Chapter Fifty-Two

The room was painfully silent except for the heart-wrenching sound of items being collected and bags being zipped up. Justin was leaning against the edge of the couch on their tour bus, and while he told himself over and over that he wouldn't watch her pack…his eyes were still drawn to the sight. He completely understood the reasons behind her departure, but at the same time he also understood his selfish reasons for wanting her to stay with him.

Lauren was struggling with the same emotions and the same dread that Justin was feeling. This trip back home was going to be a nightmare in some respects, but it would also slam the door and give them closure where they needed it the most. The pep talk she was giving herself over and over wasn't really working yet, but in time she knew she wouldn't regret doing this. Once all of the information was collected and all of the evidence was in place…they would never have to worry about Tom again. She had to do this for herself and she had to do it for Justin. Somehow she would find the strength to push all of her fears aside and persevere.

She turned and got a good look at his miserable face, and she was lost as to how to help him through it. Trusting people was hard for him, trusting them with part of his life was even harder, but the worst thing for Justin had always been trusting people to care for the people he loved the most.

After zipping up her last bag, she pulled it up on her shoulder and looked down at the floor. "Well…I guess that's it."

"Yeah, I guess so. Did you remember your teddy bear?"

She nervously patted the bunk above hers. "I um…I left it for you to take care of while I'm gone. It better be in one piece when I get back, Justin."

His eyes bore into hers and he had to take several deep breaths before his voice would work again. "I'll guard it with my life."

When she walked forward down the hallway, he stepped in front of her and stopped her with his body. "My father is waiting outside."

His hands fumbled with adjusting her shirt, brushing a piece of dirt from her pants, pulling the bag strap higher up on her arm, lowering it again, then pushing it where it would rest more comfortably. She watched the tension and the barely held restraint on his face as he memorized her like it would be the very last time he would ever see her. Finally his hands moved over her hair to push it back over her shoulders, and it was then that she felt the trembling inside of his movements.

She opened her mouth to assure him once again that everything would be fine, but his mouth swallowed her words as he pulled her against him. Desperation was the theme of the kiss that went on and on until Lauren thought she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. She could feel the way his fingers gripped at her, the pressure of his arms as he crushed her against his body, and the fear that he hadn't voiced…but was now being clearly shown.

He finally pulled away to kiss along her cheek and rest his lips against her shoulder. Lauren hugged her arms around his neck and her fingers gently rubbed his scalp while he came to terms with what all had taken place. "Justin, I'm going to be back."

Nothing was said except for a nod against her shoulder.

Tears were coming to her eyes and being strong for him was getting harder and harder. He was normally the one who lent strength and made light of difficult situations, but if he was this torn up about her going home, where did that leave her? It took a lot for him to show his weaknesses or his vulnerability, but those masks were thrown aside and he was letting her know what she already feared in her own heart. This just didn't feel right.

She pulled his head away and looked back and forth between his eyes. She was going to be strong and she was going to get them through this even if she had to be the best actress in the world at this particular moment. "We're really being stupid and sappy here. I mean, it's the emotions of everything hitting us at once. We've been through hell the last few months and now that everything is over and done with we feel that we have to worry about SOMETHING."

"You really think that?"

"It's kind of like finals. I know you don't know what those are really like, but you study and study and study for weeks on end, and then you walk out of that last test and there's nothing left to worry about. It's all taken away at once but your brain is still thinking that you have to be doing something or that you need to be studying some more. This Tom thing has dragged us along for so long that we don't know what it's like not to worry. This has been one big final test…and now it's over."

"We're being split, Lauren. Don't tell me that you don't know what that could mean."

"For a few days, Justin. I'm going back with Anthony, my dad, and we both know that Jayce will be on me like white on rice when he gets a load of this. There's a restraining order, Tom will be behind bars, and I'm going to be back here in a few days. I promise that I'll be back in a few days even if I have to sneak out and walk back to you."

His head turned away and his eyes closed painfully. "This is Fort Knox around here, Val. I KNOW that it's safe here, but in Orlando…in Orlando…"

"There are police in Orlando and you're going to have to trust that my family knows what's best here. They won't let anything happen. I need you to take care of yourself and concentrate on the shows. Think about performing for your fans and about the time when I will be back here. I WILL be back."

He ran a hand through his hair and literally growled in frustration. "He…he…in front of all of those people he STILL lied. He tried to make it seem like you were the one hurting him and what scares me the most is that I think he actually believes that. When he dove across that table and grabbed your arm, it was in slow motion and I couldn't stop him! I couldn't make my arms move or pull you back in time because…"

Her fingers went onto his hair and she pulled him down to rest her lips beside his ear. "Shhh…I'm fine. Really, he didn't do anything at all except show those people what he's really like."

"I'm sending Mike with you."

She thought she had mistaken his words for a second. "Oh no you don't. Mike is not going to be with me because he's going to be with you. Do you understand that?"

"But I…I trust him! I know that if he's with you then…"

"No! He need to be with you and that will give ME peace of mind to know that you're well taken care of. I'll have Anthony and the Owsley Brigade watching my every move until I leave Orlando." She pulled his chin around and attempted to smile. "We're being really silly and there's no way you can deny it. Tom can't walk through metal bars."

"He'll just melt them before he walks through them."

That made her genuinely laugh and she could see the corners of his mouth twitching. "Satan is about to have a judgement day that is long overdue."

He leaned forward and kissed her again before stepping back and reaching for her hand. "Let's get this over with so you can hurry up and come back to me."

"The Satan comment was pretty good." She squeezed his fingers tighter a few times and smiled at his back as they walked down the steps.

"I'm just full of laughs right now, Val. Call me a friggin' comedian."

Her dad was standing in front of the bus talking to Anthony and Mike, and he looked the pair over when they stepped up beside him. His eyes didn't miss the sad eyes or the way their hands clung to each other's like there was no way of pulling them apart. It was then that he realized that his little girl was now all grown up, the little boy that he had watched run around outside and quickly become a part of his family had grown into an impressive man, and they were both more to each other than anyone had ever dreamed they would be.

"Did you get everything you need?"

Lauren looked up at Justin for a moment before smiling. "Not everything, but this will have to do for now."

He reached out and squeezed Justin's shoulder. "I'm going to handle this, Justin."

"Yes sir…I know you will. Just…just make sure you take care of her first."

"I always do. Our flight leaves in about thirty minutes so we better get going. If anyone gives you information about Tom or about things that he has done or said, make sure you call me or talk to people in my office. They'll get the information to me. The more things we have on him and the more people who come forward to back this up…the more we can make him pay."

Anthony opened the car door and held it while Mr. Owsley grabbed Lauren's other hand and pulled her towards it. Her fingers gradually slid from Justin's and she clung until her firm grip on his last fingertip was taken away.

"I'll call you tonight, Val."

She nodded quietly and slipped into the car followed by her father and Anthony. Mike stepped up beside Justin and put his hand on his shoulder as they watched the car pull away and through the security gates. "She has become one hell of a woman, Justin."

"She has made me into one hell of a man."

"I told them that you would miss sound check. You need to go inside and take a nap or do something that will take your mind off of this for a little while. Is there anything I can do?"

"Can you stop it from ever happening?"

They walked together into the building and Mike couldn't help but shake his head at all of the madness that had taken place around the pair. He had never seen anything like it and he prayed he never would again. "You know what they say, there is a lesson in every situation, every decision, in every pain, and every failure."

"Why do I get the nasty feeling that Tom hasn't learned anything from this?"

The bad thing was that he had felt the same thing, and that concerned him more than anything else did. Justin didn't need to know this, but it was felt all the same. "I don't know, J. I really don't know."

Lauren slid down in the seat and ignored the fans that tried their best to look into the car and see her. A few screamed with recognition, others took pictures, and then there were the looks of disapproval that she was not concerned about at all. She was tired of trying to please everyone or trying to explain her life to those people who would rather judge than give her a chance. They weren't worth her time, and she was already running on a limited supply of that as it was.

"Now that we're alone, would you tell me what's going to happen?"

Her dad put up his papers and turned to give her a curious look. "What do you mean, now that we're alone?"

"I could tell that you were trying to be the lawyer in there instead of the dad, but I also saw that this is really bothering you. I could also see that you were trying to protect Justin and me from something, so why don't you just tell me."

"Lauren, I don't think…"

"I can't deal with secrets and lies anymore! If you really want to help me and you really want to protect me, tell me what's going on and let me KNOW what I'm up against here!"

He was quiet for a few moments while he stared at her now angry face. "We've got a solid case."

"But?"

"But what?"

She punched the seat in front of her and pleaded with him. "Dad PLEASE! This is my life that we're talking about here and it's also about a man that hates the very fact that I'm breathing right now. How can you think that keeping information from me is going to protect me? Stop being my father and talk to me like you would talk to anyone else in this situation!"

"Calm down and get rid of that tone right now. I know you're upset and that you're scared, but I'm not keeping anything from you. This case is solid because of the documents, the witnesses, and the evidence that we have collected so far. I know that we will find more that will only slam the jail doors harder behind him, but with any case there are risks."

"What kind of risks?"

"Nothing can be certain in criminal cases, Lauren. You should know that by now after all of the cases I've worked on. Loopholes exist, the judge could stop some evidence from being presented, witnesses could back out, testimonies could be slammed by the defense, or the jury could be swayed by assumptions where they don't know what side to go for. I'm confident with what we have, I'll be more confident when we have the initial hearing and I find out how Tom is going to plea. There's also…well…"

She waited for him to finish, but he didn't look like he was going to so she prodded him a little. "What? What else is there?"

"I'm going to fight as hard as I can and I'm going to throw as much evidence towards the judge as I can to show that Tom is a risk, but it's possible that he could have bail set. I'm telling you this so you can be prepared for it and not to scare you."

"Wait a minute! You're telling me that it's possible that he could walk out of that jail and be free until the trial? He would be allowed to walk around Orlando as much as he pleases and get people to do his dirty work for him? You KNOW that he will go after Justin first and…"

"Lauren, he won't be allowed within a hundred yards of you or Justin, or the tour for that matter. He also won't be allowed out of the city of Orlando, much less out of Florida to go around the country following a tour that knows for a fact that he shouldn't be there. Justin will be more than safe and you will be too. I don't think that after the stunt he pulled in the meeting that a judge will allow bail, but it's something to think about. We have to get ourselves prepared for anything."

She looked out the window and wasn't surprised by the cloudy skies or the dismal feel of the world at that moment because those few words had darkened her own. "With Tom…anything is possible, dad. Anything is possible."

(The next morning)

Lauren squinted against the sunlight that poured through the open curtains and snuggled up tighter against the pillows. It felt like she had just fallen asleep and the sleep that she had managed to get was restless and more tiring than staying awake would have been.

Tom haunted her dreams and so did the feeling of evil that had returned in full force. She thought that the nightmare she had had in New York was terrible, but the look in his eyes and the hateful words that he had spat at her replayed over and over in her dreams. She felt like she was clawing to get away from it only to have it pull her back down again when she felt like she was gaining a little bit of ground.

It was so against her style of living to have not only Anthony hanging around but also to be staying at her parents' house for the night. There had been no arguments that could have been made because her father and mother had both insisted that she stay there. Their concern and their worry were increasing her own, but it shouldn't be that way. She should be taking comfort in the fact that they were around to shelter her and protect her, but all it did was remind her of the dangers.

She quickly rubbed the sleep from her eyes and pulled her hands away when she felt the weight of someone on the side of the mattress. "Jayce?"

He grinned at her and gently touched her hand. "How are you doing, kiddo?"

"What are you doing here?"

"The bad part of being your brother has always been this…when you get in trouble or cause the parents to worry, I'm included in the mix."

"They made you stay over here last night? I don't remember you coming over."

He sighed and continued to stare at her. "You were pretty far gone with the sleeping pills that mom made you take. Did you get any sleep?"

"Not really, but last night is kind of a blur. I don't understand why they're acting like someone is going to suddenly come in here and take me away. It's giving me the creeps."

"You're talking about OUR parents, Lauren. You know, the ones who freaked out when you lost your first tooth and you couldn't stop talking about how cool it was to bleed like a vampire. They worry when there's no cause to worry and they definitely go a little overboard when there really is something to get them going."

She couldn't help but smile at his words, but the humor didn't last long. "Did they tell you?"

"They told me that you have some psychopath who has been making your life hell, who has been threatening you, and who now wants to get his revenge any way he can. Yeah…they told me. The thing that worries me the most is the fact that YOU didn't tell me."

"Jayce…"

There was pain in his eyes and the last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt him. "Why didn't you tell me, Lauren? Why didn't you tell me so I could help you?"

"There was no way that you could help me. You wouldn't have…"

"I wouldn't have understood? I know that you believe that you can take on the world all by yourself if you needed to, but dammit there are times when you have to lean on people. Don't lay there and look at me with those eyes because I know what you're like. I've told you over and over that there are some things that you won't be able to handle, and those are the times when you need to step back and admit that you aren't as strong as you think you are."

"I've made it this far and…"

He leaned over to rest his hands on both sides of her hips and glare down at her. "You made it this far. You're laying here trying to forget the fact that there is a man out there who is sick and who would love to get his hands on you. You made it to the point where the LAW has to get involved. YOU made it to the point where everyone around you is scared shitless and don't know how to comfort you while they come to grips with it themselves. Tell me, how much have you actually handled?"

She pushed against his chest and sat up against the headboard. "The last thing I need right now is a lecture from you or your anger, Jayce. I know I hurt you by keeping you in the dark, but what would you have done? Right now nobody knows my limitations more than I do. I did what I felt I had to and yes I would handle things differently if I had to do it all over again. But I can't turn back time and fix the stupid decisions I made. I look and I see that I have found the only person in this world who can make me truly happy, and I will NOT regret trying to protect him."

"Making you mad or arguing with you is not my intention, Lauren. You're going through enough as it is, but I have to make you see that you made me feel very useless. I love you with all my heart, I will always love you, and to know that I've lived with you through this and didn't have a chance to help you at all…it hurts. It makes me mad to think of this bastard hurting you this way. It makes me madder to know that it could have been prevented. It tears me up to hear of all of the things that he has put you through that I never realized."

She opened her mouth to interrupt, but he continued. "I knew something was wrong with you and I knew everything wasn't right. There were times when I could tell that you were protecting me and hiding things from me because you felt they would somehow hurt in the long run, but I'll probably never forget the signals that I ignored when really I should have been calling you on them."

"How do I go to my brother and tell him that I was falling in love with someone and that there were people out there who wanted to end it? How do I go to my brother and tell him that I can't LIVE without Justin's love, when the whole time that same big brother wants to keep me as the pigtailed child that he still sees? It was…it was too embarrassing for me to tell you. I tried so many times to walk up to you and let you know what was happening, but it was like there was a huge club in my throat that wouldn't let me speak the words. I don't know what that means and I can't explain it, but I didn't keep it away from you because I didn't trust you. I just…I just COULDN'T come to you. I couldn't put my pride aside this time and spill my heart."

He would accept that explanation for now because she was dealing with too much as it was, but he prayed that she would one day wake up and let go of some of her pride. One day he hoped that she would realize that she wasn't the superwoman she believed herself to be. "Justin called three times last night and twice this morning. You might want to talk to him soon."

She stared down at the comforter and nodded slowly. "I'll call him in a little bit."

"I'm sorry that this has happened to you, Lauren."

His words warmed her heart and made her eyes burn with tears of relief. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. "You know what? You're the only person who has said that to me, Jayce. That's the first time someone has apologized to me about Tom and the fact that he has done this to me. I've heard every kind of apology and I've heard every kind of remorse, but…I don't know. I need to put this behind me and move on. I was doing so good until yesterday when we had to confront him and seeing him that way was like looking into hell itself. So many questions aren't answered and I don't know if they ever will be."

He kissed the side of her head and stood up to place her on her feet. "You might never understand why, but you can't let it eat you up either."

She punched his shoulder and smiled when he cringed. "Don't slip into mom-mode like that. It scares me."

"Speaking of mom, you might want to do something with your hair before walking out there. She's in rare form right now and the last thing you need is the 'remember to always be a lady' speech that she has been saving up for a while. Although, you might get lucky and she could have already left."

Lauren checked herself in the mirror and took in the tangled hair, oversized shirt, and smiled evilly before walking to the door. "Did you get the 'you really need to stop living the good life and settle down' speech from her yet?"

He rolled his eyes and followed her out of the room when he realized that he never should have told her to get ready. That always brought out her defiant side and yet he had to adore her for it. "I got parts of it but this time she went more for the kids route."

Lauren couldn't hold back her laughter that time and she laughed harder than she had in a while. "I would have LOVED to have seen your face!"

"There's only one thing holding me back from children, and that's the fact that they will have a little bit of your genes in them. I can ONLY imagine what Auntie Lauren and Uncle Justin would teach the little angel."

She rounded the corner into the kitchen and kissed her father on the cheek before sitting down on one of the barstools beside him. "I can't believe you're not at the office. Find anything interesting?"

He sifted through the papers in front of him and grumbled. "That's the beauty of having law clerks. It's fascinating to me how this guy has managed to hide all of this for so long with the huge past of blackmail and deceit that are under his belt. He should have a rap sheet a mile long already and yet he's perfectly clean."

Lauren poured some cereal in a bowl and shook her head. "That man isn't clean."

"He's dirtaaaay."

She thew a piece at Jayce and widened her eyes at him. "Has anything new popped up this morning?"

"Yeah, Justin's phone bill." Jayce chuckled and threw the cereal back at her.

"Don't make me get nasty with this milk here."

Their dad reached over and pulled the carton out of her reach while his eyes remained on the paper in front of him. "He made a huge mistake in trusting Harrison Jacobs. That man has basically sent Tom to his grave. Not only did he brag about the things he was doing to JC, he also told Harrison about the plans he had to bring Miranda down and then hinted to his goal of tearing you and Justin apart. This is amazing."

"The one you should be thanking is Miranda. She sent the contacts Harrison's way so he would know where to look."

"And I say again, does the woman have any legal degrees in her background? I subpoenaed Harrison's information and a few faxes came in last night. Supposedly he's working on some kind of source that will be the last and that could prove to be the most beneficial. My God…this stuff about Tom's wife is just sick. Your mother is going to be all over this stuff and it's a shame that she can't be the psych witness. I have a feeling that she'll get involved though."

Lauren concentrated on her cereal while her father informed Jayce of all of the details that she had heard already. Hearing them again made her sick to her stomach all over again and for some reason hearing her father speak the words made it seem dirtier. It was like he was looking into her past and into the information that she had hidden so well by mistake.

"Dad, did you say that Shai is going to testify in our behalf? How did you manage that one?"

"I have been wanting to talk to you about Shai and her involvement. Other than being the one who would have been Justin's girlfriend had you not signed the contract, how was she pulled into this?"

"All I'm going to say about Shai is that she's not one to be trusted. She's a liar, a snake, a whore, and she's doing anything she can to regain faith in Justin's eyes."

He didn't seem happy to hear that. "Did she and Justin have an intimate relationship?"

"She um…she tried to but he…he said no. Repeatedly said no and…and…yeah. She's kind of pushy when she doesn't get her way."

Miranda had nothing on her father when it came to reading her. "If she assaulted Justin then why weren't charges brought up?"

Now she was really stuck. Just how was she supposed to tell her father that they had tricked Shai and Justin had gotten her drunk one night just so illegal photographs could be taken? Also, how could she tell him that Shai almost raped Justin in the process? "It wasn't anything like that. He wasn't interested, she was more than interested, and they have clashed several times. Wow this cereal is good."

Both men looked at each other and decided to drop the topic, but they knew there was more here than she was saying. "Lauren, you're going to have to come down to the police station with me today and talk to the detectives. We need to get this done while it's all still fresh on your mind."

"Trust me dad, it will be fresh on my mind for a very long time."

Jayce picked up a photograph of Tom and Shai, and studied it closely. "I don't know why, but he looks really familiar."

"That's because you saw The Exorcist. He has been around ever since they moved to Jive. I'm sure you saw him backstage a few times or saw him lurking around. Bottom feeder that he is."

"Hmm…yeah that's probably it. I don't know, the name and the face seem more familiar than that. I know I've seen him backstage but…oh nevermind. I think I want to be connected somehow so I'll know how to help. Ignore me."

Mr. Owsley stood up and collected his papers. "You will be more than needed during this time, Jayce. I'll need help piecing everything together and I will also need your help in looking after your sister."

"When I said I wanted to help, I didn't mean that I wanted to baby-sit hellion over there."

"Who are you calling a hellion? At least I'm not a GAP wannabe stylin'…"

Their dad laughed and walked from the room. "I'm going to leave before she really gets warmed up. Lauren I need you to be ready in thirty minutes so we can head down to the jail."

Lauren sighed and picked up the picture that Jayce had been holding, but she could only look at it for a second before turning it over. "I don't want to see them ever again."

"I know you don't, and you won't have to. Go in there today and tell those people what he has put you through. He's going to go away for a very long time, Lauren."

"It still confuses me why Shai would testify in our behalf. Could it be that she wants to get back at Tom for everything he's done to her? I mean, he banned her from the tour and from Justin because he thought that she had stabbed him in the back."

"If she didn't stab him in the back, what did happen?"

She was nervous all of a sudden but it didn't stop her from telling him. "We set her up and made it look like she had when really she hadn't. The snake eating the other snake kind of thing."

He looked at the picture again and chewed on his bottom lip. "This is so strange. I don't know where I've seen this man before but it wasn't at a show. This is going to bother me until I figure it out."

"Maybe when dad tells you everything he has gathered so far it will trigger a memory in your head. Either that or you're as crazy as we've always believed you to be."

"You're pretty spunky all of a sudden."

"It's the only thing I have left at the moment. Do you think they'll want to know about my relationship with Justin?"

He gave her a strange look that resembled her father's too much. "They'll want to know everything."

"I see. I guess I should have made a list of things I wanted to say so I don't forget anything."

"When you start talking, it will all flow out and what needs to be said will be. You won't have to worry about him being there or overhearing because he's back in the cell where he belongs. They're on your side because I'm sure they already know most of the things he has done."

She turned when she heard her father yell for her to stop talking and get ready. "Jayce, I know this is so wrong of me to wish for, but I hope that Tom already has a girlfriend named Tiny who has screwed him over by now…literally."

"How sadistic you can be, Lauren. Now I know why I never wanted to be on your bad side when we were growing up."

She giggled and slipped off the stool to go back and get ready. This was the moment she had been waiting a long time for, and it still surprised her that she was so nervous and frightened by it. "Whew…here goes nothing."