Chapter 14
As Rika and her friends were calling everybody for the meeting, the car carrying Phil and Melon Kinenbi was making its way toward their place. Phil kept looking out the window, hoping that he wouldn't be followed by his parents. He knew that his parents had gotten a good glimpse of him back at the apartment. It was only a matter of time before they would be able to catch him.
"You all right Phil?" Ayumi asked.
"It's Phil's parents," Megumi answered.
"What happened?" Masae asked.
"I went with Aya this morning to the airport," Phil began to say. "That's how I found them."
"I like to know how they got that kind of money," Megumi replied.
"I like to figure that part out too," Phil said.
"I wonder why they want you so bad?" Hitomi asked. "Did something happen?"
"I just didn't want to be around them anymore," Phil replied. "I was getting beat up, I had friends leave me, and basically everything I had was gone."
"Was it really that bad?" Ayumi asked.
"If I had my journals to show you," Phil replied. "You would be in for a shock."
"I can believe that," Masae said. "At least you didn't try to hurt yourself."
"If you only knew," Phil replied.
"Are you saying that you did?" Hitomi asked.
"I tried to," Phil said. "Unfortunately, I think that feeling is coming back to me again."
Meanwhile, back at the apartment, there wasn't a place to park. The entire H!P group was in the living room and wondering what was going on. Rika had come out of Phil's room, carrying two of Phil's journals. She put the third journal in her purse and joined the group. "Guys, we've got trouble," she said.
"What's wrong?" Miki asked.
"Where's Phil?" Yossie asked. Everybody was asking the same question. It seemed like nothing was any fun without Phil around. They have done so much with Phil that they couldn't go a day without thinking of him.
"That's the problem," Rika said. "He's gone."
"Gone?" Mari shouted. "Where?"
"If anything happened to him..." Yuko said.
"Don't worry," Rika assured the group. "He's with Melon Kinenbi for a couple of days. He's already told us to go ahead and get the cops involved."
"What do we tell them?" Nacchi asked. 'They can't make it just a stalking case."
"No, but I have these." Rika showed the two journals to everybody. Within a few minutes, there was shock, anger, and even tears. She looked inside her purse and saw that she had Phil's third journal safely tucked away. She got out her phone and pushed a few buttons.
"Rika," Nacchi said after a few minutes. "Get the police on the phone right now."
Rika did just that. She had the number to the station already on her phone. She called them as everybody else was still reading the journals.
Several miles away, Phil and Melon Kinenbi were driving toward a small stadium. Phil didn't know why, but it was probably an idea to keep his mind off of things for a while. It had been a couple of hours since he left Rika, but to Phil, the pain of leaving her was unbearable. The group was telling Phil about their concert that was occuring tonight. However, Phil's thoughts shifted to what was going on with his situation.
"Is everything okay, Phil?" Ayumi asked.
"He's still worried about Rika," Megumi replied.
"Don't worry," Ayumi said to Phil. "You'll see her soon."
"I know," Phil replied sadly.
They drove to the entrance of the stadium and got out. As they were walking, Phil kept looking around to see if he could see his parents. It was only a few hours since they got here, but already Phil was becoming paranoid. Phil began to wonder if he should have went to the cops a lot sooner. He didn't know what to think of anymore. His mind was pulling him in every direction imaginable.
Hitomi saw that Phil was far away from the group and still in the parking lot. Hitomi walked over to Phil, who was still looking around. "Let's go inside," she said. "That way, nobody will find you."
"You're right," Phil replied. "They couldn't buy a ticket in here, right."
Hitomi laughed and led Phil inside the stadium. As the two went inside, Phil saw the rest of the band going into a green room. It was only a couple of hours until the concert, so they had a little time to kill during that time. Phil wished that Rika would call him real soon. He knew that she was thinking of a way to get rid of his parents, but he would like to know about it.
"What do you guys want to do?" Masae asked.
"Beats me," Hitomi asked. "Any ideas, Phil?"
Phil just shook his head. His mind was still troubling him over what was going on. He wanted to say something, at least anything to his friends, but he couldn't find the words.
"Don't worry," Masae replied. "As soon as we get done with your parents Phil, they won't..."
"I don't want to talk about that, all right?" Phil's voice was angry, but strained. He was almost ready to cry. Not believing what he just said, he just covered his eyes and wept quietly. "I'm sorry girls," he said. "I'm just not feeling well right now. I didn't mean to yell at you."
"It's not your fault," Megumi said. "Hopefully, this will be over soon."
"I hope you're right," Phil said.
He left to go to the bathroom, which was next to the greenroom when his cell phone rang. Phil saw a number which he though to be Rika's To Phil, all the numbers he got from H!P were almost the same. Phil answeed it on the first ring. "Rika?" he asked.
"Nope," the girl laughed. "It's Aibon."
"Oh," Phil replied. "It's good to hear your voice right now, or anybody's."
"Thanks," Aibon said. "Rika just left a few minutes ago."
"Where did she go?"
"To the police station. It seemed like she just thought of a plan."
"What's the plan?"
"I don't know yet, but it sounds like it will work."
"Well, just have her call me when she gets back."
"No problem, I'll call you then."
Phil turned off his phone and left the bathroom. He began to exhale a small sigh of relief. It looked like things might be able to turn around this time. He knew that he had to go to the police soon, but he knew that it would be worth saving not only his friends, but also his life.
Phil went out to where the stage was and waited out there. The concert was about an hour away and he sat down at the steps. He wanted to call Rika, but before he could, Megumi sat down beside him. He looked and saw Megumi smile at him. Phil noticed something different about her. "You're not wearing your glasses," he said.
"I don't wear them all the time," Megumi replied.
A cell phone rang as Phil and Megumi checked to see which phone rang. Megumi answered her phone as Phil walked down to the seats and sat down. He decided to go ahead and call Rika, but before he could dial the last digits to her number, he dropped his phone. His hands were shaking and he was about to cry before he took a deep breath and tried to call her again. Before he could, he got a call from Yuko. "First time you ever called me, eh?" Phil asked.
"Wish it wasn't like this," Yuko said. "I should be bullying you, not them."
"Personally, I would like that," Phil smiled.
"You'll wish you didn't," Yuko laughed.
"You heard from Rika?"
"No, she hasn't called back."
"I wish she did, I miss hearing her."
"You better be glad you're not dating me. Your parents wouldn't be walking when I'm done with them."
"Believe me, they'll never see me again when we're done."
"You're right. We got the best police to take care of them. I gotta go, I'll make sure Rika calls you back."
"Thanks again, talk to you soon."
Phil turned off his phone and saw that people were coming into the stadium. Phil went backstage and saw that Melon Kinenbi was getting ready for the show. "Who was on the phone?" Hitomi asked.
"It was Yuko," Phil answered. "Nothing's changed."
"It probably will soon," Ayumi said.
"Who was on the phone?" Phil asked Megumi.
"Just a friend of mine," Megumi said.
"We gotta finish getting ready," Masae replied. "We'll see you soon."
Phil watched the group go back in the dressing room to get ready. Phil wondered who Megumi was talking to. Could it have been one of the members from H!P or someone else they knew? Phil didn't know what to make of it, but he didn't mind. He went to where the concert stage and backstage met and sat down in one of the chairs.
As the concert began, Phil's phone began to ring. He looked and saw Rika's number on there. He rushed over to one of the dressing rooms that Melon Kinenbi was in just minutes before. "Rika?" he answered. He knew it was her, but he wanted to make sure. "Is it really you?"
"Of course it's me," Rika said. "I've tried to call you all day."
"You're not kidding. I miss hearing your voice."
"Yours too. Where are you right now?"
"I'm at Melon Kinenbi's concert right now. What about you?"
"I just got back home from the police station. Why don't you come over here after the concert?"
"Hopefully, they'll be some good news."
"There is, besides there's something I need you to do."
"All right, we'll talk about it when I come over."
"See you in a couple of hours. I love you."
"I love you too." Phil hung up his phone and went back to where he sat down as Melon Kinenbi dedicated a song to him. Phil couldn't help but grin a little. Everytime he saw the girls on stage, they would smile at him. Phil was having such a good time that for a moment, his troubles were gone. As the concert was winding down, Phil went outside to walk to their car. As he opened the door, he saw a shady figure walking toward him. Phil began to realize who it was and started to walk away from the figure quickly.
"Don't you walk away from me," the figure said. "We're not done with you."
"Stay away from me," Phil said angrily. "I'm getting the police."
"No you're not," the figure said. "You're not going anywhere."
The figure tried to make his way toward Phil before a security guard yelled "Halt!" at the figure. It gave Phil enough time to run away before the security guard caught the figure. Phil could hear the figure call back for him. "We're not finshed with you yet!" the figure shouted. "We're not finished with you!"
As this was going on, Melon Kinenbi looked out and saw the security guard with the shady figure. They also saw that Phil ran away from the situation. "Thank goodness Phil got away," Hitomi said.
"That must be one of Phil's parents," Ayumi said.
"I wonder where he's going?" Masae asked.
"Hopefully, he call us soon," Megumi replied.
Phil didn't know what to do, he couldn't call for a taxi. He didn't know this part of town much, but he couldn't hide from the person for very long. He started walking road after road, trying to find his way out of the city and toward Rika's house. After almost an hour and a half, Phil sat on the pavement and began to cry. For the past couple of months, he was enjoying his new life. Now, everything was already falling apart. Phil dried his eyes and started to walk again. He walked for a mile before he saw a car pull over next to him. Phil began to panic, thinking that this was the end. The car window went down and Phil saw a familiar face smiling. It was Maki Goto.
"Hi there," Gocchin said. "Need a ride?"
"Am I glad to see you." Phil got in the car as they drove away. Phil looked at the rear view mirror and saw that the unknown city that he was in hours earlier disappear. "What are you doing walking in the city all by yourself?" Maki asked.
"I ran away from them," Phil answered.
"Who?" Maki asked. "Your parents?"
"No," Phil replied. "The recruiter."
"Who was that?"
"A month or so before I left, he wanted me to join the service so he could break me."
"Did you walk here by yourself?"
"No, I went with Melon Kinenbi at their concert. I gotta call the girls to tell them I'm okay."
Meanwhile, in another part of town, Megumi heard her phone ring. It had a text message from Phil which read:I'm okay, I'm with Gocchin right now. Headed to Rika's right now.Megumi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness he's alright," she said.
"Who was that?" Masae asked.
"That was Phil," Megumi replied. "He's with Maki right now. He's going to Rika's right now."
"We'll call him tomorrow," Hitomi said. "Hopefully, he's okay."
As Maki's car pulled into Rika's house, Phil couldn't wait to get out. He ran toward the front door, which by then, the lights were already on. He went inside, not knowing if the door was locked or not. He saw Rika, who had just got off the phone with somebody. She ran over to Phil and hugged him tight. She saw Maki at the front door and hugged her as well.
"He was talking about a recruiter trying to chase him," Maki said. "Luckily, I found him before that guy did."
"I forgot to ask," Phil asked Maki, "but how did you find me?"
"Well, I know this city much more than you," Maki said. "Plus, I just finished a video and I followed you for awhile before I picked you up. I wanted to make sure we wouldn't get caught."
"At least you're okay Phil," Rika said as he kissed Phil. "I need you to come with me."
"I'll do anything right now," Phil replied. "As long as I don't lose you guys."
Within a few minutes, Phil found himself at the police station. He knew that this was going to happen, but he had to face the music and confess everything to them. He was in a small room with Rika, Maki, Yuko, Mari and a few others. "Okay Phil," Rika said. "Tell them everything."
"I need my journals first," Phil said.
"We got them with us," Nacchi replied. "They read it, but they gave it back to us."
"Oh no," Phil said. He put his head in his hands and wished that he was at the apartment. Suddenly, someone tapped his head. "Don't worry," Ryu said from behind Phil. "Maki already told us about the guy that tried to chase you. Just tell the cops."
"They have to know," Misono replied. "We'll stand by you."
"Unless he says something about this," the police officer said, "then we have no case." The officer started to walk away before Phil looked at him. "Wait!" he exclaimed. "I'll tell you everything." He looked at Rika, who nodded at him. He got something out of his wallet and gave it to the police officer.
"Those are my parents," Phil said. "They're after me and I need help. They're crazy."