To say that things had gotten progressively worse over the last week or so would be an understatement. A huge understatement. Things, in fact, had progressed to a borderline hell for Justin.
Ever since the day he and Erin found the snake in the bathroom, he had been on edge. The fact that Trystan had yet again gained access to his home, this time when they were not there, only intensified his nerves and anxiety to what she was planning next.
She had called several times since then, speaking only to him once.
"I cant live without you. And I refuse to let you live without me."
The rest of the calls had been either hang ups, usually when Erin answered, or the usual silences from an unknown number.
Justin had thought of going over to her house more than once, but each time the thought moved through his mind, he dismissed it just as quickly. The last thing he wanted was to go over there, and this time if he did go, there was no telling what she would do. He didn't want to see her again, for more reasons than one, but mostly because it would only give her more ammo against him. It was bad enough that he had been there once, and even called her directly, but there was no way in hell he was going to do either again.
He was at an end, and he didn't know which way to turn. He knew he had very few options, but none of the ones posed to him were appealing in any way, shape or form.
Either he could inform the police, and chance any media attention being brought to the situation.
He could tell the guys or Landon, and have them never be able to look at him the same way again.
Or he could tell Erin himself, and alleviate any pressures place on him by Trystan on doing so.
None of those were even close to what he wanted to have happen.
What he wanted was for it all to go away. For the night in New York to never have happened. For his life to be the way it once was. His peaceful, happy life with the people he loved. No stress. No pressures, and no guilt.
But he didn't always get what he wanted, now did he?
Fuck no.
Erin had been working long hours for the last week, and Justin was both thankful and regretful for it. He was glad that she was out, away from him, for fear of Trystan watching them together more and more and becoming more and more jealous. But he was regretful, because all he wanted was to be with her. It was a simple pleasure, but one he couldn't seem to get enough of.
But at least if she was out of the house, he could sulk in private. He could act as immature and moronic as he wished, and right now, that was a lot of wishing.
He was laying out across the bed, his arms and legs spread wide out to his sides. His eyes closed what would seem like peacefully, although in his mind, he was anything but. The curtains were drawn, leaving the bedroom in near darkness. The only sound in the room was that of his own breathing, mixed with the occasional grunt or whine that would escape him.
He was rarely one to wallow in self pity, but this was an emergency. This whole situation was putting more pressure on him as each day passed, and it was becoming clearer to him that Trystan was not going to let this go. She was not going to move on and forget about him, and she certainly wasn't going to listen to reason.
It was beyond that point now. After the threatening note on the door, and the phone call, he knew without a doubt that she was beyond any kind of sweet talking that he may try to sway her with.
Yes, she still wanted him. Very much so. But she was angry now, and if she had to hurt him, he knew she would do so without thought of the consequences.
And that scared him.
The thought of someone out there to harm him was frightening. But more so, the thought of that person actually considering any harm towards those he loved was another situation all together. He would gladly give his life for any of the guys, Landon, his family or Erin. To him, it wasn't even a question that needed pondering. He would without a second thought.
But he knew that was something that probably didn't require any consideration at the moment. More importantly, he knew, was how he was going to handle the situation he was in as far as telling Erin the truth.
He knew he only had two options. Having Erin find out from another person, namely Trystan, about what happened that night. Or to tell her himself.
And he knew Trystan was merely biding her time until he made his choice.
But the strange thing, to Justin anyway, was the fact that this would come so completely out of left field to Erin, and it would be devastatatng. She had no idea what was happening at all. Any threats or calls that came, Justin faced alone. She had no idea what so ever that she was in danger or that she had any reason to not trust him. So if he told her the truth, it would be even that much more shocking.
He knew that eventually a question would be raised that would force him to make the decision he had been putting off for so long. But that day hadn't come yet, so he was still sitting on his thoughts and fears.
When he had no other choice but to tell her, then he would. Or at least he thought he would.
He had no idea how he would tell her something like this. He tried to think of what he would want to hear if things had been the other way around, and it was Erin who had betrayed him. Of course, he knew, that she would never do that to him. Most people would say you could never be sure that she wouldn't betray him, but he knew it. He knew there was noting on earth to make her cheat on him. And he thought there was nothing that could make him.
Other than a few too many Jack Daniels.
Suddenly, Justin could hear the sound of a car pulling up the long driveway outside, the engine faintly heard through the open window of his room. Opening his tired, strained blue eyes, he noticed the time. Five thirty six. He had been lying in bed for over two hours, doing nothing but thinking and whining and pouting.
God he was pathetic.
Turning his head back to stare at the ceiling, he yawned. He wasn't even tired, but for some reason, he felt completely drained of all energy.
Pushing himself up from the bed into a sitting position, Justin leaned forward to stretch out his back. He groaned as he stretched, the slight pain and relief in his back was invigorating. The first thing in the last few hours that had been able to make him feel actually alive.
For the last few days, he had felt as if he wasn't himself. As if he were a spectator, watching some twisted reality show. He was judging his own actions as he did them. Watching himself from somewhere else. Completely unfeeling to anything around him.
Any kind of pain or feeling other than confusion, fear and pity was a welcome experience at this point.
Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Justin sat on its edge for a moment. Hearing the front door open, then close, he smiled to himself.
Finally, the one thing that made him smile was there.
Standing up, Justin stretched his arms over his head as he slowly padded his way across the plush carpet towards the door leading to the hall.
Stepping out into the hall, he turned towards the stairs, walking down slowly as Erin stood at the door, sliding her shoes off and tossing them to the side.
She hadn't noticed him yet. Her hair still pulled up in a loose twist, fringes falling into her eyes from where they had come loose. Her eyes were in her hands, as she sorted through the mail. Her briefcase was at her side on the floor, her jacked slung over her arm.
Stepping into the foyer, Justin smiled at the sight of her.
She looked tired. She looked slightly stressed. But she was still the most breathtaking woman he had ever seen.
Finally, Erins eyes rose to find Justin watching her with mild amusement. She smiled as she turned and hung her coat on a hook beside the door. Pushing her briefcase under the small table inside the door, she began to walk towards him.
"Hey baby." she greeted, her voice tired.
"Hey." he returned as she stepped up to him. Wrapping his arms around her, Justin pulled her close for a long kiss.
Her lips felt so soft and real to him, that he had to control himself. He wanted nothing more than to forget everything around him other than her. To stay in bed with her for hours. Days even.
Pulling back, Erin grinned up at him. "Wow," she laughed. "Someone is glad I'm home."
Justin grinned seductively at her. "You have no idea."
Erin smiled at him for a moment longer before kissing him quickly and stepping back out of his embrace.
Heading towards the kitchen, she called from over her shoulder.
"What did you do today?"
Justin rolled his eyes, more at himself, than at her question, before following her lead into the kitchen. "Nothing much." he said honestly. "Just hung around. Oh, wait, I lied. I did clean the bathroom."
Erin smiled at him from over her shoulder with a shocked expression. "Really?"
"Yeah, really. Its been a long time since Ive done any of my own housework, so I thought it was about that time." he said as he sat on a stool in front of the island in the middle of the kitchen.
Erin was at the fridge now, pulling a glass from the cupboard at her side as her other hand opened the fridge door. Looking inside, she searched for something to quench her thirst. She opted for an iced tea, pouring herself a tall glass before turning back to the counter.
Allowing her eyes to fall back to the mail in the counter in front of her, she continued to talk to him, her back still to him.
"Anything exciting happen at work?" Justin asked as he picked at a piece of fluff on his shirt.
"Nope." Erin shrugged as she opened her credit card bill. Wincing slightly at the amount, she tossed it aside as she continued. "Oh, no. There was this one thing." she said, turning to face him. Leaning her hip on the counter, she held the glass of iced tea in one hand, the other arm crossing over her stomach to support the one holding the glass. "I got a strange call today."
Justins eyes raised to hers quickly, as he fought to keep his expression normal.
"What?" he squeaked.
"Yeah. It was odd. I think it was a wrong number or something. Sarah was out for lunch, but I stayed to work on something, so I had to answer my own phone. I answered it this once, and there was a woman on the other end. It was strange, because she sounded like she knew me, but I have no idea who she was. She asked me if I had been to New York lately. I told her no. Then she asked me if I had a boyfriend who may have been." Erin stopped to make a face, before shaking her head.
Justins eyes were wide, his complete attention focused on Erins every word.
"What was her name." he asked in a nervous tone.
Erin shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't know. I asked, but she just hung up."
The two of them sat in silence for a moment, before Erin took a sip of her drink, shrugged and turned back to the bills on the counter.
When her back was turned to him, Justin lowered his head. Trystan had actually called Erin at work. God, this was getting worse. She was becoming more bold, and Justin was terrified of what he was going to have to face sooner than he thought.
There was a long silence, Justin lost in his own thoughts as Erin went through the mail, before he heard her gasp.
Bringing his head up quickly, Justin looked at her strangely.
"What?"
She was silent for a moment, before shaking her head.
"Justin, have you seen this phone bill?" she asked, her back still to him. The glass of iced tea was now sitting on the counter at her side, empty.
"No. Why?"
Turning around, Erin held the pages in her hand.
"It is astronomical!" she gaped. "Its over four hundred dollars!"
Justin couldn't help the strange expression from coming to his face. "What? How?"
"I don't know." Erin said, her eyes squinting at the pages. "Here, look." she said, handing him the first page.
Justin took the paper, looking it over as Erin went through the itemized call list.
She was right. It was over four hundred dollars. And it was only for the last month. He had barely talked to anyone out of the area. The only person being Madison a few times, and of course a few friends in Los Angeles. But nothing to add up to this."
As his eyes continued to look over the page, Erins voice called out to him.
"Justin?" she said.
"Yeah?" he replied, his eyes still on the paper in his hands.
"Who is 803-555-2326?"
Justins eyes raised, confusion clear in them.
"I don't know." he said. "Why?"
Erin didn't speak. She merely handed him the itemized bill. She didn't look mad. Mainly confused.
Justin took the pages, and looked them over. The list was three pages long, itemizing each of the calls he had made. Most of them he knew. Madison. The guys. His friends. Erins family. Brother. The usual calls they always made.
Moving on to the second page, Justins eyes fixed on the third number. 803-555-2326. And that number continued down the page, leading onto the next. Looking it over, Justin realized that it had been called over forty times.
Justin furrowed his forehead in thought and confusion. Whose number was that? It sounded vaguely familiar, but he knew he hadn't called it that many times.
Suddenly, it hit him. The number.
Trystan.
It was Trystans number. He remembered that was the number Madison had given him that day after her phone call, and it was that number had called. He had talked to her.
She lived in the Orlando area, but it was still a different area code from him, therefore, a long distance call. She called enough times to make his phone bill obviously high, making sure that the itemized calls would be looked over.
Justins mind was now racing, trying to figure out what was going on.
Looking at the dates of the calls, he realized. They were all made the day he and Erin went to Landons for dinner. The night Trystan broke into the house. Leaving the note, and the torn up shirt. The snake. She must have made the calls to herself, knowing full well that Erin would more than likely read over the phone bill, and questions would be raised.
"Justin?" Erins voice broke him from his ranting thoughts. Justin reluctantly looked up.
She was watching him closely, confusion on her face.
"Do you know whose number that is?" she asked.
Justin watched her. She was angry about the calls. She was obviously just as confused and baffled as he was. Only, she wouldn't be confused for long.
Looking at her now, knowing how close and bold Trystan was getting with each passing day, the choice was now. He had to decide what to do. And no matter how much he hated it, he had to end this now.
"Yes." he said softly, barely a whisper. "I know whose number it is."
Erin shifted her weight on her feet, her arms crossed over her stomach casually.
"Who?" she asked, tilting her head.
Justins eyes were sad and hollow, his face drained of all color as he sighed at her with regret.
"Erin," he said, setting the pages on the table. "We need to talk."
