"The groom's dinner is tonight," Justin pointed out. He took her arm and pulled her up from the seat. "What are you going to wear?"
Faith paused to think about it. "I'm not really sure," she replied as they walked back out to Justin's car and hopped in.
"You know what?" Justin said quickly. "You should wear that short red dress. You know... the one with the little straps."
Faith smiled him, buckling herself in. "You'd like that... wouldn't you..." She paused, watching Justin's grin grow larger. "Actually," she said, causing him to turn and look at her. "I was thinking about wearing my blue dress. You know... the one that covers everything."
Justin slammed on the brakes and they were both thrown against their seat belts. "Compromise!" he begged. "Isn't there a middle ground? How about a short, blue dress?"
"Justin..." Faith said calmly. "You're blocking traffic."
He looked in the rearview mirror to see five cars lined up behind him. Two honks sounded. "Whoops!" Carefully, he stepped on the gas and they were off again.
"What do you say?" he bargained. "A short, blue dress."
"I don't have a short, blue dress, Justin. Besides, I'm wearing something nice because it's Eric's wedding. Not so you can gape at me."
"Can't you look nice for Eric AND let me stare at you?" Justin whined.
"We'll see," she teased.
Justin's face lit up again as he drove. "Hey," he said suddenly. "Where are we going?"
Faith thought about it. "Maybe we should just go home. We'll find something for me to wear. Okay?"
"Okay," Justin agreed.
Justin in Faith walked into the ball room and glanced around. First, they saw Faith's mom and dad chatting with the DJ. While Justin's eyes moved to the buffet table, Faith focused on a figure by the door. It was Lizzie... Eric's fiancé... and she looked like there was something on her mind.
"Justin, I'm going to go talk with Lizzie, okay?" she said, pushing him towards the food.
Justin went without a fight. "Okay," he mumbled, setting his sights on some red, frosted cookies at the end of the table.
Faith went off to find Lizzie, but she had disappeared. Her eyes drifted t a door near the back of the room, a door that could hardly be seen because there were so many people crowded in that end of the room.
She pushed her way through the bodies and finally stood in front of the door. She ran her hand down the crease in the wall until it found a tiny slot. First she glanced around to make sure that one had their eyes on her, then she pulled carefully and slipped out the door.
What she saw next was almost enough to make her choke in disgust. It was Lizzie with a man who she had never seen before. A man who was definitely not her brother. It didn't take long for Faith to figure out what was going on. Lizzie was cheating... on her brother. She felt her face heat up in anger, but she didn't make a sound. She couldn't let them see her. She had to make them think that they were safe... but they weren't. She was going to tell Eric. He deserved to know.
After shoving the fifth cookie into his mouth, Justin looked around for Faith. She was no where in sight. He chugged down a glass of punch and then threw the cup in the garbage. Where was she?
His eyes scanned the crowd as he looked for her. The purple dress they had decided on... he looked for that... but still, he couldn't find her.
"Have you seen Faith?" he asked Faith's little sister.
"Um..." little Kelly mumbled, looking up at Justin's tall figure. "I think she went to the bathroom or something." She paused and smiled at him sweetly. "Want me to go look for her?"
Justin smiled back at Kelly. "That's okay, shorty," he said as he ruffled her hair. "I'll find her."
"Bye, bye, Justin!" Kelly called after him as he went off to find Faith.
Justin waved at her and then disappeared back into the crowd. She said that she was going to talk with Lizzie. Didn't she? He just HAD to find her!
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he caught her and immediately flew to her side. "Faith!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace. "You were gone and I got this feeling that something was wrong and I-"
"Justin... shh... everything's fine," she lied, trying to calm him down. "I'm fine, you're fine... don't worry."
His breathing slowed and he pulled himself together. "I've just got this feeling," he explained slowly. "This feeling that something bad is going to happen tonight. I can just... feel it!"
His voice was higher pitched then it usually was and that worried faith. That and the way that his piercing blue eyes caught a hold of hers and wouldn't let go. The look on his face was just plain frightening... but she ignored it. 'We're fine,' she told herself for the third time that night. 'Everything's going to be okay.'
From then on, the night passed quickly. Justin made sure that Faith stayed by his side until the last guest had left. And even then, he kept an eye on her. Usually he wasn't this protective of her... but tonight, he had to go to the extreme. He had to make sure that she would be okay.
It was almost eleven when they walked back to Justin's room.
Faith pushed him inside. "I've gotta go talk with Eric. I'll see you in a while," she said softly, pecking his cheek and running her fingers down his arm.
"Okay," he reluctantly agreed. He got the sudden urge to grab onto her, hold her tight and not let her walk through those doors. But his mind told him to let her go... that she would be back very soon. He wanted to tell her to watch out for Rich, but thought he would sounds a little overprotective if he did that. "Just..." he stuttered, watching her turn the knob to exit his room. "Just be careful."
She grinned at him and rolled her eyes. "I'll be FINE, Justin."
"Just..." he repeated as she walked out into the halls. "Watch out for..." But it was to late. She was gone.
The next ten minutes were the most painful in his life to endure. He couldn't shake the feeling that something awful was going to happen... to Faith... but he stayed where he was.
Frozen
Too scared to move.
Faith stepped down the hall in her socks, sure that no one would hear her. She HAD to tell Eric what Lizzie was up to. If she didn't, then he'd be doomed to spend the rest of his life with that woman.
She couldn't tell Justin what was going on, for fear that Justin would explode and just make matters worse than they already were. No... she had to handle this on her own. Justin had enough on his mind anyway.
Faith continued her trek around the corner and toward the stairs. The Pratts had a huge staircase that extended to all nine floors, including the basement. She placed her hand on the smooth, oak banister, studying the small cracks that showed its age.
She was going down to the fifth floor when she looked down at the landing and almost fell the rest of the way.
There stood Rich with the most devilish smile she had ever seen. His eyes had a twinge of something that she was positive she did not want to decode. Usually, she wouldn't have been afraid, but for some reason, her heart started racing and she felt the urge to turn around, run back up the stairs and back into the safety of Justin's arms.
She couldn't move.
Justin found himself breaking out in a cold sweat. All of these strange feelings were rushing into him and he didn't know where to begin on acting them out.
One told him to stay right where he was. That nothing could possibly happen to Faith. He was just imagining things.
The other said to run out of his room and track her down. She was in danger.
Justin was torn. He didn't know what to do, so he stood at his door and peered out into the hallway, trying to decide.
When Faith finally got her legs to work, she felt a strong hand on her upper arm. She clenched her fists and tried to pull away, but it didn't work. She attempted to yell at him to let go, but that failed also. For some reason, her vocal cords weren't working.
"Don't even try to get away," Rich's voice hissed in her ear.
She jerked her arm again... he still had her. Why was he so strong? No one had ever held her back with such force before.
"I told Justin that I'd get him back," he grumbled in a low voice. "Now it's payback time."
Suddenly, all of the pieces fell into place and Faith took in a shaky breath. He was getting back at Justin by hurting her. Now it made sense. "Let go," she managed to choke out.
"Not on your life," was his reply as his other arm slipped around her waist and pulled her down onto the landing and then down the next flight of stairs. When they arrived on the forth floor, he dragged her into a small room next to the stairs.
She became frantic and started to kick him. He still wouldn't let go. It was as if nothing hurt him. He seemed invincible.
All of a sudden, she felt a stinging pain on her left cheek. It took he a few seconds to realize that he had actually hit her. That's when the tears came. No one had ever treated her like this before and it was terrifying to think of what he could do to her.
"Stop! Stop!" she pleaded when he ripped open her shirt.
"Shut up," Rich warned as he pushed her to the ground. "If you would have told your boyfriend to stay away from me then none of this would be happening." He stopped undressing her for a second and waited for her to respond.
"If you would have minded your own business then he would have stayed away from you," Faith countered through her tears.
"Shut up!" Rich hit her again and this time, Faith was silent.
She squeezed her eyes shut as Rich began shedding his own clothes, never letting go of her.
"Stop!" she tried to choke out, but her throat hurt too much. Tears ran down her face and she couldn't breathe. Why was this happening?
By now, Justin was flying down the halls, opening door after door and calling Faith's name.
Suddenly, he stopped. Mixed emotions were surging through his body.
He felt like screaming...
Yelling for help...
For someone to help him find Faith...
Still... no sounds.
Nothing.
It was so quiet in that hallway that he could hear his heart beating furiously inside his chest and the blood rushing through his veins with every beat.
Panic took over, and he threw himself down the stairs and too a door. He grabbed the knob and turned. Pulling the door and leaping inside... his heart stopped.
This was unreal.
This was a nightmare.
It couldn't be happening!
"YOU BASTARD!" he screamed, not even bothering to wipe the tears from his face. His heart hurt so bad... his muscles ached, but he had to save Faith. He just HAD to.
He tore across the small room and grabbed Rich's hair, ripping him away from Faith and throwing him back to the floor. Justin took one glance at Faith's beaten body and threw himself over her.
"It's all right, baby..." he cried into her hair as he gathered her up into his arms. "I won't let him hurt you anymore."
Collapsed on the floor was Rich. When Justin had thrown him down, he hit his head on the corner of a table. He was out cold, but Justin didn't notice. Instead of watching out for Rich, he tore off his shirt and wrapped it around Faith.
She finally let herself cry as she clung to Justin's body. If Justin would have came ten seconds later... Her brain prevented her from thinking about it. She was safe now...
Justin lifted her up and walked towards the door. "You're safe now," he whispered. "It's okay." He walked straight out the door and shut it behind him.
"I'm calling the police."
Suddenly, the door flew open and a dizzy Rich emerged. "Stop right there, Justin Timberlake," he growled, rubbing his sore head.
Justin picked up pace as he headed for the kitchen.
"I SAID STOP!"
Justin stopped. He turned around. There stood Rich, no shirt... only pants.
"I don't need to hear what you have to say!" Justin raged as he held onto Faith tightly. "I'm gonna send your filthy ass to jail."
Justin was shocked at the smile that suddenly plastered itself across Rich's face. "Oh no, you're not... not if you know what's good for you... what's good for her." Rich looked down at Faith, who buried her face in Justin's neck, not being able to stand Rich's gaze.
Justin's heart raced. What was he talking about?
Suddenly, it hit him. "Just a second... let me take Faith upstairs." he muttered.
"All right," Rich finally agreed. He crossed his arms and stared at the couple. "I'll meet you in the room next to yours in a half hour."
"Fine," Justin said, reluctantly.
"What's he talking about, Justin?" Faith whispered, her face still in the crook of his neck. "Justin? What does he mean?"
"Nothing, honey... nothing."
When Justin set her down on his bed, he kissed her forehead gently. But Faith saw the look on his face. Something was on his mind... she had seen that look before.
"Justin?"
"Hmm?" He grabbed a big T-shirt from his suitcase and helped her slip into it.
"What's wrong?" she asked, crawling under the covers and cuddling against his pillow. "That look on your face... something's wrong. I can tell."
"Sweetie, I'm just worried about you," Justin explained. He gulped. That wasn't lying. He WAS worried about her. "Now, I want you to go to sleep while I go deal with that bastard."
"I'm not going to fall asleep until you get back. Please, don't be long..." she begged. The mere thought of being without him right now, scared her half to death. "Please hurry..."
"It'll only take five minutes. I promise." Justin didn't want to leave her, but he had to talk to Rich. If he didn't... then Rich would win... and Rich COULDN'T win. He just couldn't.
"Faith?"
"Yeah?"
Justin felt a tear slide down his already tearstained cheek. "He didn't... I mean... He-"
"No," she answered quickly. "Hurry back."
He sighed in relief. Thank God... If Rich would have raped her, he wouldn't even care what Rich had to say. It wouldn't matter. Faith was number one and that was all there was to it.
"I will." He paused and just stared at her from the door. "And Faith..."
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Justin." She blew him a kiss and he caught it before he slid out the door and shut it tightly.
Outside the room, Justin ran his hands across the cold wood of the door. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt her... not ever again. Then why was he leaving? Why?
'I'm leaving because I need to convince Rich that this is HIS fault,' he told himself. 'Not mine.'
Slowly, he paced to the room next to his and opened the door. There sat Rich on the bed. It seemed to Justin that the smug smile had never even left his face.
"The eternal question..." he mused on, as if he didn't know Justin was standing right there. "What will he DO." On the word 'do,' he turned his head and looked directly into Justin's eyes. "So what is it?"
Justin couldn't take it. "What is WHAT?" he asked, the anger showing in his voice. "You think you can walk all over me... try and take over my LIFE and then you-"
"Save it. You and I both know that you're never going to win." He paused to enjoy the hurt look on his enemy's face. "I've got you, Timberlake, and there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing."
"Nothing?" Justin reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Nothing?" he repeated. "What will you do if I call the cops?"
Rich shot up from the bed and flew to the door, slamming it behind Justin and then standing in front of it. "Don't you dare!" he hissed as he tried to snatch the phone away from Justin.
Suddenly, he backed off and smiled.
"What are YOU smiling about?" Justin wondered. He pushed the on button.
"I was just thinking... It doesn't matter if you call or not."
"WHY?"
"Because I can still tell everyone even if I'm in jail."
Justin frowned and put his phone away. He hated being blackmailed.
Chapter 4
I Get Carried Away
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email me: irishgirl982@yahoo.com