The Crystal 2 by Jones M (reading cloud ebooks .txt) 📕

"Aren't you supposed to be like our magical bodyguard or something?"

Oh right. I had forgotten.

With a sigh, I followed Ethan, Logan and Selena towards an open area feet in front of us. It looked like an open theater, and it seemed smaller than the ones I went to with the boys nine months ago.

According to Liam's email, it was the Molson Canadian Amphitheater. 

Being around the area reminded me of the current situation. The tour would suck for me because I was going to follow the boys wherever they went whereas I wanted to go explore the city.

However, I recalled what had happened the last time I went exploring. More specifically, I  remembered the events that occurred the last time I went outside. The boys had fans in Canada and every planned destination in the tour. If I wanted to avoid a crazy crowd of fans that wanted to murder me, I had to stick with the people I currently hated.

I frowned at the thought.

Looking ahead, I saw that some of the boys' crew had arrived and were busy setting up the place for the concert.

So was I expected to just stand there and watch in boredom as everyone prepared?

I looked around, noticing that the boys, Selena and Bianca were already at the stage of the theater. They were talking to some of the crew who smiled at them. The guys seemed to be having so much fun whereas I stood at a spot.

With no one to talk to.

Alone.

I hated it. I hated being cooped up in a room for fear of being attacked. I hated being on tour with the boys and my cousin, knowing that they hated me.

But most of all, I hated that Bianca was still around them.

It hurt to see how much things had changed. I thought I would be the one with them, but Bianca came and took the spot. She was their friend and practically a member of their family. She didn't want me around, and so she practically did everything to make sure I wouldn't come back.

I hated her.

I turned away from the sight of my former friends and went to a secluded corner. There were a few people around, and they were the crew.

A sob escaped my lips as I let the tears flow. 

I can't do it. I just can't do it.

I didn't think I would be able to do it. I wanted to leave the tour. I wanted to just go back to my home, and not the one in Crystalia.

I was practically not welcomed there.

I wanted to live a normal life and to move on from the pain that I felt, but I couldn't. I was reminded of it every day.

"Emery!" Logan yelled. His voice startled me. I quickly wiped the tears that had flown with my hands before turning to face him.

I just hoped the signs of my crying were not visible.

Logan stared at me in confusion.

"Are you--"

"What do you want?" I cut him off. I knew he had realized I was crying, but I did not want to talk about it.

"We are going out for lunch. Do you want something?"

I was surprised by Logan's invitation. I thought that he hated me, especially after... everything.

I shook my head in a manner of declining the offer.

Logan hesitated for a while, staring at me before he left.

Seconds later, I took out my phone and unlocked it, noticing that it was almost one in the afternoon. I realized I had spent more than an hour in my thoughts.

That surprised me and scared me. It had been a long while since I had done that, and the only time I did was during...

Was after...

My eyes widened in shock as the realization came to mind. I didn't want to accept it. I couldn't....

Was I showing signs of depression?

No. I couldn't. 

Could I?

Emery's P.O.V

Selena, Bianca, the boys and I had spent two days in Toronto. After that, we were all heading back to the US. 

The past two days had been nothing but tense among us. Everyone avoided talking to me after what had happened on the plane. Moreover, Bianca kept sending me her signature victorious smirks, and I tried so hard to ignore her and not to punch her.

I hated that bitch with a passion.

Anyway, the next tour destination was to be in Detroit, Michigan. We had all boarded the same private jet we had used to come to Canada. The guys spoke amongst themselves and avoided me. I had no one to talk to, and so I spent most of my time in my thoughts and on my laptop. 

I also worried that my lips would dry.

Meanwhile, my Twitter account was back again, not that I wanted it to return. 

Yay. 

Bianca must have hired a professional hacker. They knew when to make it look like I posted awful things about the Ordinary Brothers. Ever since I had seen my laptop's camera light turn itself off, I was certain that someone had hacked into my laptop and was watching me. Therefore, I blocked the camera with a small ball of cotton.

I planned to deal with the hacker. I needed to do it as quickly as possible. I had learned a lesson from postponing to check on Bianca's past, especially since I was imprisoned.

However, to deal with the hacker, I had to learn about coding. Afraid of the hacker finding out what I planned to do, I bought another laptop similar to the one and started taking an online class with a different name. 

Let's just say I was surprised by the number of modules I saw. 

I realized it was going to take a lot of time to learn all of it. It could even take years, and I did not have that much time on me.

"Attention passengers. You are required to turn off your electronic devices because we will be landing soon," the pilot announced over the intercom. I shut down my laptop before closing it and placing it in the bag beside me. I also switched off my phone, preparing myself to quickly get out when we would land.

About six minutes later, the plane had landed. Selena, Bianca, and the boys went towards the exit of the plane. I followed behind, making sure to leave a lot of space between us. Once I had alighted the plane, I looked around my surroundings.

It was a clear day, and it was past 12 noon. I was standing on a tarmacked airfield. There was a city far in front of me, and there was a gray bus parked meters away from the plane.

For a moment, I was confused. 

Weren't we supposed to be boarding a limo?

Then I noticed someone coming out of the bus. It was Trevor, the boys' tour manager.

"Hi, guys!" Trevor said. The rest, except me, replied to his greeting. "As you know, the remaining part of the tour will mostly be here. You will be using the tour bus again."

There were a couple of groans from the people in front of me.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Trevor said. "Groan if you want, but management says we need to cut back on expenses. It doesn't help touring around the continent with the jet. So, in you go."

There were a couple of exasperated sighs before everyone went towards the bus. I leisurely followed behind, wanting to avoid being near them. Trevor seemed to ignore me, and I was glad.

I walked into the tour bus, only to be momentarily astonished by what I saw.

The bus looked big on the inside. The walls inside the bus were painted pale yellow. Fine black leather couches were placed on each side of the walls, leaving a clear path for people to walk through. A red carpet decorated the floor. There were lights placed on the side of the walls as if we were on a plane. A large flat-screen TV also adorned the place.

"We need to decide on beds," Harry said. Then he and the rest went further into the bus. I followed, looking around and silently marveling at what met my eyes. 

There was a small kitchen; a fridge, a microwave, and an oven were placed on one side while a wooden island was located on the other. We moved past the room, and I saw the slightly-opened furniture doors to the bathroom and toilet. Then we came to a stop in a blue room.

I momentarily froze on the spot when I saw them.

Bunk beds.

My mind instantly flashed to me being in prison. It was an awful time that I never wanted to experience again. Sure, I was currently not in prison. The bunk beds even seemed more luxurious than the ones I had been forced to sleep on, but they were nonetheless a reminder of the awful place.

"Emery, which one will you pick?" Liam asked with an expectant look. That cut off my thoughts.

"What?"

"The rest have picked their beds. Only you and I are left to pick ours. These are the remaining ones," he said, motioning to two beds on the far end of the room.

They were decorated with white sheets, thick duvets, and blue fluffy pillows. I had to choose either the top or the bottom bunk. I remembered prison again, so I thought of taking the top bunk.

But wouldn't someone try to stab me—

"No one will stab you through the bed, Emery," Liam said with a bored look, reading my mind. I gave him a glare in reply.

"I'll take the one on top."

"Good," he said. "You can place your stuff anywhere in the rooms."

I stood, watching Liam silently. A thought came to mind, and I wondered what would happen if I voiced it out.

"Aren't you afraid I may want to finish the job of killing you?" I asked him. Liam and the rest tensed, and I smirked just for the fun of it.

"I'm glad you picked the top bunk. Do any funny business, and I will stab you through your mattress," Liam threatened with a serious angry look.

I laughed.

"I'm kidding!" I replied. "If I were to kill you, I would do it when no one is around to witness it. I mean, I wouldn't even be dumb enough to let my hair be enough evidence that I killed you."

"Here we go again..." Selena trailed off with a shake of her head.

"You tried to kill me," Liam pointed out.

"Oh please!" I snorted. "I didn't. I wasn't even on the scene at that time! But no matter what I say, you all stick to believing that I tried to murder you."

"But your hair and your phone--"

"Have you bothered to check for fingerprints?"

"There were none in the car," Logan stated, shocking me. "The evidence still points to you, Emery."

I narrowed my eyebrows at Logan as I gave him a confused look.

"Has it ever occurred to you guys that someone is trying to frame me?"

"Emery, we've heard enough," Harry said. "We have been ensnared by your lies once, and it won't happen again. It's pitiful, even for you."

"Those weren't lies. Have you guys even thought that if I wanted to ruin you, I would have done it a long time ago?"

"You wanted to get rid of Bianca," Selena said, and I turned to face her with a suspicious look.

"Really? You think that?" I asked my cousin, and she nodded in reply. I