Joey answered the door to the condo with a sad smile. "Hey Mags," he said quietly. "Hi Joe," she said sadly. Joey could see the sadness in her eyes, he knew it was going to kill her to see Justin leave. He put an arm around her shoulder as they walked to the living room.
"Justin, did you tell Britney where we were staying?" Joey yelled into the room in a confused voice. Justin shot up out of the recliner he was sitting in and turned to the door with wide, but terrified, eyes. "No...why?" he said slowly. "Just wondering," Joey shrugged, pulling Maggie into the room. "Oh my God, don't you EVER do that to me again," Justin threatened, with a hand on his chest for effect. Maggie tried to laugh at Joey's joke, but she was too sad to.
Justin walked over to Maggie slowly, he was wearing baby blue North Carolina basketball shorts and a gray Nike shirt. He too could see the sadness in her eyes. "Hey Maggie," he said quietly as he pulled her into a hug. "Hi," she mumbled against his chest. 'Don't cry now Maggie, you just got here,' she scolded herself as tears formed in her eyes. By this time tomorrow he would be on a plane back to Orlando, and back to his life without her.
She swallowed hard as he pulled out of the hug and looked her in the eye. "You okay?" he asked as she nodded in answer. A few minutes later the rest of the guys were in the room, and they were all watching tv as usual. Justin and Maggie laid next to each other on the couch, just holding each other. She closed her eyes as she buried her head into his chest and inhaled his scent that she was so used to by now. He too closed his eyes as he rested his cheek on top of her curls.
**************
The other four guys watched the couple sadly. "Can't we just take her on tour with us?" Joey asked sadly. It was the same thing the rest of the guys were thinking. "I wish we could, but you know Johnny would throw a fit, it would start too many rumors," Chris replied rolling his eyes at the ridiculous rules. "I think they'll be okay," JC replied softly, nodding his head at them. The other three looked at him strangely. "If two people love each other as much as they obviously do, they'll do whatever it takes to stay together. I know Justin will, anyway. He's not about to give up on this relationship now, I'll tell you that," JC explained. They all nodded in answer. "I just wish it could be different for them," Joey replied.
***************
After spending the whole afternoon together, the group ordered pizza for supper and ate it in silence. None of them wanted to talk about leaving the next day. "How about we go to the beach, Maggie?" Justin asked, standing up and taking his plate to the sink. "Okay," she replied quietly. "Yeah, I've gotta go say goodbye to Nikki," Lance said getting up too. "And I've gotta go see Jen," JC replied. Maggie walked with them to the door. She didn't want to see them go. The truth was sinking in that Justin was leaving her, and she didn't want to accept it.
"Bye JC," she said hugging him tightly. "Bye Mags, don't forget about me," he replied. She looked up at him like she was crazy. "I would never forget you, Joshy," she said hugging him again. He smiled as she called him that. A minute later she turned around and hugged Lance. "You take care of my Nikki for me," he whispered and he felt her nod against his chest. "You take care of my Justy," she whispered as a tear fell down her cheek. "You bet we all will," he nodded as he wiped the tear away. "Bye Lancey-Poo," she laughed at the name she always called him. He gave her a small smile. "Bye Maggie," Lance and JC said at the same time as they walked outside. "Bye," she whispered after the door was closed. 'Two down, only three more to go, you can do this Maggie,' she cheered herself on.
***********
"You ready to go?" Justin asked her as he put on a gray North Carolina sweatshirt. Chris got up and gave her a hug. "Bye Magsy, you keep Justin in line, and you stay out of trouble," he said seriously. She laughed at him between tears. "Okay, bye Chrisky," she smiled. Joey stood up and held his arms out to her. "Remember to take it easy on the ladies, Joe," she said. He nodded at her and chuckled. "I'll try," he said hugging her tightly. "Bye guys," she waved as Justin led her to the door. "Bye Maggie," they said waving back.
******************
As she walked out the front door she remembered the first time she went through that door a month ago. It seemed like forever ago. She looked down to Justin's hand that she held, then up to his face. He looked ahead to her car. 'This is the night I tell you everything, Justin. Please understand,' she pleaded with him in her head. Her stomach was a big ball of nerves as she thought about telling him everything about her past. Nikki had given her a pep talk earlier that day, trying to convince her how much better she'd feel after she told him. Maggie hoped she would, anyway.
"Let's go to the beach," Maggie replied opening her car door, remembering her and Justin's first date when they went to the beach.
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