Holding Out For A Hero (The Five Sisters Series) (9 page)

Lauren and her mom ate lunch together, then her mom suggested that they go shopping to take a break and get out of the house.  “You have not been shopping for weeks; don’t you miss it?”  Her mom asked.

Lauren thought about the quiet peace she had at Mike’s log cabin. “Nope.”

Shea called after lunch and asked if the band could come over and talk to her.  Lauren wanted to get some information from Shea, so she said, “Fine.  I need to know Mike’s information though; can you bring that with you?”  Shea said she didn’t have it, that it had been coordinated through the police and security detail, but she could help Lauren find it later. 

Around 3 pm, the girls from the band arrived.  Each of them hugged Lauren and she could see that they had been crying.  She felt awful that they were so upset about her being missing and she had no clear recognition of them. 

Lauren looked around at everyone after they had sat down and recognized each of the women but did not remember their names.  They had been in her dreams over the past few nights, which gave her a level of comfort with them.

Shea started out talking, and told her what was going on.

"We know you need some time to heal, but we also already delayed the start of the tour so we want to do what we can to get you back up to where you were before the accident.  We thought that spending time with you and letting you ask us things and talking about the past would help with your memory.  So, we understand that you don't remember our names, but we are going to try to remedy that."

Lauren shook her head and waited.

Shea continued, "I’m Shea Stone, and I am the lead guitarist and do vocals.  We are best friends and we started the band together.  The band,
The Five Sisters
, has been together for five years, and we are a rock-and-roll style band.  You are the lead singer, and the face of the band.  Next is Twilight Sands, our bass guitar player."

Twilight started talking, "Yes, and I am so glad you are feeling better.  And getting parts of your memory back.  And I know that you will get it all back.  We are very tight as a band.  You left after breaking up with Bryan—which, by the way, was a good thing in case he tries to tell you differently—and were going on trip for a couple days.  You didn't tell us where you were going, so when you went missing, we didn't know where to look!  We started getting worried after a couple of days with no texts and no calls. We were desperate when we could find no trace of you or your credit cards being used.  I am just glad that you’re back, and I want to do whatever it takes to help out."

Lauren looked at her with tears in her eyes, realizing that they really cared a great deal for each other, and said only, "Thanks. I’m feeling better.  And I appreciate you being here, even if I seem to just take it all in and not react much."

Next up was Julie Lawson, "Hey Lauren, I’m Julie Lawson, the drummer, and I also do piano for some songs.  I’m so glad you are back, and I want to do whatever you need me to in order to help you out."

Finally, the last one to go said, "I’m Samantha Hunt, and I’m the keyboard player in our little band.  I’m the youngest at 20, and I’ve written some of our songs.  I’m also the one that is the boldest, so I’m going to ask—tell me about the guy that was with you."

Lauren took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  Then she started crying, and said, "Mike saved my life; he is my hero, I would not be here if not for him and random chance.  He is a trauma doctor, and he took care of me, sewing up my head wound and making sure I was ok.  I am in love with him and I can't stand to be here without him.  He is my rock, and I am still pissed about Shea kidnapping me from there.  I had every intention of leaving in a couple of days and coming here as soon as I could.  I want to go back and be with him or have him here.  I just can't talk about it and I need to know his address or his phone number or something so I can get to him."

All of the girls turned and looked at Shea.  She had tears in her eyes, too.  "I was so worried, and was just what the security people said we should do just in case he had kidnapped you.  I told you I was going to get his information as soon as I could from the security people."

All of them fell silent.  Lauren felt bad about how they must have thought the worst and she now knew how much more complicated her life was than those two weeks in Montana.  "Ok, well if you want to, we can go down to the studio I saw in the basement and play a few songs to see if I still have the voice.  I hope they have the words somewhere," Lauren said, smiling. 

They all looked relieved, and everyone got up and they went to the studio and played for a couple of hours.

Lauren had not lost any of her voice, and she even started remembering parts of more of the songs.  When they left, she hugged each of them and told them to come back tomorrow, even Shea.  Lauren thought that she should give her the benefit of the doubt.  Until tomorrow, and if she didn't have Mike's address and phone number, she would start questioning everyone until someone gave her an answer.

Lauren woke up in the middle of the night several times again; she knew this would be a chronic problem by now.  She was having her memories return as dreams and visions, and it was overwhelming at times.  But for now, she welcomed the thoughts and processes that were healing her.

The next day started out the same, except she went to the gym in her house that morning to exercise.  She realized the night before that her voice was still fine and they could go on tour as long as she could take it.  But it was a very physically demanding job and she needed to ensure she was in shape.  Lauren supposed that was why she had a gym in her house to start out with.  While she was working out, she heard a song that made her immediately think of Mike, “Holding Out For a Hero”. 

Lauren thought about singing that to Mike when she got to call him later today, she just knew she would get to talk to him soon!

After the gym, she talked to the doctors, and they were pleased with her progress and her ability to handle the severe changes that had taken place in the past few weeks.  She was excited about the memory coming back, and even more excited at the thought of talking to Mike.

She even went shopping with her mom, although they had to go in disguise and try to not be noticed.  She enjoyed getting out and she had watched some TV that morning to understand what was going on in the world.  She did think to herself – it’s probably a good idea that Mike had to get away from everything and not even have a TV!  Then they shopped at Macy’s and found some great new jeans and makeup for Lauren.  Lauren had to admit, she loved the way the makeup made her feel like a woman. 

Once they got home, Lauren took a nap because her lack of sleep the night before was starting to wear on her, and she knew the gals from the band were coming over. 

Shea came over before the rest of the girls to chat with her.

“Lauren, I hate it that you are mad at me.  You would have done the same thing to me.  I am
so
sorry that I did that, but I didn’t know what to do—I was scared for you.”  Shea pleaded with Lauren to understand.

Lauren did understand, and the more of her past she was starting to understand, the more she could see where the drastic measures may have been needed if she was in trouble.  Everyone’s well-being was at stake if she was not returned, since she was the face of the band. 

“Shea, I understand, but you took me away from the man that I love, and I can’t figure out how to get back to him.” 

Shea held up a piece of paper with writing. “That’s why I came over early!  I got his phone number and address.  You can go to your room and call if you need some privacy.  I am just going to get the studio ready to practice some more.” 

“Oh, I do forgive you!”  Lauren said and grabbed the paper from Shea.

Lauren ran up to her room and dialed the phone.  It was the middle of the day, and Lauren didn’t think Mike would be doing much.  It rang for a while then the voice mail system came on to leave a message.  Lauren hung up.  Then she thought,
Well, I should leave a message
.  So she called again, but this time Mike answered.

“Hello?”

“Hello, baby!  It’s Taylor or Lauren if you are around here, and I miss you like crazy.  I can’t believe they kidnapped me like that, I didn’t get to say goodbye to you, and I can’t function well without you.”

“Hello, Taylor or Lauren.  Which name are you going by?”

“They call me Lauren, but I love it when you call me Taylor.  What’s wrong?”  She sensed in his voice a hesitation that scared her.

“Taylor, I’m glad you called.  I was going to write you a letter, but then I was not sure where to send it.  I know you think you miss me, but you need to get on with your life and get your world and tour back on track.  I have been inundated with reporters and media and I just want to be alone right now.  So I am going to do some mission work to get away. I wanted you to know that it’s ok to forget about me.  What we had was great, but it was just for a little time, and now that’s over.  I have realized that over the last couple of days.”

“Mike, are you saying you don’t love me?  You don’t want to be with me?  I can’t believe this.  You are my rock, and the only thing stable in my life.  Why are you doing this?”

“Taylor, this is for your own good.  You don’t need me to hold you down.  I know you are a strong woman.”

“What the hell is going on?  I love you Mike, and you don’t care?”

“Taylor, I care, but I love you enough to know that you need to be free to do what you need to do right now, without me in the way.”

“
In the way
, Mike?  Really?  That’s how you are going to do this?”

“Taylor, I’m sorry.  Goodbye.”

“Goodbye Mike.”  And she hung up the phone.  Then she threw it across the room and it shattered into pieces.  So much for loving him; he had better things to do apparently.  Damned if she was going to cry over him again today.  She sat down for a few minutes and caught her breath and contained her anger.  Maybe she was stronger than she thought she was.  But this was not the end of it for her with Mike.  She would see him. and they would have a reckoning.

Over the next week. Lauren and the band caught up on history and bonded all over again.  They practiced often at Lauren’s house, and also went to the studio and did set ups for the tour.  There was little more than a week before they would have their first concert in over six months. They began practicing eight hours a day once they realized that Lauren was healthy enough to endure that kind of torture.  Lauren did not mind, as it kept her mind off of Mike and the cold shoulder he had given her.

Lauren told the girls about how he had “dumped” her over the media and for her own good.  And she told them she wanted to dedicate a song to him during their concert – the “Holding Out For a Hero” song that she had heard on the radio.  They talked about it and everyone was fine with it.  And they all knew that Lauren’s heart was with Mike, and that she needed to dedicate something to the man who saved her life in more ways than one.

After about a week, Lauren could not stand it anymore, and she called Mike.  He did not answer, but she left a message, saying “Mike, I just want you to know that I think this is a mistake.  I love you, and I want to be with you.  Have a great day.”  It made her feel better for a moment, but then she thought about how pathetic it was.  In her moment of weakness, it seemed like a good idea.  He never called back.  That made her feel worse, but she understood; he was trying to make a clean break.  He did say he loved her, and that he was doing this for her own good.