Payton POV
"Ray?" I ask quickly, walking away from the group. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
I hear sobbing from her end of the call. "They-They knew my dad. They knew him."
"Oh crap." I stop walking, not thinking much besides get Ray out! Get her out, now!
"I didn't know until after he-he-"
"Ray, I'm getting you. I'm coming to get you. Get out, now. I'm calling my mom again, and I'll have her come pick you up, alright?"
"Payton, that didn't work out well last time. I'll just leave and go find a cheap hotel or something."
"I don't give a care in the world if you don't think it's a good idea. I'm not letting something else happen to you. Not again. I know I screwed it up last time, but I promise you I won't let it happen again. I'm not going to let you stay there even if I have to come and drag you out of there myself. Okay?" I swallow, breathing hard.
"Okay," she answers finally. "Where should I meet her, then?"
"There. Just wait there. You don't need to be going somewhere while on crutches."
"But, Payton-"
"Ray, you're on crutches. Your knee and thigh bone both got hurt. You just got out of the hospital. I don't think it's a good idea for you to try and go somewhere in that condition."
Ray sighs. "Alright. Thank you."
"Anytime. Anything for you. I'll call my mom right now, okay? Have her meet you there."
"Sure." She sighs again. "Hey, Payton?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you could call me back after? I mean, if you aren't busy. I'm just...I'm scared right now."
"Yeah, of course. Are you alright? Do you need to get out right now? Like, so they don't hurt you?" I start to pace again, going up and down along the sand.
"Uhm, I think I'll be okay for a little bit," she murmurs.
"Ray? How long is a little bit? What happened? What's going on?" She doesn't respond quickly, so I ask again, "Ray?"
She starts to sob again, and I realize she stopped while we were talking. "I tried to get away. But they locked the door to the bedroom and tied my hands up. And I couldn't kick with my leg like this."
"Ray?" I whisper. "Were they touching you?"
"Yeah," she replies quietly. I hold my breath. "Yeah," she repeats. "Just like my dad used to. I was so scared, Payton. He wouldn't stop."
"Ray...I'm sorry. I'll call the police, too."
"P-"
"Don't. No. I'm calling the police, then I'm calling my mom. I'm not letting someone rape you. I'm not letting that happen to you. I promise you, I won't screw this up. I'll call you right back when I'm done with them, okay?"
"Alright. Thank you, Payton. For everything," Ray whispers.
"Anytime." I hang up the phone, just now hearing the shouting in the background near the bus. Yeah, I guess I'll have to tell her about that, too.
   I call the police quickly, explaining to them the situation. They agree to head over there right away, so I thank them and hang up. Then, I call my mom.
   "Mom, I need you to pick someone up."
   "How many times am I going to answer one of your phone calls to hear you telling me you need me to pick someone up? I thought maybe we could start with hey, mom! or something."
   "Mom, please. I'm serious. I need your help."
   "It's Ray again, isn't it?" my mom sighs.
   "Yes?" I squeak into the phone.
   "Where am I going?" I hear her car keys jingling in the background and a door slamming.
   "I'll text you the address. Just start heading towards Brunswick."
   "Okay. You really like this girl, don't you?"
   "Mom, she's more than just a girl to me. She everything. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."
   "She did seem like someone special."
   "Thank you, mom."
   "No problem."
   "Bye," I call, then hang up. I text Ray quickly, getting the address, and then send it back to my mom before calling Ray again.
   "Hi," she whispers across the phone.
   "Hi," I whisper back.
   "Are you okay?"
   I laugh. "Yeah, I'm okay. Are you doing better since the last time we spoke?"
   "Yeah. I've talked to you since then."
   I blush and am glad she can't see me. "Yeah."
   "So, how is everyone doing?"
   My heart stops. "Yeah, I have to talk to you about Sam."
   "O-Okay. What's going on?"
   "I really, really wish this didn't happen. I don't want to tell you, but someone would, and I'd rather it be sooner and later before he goes and lies to you about it."
   "Payton? What happened?" Ray asks. I hear the nerves clear through her voice.
   "He stayed on the bus when we came to the beach. He didn't tell us why, so we didn't know. We were only gone for a few hours, but when we came back, we caught him with Avani. She isn't even on tour with us," I push out quickly.
   "What were they doing?"
   "They were kissing."
   "Oh?"
   "Like full-on make-out against the outside of the bus. I get it if you don't believe me, or don't want to believe me, but I'm pretty sure Griffin got a picture, and Chase might've still had his camera going. All the guys saw it, too."
   "Oh."
   "I'm really sorry. I just didn't want to lie to you and him be cheating on you for a while. I don't want to see someone break your heart like that," I tell her.
   "Thanks for telling me, I guess." Ray sighs audibly. "I guess I'll shoot him a break up text. That's about all he deserves after the shortest relationship ever."
   I laugh. "That's great. You should definitely do that."
   "Yeah, I will soon."
   "Alright."
   "Hey, I think the police just got here."
   "Okay. Uhm, I'll call you back. No. You call me when you're free and if you want to. Call me, that is."
   Ray laughs. "Sure. Bye."
   "Bye."