Loud Visions

Chapter 22

            Ronnie Anne was pacing back and forth at the bus station, waiting. She kept her hoodie on to keep herself hidden. When she wasn't pacing, she was tapping her foot or her fingers. She looked at her phone's clock every couple of minutes. She rehearsed everything she felt she needed to be said to convince her family of Lincoln's powers and how they needed to help him. She knew her grandmother would believe her, but her mother and father needed some convincing.

Then finally, a bus arrived from Royal Woods. She looked up with a glimmer of hope. She waited eagerly as the passengers got off. As soon as her best friend was out, she would squeeze him a bear hug. Ronnie Anne had plans to show Lincoln all the cool things about Great Lake City. She knew Lincoln was going to love it here, especially the food. Ronnie Anne already made friends here in Great Lake City after her mother decided to take a full-time job at the hospital. Moving to the city was working out for her. She knew her friends Sid, Nikki, Casey, Laird, and Sameer would love him.

However, after all the passengers were out of the bus, the white-haired boy she was waiting for was not among them. Ronnie Anne's heart rate increased as a cold chill crawled up her spine. She drove her fingers through her hair while taking several deep breaths as she stared out into the starless sky, her eyes wide open. Questions raced through her mind. Why isn't Lincoln here? Did he miss the bus? Did something happen to him? DID HIS SISTERS BEAT HIM?!!

Ronnie Anne pulled out her phone. Do I call him? Before she could decide, Stella video-called her, and she answered.

"Did Lincoln make it to the city okay? Is he safe?" Stella asked with a worried look.

"No! He's not here!" Ronnie Anne replied.

"What?!"

"The bus from Royal Woods came, but Lincoln wasn't on it."

Ronnie Annie showed the bus with her phone before shifting back to her. Stella slowly started to pant as the same questions Ronnie Anne was asking herself were now spinning in Stella's mind.

"This is so messed up!" Ronnie Anne stated.

"I know," Stella replied.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know."

"Should I call him?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"What if his sisters pick up his phone?" Stella countered.

Ronnie Anne groaned a growl, "I swear if there's so much as a papercut on Lincoln, I'm literally going to start a fire!"

"Ronnie Anne, just wait! We don't know that it was them. Maybe Lincoln ran away, but he got caught, and maybe he's hiding. So, if we call him and they hear his phone, maybe they'll find him and get him," Stella said.

"So, you're saying that we do nothing and just wait?! How is that an option?!"

"I'm not liking this any more than you, okay?! I am out of town with my mom. My boyfriend and best friend, who I really like, lives in a bad home environment with a family that would abandon him and sisters that would beat him! We can't call the police because those things haven't happened yet, but we know they're going to in the future. Lincoln has risked his life more than once to save others, and every day, every minute, I am worrying about what is going to happen to him! And it's the thought of not knowing is literally killing me!" Stella explained frantically as she broke down in tears.

Stella fell to her knees, crying. She covered her eyes with one hand, but tears streamed down her cheeks. Ronnie Anne watched for a few moments as tears began to build up in her eyes.