"WHERE IS SHE!"
"Justin, honey you're gonna have to calm down." Lynn said as she walked into the living room carrying another pile of clothes. She placed the folded articles on the couch and began sorting through them to make sure these were alright for Justin to take on his trip.
"Mom, she's not at home. Her classes were over hours ago. Where could she be?" He said, plopping himself down on the couch.
"Justin Randall, you get off those clothes right now." She demanded, giving him a stern look.
"Go Lynn! You tell him whose boss around here."
Justin stood and eyed his best friend as he came into the room. "Trace, man if I were you, I'd turn back around and leave."
Lynn had had just about enough of Justin's attitude for one night. "Justin, sit in the chair and be quiet. Elizabeth will call when she gets home. She's probably out getting something to eat or with friends. Don't worry." She finished as she picked up another pair of his boxers and placed them inside a large bag
"I know she said she'd call but it's getting late. What if she got bad news or something?" Justin asked as he tried to stand back up but Lynn held a hand to him and told him to sit and be quiet. He landed back on the chair with a thump and crossed his arms over his chest.
Trace tried not to laugh at his friend's disgust but it was just too funny. "Man, your mama sure has you whipped." He said, chuckling aloud. Lynn shot him a warning look too and he coughed to gain his composure. "Oh, um sorry mom." He apologized with a bright smile on his face. Lynn just rolled her eyes at him then returned to packing Justin's bag up.
Trace came around the couch, careful not to touch any of the clothes or he would have to face the wrath of Lynn. He found a hard bumpy seat on the hearth of the fireplace and sat his drink beside him. He remembered what Justin was complaining about and had to ask. "So, what's up with Liz anyway? And why are you so worried that she's not home at 7:00?"
Justin slumped his shoulders back against the reclining chair and let out a deep sigh. "Oh, its nothing. She just went to the doctor and told me that she'd call when she got home."
Trace picked up his glass and eyed him carefully over its top as he took a sip of the cool liquid. "Sounds like more than that. But I won't bug you about it cause you look uptight as is with leaving tomorrow and all, so let's just drop it, okay?"
Justin nodded his head as he held his cell phone in his hands. He was running his fingers over the buttons, debating whether to call Liz again but chose not to. She would call when she got home – 'but why isn't she there yet?' He wondered to himself.
"NOT AGAIN!" Liz yelled as the cars in front of her stopped. 'I SO can't stand traffic.' She said to herself as she laid her head on the steering wheel of her car. 'Justin's probably worried sick about me by now.' She told herself, knowing that she should have called but she had just finished up with the doctors.
"What a day." She said aloud as she looked up and saw that traffic was moving again. "Finally." She cheered as she drove only a few blocks away before turning off on a side road and heading to the familiar house heavily guarded by security. She knew she couldn't just go home and call Justin, he would only rush over to her apartment and what she had to tell him, he needed to hear face-to-face.
After she passed security, she slowly made it through the neighborhood and into Justin's driveway. She parked outside the garage and hopped out of the car. She crept closer to the door and had to take a few deep breaths before gaining the courage to knock on it.
Since she knew the code to get through his gate, she didn't have to call the house to inform anyone of her arrival. She used that to her advantage and stood outside for a few minutes. She didn't know how he would take the news she had to give him.
She was a little nervous to even say the words and wondered if she should say anything to him about what might be wrong. He was leaving tomorrow morning and this would be the last time she would see him for almost a month. She didn't want him worried about her while he was gone. She wanted him with her when she found out everything but since he couldn't be there, she would just tell him later about it – hopefully it would be good news.
She took another deep breath, inhaling the cool air of the night and finally knocked on the door.
She heard the shuffling of feet against the wooden floor as they made their way closer to her. She was becoming more nervous by the minute and could feel her palms start to sweat when she heard the latch of the door click and it slowly opened.
"Hey girl, Justin's gonna be glad to see you." Trace said, as he looked Liz up and down. She appeared on edge but he just assumed that it was because Justin was leaving in the morning.
"Hi Trace, can I come in?" She hesitantly asked. He immediately opened the door to its fullest and allowed her inside. She stepped through the hallway and could hear Lynn talking to someone, she figured it was Justin. There weren't any other cars in the driveway so she knew he wasn't having people over for his last night. This would help her immensely so she could spend some time with him.
The pair rounded the corner of the living room and Liz just stopped and stared at Justin as he sat in the recliner, all slumped and looking miserable. She felt a tug at her heart and that made her feel even worse for not stopping to call him.
"Look who I found outside." Trace announced, getting the other's attention.
Justin's face lit up and he practically jumped out of the chair to leap over to Liz. He threw his arms around her and held her close to him. "Are you okay? I was so worried. Why didn't you call? Did you see the doctor? What did he or she or whomever is was, say? Ebby answer me." He said as he brought her out of his arms and looked her square in the eyes.
She just had to laugh at him. "Justin, calm down. First off, I'd answer you if you'd be quiet for a second." Justin just smiled timidly at her. "Look, I did go see the doctor and…" She looked at the other two faces in the room and felt very awkward at that moment. "Um, could we go to your room or something?" She asked, not wanting to talk in front of Lynn or Trace.
Justin agreed and told the other two that they would be down in a minute. Lynn said that she would finish with his clothes while Trace was going to fix something to eat. They watched Justin and Liz walk out of the room, hand in hand and couldn't help smiling at the pair.
"They make a great couple, don't you think?" Lynn asked Trace as she folded another pair of socks and placed them inside the bag. He agreed with her but wondered what was going on upstairs. Whatever happened at the doctor's office, she didn't want anyone else knowing about it and that worried him.
"Okay, so what did the doctor say?" Justin asked as he closed the door to his room behind him. He saw Liz walked slowly over to his bed and carefully sat down. She looked nervous and that got his mind reeling again. He wondered if it was bad news – well the same news that he and JC had discussed earlier – which wouldn't necessarily be bad but it would just be at the wrong time for them both.
He watched her wring her hands together but she hadn't said a thing so he was busting at the seams. He had to know and know NOW. "Ebby, are you pregnant?" He asked, feeling very bold at that moment.
She jerked her head up in shock to look at him. She didn't know he had suspected that she was. "Um, Justin how did you…" She started but he sighed deeply and interrupted her.
He came over to the bed and sat down beside her, taking her hands in his own. "Honey, I know this will be hard but I'll be there for you throughout the whole thing. I promise we'll figure something out." He concluded as he pulled her into a warm embrace.
Her head was smashed up against his collarbone and her muffled speech was beyond comprehensible. She had to force herself away from him and gave him a confused look. "Justin, I didn't say I was pregnant, just that I wanted to know why you thought was." She stated and saw the shocked look spread across his face.
"So you're NOT having a baby?" He asked, hesitating whether to believe this news or not.
She just smiled tenderly at him and cupped his chin in her hand. "No, I'm not having a baby."
She was shocked herself, when he jumped up and brought her with him. He encircled her waist and twirled her around while screaming for joy. "That is the BEST news I've heard all day." He said, then slowly put her back down on the floor but kept her in his arms.
She giggled into his neck when he finally stopped spinning her around. She then let out a sigh when she felt his warm airy breath in her ear as he whispered to her. "Not that sometime else I wouldn't mind trying for a couple of kids with you but not now."
That statement and the gentle way he said it, made Liz feel the tears build up in her eyes. She had to will them away before he noticed. She couldn't tell him anything else about the doctor's visit now. He was just too happy and she would only bring him down.
She hugged him close to her one last time then pulled away, looking at him. He noticed something in her eyes but past it off because it quickly went away. "So, you've got your mom downstairs packing for you. Were you that worried?" She asked, sitting back down on the bed.
He followed suit and turned his body towards her. "Yeah I was but you're not changing the subject on me. If you're not pregnant, then what's wrong?"
She saw the concern in his eyes and tried to look away but he caught her chin and turned it around to face him. "Ebby, don't go hiding things from me now. I may be leaving the country for awhile and won't be here but I need to know what is going on with you. Don't try to protect me, okay?" He asked, lifting her head even higher so her eyes had no where else to be but on him.
She closed them to shield them from his site. She just couldn't look at him right then. "Justin, it's nothing really." She started but he stopped her.
"Ebby, don't give me that. You've passed out, you've lost weight, and who knows what else has happened that you didn't tell me about. Now look…" He began as he pulled her into his lap. If she wasn't going to look at him and see how much he loved her, then she would at least feel it. "Whatever it is, please tell me. If you don't, I'll be overseas worried even more and I may have to tell one of the interviewers that my girlfriend back home is to blame. You know how much the press would love to hear about that."
She jerked her head up and looked at him sharply. "Justin you wouldn't." She demanded, upset that he would ever say that. He was so private about his life that the statement made no sense.
"Ah, I got you to look at me." He said, waving a finger in her face.
She swatted him away and tried to get out of his hold but he stopped her. He held her down against him and buried his head in her shoulder. "I was just kidding. Ebby, please be honest with me though."
She stopped struggling with him and sighed deeply before agreeing to tell him what she knew – which wasn't much. "Fine, you win." She said as she turned her body so she could face him easier.
He awaited her explanation while rubbing her thigh to ease her. "Well, the doctor gave me a pregnancy test – which of course came back negative, but she also took some blood that will be back in a few days."
"That doesn't sound too bad. What does she think might be the problem?" He asked, tightening his hold on her.
She looked down at her hands and began to wring them together again. He brought a hand of his own to them to make her calm down. She lifted her head and the look she gave him told him it was bad. "She wouldn't tell me."
Justin let out the breath he was holding. "Ebby, that doesn't mean it's as bad as you're letting on. It's probably just stress or something." He informed her, trying to keep her at ease.
She just shook her head at him. "I don't think so, Justin. She said there were elevated levels of enzymes in my urine test that could indicate a potential serious condition but she didn't want to go into that until she had the results back. In the mean time, she did other tests and even wanted me to go to the hospital to have another one run that she couldn't do in her office. That was why it took me so long and I didn't call. I just finished up there and headed right to see you. They won't know anything until Wednesday afternoon, at the earliest."
Justin shifted his weight and gently moved both of them onto the bed. He laid on his back with his arms around her shoulders. She placed her head on his chest and brought a hand up to his neck and played with the little strands of curls at its base. She inhaled deeply and felt a rush of calmness come over her at that moment.
If everything would just stop for awhile and freeze them in that moment, she would be so happy. She didn't want to think about the potential problems that she may encounter in the next few days. All she thought about was the loving man who was keeping her sanity in tact.
"Ebby, you can't worry about something that MIGHT happen. Just wait till Wednesday to see. I'm telling you, its nothing. It's absolutely nothing." He said into her hair as he tightened his grip on her shoulder. He could feel her creep closer to him and almost smother him with her body. He wanted to push her away a little because she was scaring him but he knew she needed to be close to him.
Whatever was found wrong with her, he vowed right there to help her through it but that nagging feeling that he had inside of him for the past few days, was rearing it's nasty head again. He shook his head and willed those thoughts away. Liz needed him to be there for her – although he wouldn't be there in the flesh, he would be in her heart.
The two laid there, not saying a word for quite awhile. Neither one wanted to say anything to break this moment. Words would just get in the way. Right now, only feelings needed to be shared.