It had been a week since the incident happened with Justin and Alex. Joanna had spent most of her time with Justin and their friends. The girls had taken Jo shopping, out to eat, and to the movies. While they supported Jo with girl talk, and male bashing; Justin supported Jo emotionally and wholeheartedly. Most of the nights, she would drive over to Justin's and spend the night in his arms. Sometimes, she would cry herself to sleep, with Justin whispering comforting words into her ear.
Jo walked into the bathroom as Justin was pulling on his shirt. "Are you going somewhere?" She asked.
"Yeah, we have a tour meeting. We're leaving pretty soon."
"You're leaving?" Jo blinked, "When? And for how long?"
"I'm not sure Joey. I'll find out today." Justin grabbed his watch.
"You don't know when you're leaving?" Jo asked, in disbelief.
Justin stopped and stared at Jo. "No, I don't Joanna. What's with the third degree? When I find out the details, which will be today, I'll let you know. Jeez."
Jo didn't say anything, just stared at the floor. He walked over and quickly kissed the side of her head. He rested his hand on her shoulder, "I'll be home in a few hours. You can stay here and wait for me, if you'd like. If not, just come back around dinner time, and we'll eat together."
Jo lifted her head and looked at him, "Sure thing Justin. Sounds like so much fun." The sarcasm in her voice couldn't be missed. Justin's mouth dropped open, and she walked forward and slammed the door in his face.
"Nice talkin' to ya!" Justin yelled as he turned and stomped down the stairs. He slammed the door behind him, and sped down the driveway.
Jo heard his squealing tires, and muttered, "Idiot."
What was she supposed to do when Justin left for his tour? She'd be all alone. The girls wouldn't be all together, because one of them would always be away with the tour. They all took shifts when the guys were away. One would go for a certain amount of time, and when she'd come back, one of the other girls would go. The guys often fought over who would be allowed to go first and last. It was always a humorous sight to see. Jo remembered one time when Chris and JC arm wrestled, they couldn't agree on who would go last, Erica or Jayla. Jayla ended up taking the gracious acceptance of going last, only on account of Chris having a hard time breathing through the wrestling match.
Jo quickly ate breakfast, and showered. She was in the middle of getting dressed when she heard the door open. She sighed and hurried dressing. There was a soft knock at the door, she made no reply and it opened cautiously. "Are you decent?" Justin asked hesitantly.
Jo sighed, "yeah. Come in."
He walked in and sat on the bed. "Please don't be mad at me?" Justin whispered. She turned and looked at him, her face drooping even more. He sat hunched over on the bed, his face resting in his hands.
Jo walked over and stood in front of him. She placed her hand on the back of his head, "Jay, I'm not mad at you. I just don't want you to go ... at all."
Justin pulled her closer to his body, burying his head in her stomach. His hands held her waist, thumbs rubbing her thin, hard stomach muscles gently. She was surprised by his sudden and affectionate movement, but it somehow felt right. "I can't go without your blessing. Please tell me what you feel?" Justin asked softly, his voice muffled by her shirt.
Jo pulled away, and sat down next to him on the bed. She pulled his large, masculine hand into her much smaller and feminine one. Her brown eyes filled with tears, as she blinked them away. "I feel scared, lost, and I feel lonely when you are not around." Her voice shook, as she tried to control her emotions. "When you're not around, I struggle to get through days without feeling your presence. This time it's going to be even harder. You're the only stable thing in my life right now, the only thing I'm certain won't be taken away. And, it's going to be taken away from me."
Justin stood up from his seat, and pulled Jo with him. "I want to show you something."
Jo looked at him confused, she had just poured her heart out to him, and he wanted to show her something? "Okay." She replied hesitantly.
Justin walked to the closet in the hallway, snapping on the light. He stood on his tip toes, and pulled down a photo album. They sat down together in the hallway, flipping through the pictures. They started from when they first met, when Justin moved next door to Jo, during his stint on the MMC. There were pictures of her with JC, pictures of her and Justin, and with some of the other kids. Photos of Justin and Joanna in Europe, in front of the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, and Notre Dame graced the pages. The pictures ran all the way up until the present time, when he had taken her to a few award shows with him, times when they were just having fun at his house.
The last couple of pages were just of Jo. "This is my favorite." He pointed out, his voice gruff with emotion. She was sitting on a swing at the local park, her feet dangling in the air, mouth open in laughter, and hair waving behind her. "You look so carefree, and beautiful. Free from worries, free from stresses, and most of all, free from heart ache. I miss that girl, Joey. I miss her so much."
"Justin, this is beautiful. I had no idea you kept this, that you actually stayed consistent with it. You even wrote dates and little inscriptions next to the pictures." Jo gently touched the pages with her fingers, she was ignoring his last remark. She didn't want to get into a big discussion about her heartache or relationship with Alex. Jo just wanted to get past it.
"Of course I did. When I'm 90 years old, I don't want to remember the awards, the record breaking albums, the fans, and the touring. I want to remember the love, the best friend, and the sister in my life. I want to remember you. And, this is all I'll have when I'm 90 years old. Do you know that when I go on tour, I take this with me?" Justin questioned, affection and love filling is eyes.
Jo didn't miss the look, it had been in his eyes more than often lately, and it was beginning to make her feel whole. Little by little, that look was replacing the pain in her heart. "No, I didn't know that Justin. I had no clue..." Her voice displayed the speechlessness she felt in her heart. "This is beautiful and I had no idea you cared for me or my friendship this deeply, but why are you showing me this?" Jo questioned.
"It's simple really. I wanted to show you that you're not alone when I leave you, that you don't have to feel scared, or lost. I'm always coming back, Joey. I'm always going to come back until one of us dies. I promise you this, okay? Please trust me, and this." Justin gestured to the scrapbook.
"What is this?" She pointed to the scrapbook, referring to his last remark.
"Trust this, this being our love and our friendship. Never ever lose your trust in this. Because, I know when I lose trust in that, I've lost trust and hope in everything. Love is never lost JoJo, unless you drop it." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "I know I'm never going to drop you. I need you too much."
Jo leaned against his shoulder, breathing in his scent. "I need you too. I promise that I'm going to try hard to deal with you leaving, and I'll be fine. I'll always am."
He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her. "I know you are, because you're strong, beautiful, and amazing. You'll do fine my lucky ducky."
