Hold Fast

My mother hounded me with concerned questions as soon as I returned home that night. I gave her a brief explanation and walked to my room, not letting her say anything else to me. I spent the majority of my night pacing around my room listening to music as loud as I could without annoying my parents. Mike tried to get me to talk to him twice but I was too far into my thoughts. Later that night, he sent me a text saying that he was with Tony and that they would come over with Jaime in the morning to check on me.
I wasn’t sure exactly what I was expecting to happen. All I knew was that this Justin person had news about Kellin and I wasn’t going to deny that. Waiting was killing me though. To try to distract myself, I played my guitar and wrote song lyrics until I fell asleep. I woke the next morning, my guitar on the bed next to me and papers stroon all over my bed and floor. I checked my clock, 11:00 AM.
I dragged myself out of bed and took a quick shower. It felt nice to be able to wash away the events of the last two days. I hadn’t even realized how crappy I felt and probably looked. By the time I had gotten out, Mike, Tony and Jaime were all in my room. I walked inside in a pair of pants, running a towel through my hair. Tony was the first to notice me.
“Hey.” He gave me a smile. Jaime and Mike looked up.
“…hey.” I through my towel into a corner of my room and sat on my bed. It was really quiet and kind of awkward, but I knew that they only wanted to be here for me. And if I wasn’t mistaken, Tony and Jaime both looked like they hadn’t slept very well.
After a few more minutes of silence my phone vibrated. I leaned over my bed and picked it up, unlocking it in the process. It was from Justin. I stared at it for a few moments.
“Vic?” Mike shook my shoulder. I looked up at him, not realizing I had zoned out.
“It’s an update.” I replied.
“What does it say?” Jaime moved so that he was closer to the three of us. I opened the message.
*Kellin’s dad took away his phone so it’s useless to try and contact him through it. A few of our friends are willing to wire you guys some money for gas so you guys can drive here. Kellin really wants to go home. His dad is abusive as I’m sure you know. We just want him to be safe. –Justin*
“So what are we going to do?” Tony asked after reading the message.
“We’re going to go get him.” I said in a stern voice. I wasn’t sure how I was going to convince my parents about this, but I’m sure Kellin’s mom wouldn’t mind us pulling a little rescue mission. We just needed a way to get there.
“How?” Mike asked. “We don’t have cars.” I thought for a minute. Then it dawned on me.
“No, but I know someone who does.” They all gave me confused looks. “Okay, bear with me. What if we asked Kyle?”
“Are you insane?” Jaime protested.
“Yeah, Vic. I mean yeah he’s been nice to us for the last few weeks, but really?” Tony agreed. I looked to Mike, giving him a pleading look. I really didn’t see any other option. Our parents would never let us take one of their cars to Oregon. Mike shook his head, defeated.
“Fine.”
“What?!” Jaime and Tony asked in unison.
“Come on guys. Is risking Kellin’s safety worth not asking Kyle for help?” they both looked at each other before sighing.
“Alright, but then all four of us are going. I don’t trust Kyle as far as I can throw him.” Tony didn’t look happy about this plan. Once we had all agreed on talking to Kyle came the hard part: convincing our parents.

Getting my parents to agree to let me travel to Oregon was actually way easier than I had originally thought. My mom was a little worried about us going with Kyle considering the things that I had previously told her about him, but she knew that this was important to me. She felt better knowing that the guys were going to go with me. She probably would have never agreed otherwise.
Later that night, Jaime and Tony both text me saying that their parents gave them the okay. Now all we had to do was go ask Kyle. Mike and I were currently on our way over to his house. I always hated coming to this part of town, the large houses made me feel uncomfortable. I could have sworn that his front door was almost twice my height.
We rang the doorbell and waited. A moment later a small woman answered the door.
“Hello, can I help you boys?” She asked in a polite, quiet voice.
“Uh, hi. We were wondering if Kyle was home?” Mike answered. I was too nervous to actually speak.
“Oh yes. Come on in.” She stepped aside, letting us into the large foyer. “His room is right up the stairs, third door to the left.” She smiled at us before walking away down one of the hallways. I looked up at Mike and he just shrugged and walked towards the stairs. I followed behind him closely. We stood in front of Kyle’s door and knocked quietly against the hard wood.
“Come in.” came his voice from the other side. I calmly opened the door and poked my head inside.
“Kyle?” He turned around and faced me.
“Vic?” He was pretty shocked to see me and Mike standing at his door. “What are you guys doing here?” We stepped inside and closed the door behind us.
“We need your help.” Mike stated simply. Kyle quirked an eyebrow at us.
“You need my help? With what exactly?” He motioned for us to sit down on the couch that he had against one of the walls in his room, to which we obliged.
“It’s kind of a long story.” I answered nervously. He nodded and I began the story. He was quiet the entire time, and it was making me more anxious than I already was. I was shaking by the time I had finished. Kyle took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. I was beginning to think that I was stupid for asking.
“I don’t see why not.” Okay I was a little caught off guard by that.
“For real?” Mike asked, eyeing Kyle a little.
“Yeah, I mean it’s the least I can do for Vic.” He gave me a shy smile and I gave him a small one in return. I knew why he was doing this, but I wasn’t going to complain. “When were you guys thinking about leaving?”
“The end of the week.” I responded.
“Why so late?”
“We’re waiting for more information from Kellin’s friends.” I explained. Kyle just nodded his head.
“Alright, so the 30th it is then.” He stood up and walked to his desk, picking up his phone and typing something. “Meet here at 6AM. It’s a long drive.”
“Thank you Kyle. Really man.” I stood and offered him my hand. There weren’t enough words to express how grateful I was to him.
“It’s nothing.” He said modestly. He took my hand and shook it, then did the same for my brother. He walked us to the door and waved goodbye as we walked towards home.
“That went well.” Mike put his arm around my shoulders.
“Yeah.” I took out my phone and sent a text to Justin.
*We’ll be there Friday –Vic*
I got a reply a moment later.
*Alright. Meet us in Salem. More details to come. –Justin*
It was official. Kellin would be home before New Years.