Justin stared at the phone as if it was foreign to him. As if it held the answer to life, and that if he made any movement towards it, it would be lost forever. Strangely enough, however, for him, it did hold some answer to his life in particular. The answers he had been searching for all day long, while he sat staring at his computer, his mind racing while his body ached.
The day had been long and, for the most part, unproductive. The majority of the morning and pressing into the early afternoon had been spent searching online for any information he could possibly find on Trystan Michaels. This effort was finally proven to be rather futile, when he was able to only locate her phone number and address in New York. No other information about her was available online, or at least not that he was able to find.
The only thing that had made the day seem a little brighter, had been the fax from Johnny only a few hours ago. The list of names of the fans who had attended the meet and greet at the final show in Orlando a little less than a month ago. This list was the only thing he had to go on at the moment, so for now, it was priceless to him.
He had stared at the paper for a long while, his eyes scanning the various names as he tried to remember any of them. Unfortunately, he could only remember two. One he wished he could forget, and the other who held information that was important to him.
Resuming his position at the computer yet again, Justin set out to find any contact information for Madison Underwood. The friend who had attended the meet and greet with Trystan that day; the girl who Trystan made it sound to be her best friend. This woman, whom Justin had only met once, would be his only hope at regaining his life. She was the only person he could think of who may be able to give him some sort of grasp on what he was dealing with when it came to Trystan. And, if he was lucky, who would be able to help him remove her from his life.
If he could somehow get Madison to talk with Trystan, to make her understand the crazy way she was acting, then maybe things would be worked out. Maybe he would be able to carry on without the fear of her standing near, watching him closely as he tried to carry on with his daily life. Madison was his only hope at taking his life back.
Rubbing his tired eyes, Justin sighed.
It was only five o'clock, but it felt like three in the morning to him. He had spent all day searching for information on people he didn't know, and wished he didn't have to search for. He had found Madisons phone number through an online phone directory, and had been sitting on the couch in his office, staring at his phone for the last two hours.
Sliding his eyes to the paper in his hand, Justin scanned the information, scrawled messily in his handwriting.
Madison Underwood. 212 - 555 - 7869.
No address was given with the phone number, but Justin remembered Trystan saying that Madison attended school in Cleveland. That was why she was in the city that day, and why she met with him in the coffee shop.
Leaning his head on the back of the couch, Justin closed his eyes.
What was he doing? Searching the Internet for information on people he didn't know. Figuring out ways to convince a woman to betray her best friend and help him push her from his life. Hiding out in his home all day, afraid to even walk by a window on the off chance that she was outside watching him.
She was in control. He realized this a while ago. She had control over his thoughts, his feelings, emotions and actions. No matter how much he tried to resist it, or tried to convince himself that she had no hold over him what so ever, he knew it wasn't the case at all. She was in complete and total control.
And he was tired.
Tired of being afraid to do the things he enjoyed in case she was there. Tired of his thoughts always finding their way back to her. Tired of the guilt he felt.
But most of all, he was tired of the deceit.
He was so tired of lying to Erin day after day. Keeping things from her that she had a right to know about. He continuously told himself that it was for her own good that she didn't know. That he was protecting her from the pain and hurt she would feel at the truth. But even he knew that he was doing it more for himself. He didn't want to lose her. He didn't want to have to deal with the possibility of her leaving him, hating him for what he did to her.
He didn't want to lose the best thing in his life.
He knew it was selfish. The cowards way of thinking. But he couldn't help it. People thought this way for a reason, and he had his reasons. Even if he hated himself forever, it was better than her hating him at all.
Lifting his head, Justin looked back at the phone, which was placed in his lap. Staring at it for a moment, he knew there was no more procrastinating. He had been waiting for this information and chance for days, and now that he had it, he was putting off what he had been aching to do. He had to do it, and he had to do it now before he lost his nerve again.
Picking up the phone, he quickly turned it on, placing it to his ear. The dial tone chimed steadily through the phone. Pulling it back, he glanced at the paper in his hand, scanning the number. There was no need for him to look at the number, though. He had it memorized a long time ago. It was merely another procrastination tactic.
Sighing with frustration, he quickly dialed the number, placing the phone back to his ear.
After a moment, he heard the phone begin to ring. His stomach immediately jumped at the sound, his mind racing.
What was he going to say? Of all the things he had been thinking about over the last few hours, what to say to her now wasn't something he had put much effort into. Now, with the phone ringing in his ear, he knew that was a stupid move.
Before he had the chance to hang up, the ringing stopped, before a gentle voice called through the line.
"Hello?" A womans voice answered.
Justin was silent. He couldn't make himself respond. His mouth was open, waiting for the words that would not escape his lips.
"Hello?" the voice repeated, more forcefully this time.
"I," Justin squeaked, barely audible to even himself.
"Is anyone there?"
"Hello?" he managed to say. If he wasn't so damn nervous, he would have been proud of himself for finally being able to speak.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Is Madison there, please?" Justin asked, his fingers nervously fiddling with the paper in his hand.
"This is she."
Justins eyes closed, again, his voice faltering. Quickly gaining control over himself, he shook his head before speaking.
"Hi," he said, trying to portray some sense of control. "Um," he sighed, not knowing how to begin the conversation he needed so desperately to have. "This is Justin. You don't really know me, but I know your friend Trystan."
"Justin?" she said, her voice quiet as if she was trying to place his voice. After a short moment, he faintly heard her take a quick intake of breath, probably at the recognition of who she was speaking to. "Justin?" she repeated.
"Yeah." he replied. "I'm sorry to be calling you like this, and I'm sorry if Ive caught you at a bad time."
"No, no, its fine." she interrupted, her voice slightly nervous. "Really, its not a bad time."
"Listen, I don't really know how to start this, but I kind of need your help."
Madison was silent for a moment. Justin narrowed his eyes, wondering if somehow they had gotten disconnected. Just as he was about to call out to her, she responded.
"With Trystan." she whispered.
Justins eyes widened, his stomach jumping.
"Um, yeah." he replied. "I remembered that you came with her to the meet and greet that day. You know, the last show in Orlando?"
"Yes. I remember."
Her voice was distant, almost unsure, as Justin continued. "Listen, I don't know how to say any of what's going on in my mind right now, so I'm just going to get to the point." When Madison didn't respond, he continued. "I need you to tell me about Trystan."
"What about her?"
"Ugh, this is so screwed up." he admitted, rubbing his eyes with a hand. "Do you know where she is?"
Madison was quiet for a moment, before finally speaking. "No. I haven't spoken to her since the meet and greet that day."
Justin found this information odd. This woman was her best friend, and she hadn't spoken to her in almost a month? Even he made a point to at least call Landon every week or so, even when he was on the road.
"You haven't talked to her?" he asked.
"No." she replied. "Why?"
Justin didn't know how to tell her that her best friend was in Orlando stalking him. What was the best way to tell this kind of story?
"Because she's here in Orlando. And I believe she's stalking me." he blurted out.
Okay, the blunt and honest way is one approach.
Madison was quiet for a while, obviously taking in the information posed to her. After a moment, she responded.
"What has she done?" she asked, her voice suddenly stronger, and full of fear.
"She's been following me." he explained. "She somehow got my phone number, and the phone number of my girlfriend. She's been calling, but when we answer, she doesn't respond."
"Are you sure its her?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Because a few days ago she called, and when I answered, she spoke to me. She had me meet her, and she admitted that she had been following me. She even took a picture of me at the grocery store last week and left it in my car. She said its because she's in love with me, for Christ sake."
Again, Madison was quiet. She had been taking a long time to respond to a lot of the things told to her, but it was completely understandable. Here she was, sitting at home, minding her own business. Then, suddenly, Justin Timberlake calls her and tells her that her best friend is stalking him, and that he is afraid for his safety. It was enough to make anyone lose their train of thought.
A hard sigh filtered through the phone, as Madison tried to think of what to say next.
Before she had a chance to speak, Justin broke in. "I know this is something that I have no right to ask. And if you refuse, I will understand. But please believe me when I say that this is my only chance. I have no one else who can help me, Madison. Please. Please help me."
Again, he was met with silence. He could almost see the look on her face as she pondered his request. "What do you want from me?"
"Anything you can tell me about her." he said. "I need to know if she is a threat to me. At first, I didn't think so. But after meeting with her the other day, I saw a different side of her. She was..."
"Angry." Madisons voice finished Justins sentence, with an eeire, haunting tone.
"Yes." he replied. "Please. I don't know what else to do, and there is no one who can help me."
"What about the police? I mean, cant you just get a restraining order on her or something?"
It was a valid question, but not one that was a possibility. "No," he said. "I cant do that."
"Why not?"
Now, this was the hard part. If he expected this woman to help him, he needed to be honest with her about the facts behind his reasons for even knowing Trystan in the first place. It was something he hadn't told anyone; not even spoken aloud to himself when alone. Something he never wanted to hear from his lips, but alas, something he was going to have to face.
"Because it is more complicated than just a stalking thing." he began. "I have a girlfriend, and I don't want her to find out that this is happening. I don't want anyone to find out. So I cant involve the police. I have to deal with this on my own, but I haven't the slightest idea where to begin."
"So, basically, you want me to tell you if she is dangerous to you? Right? You want to know if she is a threat to your safety?"
"Yes."
"Well, that all depends."
"On what?" Justin asked, his forehead furrowing.
Madison took a deep breath, as if getting ready for what she knew was going to be a long conversation.
"On what you did to make her become obsessed with you."
