Baby News
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but there's nothing we can do," the clerk informed me for the millionth time, "Once mail is processed and sent, it's out of our hands." I sighed and nodded, trying to regain my composure. I was considering telling her there was a bomb it, just to see if it was really 'out of our hands', but that would end up with me in jail, so I let that idea pass.
"Okay, I'm sorry for wasting your time." I turned away from the counter and received some glares from the other customers in line as I made my way out of the post office.
"Any luck?" Adam asked as he leaned against the passanger side door of his Acura. I sadly shook my head before I groaned in frustration.
"This is such shit," I whined. He offered me a symphatic smile and opened the door for me. I mumbled some profanities as I flopped inside of the car. Adam shut the door behind me before making his way over to the driver's side. I stared straight out of the windshield and felt the urge to cry. I really fucked up. What the hell was I thinking when I skipped my happy ass down the block and mailed that piece of shit out?
I'll tell what I was thinking: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
If I had been thinking, that letter would've been burned and its ashes would've been buried in the city park somewhere. But no, I had to be all free and 'lifting the burden' from my shoulders. I should've known this would've backfired.
"Well, don't be so sad," Adam said as we pulled onto Roosevelt Boulevard, "Maybe this is just a sign that you did the right thing."
"Or that I'm an idiot."
"You're not an idiot," Adam argued.
"Oh, but I am," I countered, "If you knew what I put in that letter, you would be agreeing with me."
"You told him that you loved him, didn't you?" I gasped lightly and Adam glanced at me before looking at the road ahead of him.
"Wh. . . what makes you say that?"
"Well, aside from that mini heart attack you just had, it's obvious," he informed me.
"Why does everyone know?" I asked, more myself than him.
"Because everybody's not stupid," he smiled softly, seemingly amused, "Lon?"
"What?" I pouted, annoyed with his stupid grin.
"You did the right thing. Sending that letter out was-"
"A mistake," I interrupted, "He's getting married, did you know that?"
"No," Adam shrugged, "But what does that matter?"
"What! Are you crazy? He's getting married. You know, the rings on the fingers and the whole standing before God stuff. . ."
"I know what it is," he sighed, "But he's getting married. He's not married yet."
"Cameron's pregnant," I told him, "Does that matter?" He was silent and I rolled my eyes. Now he has nothing to say.
"Damn, I missed out on a lot of drama," he mumbled to himself.
"Yeah, well, I've been there for all of it and now I'm going to be around for the letter drama too." I groaned, "This is so fucked up."
"Okay, so maybe the situation may not seem hopeful, but you still did the right thing by telling him how you feel."
"How can it be right?" I questioned, "When I get home, he'll know how I feel about him and things are going to get really weird because he won't want me around. And I know for a fact Cameron's going to have a fuckin' bitch fit when she finds out. . ."
"Forget about Cameron," Adam stated firmly, "This is about you and Justin."
"There is no Justin and I," I said, raising my voice, "We're not going to be friends or anything after this. Hell, I don't even think we're anything now."
"If he wants to throw away your friendship, then it's his loss."
"It's not him, it's me," I admitted, "I can't be his friend anymore."
"What do you mean?" he asked as we came to a red light.
"I've been holding in how I feel for a while now. Before Cameron got pregnant, before the engagement. . . I was just too scared to tell him. The whole time I had to pretend like he was just my friend when he's so much more than that. Now he's going to know and I won't have this inside, but not being with him even after he knows how I feel will hurt just as much as him not knowing at all."
"So, it's all or nothing, huh?"
"As selfish as it sounds, yes," I answered as my eyes welled up with tears, "I can't sit back and watch somebody I love, love somebody else." Adam nodded silently before a car honked loudly behind us. We caught sight of the green light and he hit the gas pedal. As we sped down Roosevelt in complete silence, I stared out the window and wished Keshon didn't make that switch.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
"She's here! She's here!" Tiffany squealed as she heard keys jingling outside of the apartment door. She pushed Jared to the side and opened it excitedly.
"H-"
"I've missed you so much!" Tiffany interrupted as she hugged Alonsha so tightly that she dropped her luggage. Scott and Jared laughed in the background.
"Lonnie!" came another excited cry from Allison, who came running out of the kitchen and through the living room. She, too, attacked Alonsha with hugs and a kisses on the cheek, nearly causing her to topple over. As the three girls hugged and squealed, the guys watched in amusement.
"You know," Scott said with a wide grin, "All this touchin' is kinda hot." The girls immediately fell apart and shot the boys glares.
"Hey, don't look at me," Jared said defensively, "It was all him." His pointing finger was slapped down playfully by Scott.
"I don't know what ya'll see in these two," Alonsha said jokingly before opening her arms expectantly. Jared was the first to lean in and give her a bear hug before kissing her cheek. When he pulled away, Scott stubbornly crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
"'I don't know what ya'll see in these two,'" he mocked as he pouted. Everybody laughed and Alonsha poked his side.
"Scott. . ." she whined, "Scottie. . ." He looked at her through narrowed eyes before suddenly tackling her. They nearly fell to the ground, but Scott kept their balance. As everybody laughed, Alonsha hugged him tighly as he placed a kiss on her cheek.
"Missed you, bum," Scott smiled as they pulled apart.
"Of course you did," Alonsha said arrogantly, "How could you not miss all this?" Everybody chuckled as the boys grabbed her bags and the girls led her to the sofa.
"So. . .how was the plane ride?" Allison asked, "Did you get some sleep? Did you eat?"
"Yes, mom," Alonsha answered, "I slept for most of the ride after I had some dinner."
"Good," Allison said, "Did Adam take you to the airport?"
"He sure did."
"You guys seem to be getting close," Tiffany pointed out, "Are you planning on pulling a Will and Grace?"
"No," Alonsha giggled, "We're just. . . cool."
"Alright, whatever you say," Tiffany stood, "But if he tries to be your best friend, tell him the position is filled by four people." Alonsha laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Okay, Tiff, I'll tell him that. . ."
"Speaking of telling," Jared said, drapping his arm around Alonsha's shoulders as they swangered toward the kitchen, "A little birdy told me you sent a certain someone a letter. . ." Alonsha groaned and stopped walking immediately.
"Why did you have to remind me?" she complained, "Man. . . I forgot all about that shit."
"How could you forget something like that?" Jared smiled.
"I tried really hard to forget about it, that's how."
"Why?"
"Because. . ." she pouted as Tiffany immediately rushed in front of her.
"Don't you dare tell me you're regretting this. . ." she stated firmly.
"Fine, I won't tell you," Alonsha mumbled, pushing her friend aside and continuing her journey to the kitchen alone. Tiffany watched her until she disappeared behind the swinging white door.
"Do you believe her?" Tiffany asked to nobody in particular.
"Well. . . maybe she's just upset because she has to face him now," Scott said, "I mean, part of the reason why she even sent it out was because she didn't think she'd be here for the aftermath."
"Thank you, Scottie!" Alonsha praised from behind the kitchen door.
"Don't thank him," Tiffany huffed, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
"No, it's not," Alonsha walked out of the kitchen with a Lipton Iced Tea in her hands, "It's the truth."
"The truth is in the letter."
"Yeah, the letter that should've been buried six feet under and never see the light of day."
"You are so dramatic."
"Says the drama queen herself."
"Whoa, you two, stop it," Allison cut in, "Alonsha, I know you're worried about the letter, but there's no need to let out your frustration on Tiffany."
"Thank you, Al," Tiffany said, smiling smugly.
"And you can shut it, woman. Alonsha's feelings are not stupid," Allison reprimanded, "If she's regretting that letter, than she can regret it."
"Thank you, Ally." Alonsha smiled at Tiffany mockingly.
"Both of you are not welcome," Allison said, flopping down on the sofa, "Now, Lon, come sit." Even though she was beckoning Alonsha, everybody sat down on the sofa and floor, ready to listen to whatever she had to say.
"Look, if you're going to give me the whole speech about me doing the right thing, I heard enough of it already. Adam spent a hefty amount of time convincing me that telling Justin how I feel was the only way to go about things."
"And I agree with him," Allison told her, "But that's not what I was going to say."
"Okay. . ."
"I was going to ask you how much you want to take this back."
"I can't even tell you," Alonsha sighed, "I thought it was a good idea, but now. . . I don't know. It just seems like the worst thing to have done. Especially since he's getting married and Cameron's pregnant."
"Can we not mention the heifer?" Tiffany asked. Alonsha smiled weakly, but it quickly faded.
"Well, that heifer has Justin. . ." she mumbled.
"For now," Scott piped up, "I mean, you never know. Justin might read the letter and have a revelation."
"Yeah!" Alonsha chirpped, "And he's just up and leave his pregnant fiance for lil' ol' me!" Her sarcasm caused Scott to frown.
"I was just trying to make you feel better." Alonsha sighed heavily.
"I know, I'm sorry," she apologized, "It's just that everything's so. . ."
"Fucked up?" Jared suggested, receiving a switch kick from Allison.
"Jare!" she scolded.
"What?" he asked innocently before Alonsha interrupted.
"No, he's right," she pouted, "This is so fucked up."
"Lonnie-"
"No, I'm fine, Al," Alonsha stood and stepped over Scott and Jared, "I'm going to get some more sleep." Everybody sat on the floor watching her sadly drag herself down the hall.
"Wait a minute," Tiffany called out, causing her to stop and face her, "You sent that letter the day before yesterday, right?" Alonsha nodded.
"Yeah?" she answered with uncertainty.
"Well, it takes about three days to get something from Philly to Cali," she informed her, "Which means that letter isn't getting her until tomorrow."
"Okay. . ."
"Well, we can beat it to the mail box!"
"What are you-"
"Oh!" Scott smiled, catching on.
"Oh what?" Alonsha asked.
"Well, if you can get to his house before his mail comes, then you can take the letter and he'll never even know it was there," he explained, "Baby, you're a genius."
"I know," Tiffany smiled, "So, what do you say?"
"I say-"
"No," Allison interrupted, "You can't steal somebody's mail."
"It's Justin's mail," Tiffany said, "And Alonsha's not stealing. She's taking back what's rightfully hers."
"And how is she going to do this?" Allison asked, "Just jump the mail man when he delivers the letters?"
"No, she'll wait for him to drop them off and then-"
"Dig through all of Justin's property and steal the letter."
"When you put it like that, it sounds really bad." Tiffany pouted.
"Probably because it is," Allison told her, "Alonsha, please don't do this."
"But, Al," she whined, "He can't find out. If I have to rifle through his mail, then so be it."
"Lon," Allison sighed before shaking her head, "Nevermind. Do whatever you think is right." Alonsha nodded as Tiffany squealed excitedly. She knew digging through his mail wasn't right, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
It's official. I'm Justin Timberlake's stalker. . .
Or something dangerously close to it. I mean, why else would I be parked outside of his house making sure there were no signs of him being home before I attempted to shift through his mail?
Oh, and this is all despite the fact that Tiffany called him ahead of time and was informed that he was on his way to Millington and would be there for the rest of the week. Tiffany even assured me that Cameron with him. Well, not really. It was something along the lines of:
Lon, the bitch is permanantly attached to his non-existant ass. I'm sure she's with him, so don't worry about her. . .
The fact that Tiff's fact was more of an assumption has got me worried. What if Cameron decided to stay and house sit? What if this is a trap? What if she's been watching me this whole time that I've been watching the house?
Anything's possible with the devil herself, but my ass was getting numb and all I wanted to do was grab that letter and run. I think that I should just get this over with, so I finally open my car door and stand on my own to feet. I shut the door to my Honda and grimace when the sound of crackling gravel echos around Justin's estate. My pace quickens as I spot the pile of letters sticking out of his maroon mail box. Relief rushes over me as I pick up the pile and quickly shift through them.
Bill. Bill. Bill. Fan letter. Fan letter. Check. Check. Party invitation. Party invitation. Party invitation. Bridal magazine. . .You can insert the sighing right here.
I roll my eyes at the millionth invitation before I flip past it and end up looking directly as a Cingular bill I've already seen before. What the fuck? Where is it?
Like God was trying to answer me in some sick, twisted way, Justin's front door swung open and Cameron Diaz was standing in front of me in sweats and a t-shirt of Justin's. Her eyes were narrowed and her stance was defensive. Why did I suddenly feel sick?
"What are you doing?" she asked with a look of disgust. I looked down at the mail in my hands before I looked back up at her.
"I was just getting Justin's mail," I said, trying seem as casual as possible, "I heard he wasn't home, so I was just going to hold onto it for him."
"Really?" Cameron questioned, "Looks like you were looking for something, if you ask me." I opened my mouth to talk, but nothing came out. "What's the matter, Lonnie? You look sick." Cameron growled.
"No, I. . . I wasn't looking for anything," I stuttered, "Here. Hold onto them for Jay." I handed her the mail and she snatched it from my hands. I turned to walk back to my car, feeling defeated.
"I will," Cameron called out to me, "I'll be sure to hold onto that letter of yours, too!" I stopped dead in my tracks and snapped my head in her direction.
"What?" I asked desperately as I quickly walked back to the front door.
"Your letter," she repeated, "You know, the one you were looking for."
"Cameron, I need that back," I said, as if she would just hand it over.
"'Cameron, I need that back,'" she mocked in a whiney voice that was nothing like mine, "Well, that's just too bad."
"That letter-"
"Is so full of crap," Cameron interrupted, "But that doesn't really surprise me, seeing that it was you who wrote it."
"You read it?" I asked in disbelief, "That letter was to Justin. You had no right."
"I had no right?" Cameron laughed bitterly, "What gives you the right to send this to him? What gives you the right to try and ruin my relationship with him?"
"I wasn't trying to ruin your relationship," I explained, "I was just trying to be honest because. . . I don't even know. It doesn't matter anyway. That letter was a mistake. I just need it back so I can get rid of it."
"Oh, yeah right," she scoffed, "Get rid of it my ass. I know how you work, Alonsha. You pretend to be someone you're not. You try to act all innocent and truthful, but you're just a twisted, manipulative bitch. You only claim you're going to get rid of it, just so I would give it back and you can hand over to Justin. But I don't think so. You are not going to messed up what I've worked so hard to keep."
"Fine," I sighed, not really in the mood to deal with her and the dramatics, "Keep it. I don't care who has it as long as Justin doesn't see it."
"If this is some form of reverse psychology-"
"Cameron, please," I rolled my eyes, "I don't have the energy to stand here, much less use some reverse psychology on you. I'm just making things a lot easier on the both of us."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because. . ." I shrugged, "I don't know why, but we don't want Justin to see the letter, so I'm letting you get rid of it for the the both of us."
"Okay," Cameron relented, "But answer me this, Alonsha."
"What?"
"You said that something. . .happened between you and Justin. What were you talking about?" The almost-kissing incident popped into my head and my stomach churned. Justin didn't tell her. . .
"It was nothing," I said, slowly backing up toward my car, "I thought it was, but it wasn't."
"If it wasn't anything, why don't you regret it?" Cameron asked desperately as I backed up even faster, hoping to jump in my car and drive off.
"Because. . . I don't know!" I said, reaching my car and quickly opening the door, "Ask Justin." I slipped inside and started it. I reversed and sped down the driveway, watching Cameron disappear in my rearview mirror.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Ask Justin.
Two simple words that seemed to haunt Cameron as she sat down in his living room, staring at the black t.v. screen. What was there to ask him? She shouldn't have anything to ask. Justin was suppose to be honest with her. He was suppose to say 'we need to talk' whenever it was necessary.
Cameron placed her hand on her stomach. This wasn't good for the baby. She was sitting in a quiet house, all alone, instead of being in Millington with Justin as planned. But she wasn't feeling well and said the motion of the plane would make it worse. Justin was reluntant, but eventually left her behind. Now she was regretting her decision to stay. Maybe she wouldn't have found that letter the other day. Maybe she wouldn't have read it over and over, crying ten times harder than the time before.
Even now, as the letter rested on her lap, Cameron was trembling, crying silently. She knew the power of this letter. She knew that with one look at this, Justin would up and leave her. Even the baby couldn't save her from the rawness of the letter. Alonsha's confession of love for him was so unbelievably genuine that even Cameron felt it through the letter. How could Justin not feel compelled to love her back?
Common sense told her to get rid of the letter. Burn it. Bury it. Tear it up into tiny pieces and run it through the garbage disposal. . . But she couldn't. For some reason, she felt strangely attached to the pieces of paper in her hand. Slowly, she lifted up the letter and opened it. She was halfway through when her cell phone rang. She put down the letter and grabbed the phone from the side table adjacent to her.
"Hello?"
"Cameron, it's Doctor Gomez," the man said. Cameron smiled at the sound of her childhood physician's voice.
"Hey, Doc," she greeted, "How are you?"
"I'm doing fine," he replied, "How are you feeling?"
"I was feeling a little sick earlier, but I'm doing fine now. Morning sickness, I guess."
"Cameron, there's something I need to discuss with you," Dr. Gomez told her, "Are you able to come into the office today?"
"Sure," Cameron said softly, "Is everything okay? Is something wrong with the baby?" There was a slight pause on the other end.
"I . . . I think it's best if we discuss this in person."
"Okay, I can come in now, if that's okay."
"The sooner, the better," Doctor Gomez said, "I'll see in a little while, Cameron." He hung up before she could say goodbye and Cameron felt her heart beating twenty times faster. If something happened to the baby, she didn't know what she'd do. What Justin would do. What her entire family and all her friends would do.
A panicked Cameron had made her way outside to her Hybrid and slipped behind the wheel. As she turned and drove down to the highway, she tried to catch her breath. The paparazzi that were following her was her last concern. All she wanted to do was get to Doctor Gomez. But when she finally did, she hesitated to get out. Maybe she didn't want to hear the news. Maybe if she ignored the problem, it won't happen. As foolish as that sounded, it was what she wanted.
Cameron knew better though, and climbed out of the car reluntantly. The walk through the lobby and into the elevator was nerve wrecking, but actually walking towards the white door of his office was ten times harder. She was practically dragging herself along the hall, every step slower and more wary than before. By the time she reached the door, she had an almost uncontrollable urge to run down the hall and hop back into her car, forgetting about the appointment all together.
"Cameron."
"Oh my god!" She placed her hand over her heart and took a deep breath. Doctor Gomez gently touched her arm.
"I didn't mean to startle you," he said apologetically.
"It's okay," Cameron smiled, "I just thought you were in your office.
"Coffee break," he explained, raising his Starbucks cup.
"Right," Cameron sighed, "So, what is this little meeting about?" Doctor Gomez gestured towards his office.
"Why don't we take a seat?" Cameron stepped aside and allowed him to open his office door. He held it for her and shut it when she walked through. Cameron sat on the cushioned chair across his desk and watch as he sat in his oversized swivel chair. He placed his coffee cup the his desk and Cameron watched his every move out of nervousness.
"So. . ." Cameron urged on impatiently.
"Cameron," Doctor Gomez sighed, "There's been a terrible mix up."
"What do you mean?"
"At the testing center," he explained, "Your pregnancy test results were accidently switched with another patient's."
"Okay. . ." Cameron said, unsure, "Does this affect the baby?"
"That's the thing, Cameron," Doctor Gomez looked directly into her eyes, "Your results belonged to someone else."
"What are you trying to say?" Cameron asked softly. Doctor Gomez hesistated before he spoke.
"You're not pregnant."
"Wh- What?!"
"My deepest apologies," Doctor Gomez told her calmly, "I was contacted today about the issue. Had I known sooner, I would've told you."
"But. . . but what about the morning sickness? What about the mood swings?" Cameron asked desperately, "And look at me! I'm HUGE!"
He sighed, "Please, settle down."
"Settle down?" Cameron asked, rhetorically, "How dare you tell me to settle down after you give me this crap to deal with on top of everything else going on in my life."
"I know you're upset, but you have to understand that is a rare occurance and that the lab sincerely apologizes for this inconvience."
"Inconvience?" Cameron scoffed, "This. . . I can't. . .I'm just so. . ." She couldn't even speak with the lump forming in her throat. She angrily stood and stomped over to his door.
"Cameron-" He didn't get a chance to finish, she had already walked out of the door before slamming it behind her. The secretary down the hall looked up instantly, but said nothing as Cameron impatiently pressed the down button on the elevator.
"What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?" Cameron mumbled to herself once she entered the elevator. She continued to ask this very question into the car and during the drive back to Justin's house.
What I'm gonna do? Cameron thought as she parked her car next to Justin's BMW and slowly climbed out. First Alonsha's love letter. Now she's not pregnant. . . As if her day could get any worse.
"Cam? Is that you?" As she walked through his front door, Justin appeared at the foyer's entrance to the living room. His broad, goofy grin was spread across his baby face as he walked over to Cameron's ridged formed and hugged her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"This is my house, woman," Justin joked.
"I know, I mean. . . You're suppose to be helping Trace with wedding locations and shit. . ."
"Yeah, well him and Elisha decided to have it in LA instead, so he's coming up here in a fews days to look at places you're gonna help me choose."
"I don't remember signing up for anything," Cameron smiled.
"Well, that's too bad," Justin dismissed, "Anyways, how are you?" Her stomached knotted up.
"I'm fine," she lied before Justin placed his hands on her stomach and kneeled down in front of her.
"And how are you?" he asked her belly before placing his ear against it. They both waited silently before Justin smiled and stood, "Our baby says it's peachy keen!" Cameron chuckled lightly.
"Really?"
"Nah," Justin laughed, "But I can't wait until the baby starts kicking its messages. It'll be like S.O.S or something."
"Right. . ."
"Oh, Cam, I was looking through this baby store before I got up here. Kitson, or something like that, and there was this nursery set. . . It was so hot! The baby would have a huge, like king sized, crib and there's this little play station area thingy that has a mat and little toys and stuff. . ."
"That sounds good."
"Great, 'cause I ordered it," Justin smiled sheepishly, "It wasn't too much either. Just a couple thousand, but nothing's too much for my baby."
"You ordered it?"
"Yeah. . . You're not mad, are you?" Justin asked, "I can cancel it within three days, so speak now or forever hold ya peace." He puntuated his sentence with his sly smirk. Cameron wondered if the baby would've looked like him, had it existed. If it would've had that Timberlake smile or those sparkling blue eyes. . .
"Justin?" Cameron called softly.
"Yes?" Justin asked, waiting for her reply. Cameron paused when she looked up into his expectant eyes. Her mouth dried and her heart raced. She couldn't tell him.
"What else came with that nursery set?"
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