Getting the skeptic to believe
That the goal wasn’t to leave
One of us broken
Sometimes I wish I'd never known
Just how brilliantly you shown
Right before you threw the stone
To cast me out.
*Sunday, July 30*
9 AM
The blaring siren from the alarm clock pulled Vivian out of her dead sleep. She sat straight up in her bed, clutching the covers to her chest, the dull headache still ringing in her head. Taking a deep breath, she turned over and turned off the alarm, the blaring wails sending her pounding head reeling with dizziness.
Getting out of bed, Vivian began to get ready for the long day and hours of awkwardness that would follow. She had refused to see anybody yesterday, ignoring the phone calls and pounding of fists on her door. She had moved from Justin’s room to her own a few hours after the group had left for the basketball game. She had cleaned up the room; the empty bottles a stark reminder of what she had done the night before. The rest of her day was spent moping around her room, trying her best to remember what had happened between her and Justin.
Of course she had spent some of her time with the toilet in her bathroom, purging herself of the terrible toxins that had taken control of her body last night. She tried her best to remember what had happened but the only thing that stood out in her mind was the kiss they had shared. Everything after that had been thrown into a foggy haze.
But now she had to prepare herself for the questioning glances she was bound to get from the rest of the guys and the crew. As far as she knew, all of them had heard the same story, she had gotten sick and was now battling some sort of flu virus. Hopefully no one would question her further although she as a bit wary of what Justin was going to say to her when they would finally be forced to talk to one another.
The group was bound for Massachusetts that day, the buses leaving in a little over an hour. It was a bout a four-hour drive to Boston and Vivian was going to spend it on the Administrative Control Bus, as far away from the band’s tour bus as possible. The last thing she needed was to be trapped on a bus with five rambunctious and equally curious men.
When the time finally came for her to join the rest of the group in the lobby, Vivian gathered her things and started her trek to the elevator, hoping she didn’t meet anybody along the way.
“Vivian, wait up!” Vivian froze in the middle of the corridor, her mouth dry as Melinda approached, carrying her small overnight bag with her. “How are you feeling today?” Melinda asked with a small smile that was laced with something else; a different emotion that Vivian couldn’t place.
“Better,” Vivian croaked, “I think I’ll take it easy on the ACB until we get to Boston,” Vivian added meekly as she tried her best to look as sick as possible.
“Don’t think so, we have some things to discuss on the band bus,” Melinda explained, “A minor emergency about Boston that the whole group needs to discuss. Nothing big, but we all need to be there.” Vivian swallowed hard and nodded as she grabbed her bags, her grip tightening with nervousness.
“Okay,” Vivian said meekly as she followed the older woman to the elevator. Looks like her wish of staying out of the guys’ reach was impossible, she was going to endear an extremely long ride with them and that was the last thing she wanted.
*NSYNC Tour Bus*
11:00 AM
“Vivian, you’re alive!” Chris exalted as he jumped up from his position on the couch. He rushed over towards the young woman and hugged her tightly, Vivian dropping her bags and purse in the process.
“I thought I was alive, that was until you expunged all the breath from my body,” Vivian gasped out as she squirmed out of Chris’ hold. Bending down, she picked up her things and stored them in a cubby underneath the couch. She made a feeble attempt to cough and she hoped the others fell for her obvious attempts at trying to fake sick. It seemed all but one believed her performance.
“Come sit down over here,” JC said from his spot at the small table that was set up by the kitchenette. The back of the bus held a small bathroom, six bunks and a small den way in the back that the guys used to watch movies and play video games. Everyone was present on the bus aside from Melinda and Johnny who were taking care of the bill for their hotel stay. The rest of the crew was already on their way to Boston so they could set up for the show the following night. But for the band, it was strictly a travel day.
Vivian sat down across from JC and let her head lean against the cool window. She closed her eyes and tried to will away the nauseous feeling that was creeping around her stomach. She had failed to eat anything for breakfast and the only thing her system was water and the small bits of food she had been able to eat the night before.
“Are you still feeling crummy?” JC questioned and Vivian nodded her head. She let out a small cough for good measure and opened her eyes. JC’s visage was laced with concern and she almost felt asking him to take her temperature just to seal her act of sick assistant.
“It must be that twenty-four hour cold, I heard it was going around,” Justin explained from his seat next to Chris. The two were going through the pile of video games that they had, discussing which ones they wanted to play once the road trip was under way. Vivian wanted to jump out of her seat and smack him for the normal tone he was taking with her. Sure they had a mutual understanding that what had happened between them had never transpired but he could have shown a little sympathy for what she was going through!
Taking a deep breath, she sat up in her seat, just as Melinda arrived with Johnny, both of them looking grim. The boys exalted their return to the bus by offering them seats and hugging both of them. Vivian merely nodded in their direction and as she made room for Melinda who took a seat next to her.
“So what’s this thing you had to talk to us about?” Lance asked but Johnny held up his hand to silence the questionings.
“We’ll talk about it once we get out of the City. Right now our main focus is to get out on the road,” Johnny announced. The guys agreed and Vivian nodded her head grimly, wondering what they were going to talk about.
About twenty minutes later, the bus was on the road, stranded in the Lincoln Tunnel for what seemed to be an eternity, but they were on the road nonetheless. Vivian spent her time going over some paperwork with Johnny and Melinda while the guys were in the back of the bus, yelling and hooting at one of their videogames that took up a majority of their time while on the road.
“You don’t have to do this work with you feeling so sick,” Melinda said with a sure smile as Vivian coughed once again and took a swig of water from a bottle. She shook her head in defiance and signed off on one of the papers while she made another note in her notebook.
“I’m feeling much better, really,” Vivian said calmly as she put aside one stack of papers to make room for another, “I guess I’m just curious about this emergency you and Johnny have been talking about all morning.”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Melinda said secretively and Vivian felt her heart pick up its pace. There was something in Melinda’s eyes that were giving away what was going to happen, but Vivian still couldn’t place it. Shrugging it off, she got back to work, knowing she would find out what was eating at Melinda and Johnny soon enough.
*En Route to Boston*
2:20 PM
“I totally just kicked your ass, Kirkpatrick!” Joey hooted as he threw down his game controller and stood up to do a short victory dance. The two were playing the latest game from some up and coming computer software company and it was something of a joy for Vivian to watch them play, it took the edge of the ‘small’ emergency that Melinda and Johnny were holding over their heads and she was sure some of the guys were growing antsy with every passing minute they were kept out of the loop.
Vivian was fine with not knowing for a bit seeing as she was sure whatever the emergency was, was going to affect her. Every time an emergency surfaced around the *NSYNC camp it was up to Johnny, Melinda, and now Vivian to fix the problem and go on from there. The guys were informed about it and sometimes were allowed to make decisions on what should happen but really Johnny and Melinda had the last say in just about everything.
The guys had gone over every possible scenario as to what it might be (cancelled show, cancelled meet n’ greet, no hotel) but every time they guessed incorrectly, Johnny and Melinda would exchange worried glances and put their heads together to discuss something of utmost importance.
Vivian had spent the majority of her time on the bus keeping to herself. Sometimes she would take up conversation with one of the guys, but she always evaded talking about her mysterious disappearance the day before. The only person she avoided conversation with was Justin, but he didn’t seem to want to talk to her either. If they ever seemed to start talking to one another, the other would turn around and start to discuss something with the closest person, choosing to ignore rather than discuss the issues at hand. Vivian thought this was working rather well and she wanted to keep it that way. The last thing she wanted to do was create any questions or drama.
“Okay, meeting time!” Melinda hollered from the front of the bus. “We’ll come to you, don’t move!” she yelled again as the rest of the guys made to travel to the front of the bus. The band and Vivian waited patiently as Johnny and Melinda teetered into the front of the bus, Melinda holding a manila envelope in her hand. Vivian heard JC grumble behind her and she turned to give him a questioning glance. He evaded her glare and she felt the slight feeling of premonition make its way into her stomach as the rest of the group took a seat, all focusing on Melinda and Johnny who were standing in front of the television screen.
“So what’s up Chicken?” Joey questioned and Melinda held up her hand to silence him and any others who were thinking of asking questions at that exact same moment. Vivian threw a panicked glance over to Justin who seemed to have gone three shades lighter than his normal skin color. Whatever was going on, it didn’t seem like a minor emergency.
“First of all, good job on the New York week. I know it was a tough couple of days but you guys managed to get through it clean. Well, almost,” she added darkly and the mood in the bus quickly changed. Getting through something ‘clean,’ as Melinda put it was when the band had managed to get through an interview, concert, or promotion week without any scandals, or negative press. To say they hadn’t made it through clean made Vivian’s heart start to pound in her chest.
“Some things were brought to our attention last night that I felt we should discuss openly right here, right now,” Johnny added on as Melinda unfolded the top of the manila envelope. Vivian turned and saw JC sitting next to her, tight-lipped and not happy about what was going on. Did this have to deal with him?
“I received an anonymous tip from someone last night and I felt that it needed to be addressed as soon as possible seeing as this is something that could turn into an international scandal,” Melinda explained as she pulled out several pages from within the envelope, “A letter was enclosed and I’ll read that before you see what else is included in this surprise package.” Melinda added and she cleared her throat before she began to read:
“To Whom it May Concern: My name and where I’m from is not important. What is important are the pictures enclosed with this envelope. Enclosed are photos of your youngest member, all of which show him around acts of an incriminating and illegal nature that could be hurtful to his, his band, and the young lady’s careers. I am holding the negatives of these pictures and will sell them to national magazines and other periodicals unless you are willing to cooperate. I require $200,000 in cash to be sent to the enclosed address followed by a phone call to the number stated below before Monday July 31, 2000 or I will be forced to sell the negatives. Should you comply, I in turn, will send all of the negatives to you, no questions asked. Until then…”
Vivian’s breath caught in her throat as Melinda looked up from the letter. She could feel the color drain from her face as she covered her face with her hands and let out a shaky sigh. She could hear Joey, Chris, and Lance stifle muffled gasps of shock. JC was still grumbling under his breath and she had no idea what Justin was doing. Looking up, she saw that he was three shades paler than his natural skin tone and there was a hint of a green tint that crept to the side of his face.
“Justin, Vivian, do you care to explain these?” Johnny asked grimly as he took the pictures from Melinda’s shaking hands and put them down, face up on the small table in front of everyone.
“Holy shit, did you drink all of that?” was Joey’s first response before Lance smacked him upside the head to silence him. Vivian could feel her entire body begin to shake as she leaned forward and picked up some of the pictures. She could feel the wave of nausea pass over her as she looked at the pictures, her eyes closing so she could try and will away the images that were passing through her head.
The majority of the pictures were of Justin and Vivian, curled up together on his bed, her body resting safely against his own, and his arms pulling her closer to him. She would have almost thought the pictures sweet if it weren’t her wrapped up in his arms and if it wasn’t such a clear shot of her face, smiling serenely in one photograph.
The rest depicted the insane amount of alcohol the two had consumed during their wild night as well as the overturned couch and strewn clothing and towels. Soundlessly, Vivian passed them down the line, before she cradled her head in her hands and tried to block out the shocked gasps and low whistles from the rest of the guys. Finally they made their way to Justin who was sitting on the opposite end of the couch and Vivian kept her face hidden from him as the tears threatened to fall.
“Do you two care to explain what happened?” Melinda asked, her voice tight. Vivian looked up and saw that Justin had wordlessly passed the photos back to Melinda and Johnny who both looked like they were about to kill everyone in the room. This was not going to end well and Vivian knew it. She was about to start her endless spewing of apologies when Justin opened his mouth to speak.
Justin was beyond upset. He was furious and incensed and everything in between. He had spent the majority of his day enjoying himself even though Vivian was in his presence and now this had to happen. He knew people were bound to find out what had gone on between the two of them, he just didn’t think it would have happened so soon and with someone who demanded ransom for the negatives of the pictures.
And the pictures! The fact that Johnny and Melinda had chosen to let everyone see the photographs was enough to make him jump out of his seat and have a tantrum. He took a deep breath and turned to look over at Vivian. The poor thing had her face covered with her hands and if he didn’t do anything soon, she would have yet another nervous breakdown and that was the last thing any of them needed.
“You had no right to show everyone those pictures,” he blurted out quickly and everyone snapped their heads towards him, all of them looking at him with shock.
“Excuse me?” Johnny questioned as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at Justin with utmost interest and disappointment.
“Those pictures are of me and Vivian, not of everyone else. The least you could have done was pull the two of us aside and talked to us, not get everyone else involved.”
“JC was with me when the pictures were delivered, therefore the entire group needed to be involved. Not only that, but if these pictures ever do get out it won’t be just your ass on the line Justin. You are a part of a group and the action of one of the members reflects everyone in the group. So everyone needs to be involved with this and the decision we have to make…”
“Excuse me, what decision?” Justin said heatedly.
“On how we’re going to handle this situation,” Johnny replied.
“Seems easy enough to me. We don’t pay the person…”
“Are you crazy? Of course we pay them!” Melinda exclaimed, “This person is holding your future in their hands and you don’t want to pay?”
“Can’t you trace the phone number, or the address? Seems easy enough to me!” Justin snapped feeling rather pleased with himself.
“The number is a pay phone from Battery Park and the address is an anonymous P.O. Box…” Melinda sighed, “We already tried that. This person has covered their tracks very well. We have no choice but to pay them.”
“But two hundred thousand? I’m not going to do it,” Justin said stubbornly and the group just stared at him in silent shock.
“What? Justin this is your future, our future! And you aren’t going to do it?” Lance asked incredulously.
“I’m not going to pay some bastard two hundred grand for these pictures. We can make a statement and say they’re computer generated, make up an alibi about where I was the night these pictures were taken. We claim we’ve never seen Vivian before in our lives or she’s some crazed fan who can’t get enough…”
“I’ll pay for it…”
“…of us. Or we say that some insane fans sent it in for a laugh and it got into the wrong hands. There’s a thousand ways to go around it.”
“I’ll pay it…”
“Shut up Vivian, I’m not finished yet,” Justin explained completely ignoring what she was saying. He couldn’t ignore her any longer, however, when she got to her feet, walked over to him and covered his mouth with her hand.
“I’ll pay for it,” she stated firmly before she let go of his mouth and turned to face the group.
“I haven’t even started with you yet Vivian, sit down,” Melinda growled at the young woman, the words Vivian had offered completely lost on the rest of the group. Vivian reluctantly sat down, trying her best to keep herself from crying or breaking down in front of the people she had come to know and love over the past few months. Justin watched her silently as she sat back in her seat and looked up at Melinda, a mixture of fear and anger registering in her eyes.
“How unprofessional can you be? Drinking yourself into the ground, sleeping with one of your employers and then lying about it? It’s a miracle the whole New York project didn’t fall apart at the seams with you at the helm. You didn’t attend the Challenge Conference because you were busy taking a personal meeting with your family and you faked sick so you could get out of going to the actual basketball game? The ability of your unprofessional abilities is enough to make anyone sick. I can’t believe I entrusted so much to you Vivian. I gave you so much and fought for you and now you betrayed that. As soon as we reach Boston, you’re contract with this company will be terminated…”
“Wait, you’re firing her?” Justin demanded as he leapt from his position on the couch. The rest of the guys remained quiet as the scene before them continued, all of them feeling as if they were watching some sort of telenova play out on screen.
“Of course I am. Do you think after this stunt the two of you pulled I’m going to let her continue working for WEG?”
“You can’t fire her! She works for us!” Justin yelled not noticing that Vivian had struggled to her feet and was now standing in front of them all, fighting the urge to break down and cry.
“She is my assistant Justin and therefore she is under my jurisdiction!”
“No, she isn’t! We gave you the go ahead to hire her and you can’t fire her without our permission!”
“No one has to fire me,” Vivian stated with such firmness that Justin and Melinda were brought out of their fighting match.
“What?”
“No one has to fire me because I quit,” Vivian repeated. Justin noticed that the timid, shaking girl who had been standing before him mere seconds ago was replaced by someone no nonsense and all business. Her emotions were hidden behind the giant façade that the group had managed to break during their time together over the summer. It was with a sinking heart Justin realized the Shebot he had despised so much at the beginning of tour was back, the old Vivian hidden behind layers of defensive, mental shields.
“You can’t quit!” Justin thundered as he approached her, the young woman rooted to the spot.
“I just did. I’ll get my things and be out of your hair by the time we reach Boston. I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused and I’d like to pay for the return of the negatives,” she added before everyone in the room started to murmur.
“You don’t have that kind of money, what are you talking about?” Justin fumed and she shook her head.
“I do have the money to pay for the negatives and it is none of your concern as to where I got it,” she stated to Justin before she turned towards Melinda and Johnny, “Thank you for giving me the chance to work with you. I’ve learned things that I don’t think I’ll ever forget and thank you,” she said as she finally turned to the rest of the guys on the couch, “for treating me like a friend and being so understanding. I’m sorry about all the trouble I’ve caused and thank you for everything. Excuse me, I need to get my things ready,” she added before she turned around and left the back of the bus.
“That was a classy exit,” Chris muttered under his breath after a few drawn out seconds of silence. Johnny and Melinda were talking furiously with each other while the rest of the guys were talking amongst themselves. Justin was staring at the door with an odd expression on his face and the group watched him with curiosity as he marched out of the room following Vivian towards the front of the bus.
She was grabbing her suitcase from the storage bin underneath the couch when Justin stormed in, a look of pain and anger strewn across his features.
“You’re not really quitting are you?” he asked her as she opened up her suitcase and folded her jacket on top of the already perfectly folded clothes. She snapped her luggage shut and rested it on the couch, her brown hair hanging in front of her face like a swinging curtain.
“I’ve already quit. I don’t work for you anymore as far as I’m concerned. I’m just bumming a ride off of you until we get to Boston.”
“Dammit, you can’t leave, Vivian!” Justin shouted and he smacked her suitcase off of the couch. The suitcase sprang open and Vivian’s clothes were strewn everywhere. She sighed heavily and began to gather her clothes, throwing them in her suitcase instead of folding them up.
“I have to and I will,” she stated simply, “I can’t stay here and you know that. I’m going to pay for the negatives and then I’ll be done.”
“And how the hell are you going to pay for those? Last time I checked you’re not getting paid enough to make two hundred thousand…”
“That’s what the rest of my trust fund is for,” Vivian muttered and Justin grabbed her hand, forcing her to look at him.
“You’re using the rest of the money in your trust fund to pay for it? Exactly how much do you have left in your trust fund?”
“Exactly two hundred thousand dollars,” Vivian replied and his grip on her hand tightened at her words. She managed to pull her hand out of his grip as she continued to pack up her things, the defenses she had quickly thrown up around her during the confrontation in the back room quickly beginning to crumble.
“How much did you have to begin with?” Justin questioned.
“Look, I really don’t want to talk to you about this,” Vivian said hastily but he grabbed her hand again and gripped it tightly.
“How much?”
“Almost one million...”
“And you’re using the rest of it to pay for those negatives? What happened to the other eight hundred thousand, Vivian?”
Silence rang throughout the front of the bus; the only sound was the humming of the tires along the highway and the occasional honk from some of the cars that had followed them out of the city. He tightened his grip on her hand and she yelped in pain as she was forced to look at him again.
“You really want to know?” she glowered at him and he nodded quickly before she wretched her hand out of his and sat down on the couch, trying to close her suitcase. “My parents disowned me. They tried to take all of the money out of my account but due to various laws in the state they can only take out a certain amount. They were able to take everything out of the account except for two hundred thousand dollars, and that two hundred I’m going to use to pay for those negatives…”
“And then you’ll have no money. What are you going to do then, huh?”
“Start over. Get away from all of this and start fresh. I have some money saved up from working for Melinda and I’m using that. Other than that, I’m not going to tell you anything else…”
“Why? Where are you going to go, what are you going to do?” Justin pestered as the bus turned onto an exit. He looked out the window and saw the city of Boston on the horizon. They would be nearing their destination soon and she would be gone.
“Dammit, Justin, I don’t know! I’d know a hell of a lot more if you’d get out of my hair and leave me alone for good!” she yelled her defenses finally starting to crumble. “I can’t think with you in my head all the time and I certainly can’t think with you standing in front of me and you looking at me the way you’re looking at me right now. Can you just leave me alone and let me be for two damn seconds?”
“I’m not going to let you go this easily, Vivian,” Justin retorted, “I have part of you with me, remember?”
“Unfortunately,” she muttered and he flinched at her words. Could she really be that callous?
“We can make this work, Vivian,” he whispered as he stepped towards her, closing the space between them, “Stay with me and we can work it out together.”
“No. You have Britney, break or no break she’s still your girlfriend and I’m not going to let you make me the person to come between you two. Besides, I don’t want to be with you, I can’t even remember being with you!”
“Maybe this will help you remember…” he said quickly and before either of them knew what was going on, he closed the space between them and gathered her up into yet another kiss. His right hand snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to him, his other hand cupping the back of her head, his fingers entwining themselves into her brown hair. She stood rigid in his embrace, her eyes opened wide in surprise as he continued to kiss her. For a split second he thought he could feel her body relax before she pushed herself away from him, her eyes wide with anger and betrayal. He almost jumped for joy when he realized that the Shebot had been replaced with the Vivian they all had come to know and love.
“What the hell? Justin we can’t do this! You know we can’t and I won’t. You belong with Britney, and most certainly not with me. I’m not going to come between the perfect relationship that you guys have,” she yelled back. Justin let out an angry yell as he picked up an empty plastic bowl from the kitchenette and threw it against the wall.
“I’m sick and tired of hearing that from you! Perfect this, and perfect that, and everything needs to be oh-so-fucking perfect! When will you get it through that stubborn head of yours that nothing in this world is perfect? Your sister sure as hell wasn’t perfect! She seemed like an over achiever and a frigid bitch, what you were when you first started working for us…”
“Don’t you dare talk about my sister like that…” Vivian thundered but Justin cut her off as he continued his rant.
“No, I know you hate her. You hate your sister with every fiber of your being for what she’s turned you into! No friends, no boyfriends, not a single ounce of love in your life and its all because of her and your parents wishes to turn her into some super power! Your sister wasn’t perfect because she couldn’t see what a great person you are and your parents sure as hell are far from perfect! Your mother didn’t show you an ounce of motherly love in her entire life and your father egged her on to make you into a mini version of your sister!
“You can’t go through your life thinking that everything you do and everything you say is going to come out all rainbows and butterflies! You can’t just sit there and think everything is going to be great and wonderful because it isn’t! You’ve experienced that first hand but you won’t admit it! You aren’t perfect, I’m not perfect, Melinda, Johnny, and the guys aren’t perfect. In fact, you’re the farthest thing from perfect I’ve ever seen! The amount of flaws you have, and the ability you have to screw things up is what makes you an interesting person! No one wants to talk to a computer who has no faults; no one wants to hold a conversation with someone who looks like they stepped out of a Calvin Klein advertisement! People want to talk with people who are real, who have some sort of imperfection. You can’t survive in this world without having some kind of flaw!”
He saw that his words were getting to her. She stood in the center of the bus, her arms at her side, hands balled up into fists. She was looking away from him and biting her lip, trying her best to not listen to his small speech. He walked towards her and put both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. Her brown eyes were filled with tears and he wanted nothing more than to wipe them away and hold her, but now wasn’t the time or the place.
“Let me go,” she squeaked, “Just let me go!”
“No. You’ve spent your whole life trying to please other people, your mother, father, sister, and now us. You haven’t had the chance to live your life, haven’t had the chance to live life for yourself. You’re making yourself sick running around trying to make sure everyone else is having a good time, or taken care of that you’ve forgotten to take care of the one person that really matters: Yourself.”
She continued to fight in his grip and he let her fight for a moment before he let her go. Vivian took a deep breath and tried to keep her emotions in check as she turned away from him, her shoulders shaking profusely.
“Vivian?” he tried when the silence lasted for a few minutes. His voice was laced with concern but he didn’t try to go near her again. Her breathing was labored and he thought for a second that she was having another nervous breakdown, but he was wrong. “Vivian, would you say something?”
“Sure I’ll say something,” she said her voice even and flat. She turned around and faced him, her face flushed from trying to hold in the tears that were threatening to surface. She furiously wiped the tears away from the corners of her eyes and her face contorted into a small scowl, “Fuck you.”
“What?” he stammered. He was not expecting that response.
“I want you to leave me alone. I’m not staying, Justin, no matter what you say to try and keep me here. I’m leaving and I’m not coming back and if you try to follow me, so help me God I will hurt you. You haven’t the first clue about me even though you think you know me inside and out. You don’t.”
Her voice faded away when the bus pulled to a full stop. They both glanced out the window and saw that they had reached their final destination. They had come to a stop at the venue, the crew was quickly trying their best to get the rest of the stage set up for the show the next night and the guys were going to check out the arena before heading to their hotel for the night.
“This is my stop,” Vivian said simply before she went to grab her suitcase. Justin stepped forward to voice his blatantly obvious discrepancy but she silenced him with a single look. “You take care of yourself, Justin and tell everyone else I said goodbye and to not worry about the negatives. It’ll be fixed before I leave town.”
“Vivian, you can’t…” Justin stated as he rushed towards her. The driver already had the door open for her and she was walking down the steps, her head held high despite the disgracefulness of her departure.
He stood on the steps as he watched her leave. Her frame soon blended in with the smooth lines of the buildings and she fit in perfectly with the other business dressed women who were on their way home from a long day at work. Justin silently reached into his pocket as he leaned against the frame of the door, lettings his hands close around a wad of paper that he hadn’t realized was there.
Pulling it out, he opened up the paper and saw, with trembling hands, that it was the list of rules he had demolished before the first day of tour, his writing still prominent over the black ink. Breathing heavily, he let it drop to the ground, the slight breeze picking up the paper and blowing it down the path Vivian had just walked. It almost looked like the paper was chasing after its old owner, hoping she would pick it up and take it back. But the wind stopped and so did the paper; it had given up its chase.
Looking up, he saw her retreating back travel farther and farther away from the bus. He wanted to call out and force her to come back, but with a few more steps she had turned a corner and was gone. He stared at the corner for a few minutes before he went back into the bus.
He sat down on the couch and looked out the window. He saw that the breeze had picked up again and the paper was continuing its relentless battle down the sidewalk, trying to catch up with Vivian. A few minutes later and it had given up its chase.
But Justin wasn’t done pursuing. In his eyes, he had just started.
