Lauren winced when another sharp pain surged through her body. 'Damn, what the hell is Britney doing back there?'
Britney had taken Lauren to JCs bedroom to help her clean up. Lauren put on one of JCs button up shirts backwards so it opened at the back, giving Britney easier access to apply cold compresses to the bruised area. It wasn't as bad as she had originally thought, but it wasn't good either. There were a few scratches, none of which were too serious. But her back was bruised quite a bit. Mostly her shoulders from when she had slammed against the wall.
Lauren lay on her stomach across the bed, arms folded under her head. Neither girl had said anything since coming upstairs, but there really wasn't much to say anyway. Lauren was grateful to have Britney there, but didn't really feel like talking about any of it right then. It was bad enough that JC had run off, Britney having to send Justin and Joey after him. If Lauren had to talk about it anymore, or even think about it much more, she would probably break.
She had always been a strong person. She hadn't even cried whenever things like this had happened. She wouldn't allow herself. As a child, she was always stubborn, and never let anyone push her around. She got along with everyone, and that continued all through school. But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out how she had come to this? Laying on her best friends bed, with another friend tending to wounds that the man who was supposed to love her inflicted. Lauren had never thought of herself as being the type to end up being abused. She was too smart for that; or at least she thought she was. It was gradual, and before she knew it, here she was. She couldn't even really pinpoint where things went wrong, not that it mattered much. She longed to be the person she was before. The strong, independent girl she had once been.
She had started to get a little more confident after being with the guys for a while, which is probably why things got harder at home between her and Jimmy. He had noticed her strength and confidence in herself begin to reappear, and he wasn't about to let her back up after knocking her down.
Lauren closed her eyes with a sigh, and thought back to some of the times she had spent with the guys.
"Don't make me kick your ass, Chris!" Justins angry voice sounded through the yard.
"Remind me later to be scared. I might forget, and I don't want to miss that." Chris answered, not bothering to lift his eyes and look at Justin
"Oh hell no! You asked for it!"
Justin flew across the table, cards flying everywhere, tackling Chris. They two fell to the ground, and proceeded to beat the hell out of each other. They never actually hurt each other, but they were always fighting. Lauren had learned early on to just let them go at it. It was easier than having to try and break them up.
She looked over at the two grown men, rolling around in the grass. Arms and legs flailing in every direction. Chris had a hold of Justins curly hair, while Justin was attempting to pull Chris's shirt over his head. 'God, please, if I ever have children, don't make them like those two!' she prayed.
Stepping cautiously over the mass still on the ground, Lance brought Lauren and Janssyn their drinks. "What are they fighting about now?" he asked, not even bothering to actually look at fools on the ground.
"Justin asked Chris if he had any twos, and Chris said no. But when Lauren asked him, he gave her some." Janssyn explained with a smile. "When Justin asked Chris why he didn't give them to him when he asked, Chris just said 'Because I didn't like how you said it'"
"Ah." Lance nodded. "Wait. You're playing Go-Fish?" Lance seemed almost shocked.
"Yeah. So?"
"Um, I just figured you'd be playing a more.......grown up game."
"Excuse me, but Go Fish is the ruler of all card games. And I am its Queen!" Janssyn replied, hands already finding their way to her hips. "And it is a very grown up game" she pouted as she returned her attention to the cards in front of her.
"Okay, guys, com'on. Are you going to finish playing or just spend the rest of the day beating the crap out of each other?" Lauren finally spoke up, leaning over to get a better view of the two men rolling in the grass. She was tired of waiting for them to give up, and they were getting boring to watch.
The only answer she received was Justins scream as Chris' hand accidentally swung to meet a rather sensitive area of Justins body. He recovered quickly, and began to pull Chris' leg over his head.
'Oh well, so much for this' Lauren thought. She placed her cards back on the table, excused herself from Lance and Janssyn who were now in conversation, and headed over to JC at the barbecue.
They were all over at Justins for a little relaxation time before heading back out on tour in a few days. They took advantage of the warm Orlando weather, and decided to have a barbecue. Justin, Chris, Lauren and Janssyn had been playing cards, before the two men decided they would see who could make who's underwear reach higher over their heads. Lance and JC were tending to the food, which was a rather scary thought. JC wasn't known for his culinary skills, so it was probably Lance doing most of the work. Britney and Joey were over on the basketball court trying to outdo each other. Looked like Britney was winning. When Joey turned to see what the racket was when Justin had jumped Chris, Britney had passed him the ball, but before he could return his attention, it bounced off the side of his head.
Jimmy was away on location shooting, and would be gone for who knows how long so Lauren wasn't worried about what he would say about her spending the day there.
"Do you have any idea what you are doing?" Lauren asked as she joined JCs side at the grill.
"Absolutely none what-so-ever." he grinned proudly with a nod of his head. "No, wait, I lied. I do know that these thingys are for flipping the food, so I'm learning!" holding up a pair of tongs, he smiled.
"Boy, step away from the grill before you hurt yourself" Lance came up to rescue the food before JC turned everything into a blackened Cajun dish. Taking the tongs away from him, Lance resumed his position at the grill. Turning to Lauren, he smiled. "And Ive seen how you cook, so you better go hang with JC." he said, smacking her on the butt with the tongs. Lauren laughed, knowing Lance was right. She wasn't exactly a gourmet chef. Hell, she couldn't even make kool-aid.
"HEY!" JC complained, staring at Lauren in shock. "If I had said that, you would have hit me!"
"I thought I told you?" she answered, heading into the house, "Ive got a soft spot for green-eyed, southern gentlemen" she winked and blew a kiss at Lance. He caught it in the tongs, and pretended to place it in his pocket for later.
Returning a moment later with a bucket, she headed over to the pool. She dipped the bucket into the water, and started towards the two children still fighting in the ground. Sneaking up quietly towards them, she raised the bucket above the two. They were so caught up in kicking each others asses, that they didn't even realize she was there. Until cool water was dumped on them from above, sending them flying from the ground, and in the opposite direction of each other.
"What the hell was that for?!" Justin screamed, panting from the exertion of Chris' ass kicking.
"Well, you two looked like you needed a time out, and this was the only way I could think of to separate you." she answered with a proud smile, the bucket still in her hands.
"Well, I had a shower this morning, thank-you-very-much" Chris said, shaking the excess water from his hair. "Justin on the other hand....." he didn't finish his sentence, but turned to give a instigating glance in Justins direction.
"Oh no you didn't!" Justin was already headed back in Chris' direction, ready for round two. "You want a piece of me, Kirkpatrick?"
"Bring it on! I can take you, and that curly mop you call hair!"
Before Lauren had a chance to step between them, they were on the ground again. Why did she even bother.
"Joey! Give me a hand here?" she called.
Joey jogged over, and grabbed Justin by the ankles. Lauren grabbed Chris' arms, and dragged him away from Justin. "What are you doing, Lauren! I had him right where I wanted him!" Justin whined as he was dragged away by Joey.
"Whatever, Timberlake! You didn't have me anywhere!" Chris yelled, his face planted in the grass then Lauren let go of his arms. She sat on his back, preventing him from getting up again to go after Justin.
"Oh, Chris, you gettin' senile in your old age? Your minds goin' bro, cause usually when someone is kicking your ass, they've got you right where they want you!"
"THAT'S IT!" Laurens stern tone silenced the war waging between the two. "Don't make me have to send you two home without your dinner!"
"But this is my house!" Justin complained.
"Then don't make me send you to your room!"
There was silence for a few moments, while the two men stared each other down. It was all in good fun, but anyone who didn't know them would probably think they hated each other. Finally, they spoke up "Fine"
"Yeah, fine. Whatever"
"Good, now you two go off and play.........Justin! Over here. Chris, go play with Joey" Lauren instructed the two, rising off of Chris, keeping a close eye on them for any sign of another struggle.
They parted without any fuss, but she noticed Justin mouth the words 'Later, your mine Kirkpatrick!' in Chris' direction.
'You're ass is grass and I am the lawnmower' was Chris' response.
Never a dull moment around these guys. It never ceased to amazing Lauren how the oldest and the youngest member of the group were about the same age mentally. She giggled at her own thoughts.
Thankfully, Lance had been able to keep JC away from the grill, so the food was pretty good. JC was in charge of the chips and pop. Surely he couldnt screw that up! Lance said he had to give him some kind of responsibility so he wouldn't feel left out. Lauren had never seen people eat as much as these guys. They were bottomless pits! Justin could eat more in one meal than Lauren ate in a week, and still managed to look the way he did. 'God, I hate that boy' she joked to herself.
Come night fall, they all headed inside for movies. They were rarely ever able to keep their attention focus on a movie for more than one hour, and always ended up talking or playing games. They had made it almost half way through Almost Famous before turning it off to play Monopoly.
"I'm the thimble!" Justin called, snatching his play piece from the box.
"Is that symbolic, Juju?" Chris was already looking for another fight. He had energy still, and there was no better way to use that energy than kicking Justins ass.
"Maybe for you, old man."
They were all sitting on the living room floor, with the board laid out in front of them. They all sat around it, and paired off into teams of two. Justin and Britney, Chris and Joey, Janssyn and Lance, and JC and Lauren made the teams. Lauren didn't trust putting Chris and Joey on a team together seeing how they were prone to cheating, but it was only Monopoly. What's the worst that could happen?
They were able to play for a little over 15 minutes before Justin and Chris started in at each other again.
"Damn it, Chris, you're cheating!" Justin yelled, staring at the board in front of him.
"You're just bitter cause I'm beating you! Ive always beaten you at everything, and you're bitter!" Chris taunted, throwing Justin a glare.
"Oh please! Ever since Ive known you, everything we play, I always beat you like you stole somethin'!" Justin challenged.
"Get out of the bitter barn, Justin! Play in the hay!" Chris mocked, challenge in his eyes.
Justin tried to jump across the board at Chris, but Britney and Lauren held him back.
"I warned you Justin! Don't make me send you to your room!" Lauren warned. She was always threatening to send him to his room. He always joked and called her mom. Luckily, he sat back down without more of a fuss, but that only lasted a little while.
When Justin landed on a property that Chris and Joey owned, Chris immediately demanded taxes. "HA! You own me money, kid!"
"I do not! You dont even have any houses or hotels on there!" Justin whined, pointing to the empty property.
"Well, I was just about to build some." Chris reached into the box and placed several hotels on the small section of board. "Thats it!" Justin screamed, jumping across at Chris before anyone had a chance to stop him.
Game pieces flew everywhere, and the rest of the group groaned. So much for Monopoly.
Lauren gasped as she felt another pinch in her back, sending her head raising quickly from its place on her arms, breaking her away from her memory.
"Sorry" Britney apologized. She pulled her hand back, and looked at the bruise she had placed the ice pack on. It was one of the bigger ones, so she was sure it didn't exactly tickle.
"Its okay." Lauren answered, returning her head to her arms, sighing.
They sat in silence again for a few moments. Finally, Britney removed the cold pack from Laurens back, placing it on the bedside table.
"Okay, I think the swelling will stay down now. Its not as bad as we thought. Can you feel anything, or did I freeze your back?"
"Oh I think you could go skating on my back right now, its so cold." Lauren joked. Britney did a couple of the buttons up on the shirt, and Lauren sat up, pulling her knees to her chest. Placing her chin on her knees, she met Britneys concerned eyes.
"Really, Brit, I'm alright" she assured her friend. She had been through this enough times to know that the bruises would fade, and everything would go back to normal. Well, as normal as her life could be.
Britney smiled her trademark sweet smile and nodded. "I think you should probably go to sleep. I'm sure JC wont care if you slept in here." she rose from the bed, and walked over to the dresser by the far wall. Pulling out a t-shirt and shorts, she handed them to Lauren and ushered her into the bathroom.
Lauren changed quickly, making sure not to look at her back in the mirror. It made it seem less real if she didn't have to see it. She emerged from the bathroom a few moments later, and climbed into JCs bed. Just being there was comforting. JC entered her mind, and a flash of worry washed over her.
"Brit, why arent they back yet?"
"I'm sure they will be back any minute" she turned to the clock on the night stand. "They've only been gone a little over an hour. I'm sure everything is fine." Pulling the covered higher around Lauren, she hugged her friend "Go to sleep"
She headed towards the door, when Laurens voice stopped her "Brit?"
"Yeah"
After a long pause, she continued "Thank you"
Smiling, Britney winked at Lauren. "Any time"
"How is she?" concern was thick in Lances voice. He and Chris hadn't bothered to go upstairs, figuring it was better for just Britney to be up there with Lauren. He didn't want her to feel overwhelmed after the night she had had.
"She'll be alright." Britney answered, rubbing her forehead. She flopped on the couch, placing her feet on the coffee table in front of her and nervously began chewing her nails. "Where they hell are they?"
"I don't know. I called Justins cell phone, but it must be off 'cause all I got was his answering service" Chris offered.
They sat in silence for a long time. All three sharing the same thoughts, but not wanting to voice them. What if Justin and Joey didn't catch up with JC? JC had a temper and always protected the ones be cared for, so Lord knows what would happen if he was in a room alone with Jimmy.
They were brought away from their thoughts by the sound of the front door opening. Justin walked in, carrying three huge bags. "Don't bother helping me or anything," he struggled "I'm trying to get that hernia I always wanted"
"What the hell are you doing?" Chris asked, raising from his seat to take a bag from Justin. "What is all this?"
"Laurens things," JC answered as he came through the door. Joey followed, both carrying the remainder of the bags. "I'm moving her in with me."
"What?" Lances eyes were wide. "What happened?"
"Long story." JC dropped the bags on the floor in the foyer beside the ones Justin had carried in. Joey placed the boxes down with a grunt.
"Care to share it with us?" Chris was dying to know what happened.
"Sitcom version, JC knocked Jimmy out. Its probably not safe for her to be living there with him anymore, not that it ever was to begin with but anyway, so we gathered her things, and brought them over here" Justin answered before JC had the chance. "Its better this way"
They all just stood staring at each other, before Lance grabbed one of the bags and headed upstairs with it. One by one, the rest of them gathered the items, and followed Lances lead. They placed the bags and boxes in the empty room next to JCs. Britney warned that Lauren was sleeping, so they were careful not to wake her.
JCs house was quite large, with five bedrooms and four bathrooms, so having Lauren live with him would not be an inconvenience. They all agreed that it was the best idea. It wasn't right to send her back to Jimmy. She never should be been there to begin with.
Britney tended to JCs cut knuckles, and applied an ice pack to his slightly swollen cheek. She joked that if her singing career ever came to an end, she would make a really good nurse. Justin agreed, mostly because he liked the idea of her in a cute little nurses uniform.
Before long, everyone headed home. Justin and Britney assured JC that they would be over first thing in the morning. Lauren would probably need their support, and having Britney there was probably a good idea. Girls talked better with other girls about things like this. Chris, Lance and Joey said they would come by in the afternoon. Too many people first thing would probably make Lauren uncomfortable.
After sending his friends home, thanking them for being their for him and Lauren, JC closed the door. Leaning his back against its smooth surface, he closed his eyes and sighed. 'God, I hope I did the right thing' he thought, running a hand over his face.
After turning off all the lights and locking the doors, he headed upstairs. He looked in his room at Laurens sleeping form. She looked to small in his huge bed, curled up in his comforter like a little bug in a cocoon. She looked peaceful, relaxed..........safe. He smiled at the image she made, before kissing her cheek and retreating to a guest room. He knew he had done the right thing.
"NO!" Laurens terrified screams rang through the quiet house. "Please stop!"
JC tore through the door, flicking on the light, running to her bedside. "Lauren, wake up!" He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly to his chest.
"NO! NO! NO!" she resisted his hold, trying desperately to get away. She pounded on his chest, trying to push him away. "Get away from me!"
"Damn it, Lauren, wake up!" he shook her slightly, her eyes popping open. Looking around the room, she seemed confused as to where she was. Turning to look at JC, it all returned to her. Her fight with Jimmy. Coming over here. Everyone finding out what happened. JC leaving. Falling asleep in JCs bed.
She was breathing heavily, tears welling up in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. She leaned her head against JCs chest, finally giving in to his comforting hold. He softly placed a hand on her head, the other rubbing soothingly up and down her back.
"Shhhh....you're alright"
"He wouldn't let me go. He just kept hitting me and hitting me." the tears were more forceful, but she still wouldn't allow them to fall.
"He's not here. He's never going to hurt you again. I promise."
JC rocked her body with his in a soothing motion, calming her nerves.
Finally, after a few moments, she looked up at him. For the first time, she noticed a small welt on his right cheek. "Oh my God," she whispered, running her fingers lightly over the swollen area.
"Its fine." he assured, placing a hand on the one touching his face. Laurens eyes widened as she saw the bandage across his knuckles.
"What happened?" she questioned. "What did you do?"
"Its fine, I promise. Things got a little out of hand, but its over."
"You hit him?" she leaned back, her eyes sparked with fear "JC! You think he's going to let you get away with that? What if he pressed charges? You're career........" he silenced her by placing a finger to her lips.
"Don't worry about that. I have a feeling that he wont be pressing any charges" his knowing smirk puzzled Lauren.
"What makes you so sure?"
"What's he going to tell the cops? 'Excuse me officer, this man hit me after I beat the hell out of my girlfriend.' Who do you think they will be harder on? Me, or him?"
Lauren knew he was right. Jimmy was a moron, but he wasn't that stupid. He knew he would be in more trouble than JC if he brought the police into it.
"But what happens when I go home?" her eyes fell to her hands, which were placed in her lap. She nervously played with her nails.
"You are home"
"What?"
"I took all your things from there, and moved them in here. I don't want you going back there, there's no reason for you to. You're going to move in here with me, and don't bother arguing because we all voted and you lost."
JC wasn't sure if she understood, or even heard him. She just stared at him blankly. Finally, she leaned forward and hugged him. After the shock wore off, he smiled and returned the embrace.
"Thank you" she whispered.
"You're welcome" he smiled into her hair.
He leaned her back into the bed, and returned the covers to their place around her. After kissing her forehead, he headed for the door.
"JC?"
He turned at the sound of her voice. "Yeah"
"Um, well, um...." She looked down at her hands, and began to play with her nails again. "Do you, um, think you could, maybe, stay here with me? I mean, you don't have to, its okay if you don't want to, but I just thought......" she stopped rambling when he smiled and closed the door. He climbed into the bed beside her, turning off the light. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he placed her hand in his on his chest. "You never have to ask twice."
She smiled and snuggled closer to his warm body. Thank god he was wearing jammie pants and a wife beater. If he had been in his underwear, she probably wouldn't have asked.
Finally, she felt truly safe. She had the best friends in the world. And although that was such a simple thing, it made her smile. Its funny how, even though you know you don't have everything, and that there is still more yet to come, how some people can love you so much that dispite all that, it still feels like you have everything.
She closed her tired eyes, and fell into a peaceful sleep.
