10

"Hey..Hey Damon? Hey.." Valentino shook my shoulder in an attempt to wake up. "Hmmm.." I spoke.

"Damon, it's five mate." You've been sleeping for a few hours. Wake up. We have to leave." "Sure, sure," i said. "Just a few minutes longer." I replied.

"What keeps you awake at night, Damon?" Whatever it is, it has to come to an end. You sleep at noon because you don't get enough sleep at night." Landon cut in. I had finally awoken.

"Yeah, but we were up late last night!" I defended myself. I pretended to sleep last night to avoid thinking about Nyx. He finally caved and they both walked out, and I followed them to the lounge to eat lunch.

"Val...Valentino," I said quietly, not wanting Landon to overhear. "Hmm?" He mumbled as he backed away from Landon. "Can we...uh...take a walk?" I asked, trying not to sound awkward. "Yea..?" He responded with a question and a look, asking if anything was wrong.

"What?" I was perplexed.

"Is something wrong, Damon?" He inquired, his face more concerned, leaning against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets.

"There's nothing to worry about," I tried to reassure him.

"Damon I know when you're upset about something and lying to me. "Spit it out, boy," he said, becoming serious for a second before becoming cheeky again.

"You are right. Do you remember the phone girl? Nyx, that's her name. I don't tell you much about her, but she talks to me. So we talk with one another. And she's been telling me things about herself, but it's like a puzzle that doesn't even fit together! I always try to piece them together, but it seems like she's not telling me anything. She says things to me, but they never make sense to me! And believe me, I'm curious what it is. What has left her so alone...what is "that night"? I was very frustrated because no matter how hard I tried. I was unable to put the puzzle together.

"Oh, it's all about her." Give her some space, you know. She is looking for trust. She needs to know she can trust you before she tells you. I mean, she's giving you the pieces, but she won't give you the puzzle until she knows she can trust you with it and that you won't break it apart. And you must wait for that." I could tell he was taken aback because he said something profound.

"Thank you, mate! "I know I can rely on you." I gave a genuine smile. He patted my back and gave me a 'let's go' look.

...

"Where are you going, boys?" Landon inquired. "Oh, just for a stroll." We'll be back shortly." I said. "All right, just don't get lost." He stated it once more.

"We will not!" Valentino and I both responded.

We made our way to the front door of our house. We disguised ourselves by wearing a beanie and eyeglasses. "It's a little chilly today...summer's almost over." Valentino explained. "Yeah," I replied.

"Where do you want to go?" He inquired. "Nowhere, but somewhere." I muttered as I gazed up at the starry night sky.

"We'll be back on business in about a month." Done with America and the United Kingdom. "I can't wait for Japan," he said, looking forward to continuing the trip next month." He smiled, plainly excited to resume the tour. "Yeah, it's a nice place." I said.

After walking for a while Valentino spoke " Hey..Look over there.." while pointing at something..or should I say 'someone'. The street light wasn't helping

me with finding out

who it was, but I knew there were two persons and that would most likely fight.

It appears that someone is fighting"I last witnessed a fight in high school! Let's go see!"

Valentino said he looked like a tiny boy eager to ride a fairground ride. "Only from a distance," I responded, grinning. I don't want Landon to tell Greg anything." "I said, raising an eyebrow."

"Yeah, whatever." He responded.

According to my perception, we were on our way to a coffee shop. As we got closer, our vision became clearer and clearer, and we realised it wasn't a fight at all.

"Valentino...I don't think it's a fight," I murmured, unsure how to proceed.

"SHIT! We have to help

her." Valentino dashed towards the shop. As we came closer, we noticed a girl struggling to free herself from the clutches of a man who was shoving her against the wall.

Anger bubbled inside of me, and before I realised it, my fists were clinched. I raised my hand, drew it back, and slammed it into the man's head, knocking him to the ground. I was never one to pick fights, but this made me very upset, and it wasn't difficult to knock him down because the smell of alcohol was so strong from his dirty breath. He passed out after one or two punches from me.

Before she sped away and ran, I heard the girl shout something. Valentino chased

her after seeing the guy under control. I looked around and realised that she had thrown away all of her stuff. I gathered them all and followed

Valentino and her.

I was taken aback by the sight in front of me as I eventually caught up to their pace, which was only a few metres distant. Valentino had stopped a truck from hitting her. They straightened up, and I reached for Valentino. She began to run again, but I was more concerned with Valentino and stopped him from pursuing her.

"VALENTINO!" I yelled. "Are you all right?" I inquired, a worried expression on my face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Don't be concerned about me. But her!"

He said, pointing to her vanishing picture.

"I...I got her bag, she left it there."I believe we should go before anyone notices."

We walked back to the flat swiftly but silently, and Valentino suggested we tell the lads as soon as we got home.

When we knocked on the door, Dominique's friendly smile was quickly replaced by a concerned frown when he noticed our dropped faces, Valentino coated in visible dirt.

"What have you two been up to?" He questioned, staring at us, and Landon had joined in, and I could tell he was really angry, as in boiling water angry, and that was not good.

"Long story...let us in...we'll explain," Valentino responded simply. 

"And why are you holding a girl's purse?"As we sat on the couch, Lawrence questioned.  We sat down and described what had happened, or rather, Valentino did.

"Oh my goodness, where has she gone now?"" Landon pondered deep in thought.

"Well, she ran away, and we tried to stop her, but she didn't." "And we were left with her bag," I explained, holding out the bag.

"Should we...uh...open it?"" Dominique asked scanning around for any signs. I asked Landon for permission, and he nodded, but I hesitated because it was a girl's purse.

I took the bag and opened it. Inside were some typical girly items, such as strawberry chapstick and a hair brush. I noticed her wallet and took it out, hoping to discover some form of identity card. I read her identity and found her driver's licence.

"Nyx James Summers...what? Nyx.." Obviously, her name surprised me, but I persisted. "Age 18. We know how she seems, but—wait! She reminds me of someone." I stated that I was trying to think.

"Wait let me see" Landon grabbed the card from me.

"She works at the coffee shop." He made a point of it.

"As well as the one from the mall..." Valentino was embarrassed.

"A mall?" Landon and Lawrence both asked at the same time.

"It's a long story." Valentino and Dominique both stated.

"Anywhooooo...We'll go to the coffee shop tomorrow and return her belongings." Throwing my hands in the air, I exclaimed.  

......

I stretched my arms and the covers fell off as Landon pulled open my curtains, welcoming the warm sunshine.

"Good morning, Damon," he said.

"Wake up, we have to give Nyx her belongings." As he walked out of my room, he informed me. I rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom to dress.

...

The sound of forks and knives being hit against the plate filled the lounge as we all ate together.

"How come everyone is so quiet?" Valentino broke the tense silence by asking.

"No, I guess everyone's been a little off track lately." Lawrence muttered.

"Okay! I'm finished eating. We should leave as soon as possible."  Dominique stated as he picked his dish. After we finished, we all followed his lead.

"Let's go, and I'll drive," Lawrence suggested.  car ride was spent in complete stillness.

"Yes! That café over there." As Lawrence passed by, I pointed to the café. I slid out of the car as soon as it came to a stop, leaving the boys behind.

"Wait a minute, Damon!" Dominique called, but I continued walking, and he soon caught up to me.

The powerful coffee fragrance welcomed us as we approached the establishment.

"Smell that!" Lawrence giggled.

I approached the counter, where two young girls smiled, as if she recognised us. I could tell they were delighted. 

"Good day!" "May I know as to what attracts the world's hottest, youngest, and most successful business boys to our little coffee shop?" She asked her gaze fixed on my hand, evidently drawn to the girl's handbag. She attempted to flirt but failed badly, giving me a chuckle.

"I- uh.. I was on the lookout for this girl. Nyx is her name. Nyx Summers. She just so happens to work here. "Could I please see her?" All the lads and I noticed how the two girls' faces changed from smiling to disgusted.

"What? What are you doing with HER? Gosh! That attention-seeking bitc-"

"Be careful with how you end the sentence." I warned her, becoming irritated.

Both the girls in front of me and the boys alongside me looked at me with wide eyes, while I shot deathly glares at the girls.

Another girl approached us from the front.

"Do not listen to them." Please, ladies, leave. Cora requires both of you."  She said, and I knew she'd be easy to chat to. The two girls whispered something and then walked away.

"Hello there, are you looking for Nyx?" She inquired as she wiped her hands with a towel.

"Yes, I am. Well, she dropped her bag yesterday when we...when she went. So we figured we'd see her and deliver it to her." This time Valentino spoke, and I nodded.

"Well, she didn't show up today, and her car is parked outside." I tried calling her, but her phone was turned off." She stated.

"We'll take her car with us, drop it off at her house, and give her her belongings." I recommended.

"You can...However, it will be difficult for her if you simply walk up at her door, and I'm not sure if I'm permitted to give you her address to somebody she's never met." She expressed her thoughts.

"Yeah, I guess she's right...We should just hand over her belongings to this girl and depart." Landon proposed.

"However, we must apologise to her." Valentino explained.

Silence reigned for a few seconds before the girl answered, "I'll come with you." "What?" I and the guys spoke in unison, which surprised us all, and the girl chuckled briefly before repeating, "I'll come with you."  "Are you sure? We wouldn't want to disrupt your plans because of us." Valentino said something.

"No, it's perfectly fine, and besides, my boss would let me go because it's about someone who is like a family to us." She explained, smiling meekly. 

"Thank you...uh,?" I extended my hand for a handshake .

"Paige. Paige is my name." She gratefully accepted it.

"We'll be there waiting for you outside." I informed her. "Alright! I'll be right outside in a few minutes." She responded.

We exited the café, and I, Valentino, and Paige walked to Nyx's car. The guys promised to accompany us there.

like I sat in the driver's seat, I felt a sense of helplessness wash over me, like if it wanted to speak to me. "Are you going to drive?" Valentino drew me out of my trance. 

"Uh, yeah, sorry." I began driving after saying this.

...

"Take a left and we'll be right there." Paige said. I parked the car in an open space. The rest of the guys got out of their car.

"I think me, Dominique , and Lawrence should stay here while you, Valentino , and Paige go up." If we all go, she might get scared." Landon recommend.

We all agreed and Me, Val and Paige made our way towards her apartment.

We reached her floor snd door number and knocked on the door. After a while, we received no reply so I knocked again.

The door was finally opened by a girl, half asleep. I instantly recognised her and a small smile made its way on my face as we had found her and I spoke "hello!".