile and the sparkle in his eyes. I missed the touch of his presence. I missed him.

Vic cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him.

"We've all been thinking about this. A lot." He began. "And I think we've finally come to trust you." My heart swelled, but Vic wasn't finished yet. "Now, here's the thing. We can't be certain that you won't tell anyone about what happened."

I flew from the chair and went to my knees, and I grabbed a hold of Vic's hand. "Please, Vic, please. I'll be so happy, I won't tell anyone. Even Joey. I promise. I swear to God on my brother's life. Please." I begged. For once, I was actually telling the truth. As crazy as it sounds, I almost didn't want them arrested. They'd kept me alive when they could've killed me, right?

Vic nodded. "I believe you." He dropped my hand, and I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. "You're going home tomorrow."

I wanted to dance, and sing, and yell. I began laughing out of pure joy and happiness. Vic smiled and brushed a few curls out of my face. "I like hearing you laugh. I wish I would've gotten to hear it sooner."

I felt guilty instantly. Guilty for how I'd been treating them. Even though I was always furious, they never stopped caring about me. And all I ever did was scream and cry.

"Vic, I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry I never let you guys in, I'm sorry for screaming at you. I should've....I could've-" I stammered.

Vic just put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't apologize, Bethany. You had, and still have, every right to hate us."

I looked him in his kind, brown eyes. "Then why don't I?"

He smiled. "That's the funny thing about life, isn't it?" I smiled back. He pulled me into a bear hug, squeezing me tightly. I hugged back just as passionately. "I'll miss you, Beth."

Just as I was about to reply, Jaime practically ran down the stairs. His usual smile was gone, his eyes full of concern. "Guys, we have a problem."

•••••

"What the fuck! I come back to get my phone charger, and this is what I find?!? You can't just let her go home! She could tell!" Chris screamed.