Bulletproof Heart

Life without Vi sucks.

Gee asks me about her every day and every day I don’t answer him other than to say she’s safe. What’s worse is that Gee has started drinking again and let me tell you, that isn’t pretty. All of the guys are upset with me for keeping quiet. I looked up when the door to the back opened. It was Frank and I knew this wasn’t going to be fun. We haven’t been getting along much since Vi left.

“Talk to him.” He said sitting beside me on the bed.

I let out a deep sigh and closed my laptop. “He’s just going to ask me the same questions.”

“So try giving him answers this time.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “You know I can’t.”

He stood up and I could almost feel the anger radiating from him. “So you’re going to just let him throw away everything to protect her?”

I crossed my arms over my chest, an unconscious defensive gesture. “Gee is a grown man making his own decisions just like Vi is. Doesn’t mean I agree with what either of them are doing.”

“At least tell me why she left.”

I just looked at him. Did he seriously think I was that stupid? “Why? So you can tell Gee? I’m not that stupid Frank.”

“He deserves to know!” He all but yelled at me.

“It’s not my fucking place to tell him!” I yelled back moving to stand myself.

“Bullshit.”

“Don’t give me that. You know damn well if it was the other way around you wouldn’t be telling me shit. Vi is my best friend and she comes first.”

Frank’s eyes hardened. “Fine I’ll be in my bunk if you change your mind.”

He left slamming the door so hard things on the walls rattled. I sighed staring down at my phone. Vi had texted me saying she was on her way home but I still hadn’t gotten the one saying she was there safely.

Being the worrier I am I texted her asking if she’s okay. I got a one word reply…yeah. I sat there staring at it, waiting for more of an explanation only to receive nothing. I chewed my bottom lip as the worry I was feeling started to turn into dread. So I sent another next. Look alive…

Lol…ok

That was wrong. She should have replied ‘sunshine’. My heart sank and speed up all at the same time. I burst out of the back room effectively getting everyone’s attention. “I need to get to the airport!”

“Huh? Why?” Mikey asked perplexed at my behavior.

“I don’t have time to explain, please we just need to head there now.” I said my entire body shaking.
Frank got up and wrapped his arms around my shaking frame, I guess he forgot he was mad at me. “Baby what’s wrong?”

“It’s Vi. I think she’s in trouble.”

All of a sudden Gee was suddenly there. “What about Vi?”

“I…I think she’s in trouble.”

“Then what the fuck are we still doing here?!” He said grabbing a hoodie and throwing it on.

We were in the air flying back to New York before you could blink. If I wasn’t so worried I would have been able to appreciate flying in first class for the first time ever.

“So tell me what’s going on?” Gee said turning his head to look at me.

I sighed looking out the window. “It’s a long story.”

“It’s a long flight.” He replied without missing a beat.

I closed my eyes knowing Vi was gonna kill me but Gee needed to know the truth. I turned my head keeping my voice quiet enough only Gee would be able to hear me. “Okay so here’s what’s doin.
About a year and a half ago Vi met this guy Trent at work. At first things were great, I was actually slightly jealous. He was so sweet and thoughtful, just the perfect boyfriend.” Gee snorted but I just kept going.

“Anyhow he started getting weird.” Gee raised a brow but didn’t say anything. “He started pouting when she would try to go out without him. Starting talking crap about all her friends and then started showing up just like everywhere. Like this one time we were having a girls day and he showed up at the salon because and I quote, he missed her. Anyhow you know Vi and that just didn’t fly. So she told him she needed some space. Next thing you know he’s calling her every five minutes, showing up at our apartment, at her job, just everywhere. At first it was just annoying to us both and then it started getting scary.”

Gee’s mouth seemed to be drawn into a permanent angry frown. “What happened?”

“Well one day he showed up at her work and they got into it. She told him it was through and to leave her alone, she never wanted to hear from him again. Well when she tried to push past him to leave he grabbed her and threw her in front of everyone. The cops were immediately called and he was arrested. But since he was a first time offender and it was a misdemeanor he made bail. Well he didn’t stop coming around in fact the messages started getting angrier and angrier. He started all this crazy talk about how if he couldn’t have her, no one would, no one else was good enough. Anyhow it took awhile but she finally had enough evidence to get a restraining order. But even that didn’t stop him. We both changed our numbers, moved three times in a year, and she found a new job.”

Gee had turned so he was facing me as much as he could be in these damn seats. He was pissed but he was keeping himself in control. “But what does this have to do with me? I would never let that guy come near her. I’d die before he touched her again.”

“The night she left the tour she found a picture of you and her on your bunk.”

His brows furrowed together. “So?”

“So your face was scratched out and a message written by Trent on the back that read ‘life is such a fragile thing’. Vi knew if she stayed with you he would hurt you, most likely try to kill you and she couldn’t let that happen.”

“So she ran…” Gee said more to himself then to me but I nodded anyhow. “So she went home?”

I nodded again. “Yeah and I make her text me like all day so I know what she’s doing and she’s okay.”

“Something happened today.” It was a statement not a question.

“Yeah she texted me to tell me she was leaving work but never to say she had gotten home okay. So I texted her and well something seemed off. Silly I know cause it’s through texts and it’s hard to get a feel for emotions, but still it didn’t seem right. So I asked her the code and she didn’t get it right.”

“Code? Are you serious?” Gee asked disbelief coloring his tone.

“Yeah. I texted ‘look alive’ and the right answer is ‘sunshine’ but that’s not what ‘she’ said.” And yes I did the little finger quotation marks around the work she. “So I’m just afraid that something has happened to her.”

“I swear if he touched her.” He growled as his fingers balled into fists so tight his knuckles turned white.

I placed my hand over his reassuringly. “I’m probably over reacting but better safe than sorry.”

--

“Everything looks okay.” Gee said as we climbed out of the taxi.

“What do you want a blinking neon sign that says…I’ve kidnapped my ex girlfriend…above the house?” I shook my head as I tried the door knob. “Crap she changed the locks, I forgot.”

“I have a key.” Gee said picking up a rock and smashing the window in the door.

“Gee!” I hollered even as he was sticking his arm through the broken glass to unlock the door. The alarm was blaring and I knew it would only be minutes until the cops showed up and I had to explain all this. He was through the door yelling for her and I was running behind him. Damn his long legs!

Gee opened the door to Vi’s bedroom and I couldn’t breathe. There, tied naked to the bed was Vi. “VI!” I screamed running past him. Gee and I quickly untied her and wrapped a sheet around her naked body. “You don’t think…he didn’t…”

“I will kill that motherfucker if he even thought about it.” Gee said venom dripping from every word.

“Viviane?” A voice I hadn’t heard in years called from downstairs. “Did you find a way loose you little vixen?”

“It’s Trent.” I whispered and that’s all it took. Gee gently put down Vi and took off like a shot.

“Who the fuck are you?” I heard Trent ask.

“Your worst fucking nightmare.” Came a growl that sounded kinda like Gee.

Next thing I heard was the sound of a fight, glass shattering, things being knocked over. “Shit.” I muttered picking up the phone to call 911.

“Pru?”

I looked down tears springing into my eyes when I saw Vi was awake. “I’m right here. You’re okay. Everything is going to be okay.” I just hope I was telling the truth. I let go of her long enough to lock the bedroom door. I went back over to Vi rocking her in my arms praying to God the police would soon show up.