Chapter Nineteen
"She comes in here, she plays pool on MY table, she eats MY food, and what does she saw when she leaves?" Brooklyn asked, pacing in their bedroom. JC followed her with his eyes, feeling more and more dizzy by the moment. "She smiles and says, 'Thanks, Brooke,' in the most condescending tone that I have ever heard in my life," she finished, throwing her hands in the air, before turning and starting back the other way.
He was silent, watching her walk back and forth before shaking his head. "New York, you know those Magic Eye things that used to be in the newspaper? The ones where you had to cross your eyes and move the paper back and forth until you thought you were going crazy? And then you saw a bird in the middle of the picture and it turned out that it was actually a battleship or something?"
Her head shook. "Yes, but what the hell does that have to do with what I'm saying?"
"That's what you remind me of right now. You're giving me the same reaction that the Magic Eye things did." He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees as she stopped to look at him with confusion etched on her face. "In other words, YOU are making me crazy. Could you please sit down before I hit the floor and have a seizure or something?"
She looked at him for a moment before shaking her head a second time and started to pace again. He groaned and fell back on the bed, but there was still a smile on his face. He loved how stubborn she could be sometimes...even if it did make him think that the world was spinning at an alarming speed. "Anyway, my point is," she started, even though he hadn't asked her to explain herself, "Alexandra, or Alex, as Chris calls her, isn't thankful in the least. Ten to one says that she doesn't even know what a thank you card is."
One hand came up to cover his eyes as he continued to grin. "Not everyone is Hallmark happy, like you. I think they have pills for that, you know." Forcing himself back up, he followed her with his eyes for a moment, until she got close to him. His grin became more wicked as he reached and out and grabbed her around the waist, forcing her to fall back onto the bed. She laughed the moment his hands touched her, sitting on the bed. "Thank you, I feel so much better now."
"Honey, when you reach out to grope someone, you're not supposed to miss and get my waist," she told him, looking back. "I'm just thankful that this is going to be over. Miss Bitch will go back to her lovely Northwest home, I'll go back down to Tennessee, and Chris will be back in Florida. I love long distance relationships. They usually don't work out."
Rolling his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her and stared at the back of her ponytail curiously. "Number one, and I don't want to piss you off, but ladies and gentlemen, the official word has come in...and Chris is going up to Seattle for New Years." She let out a pitiful groan, her head falling forward. "And number two, HELLO. When you think about it, you and I are the ones in a long distance relationship here, and we did just fine...besides breaking up twice, having to go to court, and slapping each other. I still haven't forgiven you for that."
She didn't turn around when she started to speak. "Number one, in a little while, we're going to be sharing your apartment and my house, ergo it's not longer long distance."
"Ergo?" he questioned.
"And number two, they have more against them than a jealous ex-boyfriend that conducts business in his jail cell."
"Ergo?" he asked again. "New York, and no offense here, but you make me feel like an idiot sometimes. I can't believe that you pulled that word out of your ass. Do you even know what it means?"
Her mouth opened to say something, before she shut it quickly. "That's not the point. My point is, Alexandra won't be able to keep her little secret about being a reporter much longer. I mean, we're going to see her name in one newspaper, and then it's all going to be over for her." Pausing, she cocked her head to the side, but still didn't look at him. "If I'm happy about that, does it make me a bitch?"
"Uh...yes. But I love you anyway, and that's got to count for something," he said with a smile before sighing. "Chris says that she's a writer, not a reporter."
"What does a reporter do?"
"Writes."
"Ding ding, correct. Thank you for playing," she said sarcastically before turning to face him. "Is he really going down there for New Years? He mentioned that he was thinking about it, but he never told me that it was for sure. Look at that, he's...what's with the look?"
With a sigh, he removed his arms from around her waist and reached up to brush back a piece of hair that had left her ponytail. "I thought you said that you were going to leave him alone. You're lucky that I'm not jealous, because you spend a hell of a lot more time worrying about Chris than you do thinking about me."
Looking away, she smiled. "That was cute, but no, I don't. And you're right, I am leaving him alone. I said that I wasn't going to bother him about this. I even said it to his face, and I'm not planning on going back on a promise."
An understanding look entered his eyes and he reached forward again, this time cupping her face in his hands. She looked towards him, her green eyes filled with guilt. "Okay, so you're going to leave Chris alone, but tell me the truth, Brooklyn Arizona. Are you going to leave Alexandra alone?" She couldn't turn away, but instead, looked down at the blanket on the bed, tracing the pattern with her eyes. "I want an answer."
"And I want a million dollars, but my bank account isn't all of a sudden going to have a higher total than it already does."
He smirked, letting go of her. "You're already a millionaire, so don't give me that. I've seen your bank book before, and you have more money than I do...of course, you actually save your money, and you shop at Wal-Mart, and Ikea most of the time, but still...is it good when your girlfriend is richer than you are? Wow, that hurts."
She turned to look at him. "You're right, it does hurt. That was one of the most sexist comments that has ever come out of your mouth. Does it really matter who has more money?"
"I'm just trying to think...does Florida and Tennessee still work on the common-law marriage thing?" She shrugged. "Because if they do, when we live together, I just have to bide my time for a few years, and then-"
"You're going to have me killed for my bank account? Thanks, JC. It's not the first time I've heard that one," she said bitterly, sending him a look.
He winced, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I...no wonder you're uptight about New Years. Really, New York, I'm sorry. I forgot all about it."
Shrugging, she got up off the bed and went over to the open closet, digging through to find a sweater. "What are you talking about? I'm not uptight, I'm disappointed. And I'm disappointed because he's going to be spending his time with you-know-who. I have no idea what you mean."
"New Years Eve, about a minute before the ball dropped, and the calendar changed...what comes to mind when I say the name Tim Croft?"
She paused and looked over her shoulder at him. "Rat bastard, asshole, idiot, psycho...shall I go on?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "I know what you're getting at, but if you think it's bothering me, you're so far off base, it's not even funny."
"And the baseball analogies come along again. Honey, he proposed on New Years." A rolled up pair of socks came flying at him, and he ducked quickly. "Damn, watch it with those things. But even the most uninvolved person would say that something like that would bother them." Followed by another pair of socks that he also ducked. "At least you're not throwing anything else at me."
"I'd watch it, because I see a belt in here and my cowboy boots are towards the back. Those can do some damage." She pulled a sweater out of the closet and pulled it over her head, pulling her ponytail out of the back of it. "I can't believe that you're bringing this up. I thought, just a few days ago, you said that you didn't want to bring him up for the rest of the vacation."
He stretched out and rolled his eyes. "New York, he's a big part of your life. He's been there for a long time, and no matter what, he'll always be there. I'm competing with a memory of a freak, but I'm used to it at this point. I purposely watch what I say and do, so that I don't make you think about him, but this time? Even I know what I'm up against here. You were ENGAGED to him, for Christ's sake."
Narrowing her eyes, she shot him another look before sitting back down on the bed. "Thank you, ever so much, for that warm and fuzzy reminder. Would you like to bring back the memory of when I was seven, and my dog got run over by a car?"
"You had a dog?"
"That's when we found out that Austin was allergic to them...but this is beside the point. Yes, he proposed to me on New Years, and yes, Tim is a rat bastard and always will be. But I have plenty of memories for that day that I can think of, rather than thinking of...of...HIM."
"I didn't know you had a dog," he mused, before grinning at her. "Any particular memories that you can come up with?"
She looked up for a moment, before a gentle smile started on her face. "Well...it was the same New Years, but it was right after you gave me that now infamous necklace," she started, reaching up to feel it under her sweater. "Every time I looked at it...well, we're not getting into that."
He sat up with a strange look on his face. "No, sing my praises. I want to hear it." She just laughed and turned away from him, as he continued to beg. Finally, he gave up. "All right, I see what you mean. It just seems like New Years never turns out for you."
"Tell me about it. Getting engaged a minute before the ball dropped, Chris going off with...okay, I'm stopping right there, but he better not ditch me for my birthday. I'll kill him if he does." She turned back to look at him. "But you have to admit...just thinking about the two of them doesn't exactly invoke those aforementioned warm and fuzzy thoughts. I'm not seeing any puppy dogs or rainbows when I think about them."
He nodded slowly. "I know what you mean...but there's nothing that we can do. Absolutely nothing at all."
Miss Colwell,
I see that the mystery has been solved, although you don't have to worry about me giving away your secret. We made a deal, and I may have done some wrong things in the past, but I don't go back on my word. And the bad things aren't what everyone thinks they are.
The worst mistake I ever made was talking to Brooklyn Turner that one night. It was a long time ago, at a party that a friend was throwing. She was there, and if you've ever seen a picture of her, you know how she can capture someone's attention. Even I have to admit that she's beautiful, but that's about all she has going for her. At least, that's what I thought back then. She's a lot smarter than anyone gives her credit for, but only because she managed to execute such a big plan to frame me for murder and for beating her, while I can explain everything. The truth of what happened during that time.
We were happy for the longest time, but she came back once from a long tour, and it was like she wanted nothing to do with me. She had to go into the studio to plan her next album, and I understood that I wasn't allowed to come along and help (all the songs that she was looking through are copyrighted and are property of Curb Records of Nashville. She's been under contract with them since the beginning of her career). Her manager, Joe Saviro, and her publicist, Mia Coltrain (now Turner, she married Brooklyn's brother recently) came up with a list of people that she could record a single with, because almost every one of her albums had a duet on them, and it was what the fans expected from her. Most of the names were famous country music singers or bands, but they tossed in a name from another genre of music that started all the problems.
She decided to do the single with JC Chasez, of NSYNC. She's said in many interviews that I was jealous of the time that the two of them spent together. That's not true. I understand the entire recording process. They had to go through practices, recording sessions, meetings with her manager and her back-up band. After dating her for so long, I understand everything that goes into making an album. But she became more and more distant with each day, and spent more time with JC than with anyone. He even spent the night over at her house soon after they met. I'm not an idiot, Miss Colwell, I could tell what was happening, and when we met the next morning, she had the audacity to introduce me as her boyfriend and to act like nothing was going on. It was very clear that something was.
Of course, JC wasn't out there for a long time. He did go back to his own tour after awhile, but after he left, it was clear that Brooklyn was upset. Her mood completely changed, and I could tell that she missed him more than she missed me when she was on tour. She said that it was around that time that I hit her for the first time. I didn't, and I don't know how she could say that I did. I could never do anything as pathetic as hitting a woman. It just isn't in me.
Soon after, Brooklyn's brother, Austin Turner came back from California (I believe he was going to another culinary institute. The two of them now own a four star restaurant in Nashville). I have to tell you now that Austin and I ever saw eye to eye. He never thought that I was good enough for his sister, but we just avoided each other. He was against the two of us since the day that he met me, and he was all for JC and Brooklyn being together. In fact, everyone was, and it's clear why they thought that. Not because they thought Austin was right about me, but because what could be better than a superstar couple? It creates a lot of publicity, a lot of money. It's almost like an old fashioned arranged marriage. Love always takes a backseat to business in the entertainment industry.
And before I go any further, I have to admit that I did agree to the interview with the National Enquirer. I didn't make any money off of it, but I thought it was the perfect opportunity to show what I felt for Brooklyn. Granted, the Enquirer isn't the best choice, but they were the only ones that were offering at the moment. I'm not sure what Brooklyn thought of it, but I do know that Austin had gone down to buy that particular issue, and I have a feeling that he told her what to say. She never was the strongest person, and she was very susceptible to pressure, especially from her older brother. The story that she told about that was that I hurt her again that day, but I didn't. It's just another lie in a long string of them. The truth was that she had thrown something at me, and it had broken the glass of a picture hanging on the wall behind me, but I never threatened her. Brooklyn always had a problem with anger.
There were other times that she lied about me touching her in that manner, and again, I have to say that they never happened. Or, if they did, it was only in her mind and the words that her brother and JC spoke to her. There was an incident on her front lawn, where I was arguing with Austin, and JC happened to be staying there at the time. JC had taken the first swing at me. I did hit him back, but only in defense. Brooklyn, however, defended him rather than me.
You see, we were engaged, and I thought that it was supposed to be the greatest time of my life, the spot only to be taken when we were actually married. After having such a long relationship with her, that was the only step left, and we had talked about it before. I proposed on New Years, and she accepted. Things seemed to be better then, but JC did come back and it changed yet again.
If you've seen the interview that she did on the Oprah show, you've heard the story of how that one night, I beat her relentlessly and told her that I had killed my brother-in-law and my sister. She had met my sister (and hadn't known that we were related) when she was doing a different television interview, when Alyssa worked as a make-up artist for the Tonight Show. I never found out what happened to her and her husband, but the truth is that they are dead, but I didn't kill them. According to her story, I was waiting for her with a newspaper article about how everyone was confused on who Brooklyn was seeing. The two other names were that of JC Chasez and Lance Bass, another member of NSYNC that she had met through him. I apparently questioned her about it, and became so angry that I through her against a wall, before telling her about the murders and continued to beat on her.
The truth is that she came home, wearing a long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. When she saw me reading the newspaper (and yes, the article was in there), she had smiled and told me that she was going to end all the rumors before she took off her shirt. She was covered with bruises and cuts, and she didn't lie about what happened to her. She told me straight out that her and JC were seeing each other behind my back, and she couldn't keep lying to me after all this time. She was having a hard time trying to keep the lies straight, she had said, before telling me that JC had come up with the perfect plan to finish all the lies. He had put some of the bruises on her arms and face, while she had done some herself by actually hitting herself against walls and furniture. It was almost like she was crazy. I couldn't believe that she would do something like that to herself, or let someone do that to her.
She basically laid out the whole plan for me. Attempted murder, assault and battery, assault with a deadly weapon, they figured that they could get me charged with a lot of different things, to make me look worse. She also said that the reason that she wasn't just breaking up with me was because it wouldn't be good publicity to be the "bad guy" in the situation, but if she looked like a victim, everyone would have pity for her. And then eventually, her and JC could continue their relationship and look all the better for it. I was shocked, to say the very least, especially when she pushed over a table beside the couch and the lamp that was ontop of it broke. She had to make it look like I had beat on her, and if that was true, her living room couldn't look as perfect as it always did. She literally jumped on me and pushed me down to the ground. I do admit to holding her down on the ground, not by the throat as she's said, but only to stop her and try to reason with her. I thought that she was going a little far, and I told her somewhat reluctantly that if that was what she wanted, we could just end the relationship right there. But she was crazed and I even went as far as to tell her that I would let her release a statement saying that I was the one that broke it off, and I would never dispute it. But she said that they had already gotten that far, and she might as well finish it.
I don't remember her kicking me backwards, but I know that somehow, I ended up hitting my head on the coffee table hard enough to knock me out. She had gone through the house after that and destroyed her bedroom, but no other room. After that, she had driven to JC's hotel room in Nashville and they had called Mia Coltrain to come over there (I found all this out afterwards, if you're wondering how I know this). The police were called, and Brooklyn was taken to the emergency room for someone to look over her. They must have done some more damage to her afterwards, because there were fresh cuts, she had a concussion, and her throat was damaged from being choked. The next thing I remember, three police officers were standing over top of me, and I was cuffed and taken to a holding cell to see if anyone was going to press charges against me.
And she did. Somehow, they had found out about my sister and my brother-in-law, and they tacked that onto the charges, although that trial would take place in California. But first, I was charged with, as I said before, assault and battery, attempted murder, attempted murder with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon. Brooklyn, who had released in a statement that she was taking some time off from the music industry and didn't know if she was returning (another publicity stunt), testified at the trial, along with her brother, Mia Coltrain, and JC Chasez. After I was found guilty on all counts, I was transported to California where I underwent a trial for both murders. I wasn't going to take the plea bargain that I was offered, because I wasn't guilty of anything. Brooklyn testified at that trial, as well. In fact, she was the star witness at both of them. I was found guilty on both counts and sentenced to spend the rest of my life in jail. I have no possibility of parole.
But it didn't end there. Brooklyn and JC started yet another plan to hurt me even more, although there was nothing that I could do about it. They created a story of how I was using an old cell mate to stalk her and leave her threatening messages, or something of the sort. It was around that time that Brooklyn met Chris Kirkpatrick, yet another member of NSYNC. The two became close friends, apparently, and he was one of the people that "helped" Brooklyn and JC "see the light" about their "sudden attraction". He was just another part of the plan, though I hadn't known it at the time. Brooklyn suffered a fractured wrist at one time, and it was just another excuse to pin something on me. Something that I didn't do.
The story that they created really took place during the wedding between Austin Turner and Mia Coltrain. During the ceremony, JC allegedly received a phone call from me, where I made some sort of threat and basically forced him into breaking up with Brooklyn. From what I've heard, she played a pretty good part when someone came out to see why she hadn't come back to the party, and that person found her crying about how JC had left her, and how she had taken off a necklace and a bracelet that he had given her, that had meant a lot to both of them. (The necklace is silver, and has letters on it that spell out New York, with diamonds in the corner of each letter. New York is JC's nickname for her, because of her first name. The bracelet, which I've never seen, is apparently silver and has some sort of inscription inside of it). There was yet another phone call, again, allegedly from me, and both JC and Chris Kirkpatrick heard the conversation. It was less than a week when Brooklyn and the five members of NSYNC, along with their lawyers and my lawyer, had a meeting with a judge. They told their side of the story, and the judge believed it and went on allow more charges to be put against me, even though I've already been sentenced to spend my life in this jail cell.
Miss Colwell, I assure you, I had nothing to do with any of this. The plan was well executed by Brooklyn, JC, and in the later stages, Chris. And they accomplished what they wanted, which was to take me out of the picture, but I have a chance to show everyone what really happened. I know that no one will believe my story, especially fans of theirs, but I have to do this, if only for peace of mind.
You already agreed to write the book, but please, believe me. If nothing else, believe the words that I've written, because no one else will believe me. It would be nice to know that at least one person is on my side.
Sincerely,
Tim Croft
Alex shook her head and put down the sheets of paper, wondering how much of it could actually be true. It was a very engaging letter, and he seemed so heartfelt about everything that he had written. She could hear the emotions behind each word, and she seemed to understand the pain that he was going through, all because someone got a little greedy and needed to come out on top.
Could anyone be that cruel, she wondered. But she had seen a side of Brooklyn that she never thought she would. The possessive, cruel side when they had their "conversation" outside of the cabin that one night. She had threatened to expose her secrets about who she was...and it was just another thing to prove how mean she could really be. Sure, the plan that he described was a little far-fetched, but worse people had done far more elaborate things than that before. It was an unbelievable story, but that only made it all the more believable.
She wasn't searching for something to use against Brooklyn. It was a nice bonus, but the book was her first priority. The book had always been her first priority. All she needed was a little additional help from Chris, without him knowing it, and she would have a best seller, without a doubt. That's what this was all about, a book that would let her fans know that she could write something besides the blood and gore of retribution murders. All of time and energy would have to be spent on Tim Croft's story. Cort Demers and his fictional rage could be put onto the back burner for now.
And for some reason, that last part of the letter he had sent to her, the plea for understanding and support, almost broke her heart. He seemed to be a nice man, and even though she knew it was wrong to take one side over another, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. His sister had been killed, and he was being blamed for the murder. Brooklyn had bruises, and he was being blamed for putting them there. That didn't sound very fair, not that Alex cared for being fair most of the time.
Tim had written that Chris had been a part of it. If that was true, he was a lot smarter than she had thought. If he really had a hand in that...had she really fallen for the sweet and funny act that he was pulling off so perfectly? Damn, but she could be stupid sometimes.
It was almost time to leave, and she hadn't gotten the information from him that she wanted. It would be so easy to get it when he came to Seattle, and if he thought that the offer she had given him was completely innocent, he had another thing coming. Nothing could be better for the book than having information passed to her by one of the people involved, and she was covering her tracks carefully, to make sure that she didn't slip up. It was a big mess, but one that she was more than willing to be involved in.
Pretty soon, all the boxes and suitcases that were half filled would be coming back with her to her Washington home. The rented Lincoln truck would be returned and she'd go back to its duplicate that was sitting at the airport, the one that she was paying high parking fees for. And Chris would be there eventually, to slip up and let her know more about the real story behind the lies. To tell her everything that she needed. What she was doing was low. Oh, she knew that, but at the same time, it was so gratifying and made her feel so powerful.
Nothing could stop her from ruining a few lives.
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