Justin stood there, wondering why in the hell his brother couldn't tell him who it was on the phone. What was he trying to hide? "If it was no one important, then how come you can't tell me?" he wanted to know.
Phil turned around and went to the cupboards. He reached up and took down two glasses. "You want anything to drink?"
"Don't try and change the subject," Justin demanded. "Tell me who that was on the phone."
"It was just some guy, Justin! Besides, what is it any business of yours? Can't I have phone conversations without sharing every detail with you? Just drop it!"
"Yes, you can, but when I ask a simple question, and when you refuse to answer it, I get suspicious. Whoever it was on the other line, you don't want me to know about. Why is that?"
Phil turned around and looked him right in the eyes. "Because I don't want to hurt your feelings," he admitted. "So, just leave it alone!"
"My feelings?" Justin scoffed. "If you're worried about my feelings, then you can stop. No matter what you say, you won't be able to do that."
"Are you sure?"
Justin thought about it. What could Phil possibly say that would hurt his feelings? "Unless you're sleeping with my girlfriend, there's nothing you can say to hurt me," he said.
"I'm not sleeping with Adelyn," Phil confirmed. "I would never do that to you."
"Good. Then tell me who was on the phone."
"You really don't want to know," Phil assured him. "Trust me."
"I don't trust you. Just tell me who it was before I have to beat it out of you!"
Justin moved closer to him, watching as Phil set down the glasses. When Phil was facing him Justin caught a glimpse of worry in his eyes. What was he so nervous about? He didn't say anything, he only stood there, waiting.
Justin sighed, his shoulder's slumping. "I can't hit you," he admitted. "Not when you won't fight back or even try to get away. How much fun would that be?"
Phil gave him a little smile. "Not much fun, huh?"
"No," Justin agreed. He leaned back against the island in the middle of the kitchen and gave another sigh. "It's just really annoying me that you won't tell me what that phone call was about. Why do you think it would hurt my feelings?"
"Because you've worked so hard... and you talk about it all the time..."
"What? What do I talk about all the time?"
"Your books, Justin! Remember back when we were in that bar in Philadelphia?"
Justin gave him a weary look. "How could I forget?"
"Remember when you asked me what I liked to do, and I told you that I liked to write?"
Justin blinked at his brother. This was about a book? A book that Phil had written? "Yes...?" he prompted.
"Lalie read it, and she liked it... and apparently she had Georgia call in some favors at some publishing company, and they put my book on the top of the pile. Someone there read it and now-"
"Are you kidding me?!" Justin exclaimed. "You're getting a book published? Just like that?"
"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you!" Phil yelled back. "I knew you'd freak out, and somehow, this would be all my fault."
"How is it your fault, Phil? You didn't do anything! You just wrote a book and didn't even try to get it published. The opportunity just fell right into your lap. My God, brother, you are so damn lucky."
"Good! I'm glad I'm lucky!" Phil said as he went to the refrigerator and opened two cans of coke. "Because now you know how I've been feeling for my entire life."
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"You. I'm talking about you. You've lived your entire life with everything being handed to you on a silver platter. You were smart, Justin, good for you! They gave you scholarships. You could play baseball better than most other boys your age. Hey! Let's let him go to our school for free! Then you meet the girl of your dreams, but hey, it doesn't matter that she's a cop, and she wants to bust your ass, because she's already fallen in love with you anyway and what do you know... she forgives you. You lose your job at the Star Tribune because of your involvement with some scum bag computer hacker, but who cares, because the Pioneer Press is just waiting to hand you more job offers. God, Justin, I feel so sorry for you. Life must be rough." He poured the cans of Coke into the glasses so quickly that they sloshed over the edge and splattered against the countertop.
Justin stood there, staring at him in shock. "You've been jealous of me for that long?" he asked. "Why?"
"Oh, God, Justin, I don't know, maybe because you had everything that I didn't have, and no matter what I did, you always beat me. If I was proud of something, there you were, upstaging me every time. Everyone ooed and awed over you, and they never even glanced in my direction." He shoved a glass of Coke in Justin's direction.
Justin took it from him and set it back on the counter. "I need to go," he said, turning around and making his way to the door.
"Justin, wait," Phil requested, but Justin didn't slow down, He flung the door open and bolted out, walking as quickly as he could to the end of the hallway and down the stairs.
Nicki tucked her sketch book and pencils underneath her arm and pushed the door to the police station open. For the last few months she'd been working for the police as their crime artist. All she had to be was available for when they needed her... and now was one of those times.
She walked around the front desk, saying hello to the officer on duty before pushing the door to the back rooms open. Not only did Officer Blake Pertel usually work with her and the witnesses, but he'd also taken her out on quite a few dates.
She saw him sitting at his desk talking to an old woman who was probably the witness. "Hello, Officer Pertel," she smiled, taking her normal seat next to his desk. "How are you?"
"Nicki..." he smiled, scooting his chair closer to hers. "Call me Blake. There's no need to be so formal."
She smiled back, but saw that the woman across from them was rolling her eyes. Apparently there was a need to be formal... "Blake," she said, nudging his arm and looking at the woman.
"Oh! Um, Nicki, this is Mrs. Baker. She was the witness to a hit and run and thinks she got a good look at the guy's face. Mrs. Baker, just tell Nicki everything you know, and she'll do her best to draw the likeness."
After smiling Mrs. Baker for a moment, she looked up at Blake. He was glaring at something on the other side of the room. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. Just some guy I hate. Get to work."
Justin looked around the police station for Adelyn but couldn't find her. He did, however, see his sister working with Pertel, and tried to cover his face, but it wasn't working. The moron had seen him. He sighed and went around the corner to Adelyn's desk where he found her over a big stack of paperwork.
"Justin," she said when she saw him. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," Justin lied as he sat down opposite from her. "I just wanted to see you. Is it so wrong to want to see you?"
"No, but you usually don't just drop by here for no reason. Are you sure nothing's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," he repeated, but didn't look up at her. Instead, he picked up a clump of paper clips from her desk and watched as they trickled from his hand and fell back to her desk.
"Then why do you look so depressed? Is this about your book?"
Justin felt his anger rising. "Not my book," he said. "Phil's book."
Adelyn looked almost as shocked as Justin felt when he had first heard. "Phil wrote a book? I didn't know he was a writer."
"Well, apparently, he is. Only he didn't write just any old book. He wrote a book that's going to be published. Published, Adelyn. I've been working on that same goal for most of my life and all he had to do was call on a favor from one of his dumb friends in Pennsylvania."
Adelyn gave him a small smile. "Why, Justin... I do believe you're jealous."
He pushed away the paper clips and pulled his hands back into his lap. "Of course I'm not jealous! Why does everyone keep saying that!?"
"Who else said that?"
"It doesn't matter," Justin mumbled. "But I do want to thank you for making me feel so much better about this. I really appreciate it."
Adelyn folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. "He's the one who told you that, didn't he."
"It doesn't matter!" he said, but knew by the look on her face that she saw right through him.
"Have you ever been jealous of your brother before?"
Justin looked away from her. What kind of question was that? He decided to not even dignify it with an answer.
"Oh, Justin... you haven't," she guessed. "Have you?"
"And I never will."
"Doesn't it bother you at all that he accomplished your dream before you did?"
"Is there a reason why he can't stick to his own damn dreams? Why the hell did he have to steal mine?" He slumped down in his seat and gave a big sigh. "What kind of person destroys someone else's dream?"
"He hasn't destroyed your dream. There's no reason why you can't still get published. Now, if your dream was to have all the glory in your family..."
"I can't believe you just said that, Adelyn," Justin scolded. "You're making it sound like I'm the bad guy! He's the one who wrote that book and then, knowing that he had a friend in high places, he followed through just to get back at me!"
"You just said it yourself, Justin."
"Said what?"
"You think he did this to get back at you. Well, get back at you for what? For all the horrible things that you did to him? You've always had the glory, Justin. Can't you let him have it for a little while? Would that be so hard?"
"You don't understand," he insisted. "This is MY dream. Not his! Mine! He cannot have my dream and get away with it."
"Do you hear yourself?" Adelyn asked as she stood up and went over to him. "You sound like a selfish, spoiled brat."
Justin leaned back in his chair to distance himself from her. "If I'm such a spoiled brat, then why are you marrying me?"
"All I'm saying is that maybe if you let him have this one thing, he could forgive you once and for all, and then instead of competing, the two of you could actually support each other."
"What would you do if someone stole your dream, Adelyn?"
"He didn't steal your dream! God, Justin, all he's trying to do is be happy! Can't you see that?"
Justin sniffed. "You didn't answer my question."
"What question?"
"If you think that I'm such a horrible person, then why are you marrying me?" He looked up at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to answer, but all she did was sigh and slump her shoulders. "How come you can't answer me?"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I love you, Justin, but sometimes you're just too stubborn."
"What do you want me to do? Do you want me to go over there and congratulate him for accomplishing the one thing I've been working my ass off trying to do?"
"Yes, I think that's exactly what you should do," she told him.
He stared at her for second, shocked that she didn't see his point of view. "You don't understand, Adelyn. You don't know how much that would hurt me."
She brushed her fingers over the side of his face and then sat down in his lap, putting her arms around him and pressing her lips to his cheek. "I know it hurts you, Justin. I can see that. But have you ever thought that maybe he's just as hurt as you are? Pretend that growing up, you were him. Your little brother exceeded your every attempt at everything you ever did. How would you feel?"
Justin held her tight, but couldn't answer.
"Kind of like how you're feeling right now, huh?"
Justin sniffed as Adelyn wiped a tear from his cheek. "I'm such a jerk," he decided. "I can't even be happy for my own brother. What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing's wrong with you," she assured him. "You're human, and it hurts when someone upstages your best effort. But you can't let it get to you. You can't give up, Justin. Keep trying until you get there, too."
"But what if I never do? What if I'm really not good enough?"
"You are. I know you are. Your books are great, and whoever doesn't want them, has some serious problems. Send it to some more places, and if they don't like it, write another book. I know you have it in you."
"I guess you're right," he sighed.
"I am. Hurry up, honey, and dry your eyes before Pertel sees you. You know how much he likes to pick on you."
"He doesn't like to pick on me. He wants to put me back behind bars so he'll have better access to you."
Adelyn kissed him gently and then laughed. "I don't know about that. Lately he's been talking about this girl he met. He won't give me any details, but he says he actually thinks she might be the one."
"Are you kidding me? What kind of girl would go for him?" Justin wondered. "He's so... negative."
"Only when he's around you," she assured him. "And he is rather handsome. I can see why the girls like him."
"Girls? As in more than one? Let's end this conversation right now. I'm starting to get sick."
Chapter 4
Keeping the Peace
Family: Timberlake
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email Me (irishgirl982@yahoo.com)