Chapter Nine
Austin eyed her and was about to comment when he saw the look on her face. She definitely wasn't happy, and tears of anger were rising in her eyes. Finally, he nodded and walked past Tim, pushing him hard with his shoulder as he did so. She waited for Austin to slip on his shoes and open the door, walking out, before she motioned for him to follow her.
They walked into the living room, and Brooklyn pushed him onto the couch, walking to the CD player in the corner. She stood there with her back to him, opening up disc after disc to look inside. "Well, aren't you going to say good morning to me, sweetie?" he asked. What happened next was so quick, he couldn't really tell what happened. Brooklyn swung around with a heavy ornament in her hand, throwing it as hard as she could muster at him. He moved his head to the side just in time, allowing the jade figure to hit a picture frame, leaving a large crack in the glass. "What the hell was that for?" he asked incredulously.
"What was it for? Oh, I don't know, you ass. Maybe the fact that you went against my wishes and proclaimed to the world that you were the man I was dating. Damn it, I had my reasons, Tim, and you turned around and told everyone. EVERYONE. Do you know how much of a hassle this is going to be?" He began to get up, and she armed herself again, this time with a crystal picture frame. "Don't even think about it, or else you're going to end up in the hospital with the doctor's picking crystal out of your ass. Do you understand me? DO YOU?" she shouted.
He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Brooklyn, it's not that big of a deal. Everyone knew that you were dating me, so what's the big deal?"
"They knew I was dating someone, but not you. They knew that I had a boyfriend, but they didn't know that it was YOU. How stupid can you be? Do you know what this mean? Really, do you have any idea how much this is going to do? In every single interview, I'm going to be asked about you. Every time that I'm stopped by someone, they're going to ask about the latest scoop about the two of us. You're going to be fielding calls about me, about getting tickets...I had my reasons, Tim. How could you disrespect me like this?"
He thought that she was done, but she was actually far from it. "An exclusive? I might not have minded as much if it wasn't the Enquirer. This is STUPID. YOU are stupid. You may think that you know a lot about the music industry, but let me remind you that you and I have only dated for two years. I've been married to my work for seven years. There's a hell of a difference there. I know exactly what was going to happen, what IS going to happen, but no, you know all, don't you? You see all, you hear all...in your mind, you're a damned God. You...you...prick!"
The crystal frame in her hand was the only thing preventing him from getting up. It caught the light and reflected it in little pieces around the room, but he was literally afraid of what she could do. She was acting irrational in his opinion, but in hers, this was normal. There was nothing wrong with acting like she was when someone went behind her back. "My God, I trusted you. I can see what a mistake that was? Is this some kind of sick ploy to make me angry or something? Just what the hell do you have up your sleeve?"
In her anger, she had let the frame slip from her hand, and it landed safely on the carpet. Tim made his move then, and jumped up. Before she could react, her wrist was clamped in his hand, and tightly. "Let go of me," she said in a low, fierce tone.
He shook her briefly, clamping down harder. She couldn't feel the pain through her anger. "Do you want to know what I was thinking? Well, do you, Brooklyn?"
"Oh, please, enlighten me. But first," she started, and pulled her wrist out effortlessly, rubbing it with her free hand. "Now tell me, and tell me like a man, damn it. Trying to hurt me won't help your side in the slightest."
His eyes took on a strange glint, one that she had never seen before. His hands were on her again, this time holding her by the forearms, digging his fingers into her skin. "What I was thinking, right? That's an easy one to answer. All I was thinking about was how I could show you how much power I really have. You can't stop me from telling the world about you and me. That means that you definitely cannot stop me from letting everyone know about your parents, no matter how you covered it up."
"You asshole," she muttered, trying to pull her arms out of his grasp. This time she wasn't so lucky. He held on tighter than before, and shook her again. The back of her head bounced off of the entertainment center with a thump, but she didn't really realize it at the time. All she did see were the black spots that danced before her eyes. "What kind of sick power trip are you on?"
"Oh, it's no power trip. No, not in the least. See, Brooklyn, someone needs to teach you a lesson, and it seems that I'm the only one who can. You can't get everything that you want in life. Just because poor Mommy and Daddy Turner died such a violent and CONTROVERSIAL death doesn't mean that it should affect me. What does upset me is that you decided to hide it from me? Why, didn't you trust me?"
Her eyes flashed back at him, turning stormy. "Yeah, it seems like I can trust you with a lot. Let go of me, you bastard," she said again, but her words were becoming weaker. The pain was felt in her body now, and her arms, her wrist, and her head ached badly. She wanted nothing but to go up to her room and lay down. "Tim, you're hurting me. Let me go." Now she was whining. Something that she always said she would never do.
"Don't pull the wounded routine with me, honey. I know you better than that, don't I? I know that you're a strong person, Brooklyn, but I also know your weakness. There's nothing stopping me from saying that your father died-"
"STOP IT!" she screamed. "Just stop it! I don't want to hear it, I don't want to relive it! STOP!" She tried desperately to get out of the hold, but he held on even tighter now, drawing blood from where his fingers dug into her.
A smirk came onto his face, and he looked at her. Hair flung wildly around her face, falling into her eyes. Her mouth was twisted into an enraged sneer, and her face was flushed by her anger. She was literally trembling within his grasp, like she as deathly cold. Brooklyn was cold, but not physically. "No, I won't stop, darling. Don't even THINK that you can tell me what to say or do. You can't. Don't YOU understand? Like I said, there's nothing to stop me from letting the world know what happened. The truth about what happened, and what you've kept hidden inside your family. Did you think that no one could find out? It was really simple, actually. A few newslinks, talking to some people around town...it all came together like pieces of a puzzle and now I know. I know everything that is to know about you, and everything that you hid from me. I'm not stupid, Brooklyn. I know how to get my information. The only question is, what will you do when it leaks out?" He smiled again, and let go of one arm to brush a hand down her face. She couldn't move, couldn't force her arm up to push him away or hit him. She was too terrified. "I'm not saying that I will tell everyone, no, not yet. The information is being kept for when I do need it, but for now, dear, sweet, innocent, Brooklyn...I just want to see what you're going to do with this."
The anger was back, quicker than he could have imagined. "What I'm going to do? What do you think I'll do? This is my life that you're talking about. MY LIFE, Tim. Why don't you try and ruin it more. This is sick, it's twisted, and it's ridiculous. It seems that word applies to you a lot. Don't you get it? My life. My life, Tim. What I live, that's what you're threatening. Don't you think that I would do anything in my power to stop that from happening? Don't you?"
He grinned, licking him lips quickly. "And just what would you do to me, Brooklyn? Spread some evil, untrue rumor about me? It doesn't matter. I'm not famous, so it can't hurt me any. You're not thinking clearly."
"That's because of the shot to the head I took from you," she grumbled, trying to wrench free again.
"No, I don't think that's it. I think it's because you can't do anything about it. You wouldn't know how to go about it, would you? No, you wouldn't. You wouldn't know how to stop me, and that's your one weakness in this situation. You don't know how to stop me."
Her mouth opened, but no words came out. "You always told me that you'd do anything to protect the ones that you love, right? Do you love me, Brooklyn?" She didn't say anything. Her mouth shut defiantly, and she stared at him hotly. "Do you love me? DO YOU?!?" He shook her again, harder than ever. She bounced around like a small rag doll while he continued shouting. "Do you love me, Brooklyn? It's a simple question. Do you love me?"
"YES!" she finally shouted. "Yes, I do. Just stop it, please. Stop it." He let her go abruptly, watching as she fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. Her terry cloth robe lifted to show a bit of her tanned thigh. Her arms came over her head to protect herself, while tears continued to fall from her eyes. "Yes, I love you," she whispered softly.
Tim put his hands on his hips and smiled. "Then tell me that you won't take JC to the awards show with you. That's all I want. Tell me that you won't take him."
"I won't. I swear that I won't. Just please, don't..." She trailed off again.
"That's all I wanted to hear, baby. We wouldn't have had to go through this whole ordeal if you would have just told me that you wouldn't take him. That's all." He bent down beside her, and wrapped his arms around her shaking frame. She whimpered, not wanting to look up, to remove her arms. "You know that I wouldn't hit you if I didn't have to, baby. I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you, did I?" When she did answer, his rage overtook him again. "Did I?" His voice was more stern, and she knew what answer he was looking for.
Her eyes stayed shut tightly. "No, you didn't hurt me."
He nodded and stood up, not before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "All right. You better go and get cleaned up. You look like hell, Brooklyn." He went to walk out of the room, out of the house, before he turned around to look at her. She had taken away the arms that protected her, and stared after him, tear stains marring her face. "Whatever you do, don't tell anyone, okay? Not a soul. Don't tell ANYONE about what just happened, or else something worse might happen to you, sweetheart. You don't want to end up like your mom, do you?"
The door slammed shut after him, and Brooklyn looked around the room. The picture frame lay at her feet, bringing the light straight into her eyes. Sighing, she took notice of the broken glass on the picture on the wall, and the jade ornament that lay on the couch. It seemed to take an immense effort to lift herself from the ground, and even more to walk to the stairs. Her head was swimming, and dark spots occasionally danced in front of her. She had to use the banister to pull herself up, to make sure that she didn't fall.
Brooklyn found herself standing in her bathroom, the door locked behind her. Sighing, she ignored the tightness in her muscles as she dropped her robe on the floor, and pulled her shirt over her head. Her boxer shorts hit the ground beside it, before she reached to fill up the bathtub with water. Austin still hadn't come back, and she was hoping that he wouldn't come back for a long time.
She turned around as the tub was filling and put her robe back on when she heard the phone ringing in her bedroom. She was sure that it was Tim, and hurried to answer it, thinking that he wanted to apologize for what happened. "Hello?" she asked, hiding a sniffle.
"That was weird, New York. I was expecting to hear the rest of your greeting. What's up?"
She froze, her hand glued to the phone. It was painfully obvious, to her, that in her voice, there was tears. She didn't want him to pick up on it. "Um...nothing, JC. I was just starting a bath for myself. That's all." She chuckled nervously, and looked in the bathroom door to see where the water was in the tub. Not even half, yet.
"Sounds kinky. Wish I could join you." She stuttered for an answer, when he started to laugh. "I was kidding, New York. Usually, you'd pick up on that. There's something wrong, isn't there?"
Shaking her head, she checked on the tub again. "Hold on a second, all right?" she asked, putting down the phone to turn off the water. It looked inviting, too inviting. Her mind raced through what Tim would think if he heard about this, but she ignored that little voice and slid into the water, reaching for the phone. "Ow, hot, hot." She forced herself to laugh again. "No...nothing's wrong. I was just...planning on having a relaxing bath, and then heading downstairs to see if Austin wanted to do something."
"Really. I'm not bothering you, am I?"
"Of course not. I can relax and talk at the same time." The truth was, she wanted him off the phone, and fast. He had already picked up on the fact that there was something wrong, not that she was surprised. It seemed that JC was almost an extension of herself, and knew exactly what was happening in her life. "So...what are you up to?"
He chuckled lowly, but she couldn't even bare to smile at that. "Nothing as sexually exciting as you." That didn't get a chuckle, either, but he decided to ignore it and not make a comment. "I was bored, sitting here. I finished with all the meetings today, and there's really nothing to do. So, I called you. Doesn't it make you feel special that when I have nothing to do, I'll call you?"
"That makes me feel incredibly special. You know, if I drop the phone in here and I electrocute myself, you're dead. My ghost will haunt you. I swear, JC, I'll haunt you, and when you die, my ghost will haunt your ghost."
"That's more like the Brooklyn that I know. I hope that you don't mind me saying, but you haven't been the same for the past few days. Even your e-mail was lacking that little New York quality that it usually has. You and Austin are getting along all right, aren't you? I don't see how you can't."
She sunk further into the water and sighed in bliss. It creeped up towards her open wounds, and she hissed suddenly. "No, there's nothing wrong with the two of us. JC, really. Nothing's wrong in New York land, all right? I'm perfectly fine, I'm in the bath, and I'm talking to you. What could be wrong, huh?" She was making an effort to sound like herself, but she didn't like the fact that she was lying. They were slipping out of her mouth too easily.
"Okay, okay. I get it. You're fine and all. Listen, I better let you go. I don't want you to drop the phone or anything. Relax and call me later, all right?"
"Sure." She didn't wait to say goodbye. Just shut off the phone and let it drop to the floor. She let herself slip even further into the water, until it came up to her chin. Her cuts were getting used to the water, and weren't complaining as much. Her arm muscles were beginning to loosen a little, as well. She sighed relaxingly, and let her eyes drift shut.
The water lulled her to a state of unconsciousness, when a knock came at the bathroom door. "Brooke, are you alive in there?"
"Yeah, I'm here, Austin. What do you want, I'm taking a bath."
She listened to his feet shuffle on the other side of the door, and a small smile came over her face. He was too obvious, too predictable for her. She mouthed the words along with him. "What's with the mess down there?"
The smile dropped from her face as she thought about what had happened. "I caused it, Austin. Needless to say, I got a little angry, and that was the aftermath. We'll...uh...have to replace the glass. I'll be downstairs in a few minutes. Just give me some time to finish up in here." He walked away, and she waited for the door to close behind him before she stood up and reached for the towel. She wrapped it around herself, and reached over to pull the plug.
Normally, she would have walked into her room in the towel, but she was afraid that Austin might come upstairs and see her arms, which she just got a look of. The cuts had stopped bleeding, but there were tell tale marks marring her light skin. She bit her lip and turned her arms to look at the finger shaped bruises beside them. "Oh, he would freak, big time," she whispered, reaching for her robe. The towel hit the ground, and she kicked it into the corner as she wrapped the robe around her, tying it tightly at the waist. Very slowly, she unlocked and opened the bathroom door, looking around before she stepped out and went to her closet.
Once she had her pants for the day picked out, she looked through her shirts, stopping her hand when it went towards the tank tops in the corner. Shaking her head, she pulled out a long sleeved shirt in black, just in case her cuts decided to ooze again. A shuddery sigh escaped her lips as she pulled the shirt over her head and pulled her hair out of the collar. She tied up the drawstring on her khaki colored pants, and looked in the mirror. At least the scared look had disappeared from her eyes. She turned around and walked out of the room, a smile on her face. "Hey, Austin. How was your walk?"
"Long and worry-filled. What happened?"
The smile dimmed some, but it was still there. "Um...let's just say that I have to work on my aim with that jade ornament. I just missed his head." She shrugged and went for the fridge, picking out a bottle of apple juice. "We were both angry, and he walked out. We still have to talk about it all, but I want some time to cool down, first."
"And I want HIM to cool down before you head over there. I didn't like the look in his eyes."
She passed by him and sat down at the table. "Yeah, and I didn't like the look in yours. This is ludicrous, Austin. I know that you two don't get along, but does that mean that you have to fight with each other every time? Come on. I just...I don't know. I want my brother and my boyfriend to get along. I want my life to go back to what it used to be. It seems that for the past few months, everything has been screwed up, and I'm sick of it."
Austin sat down across from her, and tapped his fingers on the tabletop. "Oh, I forgot. JC called you last night."
She nodded slowly, noticing the obvious change of subject, but not calling attention to it. "Yeah, he called me just a little while ago, too. First time I talked to someone on the phone while I was taking a bath." Sighing, she stood up. "I'm going to go call him back. I promised that I would, so..."
He nodded as Brooklyn rounded the corner. She leaned against the wall and rubbed her arms. "Damn all men straight to hell."
"All right, together now. We all live in a yellow submarine. A yellow subma...what? Wrong song?" she asked, a bright grin on her face. Her hands flew down to her hips, and she glared at Joe playfully.
One of her bandmembers, Laurie, her drummer, laughed from where she was sitting. "I don't even know how to play that one, honey." She turned around with a smile to the drummer as her hair flipped over her shoulder. "Let me guess, something new to learn, just to make Brooklyn happy."
"Uh huh. Are we done for the day? I am so tired." She rubbed her eyes and moved the headset's microphone a little further from her mouth.
"Yeah, head on out of here." Brooklyn pulled the headset off of her head and left it ontop of one of the amps, before she turned and waved to everyone. Her feet were incredibly light as she made her way down the hallway and towards the elevator. She stepped in and sighed, pressing the button for the lobby floor. Her eyes moved over to a figure dressed all in black.
She made a face as she tried to recognize the person, but failed to. With a mental shrug, she stepped out of the elevator and towards the doors. Pushing it open with her flat palm, she breathed in the fresh air, thankful to be out of the studio that everyone called the "sweat shop." She started towards her truck, when she heard the same person walking behind her. "Weird," she muttered to herself, speeding up slightly. The last thing she needed was to be mugged, though she had never had that sort of experience before.
Her cowboy boots made a louder sound as she came towards the back of her truck. Her hand trailed along the edge of the bed, when an arm looped around her waist. Before she had a chance to scream, the other hand covered her mouth, and she could feel hot breath against the side of her neck. She whimpered and tried to pull away when the person started to whisper. "I'm here to take you away to Morocco. Just you, me, and Helter Skelter."
When she heard those words, she groaned and pulled away from him. "You idiot. I almost had a heart attack," she said, slapping JC on the arm. "Wait, what are you doing here?"
"I was bored and caught a flight out here."
"Oh, so when you're bored, you fly cross country now?" she asked, rolling her eyes as she leaned against the tailgate. "I need to get my breath back. You really scared me that time." Taking a very deep breath, she closed her eyes and ran her hands through her messed hair. "So, where are you staying?"
He grinned and sat down beside her. "At your house."
Her eyes narrowed, and she looked at him. "Where's your luggage then? I don't see any."
"In there," he said, pointing to the back of her cab. "You left that little window open, and I managed to sneak in far enough to unlock the door. You know, you should really keep that thing closed and locked when you're not around your truck."
She smirked and stood up. "I usually don't have pop stars illegally breaking into my truck to drop off his suitcase. Come on, I'm just ready to head home," she said, yawning. "Here." She tossed the keys to him and walked around to the passenger side. He looked at her curiously, and then back down at the keys in his hand. His eyes lifted to her once more. "Don't give me that look. I just spent the entire day working out the concert setup and everything, and I am so beat, it's not even funny. Unless you would like us to plunge into a mountain, you better drive." He nodded and unlocked the driver's side door, and hopped in, unlocking hers.
Brooklyn opened the door and slid in, closing her eyes as she slammed the door behind her. Her hand went over her shoulder to pull on the seatbelt, and she clicked it into place. "So, you're not surprised?"
"I have gray hair. What do you think that means?" she asked with a laugh, unconsciously rubbing her arms. He caught the movement, but didn't bring it up. "JC, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm sort of glad that you came out. I could really use the distraction right about now, and you're the best person to distract me. Don't you feel special?" she asked, smiling. Her hands dropped from her arms, and she looked over at him.
He smiled while backing out the parking lot. "Thanks, New York. Now, shut up and sleep. I'll wake you up when we get to your house." She smiled faintly and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the window. Her breathing evened out in a few minutes and he smiled to himself, turning on the radio, but making sure that the volume was down. He didn't want to admit it, but ever since he had met Brooklyn, he had become more interested in country music.
JC was the type of person that used to think that country was all about tractors, heart breaks, and the ever popular "you hurt me, so I stole your dog." Now, he knew how wrong he really was. Country music seemed to waken up a part of him that he didn't know was asleep, something that he didn't even know existed. It was a change, but he found himself listening to Martina McBride and George Strait. In fact, his favorite song had become "Whatever You Say."
He pulled into the driveway and looked over at Brooklyn. She shifted, and sighed, her eyes opening. "Okay, I feel better now," she said with a sleepy chuckle. She opened the door and slammed it shut behind her, waiting for JC to pick up his bag. "Come on. I have a cup of hot chocolate calling my name, and you better not make me miss that because you're so slow," she said humorously, her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, yeah. Why don't you carry my bag then?" he asked. She stuck out her tongue and opened the door, letting him go ahead.
"Austin, I'm home! This little animal, most likely a WEASEL," she said, accentuating the word, "followed me home, and I was wondering if I could keep him for a little while. Not long, but you know. Just for a short little visit." Austin walked around the corner, expecting to see Tim, and he was ready to fight him. Instead, he grinned when he saw JC standing there, suitcase at his feet.
He walked forward and shook hands with him. "Hey, man. What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, looking towards Brooklyn for an answer. She just shrugged and started to work on taking off her cowboy boots. She leaned against the wall to pull off her right boot, listening to their conversation while she did so. She grunted and fell forward, JC just catching her in time, before she hit the ground.
"New York, we've really got to stop these America's Funniest Home Video moments. This is the third grand prize winner that you've pulled off."
She looked up at him and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "You were very instrumental in number one and number two. Yeah, I'll just pull you off the counter, my ass. That didn't turn out so well, and may I remind you of the Superman move, as I've dubbed it. That was all YOUR doing. Not mine, uh uh."
The other boot came off easily, and Austin looked between the two laughing people, before shaking his head. "That would be my cue to get back to the kitchen. Are you cooking, or are we ordering delivery."
"There is no way that I'm cooking tonight. Tomorrow, I promise to make chili, the one thing that I can actually cook. It's either you cooking or you ordering something. While you fight with yourself, I'm going to show JC to his room." She grinned and gestured for JC to follow her.
They made their way upstairs, and she showed him to the guest room that he had used before. With a laugh, she closed the door by bumping it with her hip. Turning to look at him, her eyebrows raised very slowly. "So, big boy. You really for a little action?" she asked in a low, sultry tone.
He knew that she was up to something, but there was no chance that he was going to say no. "Anytime, New York. Bring...it...on."
Smiling, she moved closer to him, very slowly. She stopped when she was standing face to face with him. Suddenly, her hands pushed against his chest and knocked him onto the bed. "That was for scaring me this afternoon," she said, putting her hands on her hips again. He grinned dangerously, grabbing her around the waist. She laughed when his fingers brushed against her bare skin. "Don't you dare!"
He didn't know that she was ticklish, but it was working out in his favor. She fell onto the bed beside him, laughing harder as he continued to brush his fingers around her stomach, arms, and behind her knees. She squirmed and grabbed onto his arms, trying to push him away. "You might as well give up. You're not strong enough to stop me, New York," he said with a laugh, taking hold of her arms when he started to get off balance.
Suddenly, she pulled them out of her grasp and started to rub her arms. His eyes clouded with concern as he took her wrist and pushed up the sleeve of her shirt. He slowly rotated her arm, looking to see if he had done any damage. Instead, he saw the bruises and cuts that Tim had put on her. "Brooklyn, there's no way that you did that."
Brooklyn shook her head slowly. "I never said that you did." Her eyes closed briefly when she saw how he was looking at her. He dropped her one wrist and picked up the other. "JC, really, do you have to do this?" she asked.
"I saw you rubbing your arms earlier today, in the truck, but I didn't say anything. You were rubbing both of them, Brooklyn. BOTH of them. Let me see." She sighed, but didn't pull her arm away. He pushed up her other sleeve very slowly, almost like he was afraid to see the same thing. He let out a sigh of relief when he didn't notice anything.
When he looked up, though, he could see that her eyes were closed again, as if in pain. JC knew what that meant, and he slowly turned her arm again. Staring back at him were four small bruises, and another, larger one, including small cuts inside each one. "Who did this to you?" he asked lowly.
"No one," she said, and pulled her arms back, pulling down her sleeves. "Don't give me that look. I did it myself."
Nodding slowly, he smirked. "Yeah, a lot of people purposely bruise themselves and add little cuts in them, or around them. Brooklyn, I'm not an idiot. Those marks was finger prints. They're the exact shape and size of a bruise that a finger would leave. Who did it to you?"
"I told you. No one did it to me. I slipped when I was in the bath and fell back. That's what happened to me. That's all." She stared at him closely. "Please, don't pull out the obsessive, protective older brother crap because I get enough from Austin."
Sighing, he rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, New York. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just concerned."
She smiled. "I know. Look, why don't you get some sleep, and I'll get you when dinner's here, all right?" He nodded as she stood up. "Oh, and if you wouldn't mind, please don't tell Austin. He'd probably want to be in the room next time I take a bath, and that's the last thing that I need."
"Sure." She closed the door softly and walked down to her room, slipping inside. She locked the door and headed towards the mirror, pushing up her sleeves. She looked at the marks in the mirror and sighed when she felt tears come to her eyes. "They do look like finger marks," she whispered to herself, turning slightly to look at her other arm. "Even JC noticed. Damn it," she said, sitting down on the ground. She pulled the sleeves back down and looked at the carpet.
Brooklyn laughed, reaching for the glass of water in front of her. "You have to be kidding me," she said, still chuckling. The phone rang and she looked towards the kitchen, where JC was standing, still fixing his first mug of coffee. "Would you mind grabbing that?" she asked.
He shrugged, and put down the spoon he was holding, reaching for the phone. "Hello, Turner residence. Non-Turner speaking."
"Oh, that was intelligent!" she shouted, sipping her water.
He waved her away, and listened closely. "Sorry, it's JC, not Austin. How have you been, Tim?" he asked, picking up his mug. Brooklyn's eyes widened slightly, and her hands began to shake. She could just imagine what was going to happen. Normally, Tim didn't call that early, or else she would have picked it up. She figured that it probably would have been Austin, who was in Nashville for the day, or Joe. "Um...no, I just got in last night. Sort of a surprise for New York."
She groaned and dropped her head in her hands. She couldn't remember if Tim knew about JC's nickname for her, but if he didn't before, he did now. "Yeah, New York. Also known as Brooklyn?" he asked, sitting down at the table with the phone. She motioned for it, but he waved her hand away. "No...no, I never heard of that. She never mentioned it to me." He looked at her strangely and nodded his head. "Are you sure?"
"Just give me the phone," she whispered tiredly, holding her hand out.
"Well, okay, I'll tell her. Bye." He hung up the phone and looked at her curiously. "He asked me to tell you to call him when you had a moment alone. Brooklyn, is there something that you want to tell me?"
Her head shook slowly. "No, not really. Why, is there something that I should tell you?" She thought for a moment, and then made a face. "Why are you calling me Brooklyn? You only call me that when you're dead serious about something."
"Yeah, well consider me serious about this. Tim said something that made me wonder if you're being completely honest with me." Her eyes widened again, and he took notice. "So, you do know something about it. What do you think he told me."
She shrugged quickly. "I have no clue. Seriously." She dropped her tone and hissed to herself, "but I'm sure that whatever he said wasn't very complimentary to either of us." He looked at her strangely. "Never mind. Would you just tell me what he said, or are we going to turn this into a guessing game? I'm warning you, I'm not too good at them."
It didn't cause him to smile. He continued to look at her for a little while, before he started to talk again. By the time he was finished, she wasn't feeling all that happy. "When I brought up your nickname, he told me that you wanted me to stop calling you that. He said that you thought it was a little childish, and not very complimentary to have the same name as a state. What, too afraid to tell me?"
Groaning again, she rolled her eyes and looked at him. "He said, he said. Do you want to hear what I have to say?" she asked, her tone sounding irritated. He nodded slowly, watching as her cheeks flushed with anger. "I like the fact that you're taking the word of someone that you hardly know rather than taking the word of someone you know a little better. Seriously, JC, if I didn't like the name, don't you think I would have told you? Don't you think that I would have said something."
He nodded again, very slowly. "Exactly. Tim and I have been having a few problems lately, and I think he's trying to make things a little more difficult for me. I know that you don't understand. I barely understand it, but this is what's happening. He...he's not happy about the fact that I spend time with a man that isn't him. He's jealous, and I think that the fact that you have a personal nickname for me, and he doesn't...it makes him a little upset. That's all."
"So, do you want me to stop calling you New York, then? I mean, I will, if you think that calling you that would be a problem. It would take a little getting used to, but I'm sure that I could do it." A glint of humor appeared in his eyes, and she smiled faintly.
"No, you can still call me that. It's his problem. I, personally, love the name. Besides, isn't it easier to say than Brooklyn?" She winked and stood up, walking to the refrigerator. Opening the door, she used it as a shield to close her eyes and wince. She knew that if he saw that, he would bring attention to it, and she really didn't want to go into more details than that. "So, are we cool again?" she asked, taking out a glass container of iced tea.
Her moves looked very deliberate, like she was trying to hide something as she walked over to the counter. Her hands were busy pouring herself a glass of tea, and he watched as the slight muscles in her arm move as she reached up for the glass. "If you don't mind me asking, New York," he said, stressing her nickname. It caused a smile to spread on her face very slowly, before it became a grin. "Do those bruises on your arms have anything to do with those problems that you're having with Tim."
She turned, her eyes wide. "JC, how could you even think that! I know that we're having problems, but he would never EVER hit me. God, I thought you knew me better. I wouldn't stick around if that was happening." He nodded, but she continued to defend him. It was over the top to him. "I told you, I got those bruises from slipping in the shower. Nothing big."
Something wasn't sitting right with him when she said that, and he finally figured out what it was. "Wait, I thought you said that you slipped in the bath, not the shower."
There was a light in her eyes that flickered quickly while she walked towards the table with her glass. It was there and gone so suddenly that he couldn't even tell if it was there to begin with. "Shower, bath, same difference. It was still an accident in the bathroom." She sipped her drink as she sat down, and then put the glass in front of her, running her finger around the rim of the glass. "You know how I always pull those bonehead moves."
He nodded, laughing. "Do I ever. You pulled one last night."
"I did not," she said, making a face. "I just...fell forward a little. You caught me in time."
"If I hadn't been standing there, you would have fallen flat on your face. I couldn't let that pretty nose of yours get broken."
She smiled, fingering her nose. "You think my nose is pretty? You're such a sweetheart."
As they sat there, talking, Brooklyn's mind couldn't help but wander. Wander to places that it never should have been. What was most surprising was that she was thinking about JC, things that she had never thought before. She wanted, so badly, to confide in him, but she didn't have the courage to mention what happened. Her mouth opened a few times, but each time she tried to say something, some sort of joke or humorous comment would slip out in its place.
She knew that she didn't have to go through this alone, but she wasn't sure what to do. Everything that she thought of didn't seem right, didn't seem to make sense. "Hello, New York. Are you awake in there?" JC asked, snapping his fingers in front of her face.
Snapping out of her trance, she looked at him with a smile. "Sorry, what were you saying?"
He shook his head and looked at her, a weird expression on his face. "I was telling you that Tim is here."
"What? I don't see him. Very cute, JC. Very cute."
He grinned, pointing to himself. "You mean, that comment was cute, just like me?"
A teasing smile spread on her face. "Nah, not like that. The comment was cute, but you're damn sexy," she teased, laughing along with him.
"Well, I was serious. Tim's here, waiting for you in the living room. I'm going to head up to take a shower." He stood up and walked upstairs, leaving Brooklyn to face her boyfriend. Her eyes traveled down to her arms, and she stared at them, almost like she could see the bruises through the material.
"Shit," she muttered under her breath and stood up. Her feet moved slowly as she made her way into the living room, plastering a smile on her face. "Hi, Tim. What...what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice hitching in her throat. She swallowed hard when he patted the seat beside him on the couch. She walked, very slowly, over to where he was sitting, and crossed her arms near her stomach, looking down at her feet.
The smile on his face scared her. It scared her beyond belief, because she didn't know what it meant anymore. "I thought that I would drop by and make sure that you're okay with JC staying here and everything. I was going to tell you that if you wanted, he could stay over at my place.
When hell freezes over, buddy, she thought to herself. She prayed for the strength to say that, but it didn't come. "Um...no, he's fine staying here. Besides, Austin has someone to bond with now. Before I know it, the Steven Segal movies are going to come out, and I'll have to hide in my room to get away from the grunting and scratching."
He didn't laugh. Dear Lord, he didn't laugh, she thought. Not that she expected him to, but she was used to being around people that had a sense of humor, people that knew what a joke was, and would laugh at it. She wanted desperately to be back at the studio, in a meeting. At least everyone laughed there at her jokes. His arm moved around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. "Oh, well I was just wondering."
She nodded slowly and pulled away. "Tim, we really need to have a little talk, but not while someone's in the house. Why don't you and I meet down at park in two hours. I just...don't think that this is something that JC should have to hear."
Tim smiled again, icy. "Sure. I'll be there in two hours. We really do have a lot to talk about. I'll head off, then." He stood up, and she waited for him to leave, but instead, he bent down and kissed her. She had no chance but to go along with it, when the truth was that she didn't want to kiss him, at all, until they cleared things up a little. "Bye, Brooklyn."
She waited for him to leave, and then wrapped her arms around her, shaking for a little while. "Oh, this is really going to be a lot of fun."
Chapter Ten
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