"Daddy, Justin's gonna be here any minute. Please don't say anything to him about this." Liz started as she was instructing her father about the inevitable. She knew the second she told him that Justin wanted her move in until her treatments were done, that he didn't like it. In fact, his face turned so red, she thought he was going to explode.
Jack Matthews was beyond upset over this. He had felt awful for keeping Justin away yesterday after Liz asked for him but now his reasons for doing so were back. What BOY in his right mind would invite his girlfriend with cancer to live with him so he could take care of her? Jack knew that Justin had NO idea what he was getting himself into and didn't want his daughter subjected to that. Justin would eventually freak out on her, probably go ballistic and cause Liz more pain than she was already in.
He had tried all morning to convince her that the better solution from her being alone would be to come back to Indiana with him and live there. That was her home after all.
Liz thanked him and felt bad for not wanting to go home to be with her family but she knew that she would feel much better here in Florida. Justin said that the group was taking a much needed break so JC could go and help another band. That would give her and Justin time together. She knew she would be feeling lousy most of the time and was dreading that but with Justin – and Lynn – by her side, she would be okay.
"Liz I know you think this is a good idea but honey please reconsider. Your mother will be so upset when she finds out that you're not coming home at a time like this." Jack said, pleading with his daughter.
Liz was not thrilled to be discussing her mother. "Dad, if mom's so upset then why isn't she here? Why hasn't she called to talk to me? Why haven't I heard anything from her? I have someone in my life that WANTS me around and I'm not about to turn him down and go home to HER!"
Jack just shook his head at his daughter. "Elizabeth, your mother loves you. She's just having a hard time with this. We all are." He said as he crept closer to her on the couch.
She just waved him off. "Don't give me that, dad. Mom was mad at me the instant I told her that I wasn't going back to Maryland for school, and that I was staying down here. She's been against me from the start and probably thinks that I deserve having cancer for going against her."
"DON'T EVER SAY THAT ABOUT YOUR MOTHER!" He yelled at her.
She was so taken back by his outburst that she immediately hoped off the couch and approached him. She had been feeling worse today and was even more nauseous than before but she suddenly got a surge of energy. "HOW DARE YOU DEFEND HER." She yelled back, getting in her father's face.
"She has been nothing but a slave driver for my entire life. She instilled in me the ability to never give up and fight for whatever I want, for that I am grateful but that is about as far as it goes." She said as she began to get a little dizzy and had to sit back down – though she continued to make her point with her father.
"Daddy, she never missed one day of work when I was sick. She never was there to help me if I was hurt. She always said that I had to make things right. She never even told me that I made her proud. That I had done good. That she…that she loved me." Liz tried to finish but could feel the tears brimming her eyes and wanting desperately to escape. "She doesn't love me, daddy. She doesn't."
Jack had heard about enough of this. Since coming to her side for the surgery, he hadn't seen this kind of emotion out of her but here she was, on the brink of breaking down and he hoped she would. She HAD to get it out. She just had to.
He walked over to her and sat down on the couch. He brought Liz into his arms and held her as tight as she was comfortable with. He wanted to be there when she broke.
"Daddy, I can't…I just can't go back there, not like this. I'm…I'm not strong enough to deal with her. I…I need to be here. I need…I need Justin."
Jack held his daughter in his arms, wanting to be there for her but the topic of Justin WASN'T what he had in mind. "Elizabeth, I don't want to make you more upset but do you really trust that boy? I mean, do you really believe that he will be able to handle what is going to happen to you? The sleepless nights, the throwing up, the pains you'll go through, even when you finally accept everything and let it all out. Will he be strong enough to hold you like I am now?"
He spoke to her as calmly as he could but he had to get his point across. He was having a hard enough time with Liz's illness and he wasn't a young man. He just couldn't believe that Justin was ready for something like this.
Liz sniffled, fighting her emotions and not letting the tears fall. Today wasn't the day either. "Daddy…" She started as she lifted off him and looked into her father's eyes. "But at least Justin wants to try."
Her father could see her red eyes, wishing she would just let it out but knowing she would when she was ready. He could also see the love in those eyes for the young man who would be arriving any moment to take her to his home and keep her safe. He was finally understanding. He didn't like it but he was understanding.
"Honey, you really do love him don't you?" He asked, but already knew that answer.
"With all my heart." She replied as she continued to stare at her father.
He merely nodded his head in response. "Then I won't say another word about him. And we'll talk about your mother later. Right now, I need to grab your things so you can be ready when Justin comes by." He said as he brought her back into his arms to hold her again.
She let out a sigh and hugged him back. "But I'll always love you too daddy." She told him into his shirt. She laid her head on his shoulder for a second before feeling her stomach turn and she had to let him go so she could rush to the bathroom.
He hollered after her but she just said she would be back in a minute. Jack sighed and laid back against the couch. It was only beginning and he was already tired of it. He was tired of the lost, painful look that his daughter held in her eyes. He was tired of the struggle between his wife and Liz. And he was tired of her illness. One day with this thing was enough to bring a grown man to his knees. He didn't know how his precious little girl would be able to make it for months.
Just then, the doorbell rang and he stood to get it. When he opened the door, he saw a smile on Justin's face that fell immediately. He looked quite nervous to be with Jack and that knowledge made Jack feel better. If Justin was intimidated by him, then he knew Justin wouldn't try anything with Liz for fear of him.
"Um Justin, come on in." He said as the young man slowly walked inside the apartment, which felt much smaller now.
He looked around the room but didn't see Liz anywhere. "Where's…um, where's Liz?" He asked, wanting to get her in the same room with him so he wouldn't be this uptight.
Jack shut the door behind him and pointed to the hallway. "She wasn't feeling well and ran to the bathroom. I was just going in to check on her." He started to get out but Justin beat him to it.
He rushed down the hall and into Liz's bedroom where the connecting bathroom held her. He knocked lightly on the door and it opened, for it wasn't shut all the way. He saw her frail body hanging over the seat of the toilet and without thinking, he bent down next to her and put his arms around her.
"Are you okay?" He asked against her hair. She simply nodded but nothing came out of her mouth. "Ebby, do you need anything?"
She slowly pushed herself away from the toilet and he moved back with her. She turned around on the floor and buried her head in his shoulder. He could hear her sniffle but knew she wasn't crying yet. "Baby, please talk to me." He said as he was starting to get worried since she hadn't spoken a word to him.
He felt her small hands reach down by his hips and wrap as far around him as possible. Her voice was muffled by his shirt when she finally spoke but he heard her loud and clear. "Don't let me go."
He raised his head to the ceiling and fought to keep the tear that was in the corner of his eye from running down his cheek. "I won't let go, I promise."
The two sat there holding onto each other, neither one saying another word. It wasn't necessary. This was the way Jack found them when he entered the room to see if everything was okay. His thoughts came back to his previous question, wondering how his daughter was going to handle this – he got his answer: Justin.
"Hey, do you need anything else?" Justin asked as he got Liz settled in her new room.
She shifted uncomfortably for a minute before answering him. "No, I'll be okay, thank you." She replied as she sunk down deeper into the soft bed.
Justin nodded and approached her tired form. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead before raising back up and turning the light off. Today had been a long one for her and she needed her rest.
Justin silently closed the door behind himself and ventured downstairs where Joey, Lance and Jack were waiting. The guys had shown up after Liz cleaned herself up and returned to the living room to get ready to go to Justin's. They packed up a few of her bags and any of the little things that she would need or want while she stayed with Justin. He would come back in a day or two and gather anything else for her but she just asked for the necessities for now. Her father would be staying at the apartment until he left in a few days so if there was anything else to get, he would bring it over when he came each day.
As for now, Justin returned to his own living room to see the guys watching television. He eyed Jack and wondered what was up with him. He had actually acted civil to him for the entire day. He didn't know what had changed but he wasn't about to question his motives. He would take one day of peace from him if he could.
"Hey guys, I think she's resting enough to go to sleep now." Justin said as he came around the couch and sat beside Joey.
He just shifted his body to face Justin. "Man, I just can't believe she has to deal with this. I mean, when you told us, I felt bad but until I actually saw her, it didn't really sink in, you know what I mean?" He said as Justin merely nodded his head.
"I know what you mean. I didn't agree with what you were doing but now I can't help but go along with it." Lance chimed in and that caught Jack's attention.
"What ARE you doing Justin?" He asked, turning his body in the chair to face his daughter's boyfriend and giving him a raised eye. He knew something was up and wanted to know NOW!
Justin looked extremely nervous at that moment and shot Lance an evil look. He hadn't told Liz or her father what he had done for her. "Um, well, it's really nothing, right Lance?" He questioned, trying to get the attention off himself.
Lance just stared at him blankly. "Dude, you got yourself into this one. You should have told him by now."
Again Justin shot Lance the look of death and wanted to scream at him for blowing his cover but he had someone else to answer to. He looked back at Jack and flashed his winning smile. "I'm not a twelve year old girl. That charm doesn't work on me so tell me what is going on." Jack demanded.
Joey and Lance looked at one another and tried to stand so they could leave the room but Justin stopped them. "No way - you're both staying." He commanded as they slowly made their ways back to their original positions.
Justin returned his attention to Liz's father, cleared his throat and got ready to tell him what he had done. "Um, well, it's like I said, it's really no biggie."
"I'll be the judge of that." Jack interrupted.
Lance tried to hold back his snicker but Justin heard him. He pleaded with his eyes for him to behave so he could get through this. Lance nodded in agreement and looked away from Justin.
He took another deep breath and began again. "Ahem, well, we were in Europe when I found out about Liz's…um, illness…and it really bothered me. I don't know how many cell phones I broke trying to call my mom for more information…"
"Four." Joey said, smiling at Justin but when he got the same death look that Lance had received, he returned his eyes to the TV.
"Anyway, so I started thinking about what I was going to do and how I could help her out. After a few days of no sleep, I finally realized that I was doing no one any good so I told the others that I was coming home to be with her. We canceled the remaining shows but the guys stayed for the appearances only."
Jack sat back in his seat and stared at him. "Son, I knew all of that. What else is going on?"
Justin knew he had to come clean now. "Well, you see, I told Liz that the group was going on a hiatus for awhile so JC could help out another band with some songs. Now, that wasn't a lie but the reason he's doing it in the first place is because…because I sort of…well, I kind of…" He started but couldn't get it out.
"Because you quit the group."
The three men in the room turned to the entry way to see a pale, tired Liz standing there.
Justin jumped up and ran to her. "Ebby, what…what are you doing up? I…I thought you were asleep." He stuttered out as his own face lost it's color.
She just shook her head at him and had a look of sadness on it. "You did, didn't you?" She asked but not needing his answer. It was written all over his face. "Why?"
Justin turned to see the others looking at him and he nodded to Joey to let know him that he and Lance needed to inform Jack of what was going on. He had to tell Liz himself. They agreed and watched Justin lead Liz out of the room.
"Justin answer me, please. Why did you quit?" She begged as the two climbed the stairs and walked back into the room she was occupying.
Once inside, Justin shut the door and pointed to the bed for her to climb in. She did so only because she was exhausted but didn't lie down. She sat up looking at him for answers. He ducked his head as he sat beside her.
"Ebby, I didn't exactly quit the group. I'm just sort of taking a break from it for awhile." He explained as she just looked at him in confusion. "Listen, I don't want to be out on the road, or at the studio everyday while you're here. I told you that I was going to help you through this but I can't if we're in California shooting a video or New York on TRL. I had to take a break so I could be with you."
When he finished, he reached for her hand but it was so cold it shocked him. Her skin had never felt so clammy before and he cringed at its touch. "Ebby, its only temporary, just until you finish your treatments and get better…" He began but she interrupted.
Her hand clasped together with his as she tightened her grasp on him. "Justin, that could be months. I can't have you put your job, your career, you life on hold for me. I won't let you do that."
He stopped her by pulling her hand up to his mouth and kissing the back of it. "You don't have a say in it. It's a done deal. The guys are letting me do this and I'm not backing down. I WON'T let you do this alone. I couldn't go out there and entertain the world knowing that you were here and I could be too. I'm not leaving you. I'm not."
She pulled her hand out of his hold but kept it by his face. She ran her trembling fingers over his cheek then moved to his mouth. They grazed his lips and her own resembled the tremble of her hand. She was about to lose it right there. She was so upset that he would do this but at the same time, so incredibly moved and touched that someone whom she only knew for a short time would give this all up for her. She didn't know how to respond.
"Justin, I…I don't know what to say." She started as her hand was met again by his.
He covered hers to make it stop shaking and held it up to his lips. He kissed the tips of her fingers while smiling at her. "You don't have to say anything. Just let me be here for you."
She moved her hand out of his grasp and instead of pulling back, she used all the strength she had that night and flung herself forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. The tears were banging to come out but she wouldn't let them just yet. It wasn't time for their arrival but it would be soon.
"Thank you." She whispered into his ear as his warm body heated her cold one. She felt so safe and so loved at that moment - but what she didn't know was that everything was about to change.
Justin's great deed, his enormous show of affection toward her would come back to haunt him and he would question why he did it in the first place. But for now, they were both content in the fact that Liz was there with him and for tonight at least, everything was fine.