The van slowed down to a stop in front of a small brick ranch. A flower bordered path led to the screen door, an American flag hung proudly from its pole not far from it. It was the sight of a perfect suburban home, and it made Justin more nervous than he had been in years.
He looked carefully at the paper he had gotten from Doc and back to the house. “This is it.”
“All right, Jay,” Joey smiled widely to him, patting him on the back as he undid his seatbelt. “Let’s go.”
Justin reached out to stop his friend when he had reached for the door. “Wait.”
“Justin.”
He looked back to the house apprehensively through the tinted car windows. It all boiled down to this moment, this house, and he would find her again. He would have her back. He should have been sprinting to the house, but something kept him planted firmly in his seat. “I- I don’t know if I should do this. I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You’d never forgive yourself if you let her slip away again.”
“I know,” Justin whispered. He closed his eyes tightly, pushing all his fears aside to compose himself. “Fine. All right. Let’s go.”
“Lonnie,” Joey said to the large black man sitting in the seat behind him, “You can stay here. Work on your cross word puzzle or whatever it is you’re doing.”
The man folded the newspaper he was holding and capped his pen. With a large grin, he flipped it over to reveal his additions to the picture of the group in the entertainment section. Devil horns and obnoxious mustaches, not to mention a few blacked out teeth, now covered their faces.
“Nice,” Joey laughed. “I like Lance’s hair like that.”
“You guys just call for me if you need me,” he chucked deeply. “I’m gonna finish my piece of art and maybe catch up on a few z’s. Good Lord knows I don’t get enough to remain sane.”
Justin smiled lightly at the two of them before slowly climbing out the car. The two men made their way reluctantly to the opened Hamilton door. When Justin hesitated, Joey reached up and rang the bell.
“Relax, man,” he whispered. “This is a good thing; don’t be so freaked.”
“I’m not. It’s just that…”
“Hello?” a pleasant older voice rang, bringing their attention to her. The older woman stood on the other side of the door, hands rested lightly on her apron-covered hips. “Can I help you boys with something?”
“Hi. Mrs. Hamilton, I presume?” Joey began when Justin continued to stare.
“Um, yes. Can I help you?” she repeated, looking them over curiously. “If you’re selling something, I’m sorry, but…”
“Oh, no!” Joey laughed. “We’re here to see Katherine, if that’s okay.”
She smiled brightly at them before opening the screen. “Come on in, boys. I’ll go get her.”
The two followed her into the living room slowly, Justin still silent and taking in all his surrounds, concentrating on the thoughts racing through his head.
“Kat! You have visitors.”
“Okay, Mom!” a young girl called back. Moments later, she bounced happily into the room, quietly singing to herself. Her movement froze solid when she saw her visitors. Her eyes grew wide to the size of ping-pong balls, and she stared for what seemed to go through eternity.
Just as quickly as she had entered, she turned back to the hallway and began mumbling to herself as she walked away. “I’m dreaming. There is no way they are standing in my living room.” She stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. “Oh yes, they’re most definitely standing in my living room.”
“Katherine Eleanor Hamilton,” her mother said sternly. “That is no way to treat guests in our home. I’m sorry gentlemen,” she smiled before slipping out of the room to the kitchen.
Kat slowly came back into the room. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she stopped in front of them. “Justin. Joey. Hi.”
Joey looked expectedly at Justin, waiting for him to say something, but he was simply staring at her, afraid that if he were to speak, he would throw up.
“Hi, Katherine,” Joey said, taking over for his friend.
“Kat.”
“Okay, Kat. How’d you enjoy the show last night?”
“You guys were so awesome,” she squealed. She stopped herself short and took in another slow breath. “I mean, I thought it was pretty tight.”
“Oh, that’s good to hear. Well, Justin and I are here to ask you a quick question, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“No,” she beamed. “I’d be happy to answer anything.”
Joey nudged Justin, but he simply turned to look at him blankly.
“Right,” he sighed. “We, that being both Justin and I… I think he’s just lost his ability to speak at the sight of your beauty.” Kat giggled before he continued. “We were wondering who it was that you went to the concert with last night?”
“Oh, that’s easy. It was my sister, Ch…”
“Chloe,” Justin interrupted as his attention fell to the hallway at the entrance of a fourth person. He stared at the same the same pair of bright brown eyes that made up the vivid memories of his childhood, but the rest of the person surrounding them had changed. It had matured greatly. He stood amazed that this was the person his childhood companion had grown to be. A thousand other thoughts flooded his mind, along with a myriad of emotions that he couldn’t explain. He choked it all back as it rose in him. He pushed his mind out of the fog that kept clouding over any logical instincts he had in him and took a step toward her, his heart pounding against his ribcage.
“How’d you know her name?” Kat asked curiously.
Chloe stepped into the room and came to the small group, eyeing the men cautiously. “I didn’t know this was part of the radio giveaway,” she smiled, turning to her sister.
“Chloe,” Justin choked. “Don’t you know who I am?”
She looked back to him with a bored look. “Um, yeah. Who doesn’t? You’re Justin Timberlake.” She paused before mumbling, “Ego much?”
“No.”
“You’re not?” she asked, chuckling to herself. “Then you would be?”
“That’s not what I meant,” he stumbled. “Yeah, I’m Justin, but, you, uh, don’t know me?”
“Should I? I mean, other than the fact that you stared at me last night much like you’re doing right now, no, I don’t know you.”
He felt his sprit sinking at her response. He swallowed back the emotion that was coming forth, and prayed she would remember. “We- we grew up together,” he said quietly. “We were inseparable, the three of us.”
“Three?”
“Me, you, and Trace. And then you, you…”
Chloe held her hand up to stop him from continuing. She turned her away from the group and walked to the fireplace, head hung low, arms hanging on the mantle to support herself.
“Hey, Kat,” Joey began. “Why don’t you take me for a tour of the house?”
“But I want to…”
“Let’s go,” he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the room quickly.
“Chlo’, I, uh…” Justin looked around the now empty space nervously. He walked up to her slowly, placing his hand lightly on her back. She turned to him quickly, and he stepped back when seeing her eyes swimming in tears.
“You must be thinking of somebody else,” she whispered hoarsely.
“No. I…”
“Listen,” she said, her voice gaining volume. “You have the wrong girl.”
“Chloe, don’t try to tell me that. I spent everyday with you for a good eight years. I know you, and for you to say you’re not Chloe McCormick is…”
“McCormick?” she questioned. “No, see I’m Chloe Hamilton. I have been for the past ten years. Who ever you think I am, she’s gone. Gone and never looking back.”
“You don’t remember?”
“Ding ding ding. Somebody give a point to the thick headed pop star,” she said sarcastically. “No, I don’t remember. I don’t want to. Whatever happened then, during your eight years, has no concern to me. So get off your white horse, honey, cause nobody here needs rescuing.”
Justin looked at her sadly, taken back by the anger he saw reflected in her eyes. He always remembered them being so gentle and… Her jabs stung him deep down. She told him she didn’t need his help, rescuing, him… and he slowly and painfully began to realize that’s exactly what he always thought he would do. Run in, save her from impending harm, have her back in his life. What was he going to save her from here? She had the seemingly perfect life. Add a white picket fence around the house, and you had the American suburban dream. There was nothing he could do.
Silence passed between them for a few moments, him looking at her, her looking anywhere but him. Chloe finally turned away from him, slowly and hesitating slightly.
“Kat!” she called. “Bring Tweedle Dee back in here. They’re leaving.”
Justin sunk back slowly, feeling any hope he had drift away. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he reached for the door handle. “I never met to…”
“Just leave.”
He did what he was told, Joey following close behind, leaving her alone, and slowly making his way back to the van, to his life.
Chloe watched through the blinds as the large black van pulled away from her house and finally disappeared down the street. Her stomach twisted itself as she let out a low sob. What did she just let happen?
Kat came into the room hesitantly, afraid to upset her sister any more than she visibly was. “Chloe?”
“Do me a favor, Kat,” she whispered thickly. “Call Dave for me. Tell him to come over. I’m gonna go take a shower.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Thanks.”
“A-are you okay?”
She looked over to her little sister’s worried eyes and tried to muster as much strength together as possible. “Yeah, Kat,” she smiled. “I’m fine.”
At the end of the hour, Davey sat on the edge of Chloe’s bed, watching her pace the length of the small room. As she moved, she mumbled incoherently to herself. The only words he was able to comprehend were ‘jerk,’ ‘ten years,’ and ‘ego.’
“Chloe?” he finally spoke. “Did you ask me here so you could talk to yourself or is there some other purpose?”
She turned to him and sighed. “Was that a necessary comment? Um, no.”
“Chlo’. Come on and sit down for a second. You’re going to ruin your carpet if you keep going on like this.”
She reluctantly joined him. She sat, shoulders slumped over, arms wrapped tightly around a worn stuffed giraffe, and a blank gaze covering her features.
“Okay. Now take a deep breath,” he instructed. “And tell me what is going on in that head of yours.”
She took a deep breath and stared at Dave carefully. He looked at her expectedly. “Can you believe the nerve he has?” she exclaimed. “Simply strolling into my house after ten years and automatically assuming that I’m going to jump for joy at his appearance. The guy could go jump off a cliff for all I care. Granted his legions of teenybopper devil spawn will be heartbroken, and I’d hate to be responsible for that, but eventually the world will go on with one less egotistical pop star.
“I mean, yeah, he thinks that I should know him or something. Tough luck, kiddo, I know nothing about him. Do I want to? No. He’s probably the reason I ran away. Maybe his fro’ made me so nauseous that I just couldn’t take it anymore and had to leave.”
“Chloe,” Dave interrupted, stifling his chuckle. “Um, do you think you could maybe get beyond the point where you insult the guy?”
“No, it makes me feel better.”
“At least you’re honest.”
“Davey,” she said seriously. “There has always been something about him that just caused the absolute most unsettling feeling in me. So now I find out that we used to be inseparable as kids, a childhood that I don’t even remember, and I’m supposed to what? Jump for joy because Justin Timberlake knew me way back when. Even so, whom ever he used to know, she’s gone.”
“You’re being a moron,” Dave said simply as he got up suddenly and moved towards the door, keys in hand.
“Wait!” she yelled, running to stop him. “What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
“Why?”
“I’m sick of witnessing this ridiculous self induced pity party you’re having. You aren’t even realizing what a blessing you’ve just gotten.”
“How is Justin a blessing?” she asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe.
“Forget about who he is for a second,” he explained. “Imagine if some nameless face came to your door this morning, saying they knew you before you ran away. Do you think you’d be reacting like this?”
“Yes.”
“No. The person you so blindly kicked out of your house today was the key to answering all your questions. Every time you’ve sat and wondered, tried to remember or recall, you’ve never gotten the answers, but now…”
“I don’t want to know. Don’t you understand that? I ran away,” she exclaimed, wandering back into her room. “It hurts to imagine that I was in a situation where things were bad enough that it pushed me to pack up my things and run away from my home. Why would I want to know the gruesome details?”
“Cause even if you’re a different person now, even if you have a spectacular life, even if you’re terrified, it’s still a part of you, a part you deserve to let yourself know.”
Chloe fell back on her bed, legs bent over the side, eyes gazing at the ceiling. She raised her arms above her head and sighed in defeat. “You’re right. You’re always right.”