Maddie
examined her reflection in the mirror. The clothes she wore were simple yet
trendy; short khaki shorts and a pink camisole top with a matching shell. The
rhinestones and glitter she'd added to the outfit glammed it up.
The day
had been a whirlwind of activity for her. From the TV Guide interview, she'd
gone to another photo shoot and then rehearsals.
She gave herself one
last inspection, grabbed her purse and key card and walked out the door. The
plan was for everyone to met in Wendy's room and go on to the show from there.
She looked up to see Justin leaving his room. "Hey you." She smiled
broadly at him as she approached him. He'd occupied her thoughts more than she
cared to admit.
He stared down at her, his face devoid of any emotion;
his eyes were cold.
Her steps slowed, faltered, then stopped under his
unsmiling regard. "What? What's the matter?"
He had to unclench his jaw
to speak. His voice was low, angry. "I saw you."
Maddie ran her tongue
over her bottom lip. "Okay, you saw me," she said slowly, unsure of how to
handle this mood he was in.
"Last night…I saw you…with Happy."
"Oh." Suddenly she couldn't meet his eyes. Her gaze focused on the
studded fabric of his white shirt. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
Justin had to take a few steadying breaths before he could continue.
"What I don't understand is…how you could be kissing on him less than five
minutes after you were all up on me in the bathroom."
"Wait a minute,"
Maddie frowned. "HE kissed ME. I would never…you really thing I would do
something like that?"
Justin looked away, silent.
"J, you ready?
We gotta be downstairs in ten minutes."
Justin looked over his shoulder
to see Chris and Heather coming out of their room. He turned back to Maddie to
see her walking away from him.
"Aw, got your kiss for the day?"
Justin glared and Chris and stormed over to the elevator.
(Two
hours and fifteen minutes later)
(Backstage at the Met)
A terse
silence filled the small dressing room. Maddie sat stonily in the make-up chair,
staring straight ahead with blank eyes as Monica flitted around her, putting the
final touches on her hair and make-up.
"You know this outfit would work
a lot better if you let me put your hair down," Monica advised.
"I can't
dance with my hair in my face," Maddie replied quietly. The conversation fell
away.
Part of the reason for the prolonged silence was that all five
women were bundles of tension. In less then fifteen minutes, they would be
onstage, performing live in front of thousands, not to mention the many millions
who would be tuning in on TV.
Von had retreated into a corner to quietly
review the routine and stretch her muscles. Kendra paced the length of the room,
muttering to herself every now and again. Wendy sat cross-legged on the floor,
sloop-shouldered, eyes closed. It was a toss-up as to whether she was meditating
or just resting. Kristina couldn't be still; she'd sit for a minute, bounce up
to join Kendra in her pacing, pause to go over parts of the dance, sigh deeply
as she flopped into the nearest seat and start all over again.
The main
reason for their silence, though, was that they were all unsure of Maddie's
mood. She'd joined them in Wendy's room, eyes blazing and jaw set in anger. When
they'd asked her what was wrong, she'd stonewalled them, saying that it was
nothing and that she would be fine. Yet two hours later, she had her friends in
such a state that they were reluctant to speak for fear of saying the wrong
thing. They'd been around her long enough to know that it wasn't nerves. She
tended to remain cool and collected until right before a performance, not
getting nervous until those moments when she was frozen in her beginning
position, waiting for the music to begin, knowing that all eyes were on her and
fearing she'd blank out as soon as the music started.
"Can you cheat on
someone when you're not even really together?"
Everyone turned to her as
she spoke. She had her head down, made a big deal of studying her nails.
"Cause that's what he thinks. Happy," she sighed deeply, "Happy kissed
me…and he saw it…so now he thinks…"
Wendy was the first to recover. "I
don't think he thinks that. He was probably just shocked. And pissed."
"Yeah," the others agreed as they all walked over to her.
Maddie
smiled faintly. "I was thinking of him when I sang this song yesterday." She
frowned and peered at her nails. "I need a manicure."
"You know what?"
Kendra draped her arm on the back of the chair behind Maddie's shoulders. "Men
are assholes and they're only good for one thing."
Maddie turned to look
at her, the question in her eyes.
"You know what I'm talking about,"
Kendra grinned at her.
"Yeah," Maddie agreed with the first full smile
they'd seen out of her in a while, "and half of 'em can't even do that right."
A heartbeat of silence then all five of them burst into laughter.
"Come on, girl!" Wendy pulled her up out of the chair. "We 'bout to go
rock the house!"
"Right on!"
(Meanwhile)
(Section D, Row
DD, Seats 7-16)
"Justin!" Jen hissed through her teeth. "If you don't be
still!"
"He can't help it," Chris leaned forward to grin at her, "Maddie
is up next."
"Well, damn, I wish she hurry up so he can stop fidgeting,"
she grumbled.
"He probably getting all hot and bothered," Joey grinned,
" thinking about what might go down after the show."
"Joey, please. This
is an awards show, not the prom," Janine said drolly.
"Not like anything
would happen anyway," Justin muttered.
"What?" Jen asked.
"She
hates me."
Eyebrows raised and jaws dropped in shock.
"Again?"
Heads turned at Chris's outburst.
"Sshh!" Justin frowned at him.
"I swear, with y'all, it's one step forward, five steps back."
Heather slapped him on the arm. "What happened?"
"I was going
back to her room last night to…just cause and I saw her and Happy. They were
kissing." He nodded at their surprised expressions. "Yeah. And then I asked her
about it today and she said that he kissed her."
"What happened after
that?" Janine asked.
Justin had to admit, "I didn't stick around to
see."
"I don't think she would have kissed him, that doesn't make
sense," Jen said. "She really likes you and she's not the type to play over a
guy like that."
Justin sighed. "That's basically what she said…or the
gist of it anyway."
"Ooh boy, you got a lotta begging to do tonight.
Better break out the knee pads," Joey said and wrapped his arm around Janine.
Seeing Johnny's glare, he unwrapped it and slouched down in his seat, pouting.
Lance and JC returned from the bathroom, stepping over them as they went
back to their seats. JC sat and looked around him at the varying expressions on
his friends' faces. "What'd we miss?"
Justin sighed and stared at the
back of the seat in front of him. He couldn't believe he'd misjudged her so
badly. True, he did have issues with trust; so many people wanted to get close
to him for all the wrong reasons. Seeing her with Happy…in that way…he'd
automatically lumped her with them. And then he realized that he didn't have a
reason not to. As hot as he was for her, he didn't really know a whole lot about
Madison Morse. He had no clue about what made her tick or where her motivations
lie or…anything. And while he thought he saw was an innate goodness in her, he
just couldn't go with his gut on this one. He'd done that before and gotten
burned and really did not care to have a repeat of the experience. 'Damn, I know
she kisses like an angel but I don't even know if she believes in God or not.
We've only talked like twice, just he two of us. So how was I supposed to assume
the right thing when I saw them together? How do I know that I didn't?'
And then he remembered the hurt look in Maddie's eyes. It was more like
hurt mixed in with disappointment and something else he couldn't quite read.
He'd gotten all too good at spotting the fakes and the phonies and knew that her
reaction was real. He sighed. 'Well hell.'
Jen's voice brought him out
of his reverie. "You gonna sit there and brood all night or you gonna watch the
show? Maddie's on."
He immediately brought his eyes to the stage.
Nicholas Brendan and David Boreanaz exchanged witticisms about knowing what it's
like to work with strong, independent, tough women as they introduced her.
Justin wasn't really paying attention. He'd just realized that this would be his
first time seeing her perform. He sent up a silent prayer that she'd have a good
show.
"Ladies and gentlemen, "Miss Madison Morse."
The curtains opened up to reveal an empty stage. The audience expected
to hear the music begin or see some movement and got restless when they didn't.
Just when they were all wondering if something had gone wrong, Maddie stepped
out from behind the wings. The roar of the crowd was her only accompaniment as
she walked to the edge of the stage. She smiled, delighted at their reaction.
Justin's breath caught in his throat and he felt a slow heat creep over
him. She looked so beautiful standing there with the lights shining down on her.
Her look was simple yet devastating. Her hair was half up, half down. Her skin
shimmered. He wasn't sure how but she looked as if she glowed from within. Her
outfit left a lot to the imagination. It was made of a white gossamer material,
one of those iridescent colors where you were never really sure if it was see
through or not. The skirt was short enough to raise a few eyebrows but the slits
on the sides revealed the shorts beneath it. The top was long-sleeved, fitted
and hung to the thighs. It was held together by a single button but only a small
triangle of skin around her navel showed.
The audience continued to
scream their approval as Maddie slowly brought the microphone to her mouth. She
began the number a capella, much to the crowd's delight, and as she sang, the
dancers twirled and leaped into position behind her.
Where do you go
when You need good lovin'
She paused and looked out at the wildly
applauding audience, knowing that she had them in the palm of her hand.
And how will you know if Love is very hard to find
She began
to sway to the beat she sang, her hips moving seductively to the words.
How do you say That you need it everyday Well if you look my
way You won't be wastin' time
The lights came up to reveal the band
behind her and the music kicked in as she began the chorus. The only bad point
in the performance for Justin was when he noted that the guy dancing with
Maddie, moving so closely against her, holding her so tightly, was Happy.
Just come on over here And I will take care Of your every
need Cause I've got love to give to you Just come on over here And
don't you worry dear Cause I've got more I've got more than you know what
to do with
As she began the next verse, she danced in tandem with her
backup dancers. Justin was staggered. He'd heard about how much she loved
dancing but he didn't know she had that kind of talent. She was performing a lot
of technical aspects, turns, leaps, leg extensions and things of that sort
without missing a beat in the music. And her voice…simply amazing.
What
do you do when you're Not satisfied And when you've done all you
can You know you've tried, oh yeah And how do you say that You need to
get away Don't make it so hard When I'm there for you
Just come on
over here And I will take care Of your every need Cause I've got love
to give to you Just come on over here And don't you worry dear Cause
I've got more I've got more than you know what to do with
At the end
of the chorus, she shocked the audience, the dancers and herself by walking down
the steps into the audience. Kendra flashed Von a 'what the hell is she doing?'
look. Von shook her head slightly and kept dancing. After a moment of
uncertainty, they followed her. The other dancers followed them. Intrinsic
professionalism allowed them to adjust to the change even as it happened. They
split up so that half of them danced in one aisle and the other half danced in
the other.
Maddie had a blast, playing to the crowd. She grabbed Jim
Carrey's hand and sang to him, smiling at his over-exaggerated facial
expressions.
Boy I know That you've been through so much Don't you
think it's time To give it up You deserve love The way I do And how
I see it It's you for me and me for you
She paused in the middle of
the aisle to belt the last line out and then continued on her way, grabbing
hands, caressing cheeks and passing out smiles as she went until she stood in
front of the fan section.
Just come on over here And I will take care
Of your every need Cause I've got love to give to you Just come on
over here And don't you worry dear Cause I've got more I've got more
than you know what to do with
She finished the song as she began it, a
capella. She held her ending position for a moment then walked closer to the
fans and threw her arms around the first person she got to. Even with the wedges
in her ear, she could hear the young girl's squeal. She let go and passed out
high fives to some of the others before thanking them and walking back to the
stage.
'Wow' was Justin's first thought. His second was 'If this was
yesterday, I would've thought she was singing this to me.' He grinned at the
thought, realizing how cheesy he was being.
The rest of the night went
off without a hitch. Maddie glowed in the knowledge of a job well done. The
praise she received left and right helped keep the smile on her face. Her
troubles with Justin were pushed to the side as she celebrated her success. By
the end of the show, her cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
Justin had
spent the rest of the evening distracted; he was anxious for this to be over so
he could talk to her and attempt to explain what was going on in his head. All
the acts, presenters and just about anyone else associated with the show had
been put up in the Four Seasons, courtesy of MTV. The network had gone a step
further and booked a ballroom for a fan-less, media-free after party where
everything would be strictly off the record. The last part was an unspoken
agreement but everyone knew about it and everyone always followed the rules, no
matter how scandalously a celebrity might behave. He knew Maddie and her crew
would be at the party, Kristina had mentioned it to Lance and asked him to be
her date. Subsequently, the guy had been all smiles and good cheer.
Their performance was great. Justin had stepped it up a notch, knowing
that they were performing for people who weren't that familiar with their work
and that they could maybe win some of them over, but mainly because he knew
Maddie would be watching him.
Boy, did she ever. Her eyes searched for
him as soon as the lights came up. They remained glued to him for the next four
and a half minutes of singing and dancing. She barely noticed the other guys
except when on them blocked her view of him. After they'd exited the stage, she
sat back in her chair and let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been
holding. 'Damn, the way that man moves…' She salivated at the thought. 'Too bad
he's a jerk.'
(Later that night)
(Four Seasons Hotel, Imperial
Ballroom)
The party was in full swing by the time Maddie and her
entourage got there. Paul had managed to get away and surprised Maddie, saying
that he couldn't let her have her first major performance without some kind of
familial support. Wendy had teased that she knew the thought of rubbing elbows
with all those Hollywood starlets must have had something to do with it, to
which he had promptly agreed. Since it had been such a last minute thing, Romero
had been unable to procure a seat for him down front with Maddie. He had been a
bit further back but right behind Liv Tyler so that more than made up for not
being able to sit with his sister. He had seen the entire show (when he wasn't
watching the back of Liv's head) and proclaimed that Maddie's performance was
the highlight of the night.
From a table across the room where he nursed
a contraband Jack and Coke, Justin watched her enter, sandwiched between her
brother and her best friend, laughing. His first impulse was to jump up and run
over to her and try to get her to hear him out but he stifled it. He didn't want
to mess up any more than he already had. He wasn't sure what he'd say anyway.
He'd fluctuated between thinking that he'd been a total ass and thinking that
he'd head every right to think what he did.
"Hey man," JC slid into the
seat next to him.
"Hey," Justin replied, not taking his eyes off Maddie.
JC followed his gaze. He felt bad for the younger man but didn't know
what to tell him.
"Where's Jen?"
JC sat back and pointed to
where Jen was on the dance floor with Joshua Jackson and looking like she was
having the time of her life.
Justin smiled, knowing that Jen had a big
crush on him. "You know this is all she's gonna talk about tomorrow, huh?"
"Yup," JC agreed with a sigh. He clapped Justin on the back. "The things
you do for love."
"Yeah." He paused for a moment. "Y'all are good
together. Y'know? Better than me and her."
JC turned to look his friend
in the eyes.
"I don't know if I ever told you that. It's not weird to
see y'all together anymore. It hasn't been for a while, I just don't think I
ever said it."
JC nodded and the two exchanged smiles. "Now we just
gotta hook you up with-"
JC cut himself off when he saw what was going
down at Maddie's table.
Justin turned to see what he was looking at and
scowled. "Man, if it's not one guy, it's another. I feel like I should take a
fucking number. I need another fucking drink." He left in search of something
mind-numbing to help him forget his problems.
JC took one last look at
where Maddie sat with her ex-boyfriend. He didn't envy Justin, not one bit. He
went off to reclaim his girlfriend.
"Come On Over Here",
Toni Braxton
"So, Maddie, what's up with you and Timberlake?" Devin Lima, Brad's
fellow LFO member asked as he sat down across from them.
Maddie and Brad
had been catching up on their lives. Brad had told her about the new girl he was
seeing and she had told him about Justin, including the reason he seemed to be
giving her the cold shoulder now. She'd seen him as soon as she'd sat down,
nursing a drink, looking like he was mad at the world. Brad wasn't much comfort,
saying that any guy who'd walked on a scene like that would think the same
thing.
"Ugh, don't ask."
"That bad, huh?" Devin grinned at her.
Brad shook his head. "Worse."
"That's all right, we gone get you
drunk tonight, girl!"
"Good." Wendy overheard that last comment as she
joined them. "Maybe she'll attack Justin again like she did last time she was
drunk."
"I wasn't drunk then," Maddie said, eyes following Justin. They
narrowed when he was stopped by a girl in six inch stiletto heels and a dress
barely long enough to cover her butt.
"Huh?"
Rolling her eyes,
not at all happy with the way she felt at the sight of Justin with this other
woman, Maddie turned to Wendy. "I only had two drinks that night. You pissed me
off."
"Oh. Well good, imagine what you'll do to him with some alcohol in
ya! Come on!"
The four went off to the bar for the first of many rounds
of shots.
(An hour and a half later)
"Where's Maddie at?"
Kendra's words were slurred.
"Damn, you really are drunk, that
lightweight was out like half an hour ago," Rich Cronin, the last of the LFO
members, teased.
"Where is she?" Kendra squinted to see him. He was just
a hazy outline to her.
"In her room, probably puking her guts out," Von
laughed. She'd been the smart one and drank only enough to get a buzz going. She
was highly enjoying the antics of her drunken friends and knew that she would be
laughing at them for a long time to come.
~*~*~
"Justin, man, I
think that's enough for you." Lance was on his way to the elevators with
Kristina when he saw Justin attempting to walk.
"No, I'm cool, I was
just sitting down for a long time and then I got up. You know how that goes."
"Still, you don't look too hot, you should come up with us," Kristina
said from her position under Lance's arm.
"You offerin?" He leered at
her. "I'm kidding. Just kidding."
The three of them silently made their
way to the elevator. Well, Justin was silent, Lance was too busy whispering in
Kristina's ear. At Kristina's nod, Lance stopped short. "Hey, Jus, we're gonna
catch you later, k?"
Justin nodded at him. "Sup?"
"Nothing. Just
gonna go see what 'trouble' we can get into."
Justin smiled when he
heard Lance use what had jokingly become a code word for sex. "Aiight den, y'all
be careful. And if you can't be careful, be good."
"Wait, isn't that the
other way around?" Kristina stopped to ask.
Justin grinned and winked at
her. "I said it right."
Blushing, Kristina waved to him as he stepped
onto the elevator.
The box began to rise and he had to lean against the
mirrored wall as the vertigo hit him full force. Thankfully, it was one of those
top of the line models and the ride up forty-five floors took less than twenty
seconds. He staggered out of the elevator and shook his head to clear it. He
pulled his keycard out of his pocket then stopped in his tracks when Maddie
stepped out of her room.
They stared at each other. Maddie swallowed and
ran her fingers through her hair nervously.
Justin cleared his throat,
licked his lips. His gut clenched when he saw Maddie's eyes lock on his mouth.
He wasn't even aware that he was moving. All he knew was that her face loomed
bigger and bigger until it was all he could see. He stared down at her.
Maddie couldn't look away. She didn't want to. He moved closer and his
shadow blocked out the light. She closed her eyes, enjoying his nearness. She
thought she would pass out from pleasure when his lips touched her neck.
He kissed her once, tentatively, then pulled back to gauge her reaction.
She gasped and parted her lips and it was all over for him.
He yanked
her to him, licking and kissing his way up and down her neck. Maddie moaned and
moved her head to allow him better access.
She smelled of strawberries
and a scent that was hers alone. He became intoxicated by it. He opened his eyes
to see where he was going as he backed her down the hall. As he got to his room,
he fused his lips with hers. Her arms flew around him and she plastered herself
to his body, trying to get as close as possible. He became so involved with the
kiss that he forgot what he was doing for a moment. His free hand roamed her
back from her neck to her butt and back again. Maddie's hands were clenched
around his head, her fingers playing with the ends of his braids.
Dimly,
Justin heard the 'ding' of the elevator and remembered where they were. He
pushed the card into the slot, pushed the handle down. He picked her up and
Maddie instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. They disappeared into
his room.
Maddie first became aware of a pounding in her head so intense she felt
as if her head was going to explode. Then she became conscious of the turbulence
in her stomach as it rejected all the alcohol she'd consumed. She wanted to moan
her pain but knew that any kind of noise would set off the fireworks in her
head. She desperately had to go to the bathroom but didn't want to move for the
same reason. She became aware of a dry stickiness between her thighs the same
moment she became aware that she was naked under the covers. A second later, she
realized that she wasn't alone.
She froze. She racked her brain trying
to remember. The last thing she was could think of was sitting down to play I
Never with Brad and Rich. They'd double-teamed her, saying things like 'I've
never worn a thong' or 'I've never used a tampon'. 'Oh my God…please tell me
that I did not just sleep with Brad Fischetti.'
Slowly, by centimeters,
Maddie turned her head. Her eyes bugged out when she caught sight of the braided
head that stuck out from under the covers.
'No-way-no-fucking-way-oh-Jesus-Christ-this-did-not-happen-this-is-just-a-dream-and-any-second-now-I'll-wake-up-holy-fucking-shit.'
Maddie forced herself to calm down. She became cognizant of a soreness
between her legs, proof positive that this wasn't a dream. She wanted to cry.
She couldn't believe…
Slowly, oh God, ever so slowly, she inched her way
out of the bed. Not trusting herself to be able to stand, she crawled in the
darkness, feeling for her clothes.
They were in a pile at the end of the
bed as if she'd just let them lie where they fell as she took them off. 'Or as
he took them off me…oh-God-oh-God-oh-God-oh-God-oh-God.'
Moving at a
turtle's pace, she pulled her clothes on. She rested a minute before attempting
to stand, steeling herself for the tempest she knew the move would create inside
her body.
Fifteen minutes later, she'd managed to negotiate getting out
of Justin's room, down the hall and into her room without losing it. She sat
down on her bed and thought she was home free. Then her cell phone rang which
set off a cacophony of pain in her head, which set off her stomach and a minute
later, she was in the bathroom on her knees, praying to the porcelain god.
"Oh God…I promise never to drink again, just please, please make this go
away."
Someone up there must really like her because a few minutes after
her whispered prayer, her stomach calmed down. She flushed the toilet and sat
back on her heels, waiting. After a moment, she stood up. When her stomach
didn't react to that, she made her way to the counter and brushed her teeth.
All she could think about was the blessed oblivion of sleep. Sleep so
she wouldn't have to deal with her still nauseous stomach; so she wouldn't have
to endure the pain pounding into her head; so she wouldn't have to continually
brush away the thoughts of Justin and what they had done last night that tried
to creep into her head.
Just as she lay her head on the pillow, her
phone rang again. It was a different ring this time. It was the one that
indicated that she had a voice mail message waiting for her. 'It's probably just
Wendy, drunk and ready to talk. Oh hell, Romie."
Romero had told her to
keep her phone on. He had a feeling that good things would come her way based on
the performance she'd given. And even though it was nearly four in the morning,
that wouldn't stop him from sharing whatever good news he had.
Reluctantly, she dragged herself out of bed. As she shuffled over to the
corner where she'd stowed her bags, she realized that she still smelled like
Justin. And that she really, REALLY needed to take a shower.
She sat in
a chair and activated her phone. As she waited for the messaging service to kick
in, she debated the pros and cons of waiting til morning to shower. She'd
decided that it would be entirely too gross to sleep as she was when the message
began to play. She smiled as she heard her father's voice.
The smile
faded and her eyes widened as she listened to the message. She threw the phone
down and began packing her things, hangover forgotten. She dialed a number and
waited impatiently for Romero to answer the phone.
"Romie? It's me. I
need to go home…right now. It's Jake."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Justin woke in stages. First he became aware of the sounds around
him…the gentle hum of the air conditioner, the slow steady pace of his own
breathing. Then he registered the light from the rising sun against his closed
eyelids. Next he became conscious of a building need to relieve his bladder.
Wincing at the pain in his head, he ambled over to the bathroom to
relieve himself. Naked, he padded back into the bedroom after washing his face
and brushing his teeth. He checked the clock as he walked over to his suitcase.
10:47. Too late for breakfast. And he was craving some waffles in the worst way.
He turned to make his way back to the bathroom to shower. He saw something pink
out of the corner of his eye. It stood out against the gray carpeting. He looked
closer and frowned. A bra?
Images flitted across his mind; him and
Maddie in the hallway kissing like nobody's business…her undressing him, kissing
each inch of skin as it was revealed and him returning the favor…that thing she
did with her mouth…
He staggered over to the bed and sat down. Heat
suffused his body as he remembered. He turned to look at the tousled bedclothes
and saw the indentation where she had rested her head. He reached out and
grabbed the pillow, brought it to his face. It still smelled like her.
He went to shower, the events of the night before on his mind. He had
plenty of blank spots that he wished he could remember. 'I finally get a night
with Maddie and I can't fucking remember, there's irony for you,' he thought as
he stepped under the spray. He turned the nozzle all the way to the right and
braced himself for the cold water.
~*~*~
Thirty minutes later,
he spotted JC and Chris strolling around the lavish lobby. "Hey, have y'all seen
Maddie?"
"Yeah, they left this morning."
"They left?" Justin
raised his voice in his shock. The concierge sent them a dirty look.
"Yeah, about eight-thirty. Maddie didn't look too hot," Chris admitted.
"What?" Again, Justin's voice was too loud for the frowning concierge.
Chris took his arm and the three of them walked out of hearing distance
of the over-rated clerk. "She looked like she was crying."
"Oh shit."
Justin fell rather than sat into one of the plush chairs.
JC and Chris
shared a look and then sat on the sofa opposite him.
"I hope it wasn't
me, but I think I did something really stupid."
"We know."
"What?"
"Me and Jen saw Maddie creeping out of your room at
about 4:30 this morning. She looked like hell," JC said.
"Fuck." Justin
buried his head in his hands.
"You already did," Chris smirked.
Justin raised his head to glare at him.
"So…" JC began,
grinning.
"So what?" Justin slouched in his chair so his head was
resting on the back of it.
"So, was it good? Did you rock her world?"
Chris teased.
"Would you believe that I barely remember it? I didn't
even know it happened until I saw her bra on the floor and got all these
flashbacks."
"Man."
They sat in silence for a minute.
Chris summed it up in two words: "That sucks."
Justin raised his
head to look at him. "You're telling me?"
"So what are you gonna go
now?"
"I'm gonna call her soon as I get back upstairs to my cell phone."
"Here," JC pulled his out of his pocket.
"Can't. Her number's in
my phone."
"So what are you waiting for?" Chris urged. "Go call her."
Justin sighed and sat up. "I don't think anything I could have done
could be that bad but you never know with women. What if she was crying because
of me?"
"Then you'd rather know now so you can beg for forgiveness
properly. The longer you wait, that just gives her time to get more and more
pissed. Best to get it over with now, no matter what it is," Chris said.
"Yeah, and I know you speak from experience," JC laughed.
"No
shit. I think I piss Heather off like five times a day. It's just too damned fun
to make up with her!"
"OK, on that note, I'm going to my room." Justin
pushed himself up.
"Good luck," JC called after him.
Five
minutes later, Justin sat on his bed, staring at his phone. He couldn't think of
anything that he could have done to make Maddie cry. He knew he hadn't forced
himself on her. He may have been drunk but he knew the difference between a
willing woman and one who wasn't and Maddie had definitely been willing. From
what he'd remembered, she'd been the one in control.
He sighed and went
into his phone's memory to pull up her number. He pressed the 'TALK' button.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is Maddie there?"
"Um…who's calling?" a
male voice asked. It was either Mike or Travis, Justin couldn't tell which.
"It's Justin."
"Timberlake?"
"Yeah."
"Um, have
you tried her on her cell?"
"No," something in the boy's voice sent
chills up his spine, "why, what happened?"
"She's in the hospital."
"WHAT?"
"Wait, she's not IN the hospital. I shoulda said she's
AT the hospital. But it coulda been her…" he trailed off.
"Who is this?"
Justin demanded.
"Travis."
"Travis, what happened?"
"The
brake line on Maddie's car failed. Jake was driving her car and he went to stop
at a red light, only there was no fluid, so he couldn't. He got broad-sided."
Justin was stunned. Things like this didn't happen in real life. Did
they?
"So, how is he? How's he doing?"
"He's OK. His right leg
is broken in two places, he broke three ribs and fractured his collar bone. But
he's alive. He almost wasn't." The boy's voice caught as emotion overtook him.
"Hey," Justin said softly, soothingly, "don't think like that. He's OK
and that's all that matters. Are you home alone?"
Travis sniffed. "No,
Nicole is upstairs."
"Well, I want you to go sit with Nicole, OK? What's
Maddie's cell phone number?" Justin recorded the number in his cell phone. "I'll
talk to you soon, OK? Go find Nicole."
"Bye, Justin."
His heart
broke at the forlorn tone in Travis' voice. "Shit." He ran his fingers through
his hair as he thought.
He sighed. He debated on whether or not he
should call her. What would he say? He felt an overwhelming need to see her, to
hold her in his arms, to know that she was all right. He stood and walked out
into the hallway.
Joey, Johnny, and Janine were walking down the hall.
"Johnny!" Justin called out to him and walked to catch up to him. He
passed Chris and JC as they got off the elevator. They fell into step with him.
"What'd she say?" JC asked.
"I didn't talk to her," Justin said
in a flat voice.
"What happened?" JC asked, concerned. Justin looked
like he was on the verge of tears.
Ignoring JC, Justin asked Johnny, "We
still have the next couple of days clear?"
"Nothing til Thursday."
"You think you can book me on a flight to Houston?"
"Yeah, as
long as you bring security with you. Why?"
"Can a brake line just fail
or," Justin put speech to the suspicion that had been rattling around in the
back of his mind, "or is that something that can't happen naturally?"
"Well, from what I know, a brake line can be punctured if you run over
something, a rock or something with a sharp edge. But the chances of that are
very slim."
"That's what I thought."
"Justin, what the hell is
going on?" Chris asked, concern making him more gruff than he meant to be.
"Maddie's brother is in the hospital. He was driving Maddie's car when
he ran a red light and got broad-sided."
"Damn!" JC gasped.
Chris peered at his friend. "What aren't you telling us?"
Justin
sighed. He had never been able to keep things from Chris. "Travis said the brake
line failed. But I'm sure he was wrong; it was probably torn by a rock or
something. It had to be."
"And he was in Maddie's car?" Janine asked,
still reeling from the shock of it. She was glad to have Joey so close at hand.
"Yeah. But it was nothing, just a rock or something."
"If it was
nothing," Chris said softly, "why were you asking Johnny about it?"
Justin simply looked at him, unwilling and unable to voice his
suspicions, as if saying it would make it real. He sighed and turned to Johnny.
Johnny read the unspoken questions in his eyes and nodded. "I'll take
care of it."
Without a word, Justin turned on his heel and walked back
into his room to pack.
